Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
Encyclopedia
Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff is a versatile author and performer, best known for her science fiction
and fantasy
works. Bohnhoff also writes magic realism
, nonfiction, and has written and performed music professionally or semi-professionally since 1979 — generally folk
or rock music
, and since the 1990s more specifically filk and parody music
styles — with her husband, Jeff Bohnhoff.
after watching The Day the Earth Stood Still as a child. Her mother was a singer and music was a predominant passion over writing, through her high school and college days.
Over a decade after her high school experience of being pressured to choose between practical subjects and the arts of music and writing, Bohnhoff wrote an autobiographical essay "But My Mother Was a Singer" in which she chronicles her struggle with the question and argues that though the Bahá'í teachings
include an emphasis on the importance of the arts and earning a livelihood by one's calling, "… using our cultural criteria, the arts may seem to have little to do with survival. But they have a tremendous amount to do with 'carrying forward an ever advancing civilization." Eventually she held a day job as an Instructional Designer and Manager for Kelly Services
for some years but bosses would either "urge me to give up music" or told her "You don't belong here" while co-workers would misunderstand the life of the artist — "'If you are any good, what are you doing working here?'" "Minor setbacks", Bohnhoff continues, "in my 'career' provided intensely embarrassing situations at work."
On the musical side the drive to do music "…took me through years of food stamps and rice cakes, the disappointment and frustration of losing band members and starting over…" as well as taking her through "… the inertia when playing 'wall paper' music …[and] the 'top 40' club act". Along with such struggles is the spiritual
one of purity of motive — "I, too, love applause, and to me the act of sharing music is more rewarding than writing it" and which genre of music was spiritual? She writes that at one point, eight months pregnant, she had an opportunity to work at Fantasy Studios
in Berkeley
for "fifteen hour days" but learned that "…I was a musician and a writer by natural inclination, not a celebrity" and "found a deeper understanding of Bahá'u'lláh
's admonition to be independent of all save God." She resolves the conflict noting "Any musician who has heard a song come to life out of the weave of rhythm and melody, any writer who has ever created a set of characters, any painter who has laid brush to canvas, any sculptor who has ever been up to his elbows in clay or marble dust, any woman who has ever given birth to a child, any and all have experienced something central to understanding the love that motivated the First Creator." Bohnhoff writes using an Apple Inc. PowerBook
.
Bohnhoff is now a full time writer, working alone and in collaboration with Michael Reaves.
magazine, Interzone (magazine)
, Amazing Stories
, Realms of Fantasy
, Jim Baen's Universe
, and others. Many of them have a recognizable relationship to religions — several have a significant basis in relation to the Bahá'í Faith
and a few use Pagan (Spirit Gate), Catholic
(Infinite Space, Infinite God), and Moslem (The Sons of the Fathers) characters or situations. Two brief examples include "Home is Where..." in which a pair of time traveling historians from the future employ an unusual conflict resolution method when their homesick kids go on strike during a Cold War visit to a US Air Force Base, and "The White Dog" wherein a lady comes to terms with her shocking albino appearance through the allegorical totem used by `Abdu'l-Bahá
— a little white dog. The story "The White Dog" was a finalist for the 1999 BSFA award
. "Cruel and Unusual Punishment" was included in the E-book
anthology
Infinite Sky, Infinite God which won the 2007 EPPIE award. The story "O, Pioneer" was a finalist for the 2006 Sidewise Award for Alternate History
.
by Tom Evslin
.
, while a few are from the Bible
. The first and second book also carry an acknowledgement of Bahá'u'lláh
, a Local Spiritual Assembly and Bahá'í community. The plot involves a progression on the understanding of a people in relation to the role and position of women. Unknown to the people of the story, women have always been instrumental to their religion as agents of God
and a chosen few have always acted as the personification of the Spirit of God, or "Meri". The first book focuses on a young girl destined to take on that role. While similar to other stories of the triumph of women it has several unique qualities most particularly a central male character being her benefactor and teacher and not an obstacle she has to overcome. The second book focuses on the return of the prior "Meri" who takes it as her mission as the head of the renewed religion to promulgate the new paradigm of the role of women. The third book focuses on her transition to being a head of state but wrestling with several of the same issues from among as well as beyond her people. Another novel she has written called The Spirit Gate has many of the same features but is written in a different context — a fantasy work set in a historical time and place of roughly AD 1000 in the area today of Poland and Ukraine where two forms of Christianity
(Eastern Orthodox and Catholic) and Islam
met the pagan older religion. Bahá’í themes, especially in the respect granted other religions, are largely identified with the older religion. Several of these themes are also in Bohnhoff's shorter writings — "Infinite Sky, Infinite God" highlights a Catholic
future. Several short stories center on women — like "The Doctor's Wife" and "The White Dog" and both have reference to a religion.
Bohnhoff has also contributed to professional writing magazines and online presentations.
Much of the short fiction listed above is available for reading at the Book View Café.
and top 40 and got some airtime on KZAP
, a radio station in Sacramento, California
. The Bonhoffs later reformed as part the band "Syntax" through which they released a cassette tape "Silent Planet" in 1990 — "Syntax" using a substantial amount of MIDI based music. They were introduced to filk music in 1991 and predominantly use acoustic guitars in their live shows. In 1991 the Bohnhoffs had been invited to a science fiction convention for Maya's "Hand-me Down Town" publication in Analog magazine because Maya was up for the Nebula Award
. At a party for the event Jeff had the opportunity to a jam session
with founding filk musicians Dr. Jane Robinson, Cynthia McQuillin
and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
. After other conventions mostly for Maya's writing, Jeff and Maya were spontaneously invited to play music at the 1995 Baycon
by Kathy Mar
. It was after a long evening of music that they wrote "Knights in White Satin". Filk and parody have become their main musical presence, though now they perform through their own production company, MysticFig and as a duo predominantly.
Mrs. and Mr. Bohnhoff have given concerts at various science fiction conventions and conference for many years and have won awards doing so. They have attended conventions Norwescon
, Worldcon
, LepreCon
, Consonance
, OryCon
, the Ohio Valley Filk Fest
and others. They have produced a quartet of CDs through their own production company. They also play often at the local Bahá'í events and Centers. Maya also participated in a panel discussion "Intro to Filk - Who are those people sing weird songs?" at the 1997 OryCon
and "Steal That Tune - Filkers have borrowed tunes from folk sources, rock singers, Broadway shows, you name it. And not all of the results are parodies...." with her husband and others.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
works. Bohnhoff also writes magic realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
, nonfiction, and has written and performed music professionally or semi-professionally since 1979 — generally folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
or rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, and since the 1990s more specifically filk and parody music
Parody music
Parody music, or musical parody, involves changing or recycling existing musical ideas or lyrics — or copying the peculiar style of a composer or artist, or even a general style of music. Although the result is often funny, and this is the usual intent — the term "parody" in musical terms also...
styles — with her husband, Jeff Bohnhoff.
Personal life
Bohnhoff, mother of three, has been married since 1981 to Jeff Bohnhoff. The couple and their children are members of the Bahá'í Faith. She began her interest in science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
after watching The Day the Earth Stood Still as a child. Her mother was a singer and music was a predominant passion over writing, through her high school and college days.
Over a decade after her high school experience of being pressured to choose between practical subjects and the arts of music and writing, Bohnhoff wrote an autobiographical essay "But My Mother Was a Singer" in which she chronicles her struggle with the question and argues that though the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í Faith and education
The theme of education in the Bahá'í Faith is given emphasis. Its literature gives a principle of universal and compulsory education, which is identified as one of key principles alongside monotheism and the unity of humanity....
include an emphasis on the importance of the arts and earning a livelihood by one's calling, "… using our cultural criteria, the arts may seem to have little to do with survival. But they have a tremendous amount to do with 'carrying forward an ever advancing civilization." Eventually she held a day job as an Instructional Designer and Manager for Kelly Services
Kelly Services
Kelly Services, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Troy, Michigan, offering services that include temporary staffing services, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time placement.Kelly operates in 37 countries and territories...
for some years but bosses would either "urge me to give up music" or told her "You don't belong here" while co-workers would misunderstand the life of the artist — "'If you are any good, what are you doing working here?'" "Minor setbacks", Bohnhoff continues, "in my 'career' provided intensely embarrassing situations at work."
On the musical side the drive to do music "…took me through years of food stamps and rice cakes, the disappointment and frustration of losing band members and starting over…" as well as taking her through "… the inertia when playing 'wall paper' music …
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
one of purity of motive — "I, too, love applause, and to me the act of sharing music is more rewarding than writing it" and which genre of music was spiritual? She writes that at one point, eight months pregnant, she had an opportunity to work at Fantasy Studios
Fantasy Studios
Fantasy Studios is a recording studio in Berkeley, California at the Zaentz Media Center, known for its recording of award-winning albums such as Journey's Escape and Green Day's Dookie. Built as a private recording studio for artists on the Fantasy Records label in 1971, it was opened to the...
in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
for "fifteen hour days" but learned that "…I was a musician and a writer by natural inclination, not a celebrity" and "found a deeper understanding of Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
's admonition to be independent of all save God." She resolves the conflict noting "Any musician who has heard a song come to life out of the weave of rhythm and melody, any writer who has ever created a set of characters, any painter who has laid brush to canvas, any sculptor who has ever been up to his elbows in clay or marble dust, any woman who has ever given birth to a child, any and all have experienced something central to understanding the love that motivated the First Creator." Bohnhoff writes using an Apple Inc. PowerBook
PowerBook
The PowerBook was a line of Macintosh laptop computers that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1991 to 2006. During its lifetime, the PowerBook went through several major revisions and redesigns, often being the first to incorporate features that would later become...
.
Bohnhoff is now a full time writer, working alone and in collaboration with Michael Reaves.
Short writings
Bohnhoff has written several dozen short stories and novelettes in most of the well known publishing magazines: AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
magazine, Interzone (magazine)
Interzone (magazine)
Interzone is an award-winning British fantasy and science fiction magazine. Published since 1982, Interzone is the eighth longest-running science fiction magazine in history and the longest-running British SF magazine...
, Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, Realms of Fantasy
Realms of Fantasy
Realms of Fantasy is a professional bimonthly fantasy speculative fiction magazine published by Damnation Books, which specializes in fantasy, nonfiction, and art. The magazine publishes short stories by some of the genre's most popular and most prominent authors...
, Jim Baen's Universe
Jim Baen's Universe
Jim Baen's Universe was a bimonthly online fantasy and science fiction magazine created by Jim Baen . It is recognized by the SFWA as a Qualifying Short Fiction Venue. JBU began soliciting materials in January 2006 and launched in June 2006...
, and others. Many of them have a recognizable relationship to religions — several have a significant basis in relation to the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
and a few use Pagan (Spirit Gate), Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
(Infinite Space, Infinite God), and Moslem (The Sons of the Fathers) characters or situations. Two brief examples include "Home is Where..." in which a pair of time traveling historians from the future employ an unusual conflict resolution method when their homesick kids go on strike during a Cold War visit to a US Air Force Base, and "The White Dog" wherein a lady comes to terms with her shocking albino appearance through the allegorical totem used by `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
— a little white dog. The story "The White Dog" was a finalist for the 1999 BSFA award
BSFA award
The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association to honor works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members...
. "Cruel and Unusual Punishment" was included in the E-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Infinite Sky, Infinite God which won the 2007 EPPIE award. The story "O, Pioneer" was a finalist for the 2006 Sidewise Award for Alternate History
Sidewise Award for Alternate History
The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year.The awards take their name from the 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in which a strange storm causes portions of Earth to swap places with...
.
Long writings
In addition to her shorter works Bohnhoff has written several full length novels which elaborate on her interests in examining/promoting feminist and religious concepts in science fiction, fantasy and related genres. Her most well known novel may be The Meri which became a trilogy and has been published twice (1992 and 2005) and was a finalist for Locus magazine's 1993 award for Best First Novel Bohnhoff has worked with internet development of online content with her editorship of Hackoff.com — a blookBlook
A blook is printed book that contains or is based on content from a blog.The first printed blook was User Interface Design for Programmers, by Joel Spolsky, published by Apress on June 26, 2001, based on his blog Joel on Software...
by Tom Evslin
Tom Evslin
Tom Evslin formerly served as Chief Technology Officer for the State of Vermont. Formerly he was Chief Recovery Officer responsible for coordinating the State's use of federal stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...
.
Feminist and religious themes
The Meri series revolves around the period of transition among the people who live on a peninsula. The chapters are headed with quotes from scripture presented as those of the religion of the people but many are in fact quotes from Bahá'í scriptureBahá'í literature
Bahá'í literature, like much religious text, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia...
, while a few are from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. The first and second book also carry an acknowledgement of Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
, a Local Spiritual Assembly and Bahá'í community. The plot involves a progression on the understanding of a people in relation to the role and position of women. Unknown to the people of the story, women have always been instrumental to their religion as agents of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and a chosen few have always acted as the personification of the Spirit of God, or "Meri". The first book focuses on a young girl destined to take on that role. While similar to other stories of the triumph of women it has several unique qualities most particularly a central male character being her benefactor and teacher and not an obstacle she has to overcome. The second book focuses on the return of the prior "Meri" who takes it as her mission as the head of the renewed religion to promulgate the new paradigm of the role of women. The third book focuses on her transition to being a head of state but wrestling with several of the same issues from among as well as beyond her people. Another novel she has written called The Spirit Gate has many of the same features but is written in a different context — a fantasy work set in a historical time and place of roughly AD 1000 in the area today of Poland and Ukraine where two forms of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
(Eastern Orthodox and Catholic) and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
met the pagan older religion. Bahá’í themes, especially in the respect granted other religions, are largely identified with the older religion. Several of these themes are also in Bohnhoff's shorter writings — "Infinite Sky, Infinite God" highlights a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
future. Several short stories center on women — like "The Doctor's Wife" and "The White Dog" and both have reference to a religion.
Professional advancement
Bohnhoff has worked in a number of venues to contribute to the field of authorship and relevance of Science Fiction and Fantasy at SciFi/Fa Conventions. She has participated in and moderated panel discussions for over a decade. She participates in the Museitup online writers conference and the Catholic Writers' Conference, and is a founding member and regular blogger at the Book View Café, a fiction website created by a cooperative of over 20 professional genre writers as an alternative publishing venture.- "Different Types of Writing"
- "Turning Mental Blocks into Building Blocks",
- "Is SF Relevant Any More? Was It Ever?",
- "Mythic roots of fantasy"
- "Coping with and/or embracing change"
- "The Rise and Fall of Civilization"
- "Historical Fiction: Call it fantasy, and they'll buy it. Will readers--and thus editors--only buy historical fiction when you add magic and fairies?"
- "Science and Religion: Harmony or Discord"
- "Cardinal Richelieu revisited - the good and evil priest in literature"
- "Research for alternate history. Sources to use so good history can make good fiction"
- "Is it now chic to be geek - Is this the age of the geek?"
- "Asian-themed fantasy, urban fantasy, maybe even Roman fantasy?"
- "Disenchantment - Fantasy novelists portrayals of Christian and Christian-like faiths..."
- "Evolution - Science vs. Religion why do they disagree? And if people can re-engineer themselves where does that leave God?"
- "The Art & Craft of Writing"
- "Plot, Settings, and Characters"
- "Tolkien vs Jackson"
- "Show me - Don't tell me"
- "How to Write the BEST First Line"
- "The Wiccan Culture: An Introduction"
- "The Short Story as an Art Form"
- "Getting Your Writing to Grow Up"
Bohnhoff has also contributed to professional writing magazines and online presentations.
Publications
- "But My Mother Was a Singer" (The Creative Circle - Art, Literature and Music in Bahá'í Perspective, anthology, Kalimat Press, 1989) ISBN 0-933770-68-5
- "Hand-Me-Down Town" (Analog, 1989)
- "A Little Bit of an Eclipse" (Analog, 1990)
- "Blythe Magic" (Analog, 1990)
- "Heroes" (Analog, 1990)
- "Shaman" (Analog, 1990)
- "Hobbits" (Analog, 1991 / Hobbits, Halflings, Warrows & Wee Folkd, Questar 1993)
- "Home Is Where..." (Analog, 1991)
- "If It Ain't Broke..." (Analog, 1991)
- "The Devil His Due" (Amazing Stories, 1991)
- "The Doctor's Wife" (Analog, 1992)
- THE MERI (Baen, 1992, Sense of Wonder Press, James A. Rock & Co., Pub. 2005) (first of The Meri trilogy) ISBN 0-671-72115-1
- "An End to Writer's Block" (Writer's Digest, 1992)
- "A Tear in the Mind's Eye" (Analog, 1993)
- "Squatter's Rights" (Analog, 1993)
- "Taco Del and the Fabled Tree of Destiny" (Amazing Stories, 1993)
- TAMINY (Baen, 1993) (second of The Meri trilogy) ISBN 0-671-72174-7
- "The Boy Who Loved Clouds" (Amazing Stories, 1993)
- "As the Angels in Heaven" (Analog, 1995)
- THE CRYSTAL ROSE (Baen, 1995) (third of The Meri trilogy) ISBN 0-671-87648-1
- "The Secret Life of Gods" (Analog, 1995)
- "The Sons of the Fathers" (Century, 1995)
- "Marsh Mallow" (Analog, 1996)
- THE SPIRIT GATE (Baen, 1996)
- "Ask Arlen" (Analog, 1997)
- "Content with the Mysterious" (Analog, 1997)
- "Doctor Dodge" (Interzone, 1997)
- "Pipe Dreams" (Analog, 1997)
- "Dialogue and Characterization" (The Writer, 1997, The Writer's Handbook, 1998)
- "Beggars Might Ride" (Interzone, 1998)
- "Silver Lining" (Interzone, 1998)
- "Who Have No Eyes" (Interzone, 1998)
- "White Dog" (Interzone, 1999)
- "Taming the Fictional Wilds" (Fiction Writer Magazine, 1999)
- "Any Mother's Son" (Analog, 2000)
- "A Hole in Her Head" (Realms of Fantasy, 2001)
- "Cruel and Unusual Punishment" (Interzone, 2002, and Infinite Sky, Infinite God. anthology, 2006) (2007 winner of the EPPIE award)
- MAGIC TIME: ANGELFIRE (with Marc Zicree) ( Eos, 2002) ISBN 9780061050695
- "Distance" (Analog, 2003)
- "O, Pioneer" (ParadoxParadox (magazine)Paradox: The Magazine of Historical and Speculative Fiction was an award-winning literary magazine featuring original short historical fiction in all of its forms up to novella length. This includes mainstream historical fiction as well as other genre fiction with historical themes...
, 2005) - "Dabbling in Magic" (Speculations, 2005)
- Hackoff.com a blookBlookA blook is printed book that contains or is based on content from a blog.The first printed blook was User Interface Design for Programmers, by Joel Spolsky, published by Apress on June 26, 2001, based on his blog Joel on Software...
(Bohnhoff was the editor) by Tom EvslinTom EvslinTom Evslin formerly served as Chief Technology Officer for the State of Vermont. Formerly he was Chief Recovery Officer responsible for coordinating the State's use of federal stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...
. - "Willies" (Analog, 2006)
- "The Nature of Things" (Jim Baen's Universe, 2006)
- MR. TWILIGHT - (with Michael ReavesMichael ReavesJames Michael Reaves is an American writer, known for his contributions as producer and story editor to a number of 1990s animated television series, including Disney's Gargoyles and Batman: The Animated Series. He has also written media tie-in novels, children's books, and original fiction...
) (Del Rey, 2006) - BATMAN: FEAR ITSELF" (Batman NovelAmerican comic bookAn American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
with Michael ReavesMichael ReavesJames Michael Reaves is an American writer, known for his contributions as producer and story editor to a number of 1990s animated television series, including Disney's Gargoyles and Batman: The Animated Series. He has also written media tie-in novels, children's books, and original fiction...
) (Del Rey and DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, 2007) - "Junkie" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
128/7&8 (Jul/Aug 2008) : 134–143 - "The Resident" (Jim Baen's Universe, Summer 2009)
- STAR WARS: CORUSCANT NIGHTS III—PATTERNS OF FORCE — (with Michael ReavesMichael ReavesJames Michael Reaves is an American writer, known for his contributions as producer and story editor to a number of 1990s animated television series, including Disney's Gargoyles and Batman: The Animated Series. He has also written media tie-in novels, children's books, and original fiction...
) (Del Rey/Lucasfilm, Ltd., 2009) - "Simple Gifts" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
(Jan/Feb 2010)
Much of the short fiction listed above is available for reading at the Book View Café.
Music
Though Bohnhoff's interest in music as a career stretches back to her high school years and her mother, her avocation as a musician was started by 1980 when she was a member of a band called "Talisman" playing a mix of original progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and top 40 and got some airtime on KZAP
KZAP (defunct)
KZAP was an album rock formatted radio station based in Sacramento, California, that broadcast between 1968 and 1992 at 98.5 on the FM dial.-The beginning:...
, a radio station in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. The Bonhoffs later reformed as part the band "Syntax" through which they released a cassette tape "Silent Planet" in 1990 — "Syntax" using a substantial amount of MIDI based music. They were introduced to filk music in 1991 and predominantly use acoustic guitars in their live shows. In 1991 the Bohnhoffs had been invited to a science fiction convention for Maya's "Hand-me Down Town" publication in Analog magazine because Maya was up for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
. At a party for the event Jeff had the opportunity to a jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
with founding filk musicians Dr. Jane Robinson, Cynthia McQuillin
Cynthia McQuillin
Cynthia McQuillin was a filk singer and writer as well as an author and artist. She lived in the San Francisco Bay area...
and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough was born March 23, 1947 and lives in Port Townsend, Washington. Scarborough won a Nebula Award in 1989 for her novel The Healer's War, and has written more than a dozen other novels...
. After other conventions mostly for Maya's writing, Jeff and Maya were spontaneously invited to play music at the 1995 Baycon
BayCon
BayCon is the San Francisco Bay Area's main science fiction and fantasy convention. It is held over Memorial Day weekend in Santa Clara, California. BayCon is a large convention topping two thousand attendees over the last several years. The convention draws many attendees from throughout...
by Kathy Mar
Kathy Mar
Kathy Mar |]] by analogy with non-rhotic accents) worked as a professional folksinger and street performer in Denver, Colorado for many years before she discovered filk...
. It was after a long evening of music that they wrote "Knights in White Satin". Filk and parody have become their main musical presence, though now they perform through their own production company, MysticFig and as a duo predominantly.
Mrs. and Mr. Bohnhoff have given concerts at various science fiction conventions and conference for many years and have won awards doing so. They have attended conventions Norwescon
Norwescon
Norwescon is one of the largest regional science fiction and fantasy conventions in the United States. Located in the Seattle area of Washington state, Norwescon has been running continuously since 1978...
, Worldcon
Worldcon
Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...
, LepreCon
Leprecon
LepreCon is an annual science fiction convention with an emphasis on art held in and around Phoenix, Arizona usually in May around Mother's Day weekend. It is the second oldest science fiction convention in Arizona. It is sponsored by Leprecon, Inc., an Arizona non-profit corporation...
, Consonance
Consonance
Consonance is a stylistic device, most commonly used in poetry and songs, characterized by the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession, as in "pitter patter" or in "all mammals named Sam are clammy".Consonance should not be confused with assonance, which is the...
, OryCon
OryCon
Orycon is Portland, Oregon's annual science fiction/fantasy convention, held in November since 1979.-History:*The Symposium Nov 11, 1978 ~125*OryCon Nov 9-11, 1979 John Varley , Steve Perry & Richard Geis 525...
, the Ohio Valley Filk Fest
Ohio Valley Filk Fest
The Ohio Valley Filk Fest, or O.V.F.F. is one of the largest filk music conventions . It is held annually in October in the Columbus, Ohio area...
and others. They have produced a quartet of CDs through their own production company. They also play often at the local Bahá'í events and Centers. Maya also participated in a panel discussion "Intro to Filk - Who are those people sing weird songs?" at the 1997 OryCon
OryCon
Orycon is Portland, Oregon's annual science fiction/fantasy convention, held in November since 1979.-History:*The Symposium Nov 11, 1978 ~125*OryCon Nov 9-11, 1979 John Varley , Steve Perry & Richard Geis 525...
and "Steal That Tune - Filkers have borrowed tunes from folk sources, rock singers, Broadway shows, you name it. And not all of the results are parodies...." with her husband and others.
Releases
- Silent Planet (1990) (cassette) (as part of the band "Syntax")
- Retro Rocket Science (2001)
- Manhattan Sleeps (2002)
- Aliens Ate My Homework (2003) (Bohnhoffs' song Knights in White Satin won the 2003 Pegasus Awards for Best Writer/Composer, the Cat Faber Best Parody, by the Ohio Valley Filk FestOhio Valley Filk FestThe Ohio Valley Filk Fest, or O.V.F.F. is one of the largest filk music conventions . It is held annually in October in the Columbus, Ohio area...
concom. - Harmony Heifers (2005) (and won the 2005 Pegasus Award for Best Performers)
- Möbius Street (2009) (with guest musicians including bassists Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel) and Victor Gonzalez (Santana), vocalist Michelle (Vixy) Dockrey, saxophonist Chris French, and keyboardist Mich Sampson (Playing Rapunzel).
External links
- Official Personal Webpage: Mystic Fig
- Official Music Webpage for Jeff and Maya
- Official Writing Webpage: Book View Café
- Biographical Interview of Maya A Baha'i Perspective online radio program, WXOJ-LP Northampton MA, 103.3 FM.
- Biographical Interview of Jeff A Baha'i Perspective online radio program, WXOJ-LP Northampton MA, 103.3 FM.
- Author page at Baens-Universe Publishers
- Author page at Authorsden
- Scifi Horizons Interviews- Author Maya Bohnhoff at the WFC in early November 2005. Bohnhoff discusses Mr. Twilight (referred to by its working title, Brimstone Blues.) Copyright © 2007 Scifihorizons, MOTI Group.
- SF Review of Magic Time by Ernest Lilley.
- http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/canadian_sf/pages/Julie/pogepguide.htm&date=2009-10-25+16:51:00TV series Prisoners of GravityPrisoners of GravityPrisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues...
- Original Episode Guide] In episode 471005, aka Madness, airdate: October 29, 1992, Bohnhoff was interviewed. - Feministsf Wiki Entry
- Seanan McGuire's Stars Fall Home - Featured Guest Artists
- _The Meri_ and _Taminy_ by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff a book review by Mary K. Kuhner (one of the very very few substantial reviews of the books.)
- a google of reviews where Maya "Kaathryn" (her least misspelled and unique name) Bohnhoff is mentioned.