Adventures in Weird: News, Books, Blogs & More
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
Subscribe for FREE to receive an in-depth feature every month, plus full access to the AOW archive - a dragon’s horde of writing tips, industry insights, genre guidance and more!
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)
Spooky Yuletide Mayhem in the Monster Fun Christmas Special
Kid Kong gets into the yuletide spirit (quite literally) in the Christmas 2023 issue of Monster Fun, out now from Rebellion Publishing
Failing Forward: An Interview with the Failing Writers Podcast
Talking what it takes to write fantasy, sci-fi, horror and comics
Apes vs. Aliens in This Month’s Monster Fun Comic
Kid Kong, Crabbe’s Crusaders and Garzag’s Galactic Guzzle-Pit from me and ace artists Karl Dixon, Ruairí Coleman and P.J. Holden in the November issue of Monster Fun, out now from Rebellion Publishing