From Program Book, Darkover Grand Council XIII, November 1990:
Lisa A. Barnett and Melissa Scott are truly science fiction's Renaissance women -- in more ways than one.
Of course, they are the authors of THE ARMOR OF LIGHT, an historical fantasy set in Elizabethan England. Praised as both fantasy and as historical novel, THE ARMOR OF LIGHT is an adventure story, a tale of magic, and a tapestry rich with details. Virtually everybody was was anybody appears in the book, from Queen Elizabeth to Shakespeare to Mephistopheles. The people and events are meticulously researched, the sights and sounds of the era lovingly portrayed, the dialogue exquisite.
How did a book get to be so perfect? Ah, that's the second reason I call Lisa and Melissa Renaissance women. There's simply nothing that they don't do. History is Melissa's forté . . . indeed, as you read this she's turned in her dissertation, and we're confident that she'll soon be Doctor Scott. She's also a well-respected sf writer: author of seven solo novels and winner of the 1986 Campbell Award for Best New Writer. In addition, Melissa is a professional costumer at a large theatrical costumer shop.
Lisa, too, is no stranger to the stage. She's had extensive theatrical experience (much as it pains me to admit it, she's a far better actor than I am). She's also drama editor for Heinemann Books (now you know where that ear for dialogue comes from). A native of Boston, Lisa is often found on the road attending theater conferences up and down the East Coast.
Lisa and Melissa live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, surrounded by books, fabric, stuffed animals, and some rather odd cats. Except for the beer and pizza, they could easily be mistaken for the Bloomsbury Group. Theya re no strangers to fandom or to Darkover cons, having attended conventions for years (I would not dare to reveal the exact number: both of them hit harder than I do, too).
If you have a chance to chat with these ladies and buy them a drink (gin-and-tonic or coffee for Melissa; scotch or Earl Grey for Lisa), you'll find them friendly, witty, supremely intelligent, and always immensely proper and correct.
-Don Sakers (1990)
copyright © 1990, Don Sakers. All rights reserved.