Alan R Marble

While we are waiting for that to happen, I did promise to do a little bit of off-topic discussion and so I'm going to take a moment to mention a few of my favorite authors, perhaps some that have had some kind of influence on me and my writing.

As a kid, my interest was more in the realm of sci-fi rather than fantasy; I was a big time fan of Star Trek from a young age.  It should probably come as no surprise that I was a big fan of Madeline L'Engle, and particularly the Wrinkle in Time series.  I also latched on to Michael Crichton after Jurassic Park came out, as I've also been quite a fan of dinosaurs from a young age.  I'd also read and enjoyed some Jules Verne and H. G. Wells; Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Time Machine were a couple I enjoyed greatly. Naturally I got in to reading some Asimov as time went on, but for the longest time I was quite stuck on sci-fi.

My first real brush with the realm of fantasy was when I picked up on The Belgariad series by David Eddings while staying with my grandparents over the summer, and it's a genre that I was instantly hooked on!  During my high school years I did gobble up a fair bit of fantasy, and hit upon Tolkien at this time.  While I certainly enjoyed his works they probably haven't influenced me as much as some others that I have read more recently.

One of the bigger influences has come from Stephen Donaldson via the multiple Thomas Covenant series.  While it's not exactly urban fantasy, the idea of modern characters being thrust into a fantasy setting is something that has always stuck with me, as well as having flawed, believable protagonists with whom I can relate a little more closely to than heroic elves and wizards.  Donaldson can be a little difficult to read - the subject matter can be a bit dark and the language a bit heavy - but has been far and away one of my favorites in recent years.

Of course I could not go without mentioning Naomi Novik and the Temeraire series.  I've always been a big fan of dragons but there are two things about the series that has appealed to me the most : seeing dragons in a 'real world' context, and seeing them as something other than generic villains.  Actually having them in a protagonist or at least a supporting role is something I've loved seeing, and the multiple characterizations (beyond just big bad fire breathing monster) is a really delightful thing for me to see.  While my dragons are vastly different, I would be lying if I didn't include this as an inspiration.

Perhaps not as big an inspiration in my current writings but nonetheless a recent favorite, I've been intrigued by Stephen Baxter and his various alternative history novels (a genre which I guess you can blame Temeraire for introducing me to) and they've fast become a new favorite for me.  It's also the first real move back into sci-fi for me; perhaps down the line I'll be able to devote a little more time to my own sci-fi endeavors :)