Anne McCaffrey

Born in 1926, Anne McCaffrey attended Radcliffe, got a degree in Slavic languages and literature, trained as a singer, and appeared in an Orff opretta. Clearly, this woman's brain is nothing to sneeze at, and she's devoted it to imagining some incredibly detailed fantasy worlds. McCaffrey is best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series, but she's also the author of a very entertaining sci-fi/romance standalone novel called Restoree.

Aftertaste:
McCaffrey's attitude about fanfiction has always irritated me (she refused to allow any fanfiction based on her books for years) but I see that she's recently gotten slightly less uptight about it.

Availability:
Everywhere.

Other Recommendations:
Anything by Robin McKinley

Website:
http://www.annemccaffrey.net/ -