Seanchai <75754.3567@compuserve.com> asks:
> Can (will) you tell us about Fiona Avery's connection to B5 and
> Crusade?

"Can (will) you tell us about Fiona Avery's connection to B5 and
Crusade? I just picked up the first PsiCorp novel and she was in the
dedication. Got me to wondering..."

We brought Fiona aboard during the last part of S5 as a
reference editor to keep the continuity straight, and for Crusade
(about which more in a bit). There was a growing problem keeping the
licensees and licensed material accurate; stuff slipped through the RPG
books and elsewhere (this was before she got here). She was brought on
to stop the problem, and to annoy the licensees in the sense that it's
often easier not to get things right, and she has to stay on top of
them and make them crazy in order to ensure that the accuracy the fans
(and I) expect is maintained.

She was also brought on with an eye toward Crusade because she
has a degree in Archaeology and Crusade's an archaeological SF series.
Along the way, she began writing spec scripts for Crusade which ended
up being good enough to buy, and we bought 4 of which 2 were produced,
Well and Patterns. The last one she did, Value Judgments, was probably
the best of the bunch; it's a Bester script that Walter considered one
of his best roles, and would tie in directly with the Psi Corps books.

jms