Trent Zelazny

Trent Zelazny (born November 28, 1976) is an American author of crime, horror, and fantastical fiction.

His work includes To Sleep Gently, Fractal Despondency, The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories, Destination Unknown, Butterfly Potion, Too Late to Call Texas, People Person, and Voiceless.

He has a son from a previous marriage, Corwin Random Zelazny, born June 26, 1996, who is named after characters from his father's classic The Chronicles of Amber series.

Zelazny cites his biggest influences as those from the pulp era.

David Goodis, Cornell Woolrich, Jim Thompson, as well as Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen King, Robert Bloch, Dean Koontz, and Donald E. Westlake as well as his father, Roger Zelazny, and several of the existentialists, most notably Søren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre.

He also commonly acknowledges Jane Lindskold as his greatest mentor.

Zelazny started his publishing career in 1999 with two short stories, "Hope Is an Inanimate Desire" and "Harold Asher and His Vomiting Dogs".

In 2001 he began to publish more frequently.

In 2002 his story "Lovely Day for Beating an Old Guy" was published in the anthology Random Acts of Weirdness, edited by Brian Knight, which was the first piece to attract attention.

Though he had previously sold a novel (Destination Unknown) in 2008, it did not see release until December 2011.

Zelazny moved to Florida, then took some time away from writing, having developed severe alcoholism, as well as having lost his fiancée to suicide.

He then attempted suicide himself, but survived, about which he has repeatedly said he is grateful.

His short story "The House of Happy Mayhem" received an honorable mention in Best Horror of the Year 2009, edited by Ellen Datlow.

Author Neil Gaiman said about Trent Zelazny: "A powerful and good writer ... someone who's been through hell and come out, I hope, the other side."

He is the son of Roger Zelazny.

Zelazny's professional debut came with the publication of his short story collection The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories (Fantastic Books: Wilder Publications, 2009), featuring 20 previously published stories and four originals.

In 2011 he returned with the novella Fractal Despondency (Black Curtain Press, 2011), followed quickly by Shadowboxer, To Sleep Gently, and A Crack in Melancholy Time (Crossroad Press, 2011).

His novel Destination Unknown (iBooks) was then finally released.

To Sleep Gently received the 2012 Nightmare Award.

In February 2012 Zelazny wrote his first short play, Not Any Little Girl, which premiered in Santa Fe, New Mexico in late April 2012.

It later became an Australian bestseller.

At the same time he penned the short story "Black Whispers" for the shared world anthology World's Collider, edited by Richard Salter (Nightscape Press).

In March, he signed a contract with Nightscape Press for the release of his novella Butterfly Potion, which was released June 30, 2012.

Later that same year Black Curtain Press released his novel Too Late to Call Texas on October 31.

In 2012 Zelazny published his first collection as Editor.

The collection Mirages: Tales from Authors of the Macabre (Black Curtain Press, 2012) contains work by Tom Piccirilli, E.A. Black, Joseph S. Pulver, Kealan Patrick Burke, Jeffrey Thomas, Edward Morris, Gerald Hausman, Joe R. Lansdale, Billie Sue Mosiman and others.

The novel was then reissued September 24, 2013, with a new cover and an introduction by award-nominated crime and horror author Billie Sue Mosiman.

His novelette People Person, released on September 20, 2013, by Black Curtain Press, has been considered by many to be Zelazny's best work to date.

A big movie fan, he also occasionally writes movie "Previews" for the Jean Cocteau Cinema, an independent movie theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico, owned by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin.

Zelazny has also been an on-and-off martial artist since the age of 5, having studied multiple styles including Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Aikido, Iron Shirt, Iron Palm, Judo, and has been investigating Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do.

In April 2013 his second anthology, Dames, Booze, Guns & Gumshoes, was released, a collection of classic crime tales featuring David Goodis, Robert Leslie Bellem, Norman A. Daniels, and many others.

He is currently in the process of co-editing Shadows and Reflections: A tribute to Roger Zelazny with long-time friend Warren Lapine.

On July 28, 2014, Black Curtain Press reissued the book with two additional stories, as well as an introduction by Zelazny.

His most recent novel, Voiceless, was released on October 7, 2014, by Evil Jester Press in New York City.