James Paul Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author. Blaylock is noted for his distinctive style. He writes in a humorous way: His characters never walk, they clump along, or when someone complains (in a flying machine) that flight is impossible, the other characters agree and show him why he's right. He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receiving an M.A. in 1974; and lives in Orange, California, teaching creative writing at Chapman University. He and his friends Tim Powers and K. W. Jeter were mentored by Philip K. Dick. Along with Tim Powers he invented the poet William Ashbless. Blaylock and Powers have often collaborated with each other on writing stories, including "The Better Boy", "On Pirates", and "The William Ashbless Memorial Cookbook". Blaylock is also currently the director of the Creative Writing Department at the Orange County High School of the Arts, where Powers is also the Writer in Residence.
Novels
A number of Blaylock's novels can be arranged in groups of three by sharing a common setting, characters or style but all his books stand alone and there are no strict literary trilogies amongst them.
- The "Balumnia" Trilogy
Perhaps best described as children's stories for adults.
- The Elfin Ship (1982)
- The Disappearing Dwarf (1983)
- The Stone Giant (1989)
- The "Narbondo" Trilogy
Steampunk-ish — the latter two are set in Victorian England.
- The Digging Leviathan (1984)
- Homunculus (1986)
- Lord Kelvin's Machine (1992)
- The "Christian" Trilogy
Present-day fantasy using Christian elements — such as the Holy Grail and the silver coins paid to Judas — without being in any way "religious".
- The Last Coin (1988)
- The Paper Grail (1991)
- All The Bells On Earth (1995)
- The "Ghosts" Trilogy
Present-day Californian ghost stories.
- Night Relics (1994)
- Winter Tides (1997)
- The Rainy Season (1999)
- Others
- Land of Dreams (1987)
- The Magic Spectacles (1991) Young adult book
- 13 Phantasms (2000) Short story collection
- On Pirates (2001) Short story collection with Tim Powers
- The Man in the Moon (2002) Original manuscript of The Elfin Ship
- The Devils in the Details (2003) Short story collection with Tim Powers
- In For A Penny (2003) Short story collection
- The Complete Twelve Hours of the Night (1986) Joke pamphlet cowritten by Tim Powers and published by Cheap Street Press
