Welcome, Jonathan!

Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of 50 novels, 160 short stories, 16 short story collections, 27 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. He is the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and editor of Weird Tales Magazine.

The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny edited by Jonathan Maberry is an anthology of all-original stories set in a very weird west.

Interview with Jonathan Maberry

Tell us about yourself – what is something readers would be surprised to find out? 

I’ve had a weird life. Not always fun, but never boring. I’ve been involved in Japanese martial arts for sixty years (I started just before my 6^th birthday). I am a former bodyguard, was the Expert Witness for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office for murder cases involving martial arts, and was inducted into the Action Karate International Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2004. (Yes, that still feels weird to write). I was in cover bands (EAGLES, STEELY DAN, etc) and performed in musical theater from the mid-70s through the late 80s. I taught Martial Arts History, Women’s Self-Defense, and Jujutsu at Temple University for 14 years), and have written about 1200 magazine feature articles and how-to pieces on topics ranging from martial arts to skydiving. And I’m a massage therapist, though now retired. I also hitchhiked across all 48 contiguous states and gave a Viking funeral to a muscle car. True story, but best told over drinks.

In 2006 I published my first novel, GHOST ROAD BLUES, which surprised me and everyone by winning a Bram Stoker Award. Since then I’ve written fifty novels 160 short stories, over a dozen nonfiction books, edited 26 anthologies, and have become the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. I seldom sleep.

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’ve been a fan of the genre ever since I watched the original Wild Wild West on TV. And I mean from the first broadcast episode. Absolutely loved the collision of Old West action and weird science. Also, there were a lot of fight scenes and, as I said, I’ve been doing martial arts since first grade. I’ve always been a fan of westerns, with John Wayne, Glenn Ford, Jimmy Stewart, and Burt Lancaster among my favorite stars. When I was in my twenties I read all of the Louis L’Amour books I could find, and even though they were very much non-fantastical, they were very engaging. 

The thing I dig most about Weird West stories is that there is so much of the Old West that was never fully documented. There are legends, tall tales, ghost stories, actual histories, and more…but there are so many holes left in what we know that there’s plenty of doorways into writing for the genre. Also…pretty much anything is possible because those stories can be westerns plus horror, the supernatural, science fiction, fantasy, and more. Unlimited storytelling possibilities.

What inspired you to edit this anthology?

I was originally asked to edit an anthology of stories tied to the Deadlands RPG, having written the first novel tied to that game, GHOSTWALKERS (Tor Books). But we moved away from the theme being specifically centered on that game and broadened it to any kind of wild story set in the Old West. That felt like it would be more overall fun. And it was.

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

Most likely a news reporter or a writer of dime novels. I read a ton of reprints of them, and although few are even remotely accurate to that era, they were great fun. Much like the Doc Savage and Shadow pulps of the 30s and 40s. My default setting is ‘writer’, so that would be the profession I’d have followed back then.

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

Jeeez…that’s a complicated question. I have about a zillion projects in various stages of development right now. I finished my 50^th novel a couple of weeks ago and am already working on #51.The 50^th was BURN TO SHINE, the 14^th in the Joe Ledger weird science thriller series I’ve been writing for St. Martin’s Griffin (a MacMillan imprint). The new book, COLD WAR, is the second in a new series of deep space cosmic horror thrillers that are part of a brand new imprint at Blackstone called ‘Weird Tales Presents’. The first novel in that imprint is NECROTEK, which is my first in the series as well. It debuts May 28. COLD WAR should take me about ten weeks or so to write. After that I’ll dig into THE SLEEPERS WAR BOOK 2 for Aethon Publishing. The first in that series debuted late last year, co-authored by Weston Ochse. Sadly, Weston passed shortly after the book came out, and I’ll be writing the rest of the series alone. I’m also working on the script for a Joe Ledger horror graphic novel for Crystal Lake (they’ll be launching a Kickstarter for it soon). And I have a bunch of short stories on my calendar to write. Just did one yesterday for the StokerCon Bram Stoker Awards souvenir book, and that was my 160^th short story.

What are you reading right now?

I’m currently splitting my reading time between print (the entire run of Hellboy by my friend Mike Mignola), audio (all 21 novels in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald on audio, read by another friend, Robert Petkoff), and nonfiction (gravitational physics as it applies to the movements of planets, transgenics, and string theory as regards the theory of matter teleportation). The nonfic stuff is research for the current novel I’m writing.

Favorite weird west movie/book/comic/etc. and why?

Apart from Wild Wild West on TV, I absolutely loved the (sadly) only season of The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. It had so much potential. And I love Thunder Moon Rising by Jeffrey Mariotte and Boneyard by Seanan McGuire.

Anything else you’d like to add about writing or the Weird West (tips, etc.)?

I’ve written one weird west novel and a slew of short stories. Given my druthers I’d stick with the short form in the future. There’s something about the gunslinger-quickness of short stories in this genre that really speaks to me.

About The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny: Tales of a Very Weird West

Gunslingers. Lawmen. Snake-oil Salesmen. Cowboys. Mad Scientists. And a few monsters. The Old West has never been wilder! THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UNCANNY presents sixteen original and never-before-published adventures by some of today’ s most visionary writers who have spun wildly offbeat tales of gunmen, lawmen, magic, and weird science. Saddle up with Josh Malerman, Scott Sigler, Keith DeCandido, Cullen Bunn, R.S. Belcher, Greg Cox, Jeffrey Mariotte, Laura Anne Gilman, Aaron Rosenberg, Maurice Broaddus, John G. Hartness, Carrie Harris, James A. Moore, Marguerite Reed, C. Edward Sellner, Carrie Harris, and Jennifer Brody! These tales twist the American West into a place of darkness, shadows, sudden death, terror in the night, bold heroism, devious magic, and shocking violence. Each story blazes a new trail through very strange territory – discovering weird science, ancient evil, mythic creatures, and lightning-fast action. Edited by Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of GHOSTWALKERS: A DEADLANDS NOVEL, the Joe Ledger Thrillers, V-WARS, and KAGEN THE DAMNED.

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