Progressive rock and synthesizers, exotic weapons, alternate history, military history, reading and writing (go figure).
Music
Music has helped shape my work, and most of my influences span the progressive rock genre -- starting with ELP, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, through Rick Wakeman's solo works, Camel, Kansas, King Crimson, and Tangerine Dream, Synergy, Isao Tomita, Vangelis, and all the way to the neo-Progressive music of Fish & Marillion, Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree, Jordan Rudess, Liquid Tension Experiment, and Transatlantic, with a special place in my heart for the concept works of Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. I love the solo work of many fine prog musicians: Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Steve Hackett, Steve Howe, Peter Gabriel, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and so many more. The romanticism of the Progressive movement in rock -- with its blending of various styles such as classical, jazz, and R&B -- lends itself well to the Fantastic in its many literary forms. Also, it's adventurous and challenging music which tends to resist "backgroundization." I'm interested in vintage keyboards, especially the synthesizer in all its variations, the Hammond B-3 organ, and the Mellotron, but I'm well-versed in MIDI sequencing and notation technology, too.
Movies
My movie influences range from Alfred ("Psycho") Hitchcock to Brian ("Body Double") dePalma, George ("Dawn of the Dead") Romero to David ("Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks") Lynch, Ken ("Gothic" and "Lisztomania") Russell to Sam ("Straw Dogs") Peckinpah, the Coen ("Fargo" and the masterpiece "Blood Simple") Brothers (of course!), Don ("Phantasm" & "Bubba Ho-Tep") Coscarelli, Dario ("Inferno") Argento to Tim ("Sleepy Hollow") Burton, Quentin ("Pulp Fiction") Tarantino, and many others. I'm also a diehard fan of the entire James Bond canon, though I acknowledge the many flaws evident in the series, and reserve the right to rank them in ways that may offend other Bond-ites.
Television
Currently: The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Big Love, Real Time with Bill Maher, Entourage, Monk, Burn Notice, Californication (Showtime), Weeds (Showtime), John From Cincinnati (HBO), Mad Men (AMC), Hustle (AMC), the occasional CSI, Law and Order, and Las Vegas episode, Weeds (DVD), Veronica Mars (DVD), Desperate Housewives (DVD). Recent: Millennium, The X-Files, Carnivale, Deadwood, Homicide, Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Jack of All Trades, and occasional Buffy/Angel episodes. Classic: Seinfeld, Twin Peaks, Night Gallery, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Forever Knight, Friday the 13th: The Series, The Rockford Files, McCloud, Magnum PI, The Persuaders, The Saint, The Wild Wild West, Gilligan's Island (no, really!), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, and on.
Books
My literary influences span from the works of Jules Verne to the mind-blowing fantasy tales of Tim Powers, with stops in between for Edgar Allan Poe, Harlan Ellison, James P. Blaylock, Karl Edward Wagner, Charles de Lint, Robert Bloch, Charles Grant, Philip K. Dick, Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, David Morrell, Gary A. Braunbeck, Matthew J. Costello, Ray Garton, Doug Clegg, Tamara Thorne, Brian Hodge, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake (Richard Stark), Alistair MacLean, Duncan Kyle, Desmond Bagley, Adam Hall, Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, Charles Spain Verral, George Wyatt, Robert Arthur, and too many more to name. Even good old "elusive" Franklin W. Dixon made an impact! And Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Rod Serling, Richard Matheson, and so many more. Some new influences include Lee Child and Barry Eisler.
Heroes
Writers who challenge their readers, disturb their audience, and question the status quo. I think Art and Literature should push the boundaries and evoke a reaction -- any reaction -- in order to be relevant. Blandness is the Enemy of art.
I write novels and short stories, as well as book reviews and other nonfiction. Member: Horror Writers Association (HWA) and International Thriller Writers (ITW). Please see full bio and bibliography at my website, www.williamdgagliani.com.
About me: I'm the author of WOLF'S TRAP, a horror/noir crime novel published by Leisure Books! As you might imagine, it has a werewolf in it... but lots of other stuff, too, including a serial killer and some colorful thugs. I write horror, thrillers, adventure, mystery -- anything and everything with a dark edge. Right now I also have a historical horror/pulp adventure story, "The Great Belzoni and the Gait of Anubis," available for purchase at Amazon.com. It's only 49 cents, so it's a steal for 8600 words (well, if you like the words!).
I've also published many short stories in anthologies such as the upcoming HOT BLOOD 13 (a story co-written with Dave Benton), ROBERT BLOCH'S PSYCHOS, MORE MONSTERS FROM MEMPHIS, THE MIDNIGHTERS CLUB, WICKED KARNIVAL HALLOWEEN HORROR, THE BLACK SPIRAL: TWISTED TALES OF TERROR, THE ASYLUM 2, EXTREMES 3: TERROR ON THE HIGH SEAS, and more. When I'm not writing my own fiction, I write book reviews for Cemetery Dance, Chizine.com, HorrorWorld, Hellnotes, Crimespree, Flesh & Blood, and others.
WOLF'S TRAP is a North Woods noir -- a thriller set in Wisconsin with one foot squarely in the thriller/crime camp and the other squarely in horror. It's a hybrid, however, of various elements and many influences. For movie fans, I describe it as: "The Wolf Man" meets "No Way to Treat a Lady," by way of "Deliverance" and with a nod to "Body Double." Fair disclosure: it's rated R+ for sex and violence.
Read more about WOLF'S TRAP and an excerpt at my website: http://www.williamdgagliani.com ! There are also excerpts at HorrorWorld and at Horror News Network, not to mention the Leisure Books website (www.dorchesterpub.com).
I love to hear from readers, so if you read WOLF'S TRAP or any of my fiction, feel free to drop me a note!
Shop the Shocklines Bookstore on-line!
Who I'd like to meet: Tim Powers and James Blaylock, favorite American fantasists. Oh, you mean here on MySpace? Why, like-minded folks, of course! BTW, I've finally met Tim Powers -- a true gentleman.
Lionsgate has posted a trailer for "Dead and Gone," the indie horror DVD starring Quentin Jones, Gillian Shure, Kathryn Bates and Ben Moody. The black comedy, due July 1st, was directed by Yossi Sasson and scripted by novelist Harry Shannon. It also features cameos by Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, Chris Bruno of TV's "The Dead Zone," and Zack Ward from Transformers.
I was very happy to meet you and get your book at the Milwaukee County Massacre .. They better have another next year.. that was fun .. except for the huge storm that went thru .. wow !!
Just wanted to give you a heads up that my latest forensic crime thriller, Freezer Burn, is coming out June 3! It will be available in bookstores everywhere next week, and it’s available for preorder on Amazon right now! I'll be doing a bunch of events in and around Philadelphia. For details, see my profile. Thanks for the friendship!
Thank you for finding me..I'm going to the show as well when it come's to Milwaukee...And yes I'll drop by to say hello...Take care and thank you again..
Hey WD, hope everything is well with you. I had some just set fire to a few of my projects as an editor then load them up to youtube. I tossed this video up on AOL video to go with the story I am currently writing. This goes with a short story I am working on right now and this is my sickest story in years. Watch at your own risk because it does have unsettling imagry I describe with it. This story deals with a controversial subject too.
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