My name is Jon F. Zeigler. I write non-fiction under my legal byline, original science fiction and fantasy under the pseudonym “John Alleyn,” and fan-fiction and other transformative works under the pseudonyms “Sharrukin” or “Sharrukin-of-Akkad.”

I’ve been writing and publishing for over thirty years now. Most of my publication has been on the basis of other people’s original work. Notably, I worked as a freelancer for the tabletop roleplaying game industry for a number of years, writing and editing books for publishers like FASA and Steve Jackson Games. More recently, I’ve been alternating between fan-fiction and original work. My curriculum vitae to date follows, with links to some items that are currently available.

Curriculum Vitae

• GURPS Greece (Steve Jackson Games, 1995) (author)
• GURPS Celtic Myth (Steve Jackson Games, 1995) (contributor)
• Corporate Security Handbook (FASA, 1995) (contributor)
• Threats (FASA, 1996) (contributor)
• Portfolio of a Dragon: Dunkelzahn’s Secrets (FASA, 1996) (contributor)
• GURPS Traveller: First In (Steve Jackson Games, 1999) (author)
• GURPS Traveller: Rim of Fire (Steve Jackson Games, 2000) (author)
• GURPS Alpha Centauri (Steve Jackson Games, 2001) (author)
• Transhuman Space (Steve Jackson Games, 2002) (contributor)
• Fifth Wave (Steve Jackson Games, 2002) (author)
• High Frontier (Steve Jackson Games, 2003) (contributor)
• GURPS Traveller: Starships (Steve Jackson Games, 2003) (contributor and editor)
• GURPS Traveller: Humaniti (Steve Jackson Games, 2003) (contributor and editor)
• GURPS Blue Planet (Steve Jackson Games, 2003) (co-author)
• GURPS All-Star Jam 2004 (Steve Jackson Games, 2004) (contributor)
• Toxic Memes (Steve Jackson Games, 2004) (contributor)
• GURPS Traveller: Nobles (Steve Jackson Games, 2004) (co-author and editor)
• GURPS Traveller: Sword Worlds (Steve Jackson Games, 2004) (editor)
• GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars (Steve Jackson Games, 2005) (lead author)
• GURPS Space (Fourth Edition) (Steve Jackson Games, 2006) (co-author)
• Memoirs (2012) (author)
• Memoirs: The Illium Years (2012) (author)
• “Confessions” (2013) (author)
• “Broken Things” (2013) (author)
• Memoirs: The Reaper War (2013) (author)
• “Encounter in Darkness” (2013) (author)
• “The Smith’s Tale” (2013) (author)
• “Galen and the Golden-Coat Hare,” published in Tales of Zo (Uncanny Books, 2014) (author)
• All the Western Stars (2014) (author)
• “The Spectre and the Doorman” (2014) (author)
• “The Queen of Close Calls” (2014) (author)
• Mirror (2014) (author)
• “The Silk Revolution” (2015) (author)
• “Harmony’s Choice” (2016) (author)
• “Pilgrimage” (2018) (author)
• “Last of the Nine” (2018) (author)
• “Landfall” (2020) (author)
• “A Fire in Winter” (2020) (author)
• “Departure” (2020) (author)
• “Guanahani” (2020) (author)
• The Curse of Steel (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2020) (author)
• “Safe Haven” (2020) (author)
• “Building a Better Barsoom” (2020) (author)
• “Fermi’s Nightmare” (2020) (author)
• “A Prince of Tanȗr” (2020) (author)
• “In the House of War” (2021) (author)
• “Second Dawn” (2021) (author)
• “Encounter in the Dawn” (2022) (author)
• “Roanoke” (2023) (author)
• Architect of Worlds (Ad Astra Games, 2024) (author)
• “Derga’s Tale” (2024) (author)
• “Funeral Games” (2024) (author)
• The Shores of Night (2024) (author)
• “Vegetable Love” (2025) (author)
• “All the Difference” (2025) (author)
• “Carry On, T’Lyn” (2025) (author)
• “More Precious than Rubies” (2025) (author)
• “Q Skies” (2025) (author)
• “Panem et Circenses” (2025) (author)
• “A Temporary Madness” (2025) (author)
• “Mariner’s Seven” (2025) (author)
• “The Stern and Direful God of War” (2025) (author)
• “The Spooky Season” (2025) (author)
• What’s Past is Prologue (2026) (author)
• “Home Front” (2026) (author)
• “The Country of Silence” (2026) (author)
• “Clear as Mudd” (2026) (author)
• “Shaking Off the Sleep” (2026) (author)
• “Sixpence in Her Shoe” (2026) (author)
• “From the Ashes” (2026) (author)

President, Odenton Temple Holding Corporation (2010-2012)
Worshipful Master, Odenton Lodge #209, A.F. & A.M. of Maryland (2011-2012)

Why “Sharrukin?”

For many years now, I’ve been known around the Internet as Sharrukin or Sharrukin-of-Akkad. Thereby hangs a tale.

About 2004, I was doing research for one of my larger projects for the tabletop gaming industry. As part of that effort, I did some reading on the ancient civilizations of Sumer and Akkad, including the Akkadian king Sharrukin (in English, he’s sometimes known as “Sargon the Great”). He came from apparently humble origins to become one of the first empire-builders in human history. We have proclamations in his own voice, and we even know a little about his personal story. I found Sharrukin very interesting as one of the first fully realized individuals we know of from antiquity. So I picked up the name as my Internet nom de plume, and I’ve been using it ever since.

In case there’s any confusion, yes, I’m aware that there’s another individual who uses “Sargon of Akkad” as his own online identity and has attained a certain amount of notoriety. No, we’re not the same person. In any case, I’ve got priority and I don’t plan to change.