Welcome, Edward!

Edward J. Knight writes fantasy and science fiction from his home in Colorado. He’s put three satellites into orbit and is raising two children with his partner, Sarah. He hates stories with idiot plots.

You can learn more about Edward at his website.

About The Gunslinger Universe

The Jotunheim giants poured through the rift at Andersonville and annihilated both the Union and the Confederacy. Only the desperate efforts of a few heroes stopped them in the West, at the battle of Golden City, Colorado. Those heroes became legends.

In the Mythic West, where gunslingers battle monsters of nightmare, Billy the Kid has risen to the challenge in the novels Sidekick, Sharpshooter, and Scout. Meanwhile, his friend Beth Armstrong is gonna prove girls can be gunslingers, even if she has to fight a dragon to do it, in the novel Gunslinger.

Interview with Edward J. Knight

What is it about the Weird West genre that draws you to it? What are your favorite aspects or examples of this often-underappreciated genre?

I love the spirit of the West, and seeing it captured in speculative fiction, especially when mixed more with fantasy or adventure than horror. There’s a “can do” independent nature to western fiction that celebrates the wide horizons and ability to stand on your own. It’s a lot of fun to see that mixed with monsters other than other men.

What inspired you to write this story?

These novels started life during a visit to the Grand Lake area of Colorado. Some re-enactors from the Grand County Historical Association put on a performance and one of them mentioned “giants” in a metaphor. I thought it would be interesting to take that literally and have giants wandering the mountains in the 1870’s. As I started doing research, I discovered the Billy the Kid had been through Denver at age 10 just when the Battle of Golden City would’ve occurred in my timeline. I was off and running.

If you were living in the Weird West, what kind of character would you be?

Honestly, I’d probably be the guy running the town newspaper. I imagine it would be a difficult job, but being in the know and learning things would fascinate me, even in that type of a world.

Are there any other writing projects you’re working on?

A year ago, my novel Gunslinger was published by WordFire Press. While the pandemic slowed me down, I’ve just finished the first draft of its sequel, Ghosthunter. In Gunslinger, our 16-year-old hero set out to prove her worthiness as a gunslinger by battling a dragon. In Ghosthunter, she and Will Bill Hickok purse spectres that are somehow killing people in the ruins of Saint Louis. It’s been a lot of fun to write.