Christopher Golden

Christopher Golden (born July 15, 1967) is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels who co-authored two of Richard Hatch's Battlestar Galactica novels, Armageddon (1997) and Warhawk (1998). The novels were part of a larger series of seven tie-in novels that Hatch wrote with various co-authors, representing a continuation of the Original Series, set twenty years after its conclusion.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts. He graduated from Tufts University in 1989 with a double major in English and history and a concentration in classics. Golden is a third-generation Tufts alumnus and was a writer for The Tufts Daily during his freshman and sophomore years, where he reviewed films, books, and shows in Boston.

During his time at Tufts, Golden took classes with influential professors including Jay Cantor's creative writing class in his first year and studied English and creative writing with Alan Lebowitz throughout his college career. While at Tufts, he began shifting his aspirations from film school toward writing and the horror genre, noting that while his classmates wanted to write about social issues, he "wanted to write about zombies marching on Washington."

Golden recalls that it wasn't until his senior year at university that he realized he wanted to write novels for a living. He experienced an epiphany in which he understood that if he could write twenty short stories, there was no reason he couldn't write twenty chapters of a novel. In his senior year, Golden began writing his first novel, originally called Shadow Time, in Stratton Hall at Tufts in the fall of 1988.

Career

Early Success

In 1989, Golden attended his first major writers' convention, where he met the woman who would become his literary agent for the next twelve years, as well as the editor who would buy both his first non-fiction book and his first novel.

Golden's first published book was a non-fiction pop-culture project titled Cut!: Horror Writers on Horror Film, which he sold in 1990 or 1991 and was published by Berkley in 1992. The book won the Bram Stoker Award in 1992.

In 1992, at the age of 25, he sold his first novel. In that same year, Golden's agent sent editor Ginjer Buchanan the first 125 pages of the novel he was working on, and on the strength of that material, Buchanan offered him a two-book deal at Berkley. Following this success, Golden quit his job at Billboard magazine in New York and moved back to Massachusetts with his wife to write full time, a decision he has never regretted.

Major Works and Recognition

Golden's first novel, Of Saints and Shadows, was published by Berkley in 1994. This was the first novel he had ever attempted to write. The novel inaugurated his Shadow Saga series of urban fantasies centering on the vampiric hero Peter Octavian. Golden's work on this novel has been recognized as influential in the development of the modern urban fantasy genre, with author Charlaine Harris noting that many elements fundamental to urban fantasy first appeared in the book.

Golden has won the Bram Stoker Award twice, including for his novel Ararat in 2017. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award ten times in eight different categories. In 2020, he won the Shirley Jackson Award along with James A. Moore for their anthology The Twisted Book of Shadows.

Collaborations and Co-Created Universes

Golden has frequently collaborated with other writers throughout his career, explaining that "writing is a solitary business and I'm not a solitary person." He notes that conversations with writer friends often lead to collaborative projects when someone says "we should write that" about a crazy idea.

With Mike Mignola, he co-created The Outerverse, a comic book universe that includes such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. The character of Lord Baltimore first appeared in the novel Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Vampire, co-written by Golden and Mignola. Golden explained that while the initial plan was only for the novel, conversations during the development of a Hollywood version led them to realize there were many adventures to be told in the missing years from the novel, eventually resulting in the comic book series. Golden describes Baltimore as "certainly the best thing I've ever done in the medium" of comics.

He has worked with Tim Lebbon on several projects, including The Secret Journeys of Jack London series and The Hidden Cities series. He collaborated with Amber Benson on the online animated series Ghosts of Albion, as well as related novels. Golden and Benson have known each other and worked together for over twenty years. Most recently, they co-wrote the Audible Original Podcast Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, which reunited the cast from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Tie-In and Media Work

Golden is well known for his extensive work in media tie-in novels. He has written or co-written numerous novels in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe, including Halloween Rain, Blooded, Child of the Hunt, The Gatekeeper trilogy, Immortal, Sins of the Father, Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row, The Lost Slayer series, Oz: Into the Wild, Wisdom of War, and Monster Island. Many of these Buffy novels were co-authored with Nancy Holder.

Golden has spoken about his approach to working in shared worlds, noting that part of the satisfaction comes from "being able to play with characters you already love, to be the one putting the words in their mouths." When working on Buffy novels, he tried to push the parameters of what was allowed, writing the first original Buffy novel, the first hardcover, the first trilogy, the first serial, and the first novel that didn't have Buffy in it—a World War II-era novel featuring Spike and Drusilla as protagonists.

Golden also wrote Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth, a tie-in novel to the popular video game franchise. He explained that he only accepts media tie-in work when the passion is present, stating "If the passion isn't there, it just isn't worth it." He noted that he did extensive research for the Uncharted novel, likely more than for any other book he'd written, covering topics including Ecuador, Incas, alchemy, Egypt, China, Daedalus, Atlantis, and labyrinths.

His collaboration with Richard Hatch on the Battlestar Galactica novels Armageddon and Warhawk represented a continuation of the original 1978 series, set twenty years after the final episode.

Non-Fiction and Editorial Work

As an editor, Golden has worked on numerous short story anthologies including The New Dead, British Invasion, Dark Cities, Hex Life, Seize the Night, and Dark Duets. He co-authored The Complete Stephen King Universe: A Guide to the Worlds of Stephen King with Stanley Wiater and Hank Wagner.

Most recently, he co-edited The End of the World As We Know It with Brian Keene, an anthology of stories set in the world of Stephen King's The Stand. Golden explained that receiving Stephen King's approval email was "such a gift" and that "The Stand is part of the foundation of who I am as a writer and as a human being."

Influences

Golden has cited Stephen King as a major influence, describing King as "the narrative voice of my youth." He has spoken about how King's work led him to discover an entire generation of horror writers and influenced his path to becoming a writer himself, going from reading S.E. Hinton and Doc Savage to The Stand and then "everything else." Golden has named The Stand and John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany as his favorite novels.

Golden grew up loving short stories, particularly those in anthologies edited by Charles L. Grant and Stephen King's collection Night Shift, before going backwards to read collections by H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. He recalls that his introduction to genre fiction came from watching The Twilight Zone and Kolchak the Night Stalker on television, and reading comics like Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night.

Golden has also expressed his lifelong love of collaborative writing, citing King and Peter Straub's collaboration on The Talisman as a formative influence. He recalled, "They were my two favorite writers and they were writing a novel together! How could it be anything but brilliant?" John Skipp and Craig Spector's novel The Light at the End provided the inspiration he needed to finally start writing his first novel.

Within urban fantasy, Golden has been influenced by what he considers the older definition of the genre, particularly the works of Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and Tim Powers. He noted that de Lint "has been a huge influence for me and is one of my favourite writers."

Writing Process and Professional Activities

Golden typically works five to six days a week, sometimes seven. Most mornings are consumed by emails and business matters, with the bulk of his writing occurring just before lunch and throughout the afternoon. He nearly always has music playing while writing, noting he could "literally listen to my iTunes for three weeks and not repeat a song." When under deadline pressure, he sometimes works entire weekends, though he feels guilty about neglecting his family during these periods.

Regarding his approach to writing novels versus comics, Golden explained that while the medium is totally different, his approach doesn't change much. He noted that it was only around the time he and Tom Sniegoski wrote Talent that he felt he "sort of figured the comics medium out." If forced to choose between writing novels and comics, Golden would choose novels, explaining that "writing a novel doesn't require anyone else to bring it to fruition or to make it work."

Golden is the founder of the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival, which he established in 2015. He is co-host of the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, schools, and libraries.

Golden leads River City Writers, a company offering book and writing-related events, workshops in all areas of writing and publishing, focused writing retreats, and editorial and consultation services.

Golden also teaches a writing workshop to seventh and eighth graders from his daughter's school, and he spent several years directing junior high musical theatre, which he misses and wishes he had more time for.

Personal Life

Golden continues to live in Massachusetts with his family, where he was born and raised. His son, Nicholas Golden, was a managing editor for The Tufts Daily in spring 2016. He has been married to his wife for over 17 years as of 2008, and they have three children.

Golden describes himself as a "TV addict who loves music, musical theatre, movies and ice cream." His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world.

External links

• Official website
• Christopher Golden at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

• Christopher Golden article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
• Christopher Golden article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki.

References