Twenty-year vet writer of novellas and tomes; the grittier, the darker, the more the characters must go through, the better. In the bleakest of worlds, characters shine all the more! I strive to make readers weep, not only because I just slaughtered their favorite character, but because the ending was sudden, unexpected, and impactful! I sometimes ask myself, 'why do I do this?' but the answer is simple: I want to be remembered long after the book is finished, I want the experience to be memorable, and I want the characters and story to resonate within my readers. In terms of tone, I'm somewhere between Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself and Martin's A Game of Thrones with a splash of Kings of the Wyld by Eames. Let's be realistic, when you're reading grimdark, anything and everything can happen. My genres are grimdark epic fantasy, military sci-fi fantasy, horror/thriller, and currently working on a western fantasy about monster-slaying bounty hunters working for the gods of their holy house. I'm a wandering Texan who served Uncle Sam for four years, moved about—'here and there and back again,' and been to the far reaches around the world, just not the 'mines of Moria' or 'the slopes of Mt. Doom.' Always looking for another great adventure, some new idea to write and explore, and a couple of other things along the way to make my life complete. 'But you just have to be realistic about these things.' If you want to know more, check out my blog: https://outpostdire.com