Joan D. Vinge is a science fiction author whose amazing ability to create realistic character-oriented novels saved me from the Horror of Romance. She is able to describe other worlds and very odd people in such a way that they sound familiar, and the reader is able to identify with her characters, especially when she uses the first person POV. Ms. Vinge's most notable works include the Snow Queen series and the wonderful books about her half human/half alien protagonist Cat: Psion, Catspaw, and Dreamfall. Joan D. Vinge has been my favorite author since middle school (and I'm a college grad now, you do the math).