Moon was born Susan Elizabeth Norris and grew up inMcAllen, Texas. She started writing when she was a child and first tried a book, which was about her dog, at age six. She was inspired to write creatively, and says that she began writing science fiction in her teens, considering it a sideline.[2]
She earned aBachelor's degree in History fromRice University inHouston, Texas in 1968 and later earned a second B.A. in Biology. In 1968, she joined theUnited States Marine Corps as a computer specialist, attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant while on active duty.[3] She married Richard Sloan Moon in 1969 and they have a son, Michael, born in 1983.[2]
Moon began writing professionally in her mid-thirties and had a newspaper column in a county weekly newspaper. In 1986, she published her firstscience fiction in the monthly magazineAnalog and the anthology seriesSword and Sorceress.[4] Her stories appeared regularly inAnalog the next few years. Her first novelThe Sheepfarmer's Daughter (1988)[4] won theCompton Crook Award and inaugurated thePaksenarrion series.[3]
Most of her work hasmilitary science fiction themes, although biology, politics, and personal relationships also feature strongly.The Serrano Legacy is aspace opera. Her Nebula-winning novelThe Speed of Dark (2003) is a near-future story told from the viewpoint of anautistic data analyst, inspired by her own autistic son Michael.[5]
Elizabeth Moon has many interests besides writing. She has a musical background, having played theaccordion during her university days[6] and sung inchoirs.[2][6] She is an accomplished fencer, and captain of theSFWA Musketeers, a group of publishedspeculative fiction authors who also fence.[7]
Moon is also an experiencedparamedic and has served in various capacities in local government.
2007:Robert A. Heinlein Award for "outstanding published works in hard science fiction or technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space"[9][10]
ThePlanet Pirates trilogy is based on two books by Anne McCaffrey,Dinosaur Planet andDinosaur Planet Survivors (1978 and 1984, jointly reissued asThe Ireta Adventure in 1985 andThe Mystery of Ireta in 2004), which also form the core ofThe Death of Sleep.ISFDB catalogs all five novels as the Ireta series.[11]
Phases (ISBN978-0-671-87855-9, December 1997)—Eight stories fromLunar Activity, and others previously uncollected.
Both include "Those Who Walk in Darkness"—a Paksenarrion short story
Moon Flights (hardcoverISBN1-59780-109-7, paperbackISBN978-1-59780-110-2, August 2008)—Fifteen stories, including an original "Vatta's War" story, with an introduction by Anne McCaffrey
The limited edition hardcover (ISBN978-1-59780-108-9, September 2007) contains an additional rare bonus story entitled "Fencing In".
Deeds of Honor: Paksenarrion World Chronicles (ISBN9781625671141, June 2015)—Eight stories set in the world of Paksenarrion.
