Nora and the Eternal Waterwheel was something of a jumping off point crafted from the idea of wanting to see something more different, perhaps more pure, than current narrative exposure in all ages writing. In writing what was affectionately been dubbed “The Nora Chronicles” by fans, I worked to create a world that was as intelligent as it was innocent.

My bread and butter, or biscuits and bacon, is dark fantasy. I’m not a writer confined to a single genre; that would bore me to something ten steps beyond tears, nor do I confine myself to a single series, but if you ask me “Eugene, what do you prefer to write?” dark fantasy is quite probably the highest on my list. I was challenged by my editor and by members of my church to write something for younger readers, and the challenge was fun and humorous for me because my perspective on appropriate reading materials for youths is rather obscured. It’s easy enough to say “Most kids shouldn’t watch Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira or Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s Ninja Scroll”, though I saw both in single digits. It’s a bit harder with literature.

I was reading Poe and Hitchcock in Kindergarten; See Spot Run made me want to contemplate my first book burning. For loads of kids, See Spot Run is an appropriate threshold. For many, it’s insulting. I was reading titles like The Wuthering Heights, The Picture of Dorian Grey, Great Expectations, Kilobyte, A Matter of Taste and more in the first grade. So, my perspective on media for younglings is rather different. That being said, I also don’t believe every young person ought to embark on a journey with Saberhagen, and that’s pretty clear in my all ages writing.

How many of you are still reading? Felicitations; I do so love and adore individuals who don’t knee jerk and fly into rage. Let’s go on, shall we?