Welcome. Lynn Maudlin, singer-songwriter, painter, producer, editor, and author was born in Los Angeles back in the last century and studied piano at the USC School of Preparatory Music as a child. She began writing songs at the tender age of 12; if you ply her with fine red wine, she may play you some of those questionable early efforts, but probably not (we all have our pride, after all). An art major through high school and college, favorite areas of expression include oil paints, ceramics, intaglio, silk painting, and pen & ink; water color remains a distant dream. Lynn has been performing as a singer/songwriter for some 40 years ("hey, I started at 13, okay?!") in venues as varied as colleges and conferences, nightclubs and coffee houses, science fiction conventions and concert halls in England, Germany, and the U.S.A.
 
 

I have a grown son (highly recommended) from a high-school marriage (not recommended); he married in 1997 and has kindly made me a grandmother (also highly recommended). I inadvertently gave up 17 years in a second marriage to an L.A. studio musician and found myself with an unexpected new life at a time my contemporaries finally settled down to raise late-born kids. I took my love of art, music, and film and studied the production end of the business at UCLA. In 1996 I produced an extremely low-budget movie called The Magazine with writer/director Sallie Seltzer and worked with writer/director Martha Cotton on her AFI - DWW (American Film Institute's Directors Workshop for Women) short in the summer of 1997, followed by a teaser for a television series.

Along with two friends I optioned Connie Willis' brilliant novel Doomsday Book and spent three years trying to get Paula DiSante's amazing script (hey, even Connie loved the adaptation) into production but to no avail: insufficient juice. phooey.

I made a curious detour through the realm of psychology and the disciplines of Christian 'inner healing' and became a rather odd magnet for a number of women suffering dissociative identity disorder, several of whom remain close friends. I recognized an ability to minister and an inability to charge money for it. Workwise, I've continued to do some freelance editing and publicity work, a little writing, and a lot of volunteer work for church, individuals in need, and the Mythopoeic Society where in my current role I help organize the annual conference, Mythcon, so I remain under-employed.

I've had a web-presence since before the turn of the century (heh, the turn of the millennium!) but within the last few years I've taken to creating websites using Notepad, html, and CSS. Being entirely self-taught the results can be interesting (definitely let me know if you've got pages here in my site that refuse to load properly) I've been pleased to help some friends with their websites: chiropractor Marta Laughlin, Bible teacher Tamara Winslow, TreeHouse Studios, St. Jude's Anglican Church, and a tie-dye website for my high school reunion, as well as all my various sites and pages. If I can create something for you, don't hesitate to email me!

I have also been doing a fair chunk of artwork, particularly on the computer, such as manipulating photos for Diana Glyer's wonderful book on Christian life and spiritual formation, Clay in the Potter's Hands and, for two years running now, the companion calendar.

The rock doesn't roll in my life is Jesus (when everything else comes crashing down around your ears, you gotta hope the foundation's sound). It's great to finally be at a place where I can agree with the psalm: I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go unto the house of the Lord.' Since 1994 that house has been St. Jude's, a charismatic Anglican church, and now happily home of priest Fr. Chuck Mitchell and Seiko, his beautiful and wise wife. I recommend highly the discipline of Bible Study Fellowship as a way to increase knowledge of the Bible; in my ever so humble opinion, {grin} a person is neither well-educated or well-informed without a solid knowledge of the Bible.
 
 

My first album project is still available on cassette (Dolby B, "At Long Last Lynn," a collection of ten original songs, including the oft-requested "If You Can't Live Without Me, Then Why Aren't You Dead?") and will one day be re-mastered for (do not faint!) CD. You can read more about it at Truly Maudlin Music and my publishing site, Moonbird Music; some songs have links to mp3 files where you can listen.

The St. Jude's worship team put together a semi-spontaneous collection of songs in support of a friend's out-of-the-country wedding; it included my song, Shepherd Me, a worshipful and personal take on the much-loved 23rd Psalm. I also wrote House of Bread, a song cycle based on the book of Ruth from the Bible; I'm very proud of this work although it has yet to be recorded well.

In the meantime, I do the occasional 'filk concert' at science fiction conventions, usually regional events like Loscon, Condor, and Conjecture, and occasionally Westercon. But in 2006 I gave two concerts at L.A.conIV, the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon). In November of 2009, I was was amazed and honored to perform a couple of songs for the 75th Anniversary of LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society); some amazing photos here, although possibly not visible to all.
 
 

I've been involved with The Mythopoeic Society since 1982, and served nearly 10 years on the non-profit organization's board of directors and, after a break of about 12 years, I am once again serving on the Council of Stewards. One of the joys of the MythSoc, as it is fondly called, is its annual conference and the joy of a Mythcon is the chance to play with far-flung friends. A not-too-far-flung friend is Eleanor Farrell and the two of us, in a Mutt & Jeff pairing (large blonde and petite brunette) started a spoof of Siskel & Ebert's film reviews (anybody remember Gene Siskel?) for the 1992 Tolkien Centenary Conference (sponsored by The Tolkien Society and Mythcon 23) "ents" held at Keble College, Oxford. Thus Lynn "Egrets" Maudlin and Ellie "Sizzling" Farrell reviewed the three (mythical) film productions of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings allegedly released in the previous year, directed by Woody Allen (!), Oliver Stone, and Ingmar Bergman. The Bergman version used CGI to cast Gerard Depardieu as Frodo and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Sam; Sizzling Egrets presented a "clip"... Ellie lay motionless (except for the occasional spasmodic heaving of her rib cage as she stifled laughter), playing Frodo after Shelob's attack, while I performed Ahnold-as-Sam's "I'll be back" scene - check the novel - the dialogue is appallingly appropriate! Despite the international attendance (Finland, France, Russia, Italy, Australia, Norway and many more were represented), the audience roared with appreciation.

It was amazing to see how Peter Jackson's frustrating but visually wonderful interpretation of The Lord of the Rings utilized CGI in a more major way than we'd joked about, less than a decade earlier.

Sizzling Egrets wrote a "con report" for Mythprint, the monthly newsletter of the Mythopoeic Society, and reprised the 1992 performance for Mythcon 24 in Minneapolis. Sizzling Egrets came up with a new bit in 1995 for Mythcon 26 in Berkeley. SF author Tim Powers was the GoH and the dissing duo reviewed non-existent movies made from The Stress of Her Regard and Dinner at Deviant's Palace with the ever-popular "film clip" from Last Call. Sizzling Egrets also appeared at the C.S. Lewis Centenary in July of 1998 at Wheaton College in Illinois. You had to be there. Skewered were The Screwtape Letters: The Movie (purportedly edited together from outtakes of "The Devil's Advocate" with voice-over by John Cleese...), The Wreck of the Dawn Treader (imagine "Titanic" meets Reepicheep - oh, the humanity!), and the now infamous "film clip" from Ed Wood's long lost last film, discovered and finished by Tim Burton for release in glorious black and white: Malacandra Attacks!, complete with descending spaceships made of paper plates and wind-up animals... Definitely you had to be there (or get Arden to show you his videotape; of course, it shudders real good when the spaceship appears because he still hasn't learned how to laugh and shoot at the same time...). I was the treasurer and registrar, which kept me extraordinarily busy.

Sizzling Egrets: Back From The Grave made an appearance at Mythcon 32 during the interval before masquerade awards: "welcome the return of the intrepid film reviewers, Sizzling Egrets, who will analyze impossible new releases based on the works of Charles Williams." Their next posthumous appearance is overdue.

Another Mythcon classic, and somewhat hard to explain, are the Not-Ready-for-Mythcon Players. I'm sure there are lots of embarrassing photos out there but at Mythcon 41 in 2011 one of the segments spoofed Twilight; the absurdity of mature moi portraying the adolescent Bella with fellow Steward Lee Speth as the vampire, Edward --wearing sheets; sheets are an essential component of the Not-Ready plays-- well, enjoy the folly. Mythprint editor Jason Fisher looks on, in the guise of our author GOH Tim Powers. In a moment Gary will disrupt everything by appearing as Jacob the werewolf... (Sylvia, Gary's artist wife, made his 6-pack abs).
 
 
Mythcon 42 was held in Albuquerque, NM (another Mythcon first), in July 2011. Ellie Farrell and Emily Rauscher came up with a brilliant play for the Not Ready For Mythcon Players, building off Guest of Honor Michael Drout's amazing speech at opening ceremonies. Suffice it to say that it involved turning "little monsters" into "little critics" by the application of fascinators by Lady GaGaladriel of Canyon de Lothlorien.
 
 
Then there's the Mythcon food sculptures... just see what Mythcon 35 Guest of Honor Neil Gaiman had to say about Mythcon food sculptures... Here's Mythcon 40's author GOH James Owen looking over the Bread Dragon and, if you can handle the thought of Mythies in Hawai'i, you'll find an example near the bottom of this page.

C.S. Lewis pen & ink drawing copyright by Patrick Wynne; used with his kind permission.
 

Before Lynn's nephew was the rockin' lead singer for Jungle Under Kings he was just another school kid looking for a way to finish an assignment:

Lynn Maudlin is a very widely traveled lady. She has been to many different places like England, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Israel, Australia, and many other countries. When she travels she is mostly a tourist, but she also visits friends and attends meetings. Her next trip is in November and she is going to England again because she has lots of friends in England. In England she also likes to visit old castles and gardens. The favorite place that she has been to visit is Jerusalem. She loves Jerusalem because that is where Jesus walked the earth.

Interview by Tyler Reitz, 10/8/97

email: Lynn AT lynnmaudlin DOT com