My interests are almost too wide to list. It's probably easiest to list off some of the sections that take up the most space in my library: ancient history; Egypt; mythology; folklore; world religions; magick; neo-paganism; vampires & vampirism; psychology; 19th century British literature; Shakespeare; poetry; gender studies; alchemy; hermeticism; past lives; psychic abilities; metaphysics.
I'd like to meet:
If I could make a wish and have really neat people appear? I'd like to have Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker over for tea (just running into Neil in the airport wasn't enough!) I would love to sit and discuss ideas about mythology, belief, and the craft of story-telling. The more I see of his works, the more I think I need to add Alan Moore to that list as well. But I'll settle for anyone with a sincere, inquiring mind. The more, the merrier.
Note on Leaving Comments:
I welcome and encourage comments, but because image-heavy pages end up loading very slowly for some folks, I need to lay down a few rules:
1. You are allowed one image in your comment. Keep it around the size of a business card. Anything too big might mean the comment is deleted.
2. I will accept comments that include animated gifs for their one image, but I will automatically delete comments with videos or flash or what-have-you. Too much visual clutter makes for a slow page.
3. Comment sincerely. I don't mind links to your pages, but don't just comment to advertise. Your comment will be deleted if all you're doing is pimping your stuff.
4. People who try to place comments that are just spam for webcams and the like will be hunted down and tortured by the 72 Goetic demons. I might unleash the Hounds of Hell on you for good measure. Take your spam and choke on it, please!
Music:
My musical tastes range from Bach to Rob Zombie. Some of the bands that get near-constant listening time around me, however include (in no particular order): VNV Nation; QUNTAL; Dead Can Dance; Thou Shalt Not; Vivaldi; Loreena McKennitt; Mozart; Anonymous 4; Wolfsheim; Mahler; Apoptygma Beserk; Nightwish; NIN; Delirium; Beethoven; Wumpscut; the Hilliard Ensemble; the Tallis Scholars; Clannad.
Movies:
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Television:
I grew up watching things like Project Bluebook and In Search Of. Other shows I watched and loved as a kid were Star Trek, The Phoenix, Battlestar Galactica, Shadowchasers, Beauty and the Beast and pretty much anything about the mysterious, the unknown, and the occult. In a totally different vein, I also enjoyed the original Wild, Wild West, The A-Team, M*A*S*H, and Magnum, PI.
Since I could only be described as a geek in high school, I was also an avid watcher of Dr. Who and preferred Peter Davidson, he of the cricket outfit & celery stalk, over pretty much everyone else. Come college, I stopped watching much TV, mainly because I rarely, if ever, had the time, and the shows really lacked originality or much of anything to keep my attention. These days, if I watch TV series, it's all on DVD. This has allowed me to learn to enjoy a number of series that I missed while they were on, including Forever Knight, Highlander, and Babylon5. Friends and family are trying to also sell me on Stargate but, much as I like Richard Dean Anderson, my jury's still out on that one.
Books:
Current Book Projects:
The Psychic Energy Codex
"An authoritative manual for psychic development, The Psychic Energy Codex explores the roots of modern metaphysical beliefs, including the doctrine of the subtle body in the Western tradition, the origin of belief in the chakras, and core principles behind time-honored techniques such as meditation and creative visualization." This book is meant to be a workbook and contains a section ..ing your own study group.
Pre-Order this book!
Vampires in their Own Words
This anthology will hit the stacks in early fall. It contains articles from a wide variety of people who are active in the modern vampire community. Within its pages, psi-vamps and blood-drinkers alike tell their stories, revealing their beliefs, practices, and unique approach to the vampire archetype. As the editor, I serve as your guide, offering further insight and commentary into the various voices collected in the work. I'll have a link as soon as one is available.
Heroes:
Writing Heroes
Ray Bradbury, hands-down. While I like a variety of other horror, fantasy, and scifi icons, including H.P. Lovecraft, Neil Gaiman, Terri Windling, Isaac Asimov, and Clive Barker, Bradbury is someone I actively look up to, who's easy-going style that so masterfully mixes the weird with the mundane is something I strive to imitate in my own short fiction.
Intellectual Heroes
Joseph Campbell. Carl Jung. Mircea Eliade. These are people whose work occupies places of honor on my bookshelves, whose insightful volumes I retutrn to again and again. I love the scope and the breadth of their work and find their ideas applicable to practically every aspect of my own. Campbell's books, especially, are something I return to again and again, in order to rediscover a sense of mystery, of connectedness, and to inspire me to ever broader scholarship.
