Other Sandboxes

Pastiche…sounds like something you might eat…but the official definition is “an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.” A pastiche can be respectful or can descend to parody. Over the course of his long career F. Paul Wilson often has been invited to work with the characters and realms created by iconic writers in varied genres. Usually he would decline, but sometimes the temptation to play in a favorite author’s sandbox was too great and he gave in. As a fan of all the chosen authors, he approached the characters and worlds they created with the greatest respect. So in that sense, his pastiches are also homages. H. P. Lovecraft, Mary W. Shelley, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sax Rohmer, Dashiell Hammett, Arthur Conan Doyle…who could say no to working with their creations? You’ll find them all and more in Other Sandboxes: Stories with Characters and Places Shared with Writers Living and Dead by F. Paul Wilson.