Howard Andrew Jones ". . .deliver(s) on the promises of the best adventure fantasy: strong characters, fast action in colorful settings, and genuine flair and wit." Todd McCaulty, Black Gate "A top-notch storyteller and fantasist of the first-order." Daniel Blackston, Managing Editor, SFreader "An exciting and gifted writer." Earl Staggs, Managing Editor, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine "I've been an admirer of Howard Andrew Jones since the first story of his I've read. He's continued to prove he's a master of fantasy fiction. That he isn't the highest paid writer in the universe proves the inherent unfairness of said universe." Fraser Ronald, Managing Editor, Swords Edge 2nd Place, 2002 Firebrand Fiction/SFReader Short Story Contest

Call me old fashioned, but I enjoy a good adventure yarn and traditional story structure. I value and appreciate other styles of writing, but they rarely make my soul sing. I seek out fiction with dynamic pacing, tension, and a sense of wonder, but I also thrill to stories about characters with psychological depth: protagonists and antagonists with real motives and real dilemmas, no matter how fantastic the canvas upon which their exploits are painted. I have a special fondness for sword and sorcery, and by that I mean brave semi-heroes risking all for a doomed cause. There's an awful lot of sword and sorcery dreck out there, but that's true with any genre. When it succeeds, no fiction delights me more.

Artwork by S.R. Jones

I strive to write the kind of fiction I like to read. Right now I'm having a lot of fun crafting tales of Dabir and Asim, my ninth century Arabic sleuths. Six of their stories have been lucky enough to find homes, and more are in various states of completion. Imagine Sherlock Holmes crossed with the old Night Stalker show and the Thousand and One Nights, throw in a Robert E. Howard narrator in place of Watson, and you might have some sense of their adventures.

RECENT NON-FICTION Harold Lamb, Master of Adventure Paradox # 3 The Sword in the Mirror: A Century of Sword and Sorcery Black Gate # 6 EDITOR The Grand Cham, by Harold Lamb Wildside Press FORTHCOMING HAROLD LAMB COLLECTIONS Wolf of the Steppes, by Harold Lamb Bison Books Warriors of the Steppes, by Harold Lamb Bison Books Reavers of the Steppes, by Harold Lamb Bison Books Riders of the Steppes, by Harold Lamb Bison Books I spend a lot more time being a father to two small children and a husband to my wonderful wife than I spend writing, and I earn my living editing technical books. I write in the early mornings, and always take a notebook with me in case I get stuck in traffic or end up waiting longer than I expected for appointments. I manage two Web sites, www.haroldlamb.net and www.swordandsorcery.org -- and I'm the Editor-In Chief of the sword and sorcery e-zine Flashings Swords. In my "spare" time I'm working on my master's degree and studying Karate-I'm also selecting and editing fiction for a series of books collecting the work of Harold Lamb for Bison Books. For more information about Harold Lamb, click here to go to the official Harold Lamb Page. If you want to find out more about Howard Jones, Daniel Blackston interviewed me here: http://www.sfreader.com/interview009.asp If you want to chat about writing, Harold Lamb, old pulps, or sword and sorcery, post a note on one of the Sfreader discussion forums, or drop me a line at: jonesha@sigecom.net Best wishes, Howard Andrew Jones Six of My Favorite Writers and Why: Shakespeare--Brilliant simile, metaphor, rhythym, characters of astonishing psychological depth, and all the other attributes that have brought his work fame throughout the centuries Saki--His best short stories are tiny masterpieces of narrative and character Robert E. Howard--Driving narrative, cinematic pacing, vivid descriptions, gifted imagination Lord Dunsany--A peerless stylist; his prose flows with lyricism and beauty and is rich with an understanding of human nature Harold Lamb--A gifted storyteller, brilliant plotter, and master of describing the exotic--a forgotten master Leigh Brackett--Pulse-pounding action, evocative sense of place Favorite Books: Many by the above, obviously, plus: Against the Fall of Night, Michael Arnold The Borgia Testament, Nigel Balchin Essays on the history of fantasy, and sundry short stories by Lin Carter The Hornblower Saga, C.S. Forester Vampire Earth Series, E.E. Knight The Lankhmar Stories of Fritz Leiber The Elric stories of Michael Moorcock Last Call, and On Stranger Tides, Tim Powers Red Mars and Green Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson The Dying Earth, Jack Vance Chronicles of Amber (Series 1) Roger Zelazny