Writer
Having wandered through multiple careers, hobbies, and educational paths over five decades of life, Robert’s body of work has ranged from systems analysis, work a butcher, a baker, a professional educator, and published author. A regular speaker at PhilCon and other events, he’s been a force multiplier for community youth outreach. Steam-Funk Studios senior creative staff, his insights helped shape both The Unconventional and The Living Multiverse punctuated by his dry pronouncement, “Boom.”
Articles
Navigating the Bleeding Edge—Series Conspectus
A journey into the lurid and ineffable borders of fiction, as a published New Weird author pokes at and explains the various heirs to the grand horror tradition. Navigate the mysterious mélange of not-quite mapped terrain comprising the strange children of Sci-Fi, Horror, and other genres and the tropes therein.
Authors of the Amorphous: Brian Lumley
Continuing our journey into the lurid and ineffable borders of fiction, this week we examine the works of Brian Lumley, a master of the “new weird form.” His Necroscope series and assorted other works are exemplars of the genre’s balancing act, blending, sci-fi, horror, and a fair amount of mystery and detective tropes together in…
Collective Unconscious and The Fourth Wall
We return to our examinations on “The New Weird” while pondering the very basis of narrative. Do we tell stories? Or do they tell themselves through us? That’s the challenge known as “The Borgesian Conundrum”, a potent tool in a genre with prophecy, visions and congress with alien powers in its collective toolbox. Made all…
Authors of the Amorphous: Stephen King
Navigating the Bleeding Edge: The Dark Tower
Movies, Comics, and the New Weird
Navigating the Bleeding Edge: Between the pages and on the screen, lines blur and overlap to create a world where science fiction, fantasy and horror meet.
Authors of the Amorphous: John DeChancie
Navigating the Bleeding Edge: The Castle Perilous novels have a legitimate case to stake a claim in the wild, unpredictable world of the New Weird.
Genres Collide: Clashing Realities Don’t Play Fair
Navigating the Bleeding Edge: Understanding which facets of science and superstition interface within the New Weird, and what that means for the story.
Authors of the Amorphous: Neil Gaiman
Navigating the Bleeding Edge: Gaiman’s works don’t smack you in the face and tell you they’re “weird and cool.” Instead, they show you their weirdness in a search for meaning. Don’t be surprised if you’re riveted to his works; if Gaiman finds something interesting enough to write about, chances are it’s fascinating, horrifying and breathtakingly…