James Blaylock
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James Paul Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author.
He is noted for a distinctive, humorous style.
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. 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 he 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.
[edit] Novels
Some of Blaylock's novels can be roughly grouped as trilogies, sharing common settings, characters, or themes, but any can be read as individual works.
- 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" Trilogy
Sharing the character of villain Ignacio Narbondo; the first is contemporary fantasy set in 1960s California, while the latter two 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 Homonculus, Lord Kelvin's Machine, and four related short stories.
- The "Christian" Trilogy
Present-day fantasy using Christian elements — such as the Holy Grail and the silver coins paid to Judas — without being overtly or self-consciously "religious."
- 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
- 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 Complete Twelve Hours of the Night (1986) Joke pamphlet cowritten by Tim Powers and published by Cheap Street Press
- The Knights of the Cornerstone ISBN 978-0441016532 (2008)
- The Shadow on the Doorstep (2009) Short story collection
