Nick Mamatas is the author of several novels, including I Am Providence and Sabbath. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, Asimov’s, Tor.com, and many other venues—much of it was recently collected in The People’s Republic of Everything. Nick is also an editor; his anthologies include Haunted Legends (with Ellen Datlow), Mixed Up (with Molly Tanzer), and Wonder and Glory Forever: Awe-Inspiring Lovecraftian Fiction.
His story, “Bleak Night at Bad Rock”, appears in the Weird World War III anthology.
Tell me about yourself. Where are you from? What’s your background?
I am from Long Island, and specifically a little Greek-American (and even more specifically, a little Ikarian-American) enclave on the North Shore. I grew up largely in Brooklyn.
Besides yourself, which other contemporary authors would you recommend?
Do people recommend themselves in questions like this?!? I want the names of those people! And their addresses!
Tell me about a time you almost died.
Years ago, while living in Jersey City, we wanted to grill some food in the concrete backyard because the power and gas were out. We were also out of lighter fluid, so I grabbed a cigarette lighter and a big rock and was about to smash the former open with the latter when my girlfriend at the time walked outside and said, “Don’t do that. The lighter will explode and you will die.” And so I didn’t, and I didn’t.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
The Manhattan in the parallel universe where Giuliani and Bloomberg didn’t ruin it.
If you could live in any time period, when would it be? Why?
Three weeks from now, when I’ll be all caught up. At least I’ve been telling myself I’ll be all caught up in three weeks for the past thirty years, so…
Story’s Soundtrack
Each of the stories in this volume evoked certain themes and emotions that can sometimes be approximated with music. The below video is the editor’s best interpretation of the feelings and themes that this author’s story evoked. Please note that this is only the editor’s interpretation. The author did not know this portion of the blog post existed until the editor published it.
Order Weird World War III Now
days
hours minutes seconds
until
Weird World War III Release Date
Through A Glass Darkly 