Katherine Kurtz (born 18 October 1944) is the author of numerous 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...

 novels, most notably the Deryni novels

Deryni novels

The Deryni novels are a series of historical fantasy books written by American-born author Katherine Kurtz. The first novel in the series to be published was Deryni Rising in 1970, and the most recent novel in the series, Childe Morgan, was published on December 5, 2006...

. Although born in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, for the past several years, up until just recently, she has lived in a castle in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. She now lives in Virginia.

She is known to be friends with Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey

Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...

 and frequently converses with her fans online.

She was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)

Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)

The Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America is the name of a literary group of American fantasy authors active from the 1960s through the 1980s, noted for their contributions to the fantasy subgenre of heroic fantasy or "Sword and Sorcery."...

, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy

Heroic fantasy

Heroic fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy which chronicles the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Unlike stories of sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy narratives tend to be intricate in plot, often involving many peoples, nations and lands. Grand battles and the fate of the world are common themes,...

 authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's

Lin Carter

Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...

 Flashing Swords!

Flashing Swords!

Flashing Swords! was a series of fantasy anthologies published by Dell Books from 1973 to 1981 under the editorship of Lin Carter. It showcased the heroic fantasy work of the members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America , a somewhat informal literary group active from the 1960s to the...

anthologies.