Tim Waggoner Explained

Tim Waggoner is an American author of novels and short stories in the fantasy, horror, and thriller genres.

Education

Waggoner graduated from Wright State University in 1989 with a Master of Arts in English^[1] with a Creative Writing Concentration. He holds BS ed. and MA degrees from Wright State University.

Career

Waggoner has written and published novels for both adult and young readers, including Temple of the Dragonslayer and Return of the Sorceress (both for Wizards of the Coast), Dark Ages: Gangrel and Exalted: A Shadow Over Heaven's Eye (both White Wolf), Nekropolis (Five Star), and Defender: Hyperswarm (I-Books).

He is also the author of the short story collection All Too Surreal (Prime Books). He has published numerous short stories in the fantasy and horror genres, and his articles on writing have appeared in Writer's Digest, Writers' Journal, New Writer's Magazine, Ohio Writer, Speculations, and Teaching English in the Two-Year College.^[2]

He has also written the Nekropolis series of urban fantasies and the Ghost Trackers series written in collaboration with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson of the Ghost Hunters television show. His books for writers include The Art of Writing Genre Fiction, written in collaboration with Michael Knost, and Writing in the Dark, a guide to writing horror and dark fantasy fiction.

A number of his stories have received honorable mentions in various editions of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. He won first place in the 1998 Authorlink! New Author Awards Competition and was a finalist for the Darrell Award for Best MidSouth Short Story in 1999.

His novella The Men Upstairs was nominated for the 2011 Shirley Jackson Award,^[3] and his short story "How to be a Horror Writer" was nominated for the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award. His novella The Winter Box won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction.^[4]

His how-to-write-horror book Writing in the Dark won the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction, and his article "Speaking of Horror" won the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Best Short Non-Fiction.^[5]

Teaching

He serves as a professor of English and teaches composition and creative writing at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.^[6] Waggoner also taught creative writing for many years at Seton Hill University, Pennsylvania, in an innovative low-residency Master of Fine Arts degree program in Writing Popular Fiction.

Personal life

Waggoner grew up in the Dayton, Ohio, area.

In addition to writing fiction, Waggoner has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and copy editor. He has two daughters from a previous marriage.

Bibliography

Standalone novels

• Dying for It (2001)
• The Harmony Society (2003)
• Necropolis (2004) (Rewritten as Nekropolis in 2009)^[7]
• Like Death (2005)
• Pandora Drive (2006)
• Darkness Wakes (2006)
• Cross County (2008)
• Last of the Lycans (2010)
• Beneath the Bones (2012) [Re-issue of Cross County]
• The Way of All Flesh (2014)^[8]
• Eat the Night (2016)
• Teeth of the Sea (2017)
• The Mouth of the Dark (2018)
• Blood Island (2019)
• They Kill (2019)
• The Forever House (2020)
• Your Turn to Suffer (2021)
• We Will Rise (2022)
• A Hunter Called Night (May 9, 2023)^[9]
• Lord of the Feast (April 16, 2024)^[10]

Series

Ghost Trackers

• Ghost Trackers with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson (2011)
• Ghost Town with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson (2012)

Godfire

• Orchard of Dreams (2006)
• Heart's Wound (2006)

Nekropolis

• Nekropolis (2009)
• Dead Streets (2010)
• Dark War (2011)
• The Nekropolis Archives (2012) (Omnibus edition of above novels and the short stories "Disarmed and Dangerous," "The Midnight Watch," and "Zombie Interrupted")

Shadow Watch

• Night Terrors (2014)
• Dream Stalkers (2014)

Custodians of the Cosmos

• The Atrocity Engine (April 30, 2024)^[11]
• The Book of Madness (July 30, 2024)^[12]
• The Desolation War (October 2024)

Collections

• All Too Surreal (2002)
• Broken Shadows (2009)
• Bone Whispers (2013)
• Cemetery Dance Select: Tim Waggoner (2017)
• Dark And Distant Voices (2017)
• Love, Death, and Madness (2018)
• A Little Aqua Book of Marine Tales (2019)
• Old Monsters Never Die: A Story Collection (May 24, 2024)^[13]

Media tie-ins

• Defender: Hyperswarm (2004), after the Defender video game
• Gangrel (2004), from the role-playing game
• (2005), after the A Nightmare on Elm Street films
• Exalted 5: A Shadow Over Heaven's Eye (2005), after the Exalted role-playing game
• Stargate SG-1: Valhalla (2009), after the Stargate SG-1 television series
• Lady Ruin (2010), from the Eberron Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game campaign setting
• Grimm: The Killing Time (2014), after the Grimm television series
• Alien: Prototype (2019), after the Alien franchise
• Zombicide Invader: Planet Havoc (2022), from the Zombicide board game

The Blade of the Flame

From the Eberron Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game campaign setting

• Thieves of Blood (2006)
• Forge of the Mind Slayers (2007)
• Sea of Death (2008)

Dragonlance: the New Adventures

Set in the Dragonlance shared universe.

• Temple of the Dragonslayer (2004)
• Return of the Sorceress (2004)

Supernatural

After the Supernatural television series.

• Supernatural: Carved in Flesh (2013)
• Supernatural: The Roads Not Taken (2013)
• Supernatural: Mythmaker (2016)
• The Men of Letters Bestiary: Winchester Family Edition (2017)
• Supernatural: Children of Anubis (2019)

Film novelizations

• - The Official Movie Novelization (January 24, 2017)^[14]
• Resident Evil: the Final Chapter (2017), novelization of the film of the same name
• Kingsman: the Golden Circle (2017), novelization of the film of the same name
• Halloween Kills (2021), novelization of the slasher film^[15]
• Terrifier 2: The Official Movie Novelization (2024)^[16]

X series

Novelizations of the X film series^[17]

• X: The Official Novelization (2024)
• Pearl: The Official Novelization (2024)
• MaXXXine: The Official Novelization (2025)

Books on Writing

• The Art of Writing Genre Fiction (2018), with Michael Knost
• Writing in the Dark (2020)
• Writing in the Dark: The Workbook (2022)
• Let Me Tell You a Story (Writing in the Dark) (October 5, 2023)^[18]
• Just Add Writer (2025)^[19]

External links

• Tim Waggoner's Official Website
• Tim Waggoner's Official Blog
  • Web site: Tim Waggoner :: Pen & Paper RPG Database. February 28, 2005. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20050228213706/http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=4930.

Notes and References

1. Thrasher, Don (April 25, 2004). "An exciting new chapter: Area novelist to have a number of his works published in 2004", Dayton Daily News, p. F3.
2. Web site: Tim Waggoner. https://web.archive.org/web/20090624123824/http://ww2.wizards.com/Books/Wizards/Bios/default.aspx?doc=TimWaggoner. June 24, 2009.
3. Web site: The Shirley Jackson Awards » 2011 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners. Shirleyjacksonawards.org. 5 January 2018.
4. Web site: Bram Stoker Award® Winners Announced - Horror Writers Association BlogHorror Writers Association Blog. Horror.org. 5 January 2018.
5. Web site: Templeton . Molly . Announcing the 2020 Bram Stoker Awards Winners . Tor.com . 1 June 2021 . 2021-06-01.
6. News: Short, Sharon. March 24, 2013. Local author Waggoner: Writing was in his script. Dayton Daily News. D4.
7. Web site: Waggoner . Tim . The Long, Strange Trip to Nekropolis . Tim Waggoner . 6 September 2024.
8. Web site: The Spooky Six with Willow Croft and Tim Waggoner - The Horror Tree . 2023-01-10 . horrortree.com.
9. Web site: A Hunter Called Night . . 6 September 2024.
10. Web site: Lord of the Feast . . 6 September 2024.
11. News: THE ATROCITY ENGINE . 6 September 2024 . . January 2, 2024 . en.
12. Web site: The Book of Madness . . 6 September 2024.
13. Web site: Old Monsters Never Die: A Story Collection . . 6 September 2024.
14. Web site: TITAN xXx: Return of Xander Cage - The Official Movie Novelization . . 6 September 2024.
15. Book: Waggoner . Tim . Halloween Kills : the official movie novelization. . October 19, 2021 . . 978-1789096019.
16. News: Earl . William . ‘Terrifier 2’ Novel Sets October Release; Art the Clown Returns for ‘Gruesome’ Titan Books Debut (EXCLUSIVE) . 6 September 2024 . . 21 June 2024.
17. Web site: T . Amber . Ti West And A24's X Trilogy Getting Novelization By Writer Tim Waggoner . . 6 September 2024 . 6 August 2024.
18. Web site: Let Me Tell You a Story (Writing in the Dark) . . 6 September 2024.
19. Web site: Barnes . Jennifer . BOOK DEAL: Just Add Writer . Raw Dog Screaming Press . 6 September 2024 . 17 June 2024.