Bill McCurry is a dark fantasy author known for blending humor, action, and vivid characters in his novels. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, McCurry now resides in Dallas, a short distance that produces a significant divergence in culture and atmosphere. He draws inspiration from both cities, describing Fort Worth as good old apples at a farmer's market and Dallas as sliced and resting on a bed of arugula and kale with vinaigrette. McCurry came to love fiction late in childhood, preferring history and science books, but discovered science fiction and fantasy novels in his mid-teens. Some of his favorite authors include Roger Zelazny, Ursula Le Guin, Robert Heinlein, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Harry Harrison, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Richard Brautigan, Robert Saberhagen, Piers Anthony, and Gordon R. Dickson. More recently, he has enjoyed the work of Christopher Moore, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, John Steakley, and Sir Terry Pratchett.
McCurry's debut novel, Death's Collector, is the first in his series, "The Death-Cursed Wizard." This novel is followed by Wee Piggies of Radiant Might and Death's Book of Tricks. Before getting published, McCurry wrote three novels that he considers to have been poor in quality, suggesting that aspiring novelists should write and finish bad novels first to learn and improve their craft. McCurry earned a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he learned that nobody is under any obligation to teach him anything, including professors. This principle has significantly influenced his perspective on learning and self-improvement.
People have paid McCurry to do an odd variety of things, including construction, market research, acting, and managing software projects. He currently lives with his four cats, who are aspiring internet celebrities, and his lovely wife, a woman so determined that she would always be able to kill him if it came to a knife fight. McCurry's next series, "The Sorcerer of Bad Examples," will include "The Dragon's Manservant" and "The Murderer's Dragon," set to be released in early 2024. His books are available in e-book, print, and audio book formats.