Dr Janet Asimov (born Janet Opal Jeppson, 6 August 1926 — died 25 February 2019) began writing in the late 1960s, having prioritized a career as a psychiatrist first. Writing Science Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Mystery Fiction was a pastime that her husband, Isaac Asimov, encouraged. The two collaborated on several stories, and Janet Asimov continued her medical career at the same time. On a personal level, when Isaac became sick, she researched medical problems and convinced him to test his blood for certain markers. Ten years after his death, she revealed that it had been the result of an HIV infection from a poorly-sanitized blood transfusion during his 1983 heart surgery.
Janet Asimov's most prolific decade of writing was during the 1980s, and when she collaborated with her husband Isaac, he would regularly credit her with the majority of the work, limiting himself to editing her drafts. Many of her independently written stories were published under the alias J. O. Jeppson, even after her marriage. She continued to be active for many years, until her own death on 25 February 2019.
Works by Janet Asimov:
- The Norby Chronicles (Robot and Space Cadet series, cowritten with Isaac Asimov)
- Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot
- Norby's Other Secret
- Norby And The Lost Princess
- Norby And The Invaders
- Norby and the Queen's Necklace
- Norby Finds a Villain
- Norby Down To Earth
- Norby And Yobos Great Adventure
- Norby And The Oldest Dragon
- Norby and the Court Jester
- Norby And The Terrified Taxi (finished after Isaac Asimov's death)
- "The Amulet Of The Firegod"
- "Another Alice Universe"
- "August Angst"
- "The Beanstalk Analysis"
- "The Cleanest Block In Town"
- "Consternation And Empire"
- "The Contagion"
- "The Curious Consultation"
- "The Fingerprints Of The Gods"
- Frontiers II (co-authored with Isaac Asimov)
- "A Fuller Explanation Of Original Sin" (co-authored with Isaac Asimov)
- "Grimm Witchery"
- "The Horn Of Elfland"
- "The Hotter Flash"
- How To Enjoy Writing (co-authored with Isaac Asimov)
- "The Human Condition"
- Its Been A Good Life (co-authored with Isaac Asimov)
- The Last Immortal
- Laughing Space (co-authored with Isaac Asimov)
- "Low Hurdle"
- "A Million Shades Of Green"
- Mind Transfer
- "The Mysterious Cure"
- Murder At The Galactic Writers Society
- "The Noodge Factor"
- Notes For A Memoir On Isaac Asimov Life And Writing
- The Package In Hyperspace
- "A Pestilence Of Psychoanalysts"
- Pshrinks Anonymous The Mysterious Cure And Other Stories / The Mysterious Cure And Other Stories Of Pshrinks Anonymous
- "Positively the Last Pact With - The Devil?"
- "Red Devil Statement"
- "Relics"
- "Seasonal Special"
- The Second Experiment
- "The Time Warp Trauma"
- "The Ultimate Biofeedback Device"
Her works provide examples of:
- Advertising by Association: Mind Transfer: Beneath the author's name, the cover points out that she is the co-author of The Norby Chronicles and Norby Robot For Hire.
- Billed Above the Title:
- Laughing Space: Isaac Asimov and J. O. Jeppson are listed as the authors in the top third of the cover, their last names in much large font than their first names (or initials). The title itself still eclipses their names, with only a small part of the cover left for an illustration.
- Mind Transfer: Janet Asimov is listed at the top of the cover, roughly as large as the title.
- Moustache de Plume: To avoid revealing her gender, she originally used J. O. Jeppson, and would continue to use it as a professional name even as she began publishing other stories as "Janet Jeppson" or "Janet Asimov".
- Robot Buddy: The Norby Chronicles: A series of novels by Janet and Isaac Asimov. The titular Norby is partner/friend/property of Jefferson Wells, built inside a stainless steel barrel, with Touch Telepathy, Hyperdrive, Time Travel, and other assorted abilities. Incidentally, as it was written in 1983, he may be the first of the Deadpan Snarker bots.
- Shared Universe: Isaacs Universe is a shared setting created by Isaac Asimov in the 1990s, totaling five books. Three volumes were anthologies of short stories edited by Martin H. Greenberg (contributing authors included Poul Anderson, David Brin, Hal Clement, George Alec Effinger, Karen Haber, Janet Kagan, Rebecca Ore, Robert Sheckley, Robert Silverberg, Allen Steele, Harry Turtledove, and Lawrence Watt-Evans). The novels Fossil by Hal Clement and Murder At The Galactic Writers Society by Janet Asimov also take place in the same setting.
- Shout-Out: Mind Transfer: The cover by Heyne publishers (German) make a robot like C-3PO (from Star Wars) to hold the human brain/mind.
- Space Cadet: The Norby Chronicles: Jefferson Wells is a teenager trying to become a member of the galactic, with the help of his used teaching robot, Norby. Norby was purchased to help Jeff study, and he tries, but often his efforts turn into pan-dimensional Time Travel adventures instead of lessons relating to school.
- Tagline:
- The Last Immortal: "Beyond the future we imagine... on the other side of the universe we know... the alien ventures where no human has dared."
- Laughing Space: "An anthology of science fiction humour"
- Mind Transfer: "Humans have never been perfect ... until now."
- Pshrinks Anonymous The Mysterious Cure And Other Stories: "Thirteen strange tales of space, time, and the amazing powers of the human mind..."
- The Second Experiment: "An awesome trek through time and space that unlocks the secrets of the gods...."
