BoM/TWS Message Forum

In terms of inspiring/influencing me as a writer of TF fiction, there's really only one -- Mark Gooley's "Diary of a Mad Scientist," which is what made me realize it would be possible to combine transmogrification, adventure, and humor in a fun package.

As far as more general influences on BoM, obviously the "boy detective" genre is where Frank and Joe came from, while Raymond Chandler is the influence on Rick Bredon. Most of the rest of it is drawn from teen-drama tropes or satirical recreations of people I've known.

For my non-BoM stories (in my Portfolio), I feel mostly inspired by the pulp authors of the 30s and 40s; when I'm feeling ambitious I will try my hand at creating a crime story in the style of Lawrence Block.

I think the crime genre is the one I most enjoy reading, because in the right hands it is the purest distillation of character and action. My favorite authors there would be, in addition to Block and Chandler, Donald Westlake (emphatically including his Richard Stark-penned novels), Evan Hunter (aka Ed McBain), John D. MacDonald, Ross Macdonald, Jim Thompson, and Dan J. Marlowe. They are the authors I would most like to learn from.

Unfortunately, my actual style is more nearly the opposite of the above-named worthies, and I seem fated to be the Henry James/Anthony Trollope of the TF genre; which limits my appeal, even though James and Trollope are two more of my favorite (and influential) authors.