John M. Ford Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood And Early Years

American science fiction, fantasy writer, poet and game designer John Milo Ford was born on the 10 April 1957 in East Chicago, Indiana. Ford was raised in Whiting Indiana.

Education

Ford was a student at Indiana University Bloomington but did not graduate.

Rise To Stardom

Ford relocated to New York City in 1978 and found a job working on Science Fiction Magazine producing fiction, game reviews and articles. Ford wrote children’s novel under a pseudonym as well as other work under the names Milo Denison and Michael J Dodge before his short story This, Too, We Reconcile was published under his name in Analog in May 1976.

Literary Career

During 1979-1981 his Alternities Corporation sequence was published in various magazines. His first novel, Web of Angels, was published in 1980. Ford was a regular contributor up until 2002. By the early 1990s, he was living in Minneapolis doing a variety of jobs to support himself and his writing.

At the time of his death, Ford had produced over a hundred works over a thirty year period. These included The Dragon Waiting (1983), Growing Up Weightless (1993). The Last Hot Time (2000), the poem 110 Stories and Heat of Fusion (2004).

Awards And Achievements

Ford won some awards including the 1984 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for The Dragon Waiting. Other awards including the 1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction for Winter Solstice, Camelot Station; the 1998 Minnesota Book Award for Fantasy & Science Fiction and the 2005 Origins Award for Role-Playing Game Supplement of the Year for GURPS Infinite Worlds 4th Edition.

Personal Life

American writer Elise Matthesen was Ford’s partner for thirteen years up until his death in 2006.

John M Ford died on Minneapolis 25 September 2006 from natural causes.

Diseases Disabilities

Suffering from diabetes for most of his life which led to renal failure which resulted in a kidney transplant in 2000.