About

“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” ― Edgar Allan Poe

The Formal Author Bio:

Peter Dawes is the author of The Vampire Flynn Series, published by the micro-press Crimson Melodies. His serial story, “A Maker and His Child” appears on the BloodTideZine website and short “Lost Highway” has been featured in the Nocturnal Embers anthology, also by Crimson Melodies. While primarily a novelist, he has also contributed to the story cycle Red Phone Box, featuring the work of fellow authors Warren Ellis, Dan Wickline, and more. Always working on something new, Peter leaves it up to the reader to decide if it’s by sunlight or candlelight.

You can follow the author on any of these sites…

The More Informal Me:

As of writing this, I am a 32 year old resident of a Philadelphia, PA suburb. My life has been a varied experience, half of which I can’t believe myself, but in the end there are a few things which are important to know about me.

1. I am happily claimed by my better half, who also uses the pseudonym “JR Wesley”. Since Peter Dawes is a pen name, JR has reserved the right to indulge the practice. And we are indeed a same-sex couple.
2. I am a private person who retains a very cautious optimism about humanity. While it makes me laugh each time someone asks how much of the fictional me represents the real me, the truth is that Peter and I could be siblings, but are not identical.
   In case you were wondering, Flynn is not how I live out my closeted sociopathic tendencies. Though, now that you mention it, I am feeling a little peckish… *wicked grin*
3. JR and I are roleplayers. I still possess a few roleplay accounts on Twitter that I step into from time to time to be cheeky. @BlackRoseFlynn is the biggest offender.
4. I have four beautiful children. My oldest is fourteen. Two of them are boys and two are girls. You can see a picture of my beautiful daughters down below.
5. I do have other pen names. Peter is my dark/urban/historic fantasy persona and my main pseudonym. Karyn Mitchell is my paranormal romance moniker.
6. If you want my full story, read this post.

My daughters, the lovely Lady K and Lady A .

Beyond that, I love music, comic books, all things British, and reading fellow independent writers when time permits. Anne Rice, Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman are my largest literary influences, and while my musical tastes are diverse, I will stop on a dime when a Depeche Mode song begins to play. I’ll even tell you what album it’s from. You might have to tell me to shut up at some point thereafter.

The Roleplayer

The title of my blog – The Man Behind the Curtain – was meant to be a nod toward one of my favorite practices. I am a roleplayer. The very story behind my use of Peter Dawes as the author of his own books stems from a deviantART page I once created for him. He enjoyed talking to his fans so much that when his writer sought more anonymity, he gladly stepped forward as my public face.

His dA page still exists, but these days while I am the real me on our @peterdawes account, he is in control of @poeticimmortal. Followers be warned, The Vampire Flynn Series starts in 1983 and this Peter is his present day manifestation, working on his memoirs as life continues to play out around him. So, he might divulge a spoiler or two with regard to his yet-to-be published books. His agent, Sandy, is constantly hounding him to make his deadlines, but all too often he needs to send her a message reading, “Out on another adventure. The next book might be a little delayed.”

Poor Sandy takes it in stride.

JR and I have the rest of their cohorts on Twitter, too. If you don’t mind the spoilers, you can follow the Present Day Cast list I have created, and if you really don’t care about spoilers, we have the Future Characters as well. (@WesleyMason is especially worth following. Wes is in JR’s head space and he’s a trip.) If you’d rather eschew spoilers, altogether, then stick to this list. It’s the book characters, kept in the timeline of the most recent release.

Enough about me. You were so gracious as to visit me. So, tell me about yourself…