Arinn Dembo Explained
Arinn Dembo (born February 3, 1970)[1] is an American author currently living and writing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Dembo is best known for her work with Vancouver-based Kerberos Productions, where she was lead writer and has worked on the background fiction for the Sword of the Stars series and Fort Zombie.[2] [3]
She attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in 1990 and frequently participates in the Workshop's annual Write-a-thon[4] charity to raise money to cover its costs. Dembo holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology with a minor in classical civilizations from the University of Tennessee and a master's degree in classical archaeology from the University of British Columbia.[5]
Published professionally for the first time in the New York Review of Science Fiction in 1991 with an essay on Tim Powers' The Stress of Her Regard,[6] Dembo was primarily a critic in the early years of her career. She was best known as a reviewer in the PC gaming industry and covered more than 100 titles for Computer Gaming World Magazine and CNET between 1995 and 1997. Over the years she has also published short stories, novellas and reviews of books, films, music and DVD releases.
Dembo's novella The Deacon's Tale was published in 2008 by Lighthouse Interactive and packaged with the Sword of the Stars Collector's Edition.[7] A revised edition was published as a full-length novel in 2011 by Kthonia Press.[8] Monsoon and Other stories, a collection of short fiction and poetry including the award-winning "Monsoon", was published by Kthonia Press in 2012.[9]
In November 2019, Dembo joined the Executive Board of SF Canada, the professional association of Canadian speculative fiction authors. She served as President of the association until January of 2022.
Bibliography
Poetry
- "Three Desert Poems", published in Raindrops Literary Review (1999)
- "Severity", published in Raindrops Literary Review (1999)
- "The Crown", published in Raindrops Literary Review (2001)
- "The Humanist's Prayer", published by The Manitoba Humanist[10] (2004)
- "The Other Wife: An Invocation to the Goddess Kali", published in H.P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror #4 (2006)
- "The Zombie's Prayer", published in Monsoon and Other Stories (2012)
- "Waste", published in Weird Tales #361, Summer 2013
Essays
- "Impassion'd Clay: On Tim Powers' The Stress of Her Regard", published in The New York Review of Science Fiction (1991)
- "We Are Indra", published in Radiant Reason: the New Humanism (1999)
- "Offerings at the Tomb", published in The New York Review of Science Fiction (2001)
- "The Last Continent: An Exchange", published in The New York Review of Science Fiction (2001)
Short stories
- "Sisterhood of the Skin", published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1996)
- "Between the Lines", published in Imagination Fully Dilated: Science Fiction (Fairwood Press, 2003)
- "When Push Comes to Shove", published in The Vancouver Courier (2004)
- "Indigestion", published in The Vancouver Courier (2005)
- "Monsoon", published in Best Fantastic Erotica (Circlet Press, 2008)
- "ICHTHYS", published in H.P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror (2009)
- "Sacred Heart", published in Monsoon and Other Stories (Kthonia Press, 2012)
- "The Words" (also published as Words from the Dark Inkwell of the Heart, Kthonia Press, 2012) published in Monsoon and Other Stories (Kthonia Press, 2012)
- "The Passenger", published in Monsoon and Other Stories (Kthonia Press, 2012)
- "The Uncertainty Principle", published in Lamp Light Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 2, December 2013
- "Agave", published in Gods, Memes and Monsters (Stoneskin Press, 2015)
- "Memphre-Magog", published in Gods, Memes and Monsters (Stoneskin Press, 2015)
- "Magna Mater", published in She Walks In Shadows (Innsmouth Free Press, 2015)
- "Imperial Ghosts", published in Deep Magic: The E-Zine of Clean Science Fiction and Fantasy(December 2016)
- "The Tomb of the Winds", published in Pathfinder Adventure Path #113: What Grows Within (January 2017)
- "The Old Man Down the Road", published in What October Brings: a Lovecraftian Celebration of Halloween (Celaeno Press, 2018)
- "Quirks", published in On Spec, (2022)
Novellas
- Suicide Watch, published in Delta Green: Dark Theatres (2001)
- The Deacon's Tale, published by Lighthouse Interactive as an extra in the Sword of the Stars Collector's Edition (2008)
Books
- The Deacon's Tale: a Sword of the Stars Novel, published by Kthonia Press (2011)
- Monsoon and Other Stories, published by Kthonia Press (2012)
Video games
- Homeworld, by Relic Entertainment/Sierra Entertainment, wrote the background descriptions for the Paktu, the Manaan and the Soban, as "Marcus Skyler" (1999)[11]
- Ground Control, by Massive Entertainment/Sierra Online, as "Marcus Skyler" (2000)
- , by Barking Dog Studios/Sierra Entertainment, wrote the histories for the Kaalel, the LiirHra and some of the historical background fiction for the Somtaaw, as "Marcus Skyler" (2000). Also voice acting.
- , by Troika Games/Sierra Entertainment, as "Marcus Skyler" (2001)
- Sword of the Stars, by Kerberos Productions/Paradox Interactive (2006), writer/voice actor (Tarka/various)
- , by Kerberos Productions/Paradox Interactive (2007), writer/voice actor (Zuul researchers)
- by Kerberos Productions/Paradox Interactive (2008), lead writer/voice actor (various)
- by Kerberos Productions/Paradox Interactive (2009), lead writer/voice actor (various)
- Fort Zombie by Kerberos Productions/Paradox Interactive (2009), lead writer
- , by Kerberos Productions/Paradox Interactive (2011), lead writer/voice actor (The Siren/various)
- , by Kerberos Productions/Paradox Interactive (2012)
- , by Kerberos Productions (2013)
- , by Kerberos Productions (2014)
- Kaiju-A-Gogo, by Kerberos Productions (2015)
- , by Kerberos Productions (2019)
- Hoards of Glory, by Kerberos Productions (2020)
- Planetary Control!, by Kerberos Productions (2021)
- , by Kerberos Productions (2021)
- Northstar, by Kerberos Productions, space trading ship simulation, in development
Tabletop Games
- The Sword of the Stars Premium Lore Book, by Kerberos Productions (2016), a hardcover source book for the Sword of the Stars universe.
- Puppetland: The Story-Telling RPG of Grim Make Believe, by Arc Dream Publishing (2016), contributed three scenarios: "Pretty Polly", "The Box", and "The Bottler".
- , by Kerberos Productions (2018), a cooperative dungeon crawler based on
- , by Kerberos Productions (2018), a competitive card game based on the planetary conquests of the Sword of the Stars 4X games
Acting
- Jesus H. Zombie (2006), as zombie schoolteacher
- Cannibal Sisters (2006), as "Lady Lunch" real estate agent
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Arinn Dembo - Summary Bibliography . Ruff, Al von . Internet Science Fiction Database . April 8, 2011.
- Web site: Sword of the Stars (2006) Windows credits . MobyGames.com . April 8, 2011.
- Web site: Fort Zombie Q&A . Casciato, Cory . 21 October 2009 . Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse . April 19, 2011.
- Web site: Clarion West Writer's Workshop . clarionwest.org . July 7, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120704035158/http://www.clarionwest.org/writeathon/arinndembo . July 4, 2012 .
- Web site: About . Dembo, Arinn . arinndembo.com . April 8, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110317164255/http://arinndembo.com/?page_id=2 . March 17, 2011 .
- Web site: Bibliography: Impassion'd Clay: On Tim Powers' "The Stress of Her Regard" . Ruff, al Von . The International Science Fiction Database . April 8, 2011.
- Web site: Lighthouse Interactive Announces Sword of the Stars Collectors Edition . . April 19, 2011.
- Web site: (2011) The Deacon's Tale . https://archive.today/20130127073230/http://kthonia.com/?p=13 . dead . January 27, 2013 . kthonia.com . July 7, 2012 .
- Web site: (2012) Monsoon and Other Stories . https://archive.today/20130128005530/http://kthonia.com/?p=39 . dead . January 28, 2013 . kthonia.com . July 7, 2012 .
- Web site: The Humanist's Prayer . Dembo, Arinn . The Manitoba Humanist . April 19, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724105957/http://mb.humanists.ca/blog/2004/07/humanists-prayer.html . July 24, 2011 .
- http://arinndembo.com/games/ Earlier Games