her mind, often as the result of articles and essays written by her. The Belt of Gold and The Lords of Vaumartin, however, were written "cold" as the result of requests by her editor. While she claims not to choose fictional settings based on their infrequent usage by other writers, she has said, "I wouldn't dare do the Civil War, because it's so well known, every damn detail, it would be so stifling." Floating Worlds (1976), is a science fiction novel written in a similar style. It is an epic novel set in approximately the 40th century AD, by which time a colonized Solar System hosts a variety of political systems. Paula Mendoza, an ex-prisoner from anarchist Earth, becomes a diplomat and the lover of one of the Styth, a variant human subspecies who live in floating cities. Personal life During the late 1990s, Publishers Weekly described Holland as a "bohemian den mother" and historical novelist who had written 24 books. As of 2011, Holland lived in Fortuna, a small town in rural Humboldt County, California. She has three daughters and five grandchildren. For ten years, Holland taught two three-hour creative writing classes a week at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California. She was visiting professor of English at Connecticut College in 1979. Holland was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1981–1982. References External links 1943 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American children's writers American historical novelists American women novelists Connecticut College alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni People from Henderson, Nevada People from Metuchen, New Jersey Writers from Nevada Writers of fiction set in prehistoric times Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age American women children's writers Women historical novelists American science fiction writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers People from Fortuna, California Novelists from California