Since the late 2015 publication of my first novel, Malevir: Dragons Return, my readers assume I write only fantasy fiction. They are correct in part. That novel is long, brimming with dragons, magical creatures, hard-slogging medieval-ish peasantry, and a nasty if changeable villain. In its sequel, Where Dragons Follow, I’ve narrowed the field of characters and focused on a very few dragons. The old villain returns, albeit immaterial, to wreak havoc.

I said the reader would be correct ‘in part,’ because I am also the published author of many short stories, in After Hours (print), bewilderingstories.com, http://www.horrorseek.com/home/horror/darkfire/ficarch.html, http://www.fictitiousthejournal.org/, the Weird Reader, Bewildering Stories, and the Fall Fantasy Anthology out of Cloaked Press in Autumn, 2017.

Inspired in different ways by writers Karen Russell and Mavis Gallant, I have crafted stories that explore death, obsession, and twists of fate. Russell’s work encourages me to dive into surrealism. Gallant’s stories insist on penetrating character studies sculpted with an elegant pen.

The Malevir series will finish with a third volume. It will reveal the true nature of its mysterious and sad, vengeful villain. Stay tuned.