Paul Kemp enjoys beer (mostly Guinness, but also Tetley's). And cigars. And Yankee baseball. And Michigan football. Did we mention beer?
Mmm. Beer.
While his mind is often in the Forgotten Realms, his body lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Jennifer, his dog Penelope, and four cats: Newt, Libby, Emmitt, and Homer (after the poet, not the Simpson).
Mmm. Beer.
He is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Michigan law school. When he's not writing tales in Ed's magnificent brainchild, he practices corporate law in Detroit. Yes, that does make him a tool of "the Man." Keeping a heel on the throat of common folk is what he does. Helps him write believable villains.
His reading tastes run the gamut from Shakespeare to Tom Clancy. He's particularly fond of Milton, and religious themes tend to trickle into his writing despite his best efforts to the contrary. A well-written fantasy short story is work of art -- some of Michael Swanwick's work astounds him. His philosophy on writing? Make it dark, make it gritty, and above all, make it believable. Characters drive plots, not the other way around.
The best advice on life that he ever received was from an undergraduate college professor in political science: Always extend yourself intellectually; that's the only way you'll ever grow. He tries to keep that advice in mind at all times. He also tries to hum the theme song from Shaft several times a day. After all, he is the private dick who's a sex machine to all the chicks.
Damn straight.
Wizards of the Coast novels by Paul Kemp:
