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Tarma and Kethry

An Introduction

Tarma and Kethry were created because heroic fantasy was finally "coming of
age," not the least because of people like Marion Zimmer Bradley and her Sword
and Sorceress anthologies, but I saw two problems.

The first-most of the stories were about brawny C*n*n types, strong like bull,
dumb like ox, iron-thewed and not something you'd invite to a nice restaurant.
The remainder were equally divided between the incredibly depressing eternally
doomed hero type, and the female counterpart to the C*n*n type. Trouble was,
the latter seemed to share her male counterpart's taste in women.

Mind you, I have no personal objection to this, but I thought it would be nice
to have at least one token heterosexual female hero. And hey, not every
fantasy hero or heroine has to be as highly sexed as most of the then-current
crop seemed to be!

So I invented Tarma and Kethry. Tarma is celibate, chaste, and altogether
asexual; Kethry isn't, and though she doesn't think with her hormones, she
definitely is fond of men.

Two books (three if you count the beginning of By the Sword) and many short
stories later, things have changed for the better, insofar as there is now a
vast cornucopia of books and stories in heroic fantasy, which incorporate a
vast spectrum of heroes and heroines, but I'm still glad I invented Tanna and
Kethry. Figuring out ways to get them in trouble and getting them out again
has been highly entertaining for all concerned.

This is the very first appearance of Tarma and Kethry, and how they met. I
distinctly remember presenting this and a second Tarma and Kethry story to
Marion in person. The occasion was just before one of her Fantasy Worlds
Festival conventions, and I had volunteered to be "go-fer mom"-I was going to
see to it that all her eager young volunteers ate and slept regularly. Which I
did, with a hammer, when necessary. But beforehand, Marion had invited me to
come to her home, I had already sold her my first professional sale (a
Darkover story), and I wanted very much to be accepted into the Sword and
Sorceress anthologies. I brought both manuscripts with me-after first asking
permission!-and presented them to her with much trepidation.

"I don't know about the first one," I said hesitantly. "It's kind of 'rape and
revenge,' and I know you're tired of that." She just waved me off and took
possession of the manuscripts.

Lisa Waters (her secretary and protegee) and I were making tea in the kitchen
when "Damn you, Misty!" rang out from the living room. Certain that I had
somehow offended her, I ran to find out what it was I had done wrong so I
could try to make amends.