A. R. Morlan
A. R. Morlan | |
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| Born | Arlette Renee Morlan January 3, 1958 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 4/5, 2016 (aged 58) Ladysmith, Wisconsin, U.S. |
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| Alma mater | Mount Senario College |
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A. R. Morlan (January 3, 1958 – January 4/5, 2016; née, Arlette Renee Morlan, later, Ana Rose Morlan;
Early life
Morlan was born in Chicago, Illinois, January 3, 1958. From 1961 to 1969, she lived in Los Angeles, California. Morlan described a troubled childhood in a 2014 interview. Her mother and maternal grandmother had isolated her and terrorized her. After Morlan's mother lost custody of Arlette, the mother took Arlette to a different state and for fifty years, Arlette was out of contact with her father.[1]
Morlan graduated from Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, in 1980.[2][3]
Career
"My VERY bible-belt relatives–they don't even know who/'what' Harry Potter is!!– have said to me that they wish they could make my erotica [and horror and sf too] just 'go away' which is why I'm planning to formally disinherit all of them in my will! I can't stand them!" (A. R. Morlan, quoted in Circlet, 2016)[4]
Morlan's first story, "Four Days Before the Snow", was published in 1985. Her story "Yet Another Poisoned Apple for the Princess" appeared in a well-reviewed anthology,
Many of Morlan's early stories were set in Ewerton, an imaginary small town in Wisconsin similar to Ladysmith where Morlan attended college and lived.[7] Bantam Books saw the potential in this setting and in 1991 Morlan published two novels with them, The Amulet and Dark Journey.[8] In addition a novella in the same series was released that year by Pulphouse.[3]
The novels "confirmed the promise of Morlan's short fiction and demonstrated that — unlike many other writers of finely-crafted short stories — she could extend the sensibility of her work into a sustained narrative crescendo." However, Morlan endured a lot of editorial interference from Bantam with Dark Journey along with substantial cuts to the text.[7] According to Brian Stableford, "there is no other book quite like Dark Journey. Unfortunately, the uniqueness of a tour de force is not much help to a publisher's marketing department."[3]
Morlan was a finalist for the Tiptree Award in 1998, for "The Hetairai Turncoat", published under the pseudonym Karl-Rene Moore.[9]
In the 1990s, she worked for the Writer's Digest as an instructor for correspondence courses, but with a changing market brought on by technology, she was dropped by this employer. Morlan had "no computer, no Internet, and no cell phone".[4] She also did not have a driver's license.[10] Describing herself as being "totally computer illiterate",[1] she worked on a typewriter and used carbon paper to produce a duplicate copy of her writings.[4]
By 2000, Morlan had published 93 works of short fiction.
Critical response
Brian Stableford described Morlan's fiction as "genuinely discomfiting in a fashion that many horror writers attempt but few achieve."[7]
Morlan's story "The Second Most Beautiful Woman in the World" was called by Kirkus Reviews "a genuinely haunting tribute to the spirit of Georgia O'Keeffe."[12] Publishers Weekly described her story "The Hemingway Kittens" as having a Twilight Zone twist that "serves up a surprising amount of whimsy."[13] In reference to the erotica story "Merle O., Sgt. Bottum, and the Park Fairies" (1998), which plays with themes from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Morlan was described as taking "a charming tack that owes as much to Wambaugh as it does to Shakespeare." The author's biography for this story, published under the named Karl-Rene Moore, uses masculine pronouns.[14]
Personal life
Morlan had
Morlan was found dead at her home in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, on January 6, 2016, in an apparent suicide, which occurred one or two days before. She was 58.[2][15]
Selected works
- Dark Journey, Bantam Spectra, 1991, ISBN 0-553-29152-1
- The Amulet, Bantam Books, 1991, ISBN 0-553-28908-X
- Smothered Dolls, Overlook Connection Press, 2006, ISBN 1-892950-71-5
- Ewerton Death Trip: A Walk Through the Dark Side of Town, Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4344-1238-6
- Rillas and Other Science Fiction Stories, Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4344-4427-1
- Of Vampires & Gentlemen: Tales of Erotic Horror, Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4344-4467-7
- The Chimera and the Shadowfox Griefer and Other Curious People, Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4344-4518-6
- The Fold-O-Rama Wars at the Blue Moon Roach Hotel and Other Colorful Tales of Transformation and Tattoos, Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2012 ISBN 978-1-4344-4517-9
- The Hemingway Kittens and Other Feline Fancies and Fantasies, Borgo Press / Wildside Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4794-0120-8
- Homely in the Cradle and Other Stories, Wildside Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4794-0558-9
- The A.R. Morlan Megapack, Wildside Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4794-0485-8
- The Bone-God's Lair and Other Tales of the Famous and the Infamous, Wildside Press, 2016, ISBN 978-1-4794-2006-3
References
- ^ a b c d e Ratajski, Caroline (October 8, 2014). "Author Spotlight: A.R. Morlan". Nightmare Magazine (25). Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c "A.R. Morlan (1958-2016)". Locus Online. January 11, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c "A. R. Morlan," Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2016. Gale In Context: Biography, accessed 16 Apr. 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Life is fragile and so are stories: Goodbye to A.R. Morlan aka Renee M. Charles". Circlet Press. January 11, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ Shard, Randel (September 22, 1995). "Madison is home to horror, fantasy collection". The Capital Times. p. 15. Retrieved March 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "North American College Courses in Science Fiction, Utopian Literature, and Fantasy" by Arthur B. Evans and R. D. Mullen, Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Nov., 1996), page 506.
- ^ a b c "A(rlette) R(enée) Morlan," St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Biography. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
- ^ "Mass market paperbacks" by Gayle Feldman and Maria Simson, Publishers Weekly, August 8, 1991, Vol. 238 Issue 35, page 429.
- ^ "Summary Bibliography: Karl-René Moore". ISFDB (Internet Speculative Fiction Database). Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ a b Morlan, A. R. (October 4, 1998). "Feeling stuck". Chicago Tribune. p. 223. Retrieved March 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fulbright, Christopher (January 17, 2016). "Rest In Peace A.R. Morlan (1958-2016)". Realms of Night. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ^ "Review of Obsessions edited by Gary Raisor," Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 1991.
- ^ "Review of Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores edited by Greg Ketter," Publishers Weekly, 08/13/2012.
- ISBN 978-1-56333-679-9.
- ^ Silver, Steven H (January 10, 2016). "Obituary: A. R. Morlan". SF Site News. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
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