Arinn Dembo profile picture

Arinn Dembo

My pen is mighty. But I also have a sword.

About Me


I am a professional writer with a bent toward SF, fantasy and horror. I have published more reviews and articles than I can count over the last 15 years, some of which can be found archived on my personal website, In the Vulgar Tongue.
I have written background fiction and provided creative content for five computer games to date, including Homeworld, Homeworld: Cataclysm, Ground Control, and Arcanum. My latest and greatest effort in this direction is Sword of the Stars , released by Kerberos Productions in August of 2006. A new expansion for SoTS is now in the works--stayed tuned for updates!
I also write a very occasional column on horror and feminist subjects: Personal Demons is a general editorial rant for Pretty Scary--the Website For Women in Horror By Women in Horror .
My fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and various anthologies, and I am about to complete my first novel. My short story "Monsoon" was the first prize winner of the "Best Fantastic Erotica" contest for 2005--that contest is sponsored yearly by Circlet Press. Publication of that book was delayed due to circumstances beyond the publisher's control--apparently the market for highly literate smut has declined somewhat--but is now moving forward! If you could like to support me and Circlet Press by pre-ordering a copy, so that the anthology can be published in the future--check my blog.
I also have a sideline as an erotic photographer, but that's a separate profile! If you want to have a look, you can find that here.

My Interests

Life and death.And all points in between.

I'd like to meet:

Creative people who love science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Music:

Best musicians I know personally: The Unsatisfied and The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets!

Movies:

I love 'em all, so long as they're well-written, but I have a special weakness for horror, sci-fi, film noir and martial arts. A sucker for samurai flicks, especially.

Television:

I tend to watch shows once they've been released on DVD. In much the same way that I tend to buy graphic novels rather than monthly or weekly comics.

I have no patience.

Books:

I have a deep love of all books.

Heroes:

All I know about heroes is that there aren't enough of them.

My Blog

An Open Letter to the Editor of the Buffalo News

I just sent this letter to the editors of the Buffalo News, in upstate New York.  It's a counter-editorial, written in response to this charming rant here.  Please note that I don't giv...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Sat, 14 Apr 2007 07:31:00 PST

I want this on a t-shirt.

This is what I was able to do with the cool gag software at This Fun Website. 'Nuff said. ...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 07:13:00 PST

I have offended Chairman Mao!

Since my latest game has been released, there have been a number of...interesting responses to my science fiction background for the game.  I have been repeatedly taken to task, for example, by N...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:24:00 PST

Personal Demons

Just realized today that I have been so busy with my classes at the University of Tennessee that I forgot to share a wonderful new piece of artwork, which I received at the end of August from the amaz...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Sun, 03 Dec 2006 06:49:00 PST

Me and Dante...Alighieri

Every once in a while, I get a result from one of these on-line quiz deals which is NOT entirely full of crap, and the shock about kills me. "You scored as Dante Alighieri. According to you most...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Tue, 21 Nov 2006 03:20:00 PST

Best Fantastic Erotica--update

A friend of mine dropped me an email the other day and asked me:  "Hey, what ever happened to that anthology of the Best Fantastic Erotica stories for 2005?  Didn't you win that contest?&nbs...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Tue, 21 Nov 2006 07:34:00 PST

Sword of the Stars--Demo Release Today!

Well, this is it, folks. The game I've been working on for two years is on the final push to the marketplace. The free demo for Sword of the Stars was released today at 12:00 noon PST on Fileplanet, a...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Tue, 25 Jul 2006 11:28:00 PST

31 Questions and Answers about...the First Person on My Top 8

    1.What's their name? Andrew Shearer, a.k.a. The Gonzorifficator   2. What's their age? The Shearer is timeless.  But he looks like he's in his mid-20s.3. Is the person younger ...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Wed, 21 Jun 2006 08:24:00 PST

ZOMBIFIED!!!

I recently had the pleasure of serving as Assistant Zombie Wrangler for the Shy-By-Day feature film "Jesus H. Zombie", currently in production in the state of Georgia.  On June 4th, I packed up t...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Tue, 06 Jun 2006 05:01:00 PST

New Toons: Raymond Morrison

New cartoons submitted by local artist Raymond Morrison, who used reference photos taken by A.J. Stepney.  He swears this was all done with a computer, and there was no "real art" involved. ...
Posted by Arinn Dembo on Wed, 31 May 2006 09:22:00 PST