(This a response to veni-vidi-vici's opinion piece. Read it first. Then come back. I'm patient. :D )

I'm what many might call a voracious reader: I have a miniature library, and I've read all of the books at least twice. I'm also omnivorous when it comes to books: fantasy, science-fiction, science-fantasy, history, historical fiction... if it's printed, I'll read it. The only thing I steer clear of is trashy romance novels (*suppresses gag reflex*).

When I write, however, I write dark fantasy because I enjoy the genre. A lot of very intelligent books and stories by very spooky talents (H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Brian Hodge, just to name a few of my favorites) have inspired me.

Is it easy to write that styIe, though?

I've been writing in my spare time for over 20 years now, and in that time I've written 3 novel-length stroies (one of which I submitted to Palladium Books) and dozens of stories. The trickiest ones, however, are the horror and dark fantasy ones.

It's a tough tightrope to walk when I set pencil to paper (yes, I'm that old-fashioned... but I use a mechanical pencil :lol: ). "What can I convey and still be believable? What can I reveal, and not reveal, and still deliver a chills-up-the-spine, hair-standing-on-end twist that will make the reader sit bolt upright and supress a scream?"

Most importantly, "How much effort do I have to exert not to sabotage myself with a clever one-liner or pun?"

Because, quite seriously, I gravitate towards the humorous like iron to an eletromagnet. Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett are particular favorites, and quoting them at work has made me pretty popular (software can be stressful... breaking the tension is my specialty :D ). Keeping that out of my darker writing keeps me on my toes.

I've experienced pure heart-breaking joy (the birth of my children, the day of our wedding), immense sadness (the death of my younger brother to leukemia) and even fear (car vs. 18-wheeler). Sheer heart-stopping terror? Fighting a vampire? Resisting a paralyzing spell? No... but I try my hardest to convey them in my stories, because it's a challenge.

I have no objection to sunnier movies like the old Disney movies (if I did, 3 kids crushed that in a hurry), but some of the darkest movies can be absolutely hilarious: "Motel Hell" is a personal favorite of mine, and "Robocop" (the original, not the awful sequels) have moments of side-splitting black humor amidst the ultra-violence.

I'm not in any way suggesting that writing comedy is less challenging. What I am saying is that comedy isn't the only challenging genre to write.