James Blaylock

James Paul Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author.^[1] He is noted for a distinctive, humorous style, as well as being one of the pioneers of the steampunk genre of science fiction. Blaylock has cited Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens as his inspirations.^[2]

He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receiving an M.A. in 1974; and lives in Orange, California, teaching creative writing at Chapman University. He taught at the Orange County School of the arts up until 2013. Many of his books are set in Orange County, California, and can more specifically be termed "fabulism" – that is, fantastic things happen in our present-day world, rather than in traditional fantasy, where the setting is often some other world. His works have also been categorized as magic realism.

He and his friends Tim Powers and K. W. Jeter were mentored by Philip K. Dick. Along with Powers, Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless. Blaylock and Powers have often collaborated with each other on writing stories, including "The Better Boy", "On Pirates", and "The William Ashbless Memorial Cookbook".

Blaylock is also currently director of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts, where Powers is Writer in Residence.^[3]

He has been married to his wife, Viki Blaylock, for more than 40 years. They have two sons, John and Danny.

Awards

Blaylock's short story "Thirteen Phantasms" won the 1997 World Fantasy Award for best Short Fiction.^[4] "Paper Dragons" won the award in 1986.^[5]

Novels

The "Balumnia" Trilogy

Whimsical fantasy inspired, according to the author, by Wind in the Willows and The Hobbit.

• The Elfin Ship (1982)
• The Disappearing Dwarf (1983)
• The Stone Giant (1989)
• The Man in the Moon (2002) – The original manuscript, initially rejected, from which The Elfin Ship was reworked, with commentary and an additional short story.

The "Narbondo" Series

Sharing the character of villain Ignacio Narbondo; the first is contemporary fantasy set in 1960s California, while the remainder are Steampunk novels set in Victorian England.

• The Digging Leviathan (1984)
• Homunculus (1986)
• Lord Kelvin's Machine (1992)
• The Adventures of Langdon St. Ives (2008) – Omnibus of Homunculus, Lord Kelvin's Machine, and four related short stories.
• The Ebb Tide (2009; a Langdon St. Ives novella)
• The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs (2011; a Langdon St. Ives novella)
• Zeuglodon (2012; related to The Digging Leviathan)
• The Aylesford Skull (2013; a Langdon St. Ives novel)
• The Adventure of the Ring of Stones (2014; a Langdon St. Ives novella)
• Beneath London (2015; a Langdon St. Ives novel)

The "Christian" Trilogy

Present-day fantasy using Christian elements, such as the Holy Grail and the silver coins paid to Judas.

• The Last Coin (1988)
• The Paper Grail (1991)
• All The Bells On Earth (1995)

The "Ghosts" Trilogy

Present-day Californian ghost stories.

• Night Relics (1994)
• Winter Tides (1997)
• The Rainy Season (1999)

Others

• The Complete Twelve Hours of the Night (1986) Joke pamphlet co-written by Tim Powers and published by Cheap Street Press
• Land of Dreams (1987)
• The Magic Spectacles (1991) – Young adult book
• 13 Phantasms (2000) – Short story collection
• On Pirates (2001) – Short story collection with Tim Powers
• The Devils in the Details (2003) – Short story collection with Tim Powers
• In For A Penny (2003) – Short story collection
• The Knights of the Cornerstone (2008) ISBN 9780441016532
• The Shadow on the Doorstep (2009) – Short story collection
• Home Sweet Home and Postscript to Home Sweet Home (2012) – Nonfiction essays included in A Comprehensive Dual Bibliography of James P. Blaylock & Tim Powers ISBN 9780976748601

References

External links

• James P. Blaylock - Official website
• Website and discussion forum about Blaylock's writing
• James P. Blaylock at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Interview with Blaylock regarding his novel 'The Aylesford Skull' and a reading of his story "The Pink of Fading Neon"