Interviews/Chats with Piers TheOneRing.net Chat Transcript (June 4th, 2000) Sci-Fi World Interview (May 2000) Crescent Blues Author Interview Chat Transcript from Talk City (Aug. 12th, 1999)

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Piers Anthony was born in August, 1934, in England. His poor mother gave him all the names she could think of: Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob. The child lived in Spain for a year and moved to America at age six. He was naturalized American in 1958 while serving in the U.S. Army. It took him three years and five schools to graduate from first grade, because he couldn't learn to read. It was thus fated that he become a proofreader, an English teacher, or a writer. He tried them all, along with a dozen other employments - and liked only the least successful one. So he lopped off half his name, sent his wife out to earn their living, and concentrated on writing. That was the key to success; publishers would print material by an author whose name was short enough.

His first story was submitted to a magazine in 1954, but he did not make his first novel sale until 1962 and had his first novel, Chthon , published in 1967. In 1985 his 50th book was published. His first fantasy in The Magic of Xanth Trilogy, A Spell for Chameleon , won the August Derleth Fantasy Award as the best novel in 1977. His novel Ogre, Ogre may have been the first original fantasy paperback ever to make the New York Times bestseller list.

He was married in 1956, right after graduating from college, to Carol Ann Marble. Their daughter Penny was born eleven years later, and their final daughter Cheryl in 1970. He is now living in Florida with his wife and daughters. His house is hidden deep in the forest, almost impossible to find, and he now has a computer in the horse pasture. Piers is currently writing three or four novels and answering twelve hundred letters a year.