After doing a little research I was able to establish that Stephen Donaldson the gay activist and writer(R.I.P. thur. July 18, 1996) and Stephen R. Donaldson the Science Fiction novelist are two different people. Stephen Donaldson was born Robert A. Martin, Jr., in Norfolk, Virginia, he started using the name Stephen Donaldson in the late 1960's. Stephen R. was born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio. Stephen Donaldson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Columbia University. Stephen R.graduated from the College of Wooster, Ohio, in 1968, and served two years as a conscientious objector doing hospital work in Akron before attending Kent University, where he received an M.A in English.

Stephen Donaldson became the first U.S. Navy veteran to have a homosexual discharge upgraded to fully Honorable Discharge under President Jimmy Carter. I can understand the confusion because of the similar names and the fact that Stephen R. is reclusive and little is known about him. Last point of evidence is that Stephen R. did a live Netshow appearance on September 26, 1997 at 8:00 pm Pacific, when he did a Q & A session with fans. this would have been very difficult if he had been dead for over a year! I just thought you guys might like to know. Sorry this is rambling, but the hour is late. :-) Dan