A great-granddaughter of psychic Robert James Lees, Douglass was born in Penola, South Australia. She attended Annesley College, in Wayville, a suburb of Adelaide. She studied for her BA while working as a registered nurse, and later completed her PhD in early modern English History. She became a lecturer in medieval history at La Trobe University, Bendigo. While there she completed her first novel, BattleAxe, which launched her as a popular fantasy author in Australia, and later as an international success.
Until the mid-2000s, Douglass hosted a bulletin board on her website, with the aim of encouraging creative thinking and constructive criticism of others' work. She maintained an online blog about the restoration project of her house and garden entitled Notes from Nonsuch in Tasmania.[2]
In 2008, Douglass was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.[3] She underwent treatment, but in late 2010 the cancer returned.[4] She died on 27 September 2011, aged 54.[5]
Works
Fantasy fiction
Douglass mainly focused her efforts on fantasy writings. Her first trilogy, The Axis Trilogy, is set in the fantasy world of Tencendor. Of The Axis Trilogy, Enchanter and StarMan won the 1996 Aurealis Fantasy division award[6] and Battleaxe was nominated for the 1995 award.[7] Douglass's second series, The Wayfarer Redemption, two stand alone novels and her most recent series, Darkglass Mountain also focus on the fantasy world used in The Axis Trilogy. The Wayfarer Redemption also did well in the Aurealis Fantasy division with all three novels reaching the finals for their published years.[8][9][10]
Douglass also wrote a non-fiction book, The Betrayal of Arthur, and several short stories.
Bibliography
Note: In the US, and most European countries, The Axis Trilogy and The Wayfarer Redemption have been combined into one six-book series, Wayfarer Redemption.
