Debra Doyle


Debra Doyle was an American author in multiple related fiction genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, for young adults and adults. Her works were co-written with her husband, James D. Macdonald.

Life and career

Doyle earned a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania with a dissertation on Old English poetry.
Her first work written with Macdonald was "Bad Blood" in 1988. Their novel Knight's Wyrd was awarded the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature in 1992 and appeared on the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list in 1993. They published two series, Mageworlds and The Wizard Apprentice, and two alternate history novels, Land of Mist and Snow and Lincoln's Sword.
Doyle and Macdonald also published together under other names. They published their first novel, Night of Ghosts and Lightning, in 1989 under the house name Robyn Tallis; two Tom Swift novels under the house name Victor Appleton; Pep Rally, Blood Brothers, and Vampire’s Kiss under the house name Nicholas Adams; and two Spider-Man and three Battletech novels as Martin Delrio.
Together Doyle and Macdonald made up part of the core membership of the sff.net website and rec.arts.sff newsgroup. Doyle also taught at the Viable Paradise genre writer's workshop on Martha's Vineyard.
She died of cardiac arrest on October 31, 2020.

Series

Circle of Magic (with James D Macdonald)

  1. School of Wizardry
  2. Tournament and Tower ; reissued as Secret of the Tower
  3. City by the Sea ; reissued as The Wizard's Statue
  4. The Prince's Players ; reissued as Danger In The Palace
  5. The Prisoners of Bell Castle ; reissued as The Wizard's Castle
  6. The High King's Daughter

    Tom Swift (Fourth Series) (with James D Macdonald)

  • Monster Machine
  • Aquatech Warriors

    MageWorlds (with James D Macdonald)

  1. The Price of the Stars
  2. Starpilot's Grave
  3. By Honor Betray'd
  4. The Gathering Flame
  5. The Long Hunt
  6. The Stars Asunder
  7. A Working of Stars
  1. Bad Blood
  2. Hunter's Moon
  3. Judgement Night
  • Bad Blood: A Short Story

    Peter Crossman (with James D Macdonald)

  • The Confessions of Peter Crossman
  • The Devil in the Details

    Orville Nesbit (with James D Macdonald)

  • Ecdysis

    Novels

  •   Knight's Wyrd
  •   Groogleman
  •   Prince Valiant
  •   Land of Mist and Snow
  •   Lincoln's Sword

    Short stories (selection)

  • "Now And in the Hour of Death"
  • "Witch Garden" co-written with James D. Macdonald
  • "Please to See the King" co-written with James D. Macdonald
  • "Ecdysis" co-written with James D. Macdonald
  • "Ghosts and Legends"