Page Created: 06/20/12. Last Updated: 08/04/12.
PATRICK THOMAS
Official Site: http://www.patthomas.net/
Books:
..........THE MYSTIC INVESTIGATORS SERIES:
Mystic Investigators
Bullets and Brimstone (with John L French)
Once More Upon a Time (with Diane Raetz)
From the Shadows (with John L French)
Partners in Crime (with Diane Raetz) -- forthcoming
..........DEAR CTHULHU SERIES:
Have a Dark Day
Good Advice for Bad People
Cthulhu Knows Best -- forthcoming
..........THE MURPHY'S LORE SERIES:
Tales from Bulfinche's Pub
Fool's Day: A Tale from Bulfinche's Pub
Through the Drinking Glass: Tales from Bulfinche's Pub
Shadow of the Wolf: A Tale from Bulfinche's Pub
Redemption Road
Bartender of the Gods: Tales from Bulfinche's Pub
..........THE MURPHY'S LORE AFTER HOURS SERIES:
Nightcaps: After Hours, Volume 1
Empty Graves: After Hours, Volume 2
Fairy with a Gun: The Collected Terrorbelle
Dead to Rites: Casefiles of Agent Karver
Lore & Dysorder: The Hell's Detective Mysteries
MEETING SUMMARY:
Meeting Date: June 9, 2012.
Meeting Site: Barnes & Noble, The Shops at Riverside, Hackensack, New Jersey.
Official Attendance: 13.
Meeting Program: Talk by Fantasy Writer.
Notes:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 2012 Philip J De Parto:
The Monthly General Meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County was held at Barnes & Noble in The Shops at Riverside mall in Hackensack, New Jersey on Saturday, June 9, 2012. Fantasy writer Patrick Thomas was our speaker.
Mr Thomas is a writer, and artist and an editor. The great majority of his 20 books and 150 short stories have been issued by small press publishers like Dark Quest Books and Padwulf Press. The small press world is an incestuous one in which people move back and forth between the roles of editor and author, write stories in one another's universes, and collaborate with each other on projects in addition to doing solo work.
The author's most successful work falls into three series: Mystic Investigators (pulpy superhero vigilante noir), Murphy's Lore (two separate series set in a bar which caters to supernatural types) and Dear Cthulhu (good advice for bad people by H P Lovecraft's most fearsome evil god).
Dear Cthulhu came about through a combination of boredom and inspiration. Our guest manned a table at a gaming convention which was doing no business. He noticed that the only two items which were selling well were dice and little plush Cthulhus. He hand-wrote a couple of advice letters from the big C and ran them over to the publisher of CTHULHU SEX MAGAZINE who hired Mr Thomas to run with it. The column has since appeared in several different magazines and will soon appear in WEIRD TALES.
The small press operates in a different manner than the big publishers. Print runs are 500 to 1500 copies. Advances are minuscule or non-existent. Authors are paid by royalties, but since small presses have little staff, the writers act as the sales force, selling copies at conventions, book stores, or any place where fans gather.
Patrick Thomas now has a shot at the big time. His Murphy's Lore books have been props on the television series CSI. One of the principals has taken an interest in the character Terrorbelle and has purchase an option to develop a series around her.
Terrorbelle is a half--breed supernatural investigator: half ogre, half fairy. She stands at 6 feet tall, has wings (which she can will invisible) and is "built like a cross between a linebacker and a stripper." Definitely high concept.
In the meantime he continues his current routine. Our guest works as a physical therapist three days a week. The other two days he puts his kids on the bus and writes. The routine enables Mr Thomas to produce two novels and a number of short stories a year, as well as the occasional editorial or art assignment.
When the author begins a story, he knows how it starts and how it ends, and has some idea about the middle of the tale, but details change during the writing. He is usually working on 2 to 3 stories at the same time and feels he works best under the pressure of a deadline. He dictates the story to a recorder and pays someone to transcribe the work.
More information will be posted on this meeting's page on the club website.