Jacqueline Lichtenberg (born March 25, 1942,^[1]Flushing, Queens,New York) is an Americanscience fiction author.^[2]

In an interview^[3] that aired on November 5, 2021, Lichtenberg shared that in sixth-grade she could barely read, so when she contracted the measles her mom introduced her to the teenage science-fiction novelBattle on Mercury by Lester del Rey. At first Lichtenberg had to use the dictionary to readBattle on Mercury, but quickly became an avid science fiction reader. In the 1950s the latest stories were published in science fiction magazines Lichtenberg checked out at the local library, but she was incensed by the poor illustrations that did not match the text in the stories. Lichtenberg inadvertently ended up publishing her first science fiction critique as a letter to the editor of the magazine stating they needed to improve the illustrations, thus setting the stage for her future career as a writer of this genre.

Lichtenberg has a chemistry degree from theUniversity of California, Berkeley.

Many of her early novels are set in theSime~Gen Universe, which she first described in a short story in 1969.^[4] Writing the series satisfied her preference for "'Intimacy'—the kind of relationship between the character and other characters, between the character and the universe, or between the character and him/herself, that brings trust into life" over "Action," a genre she "seriously dislike[s]."^[5] Her other writings have dealt withfantasy andoccult subjects, including articles onBuffy the Vampire Slayer. She has written a monthly review column on science fiction, under the title "Science Fiction", forThe Monthly Aspectarian. Under the pen name 'Daniel R. Kerns', she has published two novels,Hero andBorder Dispute.

Many of her works have been written in collaboration withJean Lorrah, with whom Lichtenberg has a business partnership. AStar Trek fan, she has been actively involved in the Trekkie fan movement. In particular, she wrote the firstKraith Star Trekfan fiction. She is one of theFriends ofDarkover and her early writing was mentored byMarion Zimmer Bradley.

Lichtenberg's Sime~Gen series involves a distant future where human beings have evolved into two races, with a predator-prey relationship.New York Times critic Gerald Jonas described Sime~Gen collection as combining "qualities of both porn and the soaps ... because they deal obsessively with the physical union between the two races". The physical union between Sime and Gen, which is not actually sexual, provides the Sime with a life-giving substance known asselyn, produced only within a Gen's body.^[6]

The Sime~Gen series began with Lichtenberg'sOperation High Time, a short story published in 1969. It followed with her first novel in 1974,House of Zeor. As Lichtenberg continued work on the Sime~Gen series in the 1970s, science fiction writers Marion Zimmer Bradley andHal Clement provided encouragement and mentoring, teaching her more of the "craft and trade of writing". She also became involved with writing partner Jean Lorrah, who co-authoredFirst Channel (1980) with Lichtenberg.^[7]

In the 1970s, dedicated fans of this series created thefanzineA Companion in Zeor, first published in June 1978 by Karen MacLeod.^[8]

• House of Zeor (1974)
• Unto Zeor Forever (1978)
• First Channel (1980) – withJean Lorrah
• Mahogany Trinrose (1981)
• Channel's Destiny (1982) – with Jean Lorrah
• Rensime (1984)
• Ambrov Keon (1986) – written by Jean Lorrah
• Zelerod's Doom (1986) – with Jean Lorrah
• The Unity Trilogy (2003) – compendium ofHouse of Zeor,Ambrov Keon (written by Jean Lorrah), andZelerod's Doom.
• To Kiss or To Kill (unpublished) – compendium ofTo Kiss or To Kill (novel written by Jean Lorrah),Best of Fools (novelette written by Jean Lorrah), andPersonal Recognizance (novella written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg) - this anthology was scheduled to be published in 2005 by Meisha Merlin, but the publisher folded before publication^[9]
• Personal Recognizance/The Story Untold and Other Sime~Gem Stories (2011) an omnibus containingPersonal Recognizance (novel written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg),Best of Fools (novelette by Jean Lorrah), "The Story Untold" (short story by Jean Lorrah), and "Reflection of a Dream" (short story by Jean Lorrah)^[10]
• The Farris Channel (2011)
• Fear and Courage (2015) (anthology, with others)^[11]
• A Change of Tactics (2017) (with Jean Lorrah and Mary Lou Mendum)
• A Shift of Means (2019) (with Jean Lorrah and Mary Lou Mendum)
• A Test of Courage (2023) (with Mary Lou Mendum)^[12]

• Molt Brother (1982)
• City of a Million Legends (1985)

• Dushau (1985)
• Farfetch (1985)
• Outreach (1986)

• Those of My Blood (1988)
• Dreamspy (1989)

• Hero (1993)
• Border Dispute (1994)

• "Operation High Time" (1969)
• "Recompense" (1976) – Galileo, #2, December
• "The Channel's Exemption" (1977) – Galileo, #4, July
• "The Vanillamint Tapestry" (1978) – In Laurance, Alice, ed.Cassandra Rising. An anthology of original science fiction stories by women. Doubleday. (ISBN 0-385-12857-6)
• "The Answer" (1980) – with Jean Lorrah, In Bradley, Marion Zimmer, ed., The Keeper's Price, and Other Stories.
• "Science is Magic Spelled Backwards" (1982) – collected inHecate's Cauldron, DAWISBN 978-0-87997-705-4
• "Event At Holiday Rock" (1982) – collected inSpeculations, Houghton MifflinISBN 978-0-395-32065-5
• "Through the Moon Gate" (1988) – Tales of the Witchworld, No. 2
• "False Prophecy" (1989) – Tarot Tales,ISBN 978-0-7126-2471-8
• "Aventura" (1989) – Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, No. 6; andThe Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine (1994)ISBN 978-0-446-60140-5
• "A Mother's Curse" (1992) – Midnight Zoo, 1992 ed.
• "Vampire's Fast" (1994) – serialized inGalaxy Science Fiction
• "True Death" (1995) – sequel to "Vampire's Fast," inGalaxy Science Fiction
• "Vampire's Friend" (2002) – sequel to "True Death"; collected inHeaven and Hell: An Anthology of Whimsical Stories, Speculation PressISBN 978-0-9671979-8-2
• "True Hospitality" (2006) – collected inThrough the Moon Gate and Other Tales of Vampirism (2011)ISBN 978-1-4344-1233-1
• "Best of Fools" – with by Jean Lorrah
• "Ruella and the Stone" (2006)

• Star Trek Lives! (1975) – with Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston
• The Biblical Tarot: Never Cross A Palm With Silver (1997)
• The Not So Minor Arcana, Books 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Compiled Into One Volume (2015)^[13]

• Jacqueline Lichtenberg onBlogspot
• Jacqueline Lichtenberg at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• Sime~Gen

• 1942 births
• 20th-century American novelists
• 20th-century American women novelists
• 21st-century American novelists
• 21st-century American women novelists
• Fan fiction writers
• Living people
• Novelists from New York (state)
• People from Flushing, Queens
• Pseudonymous women writers
• University of California, Berkeley alumni
• American women science fiction and fantasy writers
• 20th-century pseudonymous writers
• 21st-century pseudonymous writers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2021