So, what's this Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman business? We'll get to that in a minute, after the more important stuff. When I was a kid we had a modest HO scale train layout my dad built. It wasn't that big; the size of a table, really, but I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. It was only allowed to be run during the winters, but during that time, I used it whenever I could. The thing fascinated me. The track layout itself was fairly simple, but my Dad's attention to detail with the landscaping and the buildings amazed me. I always swore when I grew up, I'd someday build a layout the size of a room. I just loved (and still do) the idea of crafting landscapes and arranging towns and cities.
Over the years, I've fiddled with the idea, even made some half-hearted attempts at layouts, but quickly realized I had neither the space nor the time to do it RIGHT. However, that hasn't stopped me from collecting supplies and trains, track and buildings whenever I see them at garage sales, and I have totes and boxes full of stuff waiting to be used. This love of trains, of course, inspired my short story "On A Midnight Black Chessie" in my first short story collection Things Slip Through.
On another note, I am so beyond stoked to see my next Clifton Heights story, "When We All Meet at the Ofrenda" appearing in collection featuring Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Chizmar (introduction) and so many others. Just take a gander at the TOC below...
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