Fantasy author Jean Lorrah's work is mostly forgotten these days, except by her fans. In the 1980s she was a regular guest at DarkoverCon (now re-named "Chessiecon") where she joined with Jacqueline Lichtenberg in creating and sustaining the bizarre "Sime-Gen" fantasy world. Lorrah on her own and later with collaborators wrote a series, "Savage Empire," set in a swashbuckling medieval-style world enhanced with psychic powers and romantic intrigue. The queen of this Savage Empire was "Aradia," a dazzling blonde with violet eyes who communed with sentient wolves.
There are a lot of flaxen-haired blonde lovelies with violet eyes in fantasy fiction, (including the currently famous "Daenerys Targaryen" from George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones,") though not as much as the standard flaming red hair. As an illustrator I give every character natural hair color. No one needs to use hair dye in Fantasyland, unless it's to disguise the blonde or red locks during a stealthy adventure or secret escape.
"Aradia of the Savage Empire" is acrylic on illustration board, 8" x 9", November 1984.
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