Teri Smith -- Photo courtesy of Lilith Saintcrow

Raising hell for fifty years from Alaska to the Azores and all points in between, Teri Smith was an Air Force brat who never stopped traveling. She was also a mother, a grandmother (of ten!), a help desk wizard, financial assistant and, most importantly, the Queen Nag of the Known Universe. She married the love of her life three times in 2000 and never regretted a single ceremony. Contrary to common belief, she never stopped living.

In the months immediately prior to her death in October 2006, Teri served as a self-described "mild-mannered editor" for Samhain Publishing. After hours and on weekends, however, she wrote science fiction and fantasy, and co-edited Crescent Blues. Her short story, "The Visit", was featured in Let Us Not Forget: A Tribute to America's 20th Century Veterans. "Magic", the first of several short stories set in a fairy tale world uniquely her own, appeared in Strange Pleasures 3. A second story set in that world, "Dragon Bait", is slated to appear in Strange Pleasures 6.

Included amongst her known addictions-such as wasabi and gel pens-were the wonderful worlds she created in her writing: They Shoot Fairy Godmothers, Don't They? and with Jean Marie Ward, The Chronicles of the Nine Sisters and Where the Gods Live. An avid gamer, Teri enjoyed Final Fantasy, .Hack and online games which allowed her warrior avatar, Thelea, to quell her thirst for blood-not to mention her writing, reading, the Misfits (an online group she created to house her hobby of collecting people) and her husband, SJ. Discussion of her other addictions requires a substantial alcoholic libation and the bribe of chocolate.