Jacqueline at fan gathering, Darkover 1987
Sime~Gen has many long term and faithful fans who have contributed to the Sime~Gen Universe since it's beginning.
The first Novel, House of Zeor, was released in 1974 and since then the fans began to contact the author, Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Jacqueline was involved in Star Trek fandom and some of her fellow fans were the first to get a glimpse of the fascinating world of Sime~Gen.
From there the fandom grew as new books were written and released and Jacqueline attended sci-fi conventions. The other influential factor was the way Jacqueline involved the fans in her Universe. In 1982, Jacqueline began a series of newsletters keeping fans up to date with what was happening in her world, both Sime~Gen and other writing activities she was involved in. This newsletter was called Vantage Point News and ran until 1994. A sample issue can be found at http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/sghistory/vpn.html
Costume Competition, Darkover convention, 1990 "Channel and Companion"
During this time Jean Lorrah joined Jacqueline as an author in the Sime~Gen Universe. Other fans have written articles, recipes, created artwork, cartoons, novel length stories and humorous pieces for the three fanzines that expanded on Vantage Point News.
The fanzines are: "Ambrov Zeor," (AZ) where many stories can be found.
"A Companion in Zeor" (CZ) is still functioning at http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/rimonslibrary/cz/
Zeor Forum; Transfer for Ancients" (also known as ZF and/or FORUM) was a zine for fans of Jacqueline Lichtenberg's Sime~Gen(tm) universe back in the early 1980's
"Householding Chanel Enquirer" (HCI) was a fanzine based out of a Householding group called Chanel, which contained many stories and letters, questions and other fan activities.
More about the fanzines can be found in Sime~Gen Fanzines.
Fan gathering at Worldcon, 2002. Jean and Jacqueline on extreme left.
During a long period of time where the published books, eight in number at that time, were out of print the fanzines kept fans engaged and allowed them to share their own stories within the Sime~Gen Universe. As the Internet grew fans began to find each other and the domain of Simegen.com, www.simegen.com that the authors developed. Each year, on New Years Day, the authors and fans get together on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and chat and catch up in real time. Logs to some of those chat sessions can be found here: http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/chats/
In 2011 one fan created a facebook page where the authors and fans could chat and share news and organize meeting up at cons and other events. The membership at this time is still growing. In 2012 four new and never before published books were released and the older books, all eight of them, have been re-released by Borgo press. Along with the fans of old, we hope new fans will join us and missing fans will find us.
Party announcement flyer -- Worldcon, 2002
Some activity can be found at http://simegen.com/sgfandom/ Additonal fan links of possible interest include: Costume competition at Darkover Grand Council Convention #13 in 1990 --- http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/rimonslibrary/cz/cz15/sgpic.html
Other Darkover "Faith Day" Gatherings -- http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/sghistory/fd.htm --- 1987
1988 --- http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/sghistory/fd88.html
1998 --- http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/sghistory/fd98.html
From the Fans:
How I got Into Sime~Gen. By William Long
Jenn Vesperman, Karen MacLeod, William Long, 1998
I got into Sime~Gen fandom about the mid 1980s, The books had and have things that I like, such as good interaction between characters, and good plots that make you think. Each time I read and re-read one of the books there is something new I missed the last time I opened the book.
What Sime~Gen Means to Me. By Zoe Farris
I read the first published Sime~Gen book in 1974, a few months after its release. The bookstore owner knew my love of vampire and alien stories and ordered a copy into Australia just with me in mind. I took one look at the cover. A young woman on her knee with a skimpy outfit and leather belt around her hips was being held by a strong looking man who was standing behind her. There was something very different about this man. He had tentacles extending from his arms and with his right hand he had a hold of the woman’s wrist while tentacles bound their arms together. Behind them on the wall was a starred cross carved into the rock, and the name of that book was House of Zeor.
WorldCon 2011. Jean Lorrah, Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Zoe Farris in back. Displaying the newest books.
I did not even have to read one word of what the book was about to know I wanted to read it. Something about that image was enough to buy the book and sit in the corner of the bookshop, as I often did, and start reading. I was only half way through when I was totally hooked. I was already identifying with the characters, especially with the tentacled Sime, Klyd.
The stories set in the Sime~Gen universe are more than just science fiction. They are personal stories of individuals and communities struggling with and doing their best to overcome overwhelming circumstances and trying to reunite the human race.
I found that the internal and external troubles resonated with me and proved a powerful analogy to my own life.
In 2011 I went to Reno for WorldCon, my first, and I got to meet both Jacqueline and Jean and spend a fantastic few days in their company. Some fun was had and I have memories I will never forget.
(For the rest of this article and others see: http://www.simegen.com/writers/simegen/testimonials/)