Lois McMaster Bujold is widely known in the science-fiction field for her witty, believable tales of Miles Vorkosigan, the protagonist of a series that numbered a dozen books and was still growing by 2000. Bujold is considered a master at character development and the nuances of human interaction--qualities not always found in modern science fiction. Although best known as the creator of Vorkosigan, the disabled military genius and mercenary, Bujold has written many other critically acclaimed science fiction novels, as well as two well-received fantasy books.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1949, Bujold has been a self-confessed voracious reader all her life. Beginning with horse stories as a youngster, she graduated to adult science fiction at the age of nine. She acquired this taste from her father, an engineer, a professor at Ohio State, and a graduate of Cal Tech, when the novels and science-fiction magazines he bought to read...