The stories in this collection, all unpublished until now, are a testament to the impact of great writing. From the strange and surreal/magic realist writings of Kafka to the brilliant joy of Bradbury's imagination unleashed, writer Bruce Taylor learned well from these masters of expression. And with time, began to blend these seeming dissonant voices into his own work, at once strange and different, yet beautiful and haunting. His only hope is that with these stories, he has paid due respect and homage to the two writers who have influenced him the most: Franz Kafka and-Ray Bradbury.
Author Biography:
Bruce Taylor, known as Mr. Magic Realism, was born in 1947 in Seattle, Washington, where he currently lives. He was a student at the Clarion West Science Fiction/Fantasy writing program at the University of Washington, where he studied under such writers as Avram Davidson, Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Frank Herbert. Bruce has been involved in the advancement of the genre of magic realism, founding the Magic Realism Writers International Network, and collaborating with Tamara Sellman on MARGIN (http: //www.magical-realism.comwww.magical-realism.com). Recently, he co-edited, with Elton Elliott, former editor of Science Fiction Review, an anthology titled, Like Water for Quarks, which examines the blending of magic realism with science fiction, with work by Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. LeGuin, Brian Herbert, Connie Willis, Greg Bear, William F. Nolan, among others. Elton Elliott has said that "(Bruce) is the transformational figure for science fiction." His works have been published in such places as The Twilight Zone, Talebones, The Seattle P.I., Darke Phantastique and New Dimensions. His first collection, The Final Trick of Funnyman and Other Stories (available from Fairwood Press) recently received high praise from William F. Nolan, who said that some of his stories were "as rich and poetic as Bradbury at his best." In 2007, borrowing and giving credit to author Karel Capek (War with the Newts), Bruce published EDWARD: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity, a tale told largely through footnotes about a young man discovering his purpose in life through his dreams. With Brian Herbert, son of Frank Herbert of Dune fame, he wrote Stormworld, a short novel about global warming. Two other books (Mountains of the Night, Magic of Wild places) have been published and are part of a "spiritual trilogy." (The third book, Majesty of the World, is presently being written.) Bruce was writer in residence at Shakespeare & Company, Paris. If not writing, Bruce is either hiking or can be found in the loft of his vast condo, awestruck at the smashing view of Mt. Rainier with his partner, artist and writer Roberta Gregory and their "mews," Roo-Prrt. More books from Bruce Taylor are available at: http: //ReAnimus.com/store/?author=Bruce Taylor
