Blog
Here’s where you’ll find previews of all my current projects, as well as updates on signings and convention appearances.
I also post links to essays that appear on my monthly newsletter Agent of Weird: Exploring the Write Fantastic
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28 Days Later (2002) vs. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
The first two in the ‘28’ trilogy predicted the future and made ‘zombies’ scary again. But the movies’ terrors are more subtle than you think
Science Fiction Double Feature: Who Goes There? (1938), The Thing (1982)
John W. Campbell's classic novella of Golden Age science fiction and John Carpenter's modern horror masterpiece - both absorb new meanings in the age of Covid, identity politics and generative AI
Science Fiction Double Feature: The Crow
The 1989 comic by James O'Barr and the 1994 movie starring Brandon Lee share the same melancholy heart, though it beats in very different ways
Review: Starve Acre (Andrew Michael Hurley, 2019)
This bleak and atmospheric folk horror novel unearths new horrors in old haunts
Science Fiction Double Feature: Planet of the Vampires (1965), It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958)
Did these drive-in classics really inspire the 'Alien' franchise?
Lessons From Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin’s 'A Wizard of Earthsea' is a classic, no question. But does anyone still care? Writers and creators of fantasy, neglect this book at your peril
Mapping the Labyrinth: A No-Mucking-About Beginner’s Guide to Starting Out as a Writer
I’m often questioned by younger writers looking to begin their journey. The field of writing - especially commercial writing - is as glamorous as it is treacherous. There’s a wealth of information out there, but you need to separate the truth from the clickbait…
Evolve or Die: Is this the End for Sword and Sorcery?
Can the genre ever move on from Robert E. Howard's Conan? How can writers possibly innovate within this narrow fantasy subgenre? Is the sword and sorcery barbarian facing his last stand?
M.R. James and the Craft of Fear
Learn the subtleties of writing terror from a master of the scary ghost story
Old Sorcery, New Edge: Q&A with Molly Tanzer
Sword and sorcery heroine Jirel of Joiry, created by Catherine L. Moore. Artwork by Sasha Durdevic
Neither Beg Nor Yield: a Vital New Chapter in the Sword & Sorcery Renaissance
Let this brutal new anthology tell you of the days of high adventure!
Over By Christmas (a short story)
A Weird winter's tale of lost time, lost hearts and one very long night (30-minute read)