Tim W. Burke spent the bulk of his childhood living within a mile of federal penitentiaries. He attended high school in the town that inspired the “Halloween” franchise.
His humor has been called “hilarious” by The Fix, “amusing and enjoyable” by SFRevu, and “Mr. Rogers meets ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse’ on crack” by FilmThreat. His horror stories have been called “notable” by Ellen Datlow and “awesome” by the editors at Pseudopod.
What I Like (suggestions welcome): Do you separate the artists from their works? Try to. Otherwise, your world will constrict from disappointments until you only allow yourself to read lunch receipts.
Authors: James Elroy, earlier Stephen King (the smaller books), Jack Ketchum, Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, HP Lovecraft, Monty Python, Steve Martin, Robert Reed, Douglas Adams, Joyce Carol Oates, Truman Capote,
Music: The Cramps, X, PJ Harvey, ’80s Pop, Punk, Motown, David Bowie, moody goth chanteuses like Chelsea Wolfe and Lana Del Ray, still kind of into Prog Rock. I am an angry smartass calmed by harmonic love and womens’ voices.
Movies: Ensemble ’60s and ’70s Comedies (“It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”; “Kelly’s Heroes”), Simon Pegg’s Coronetto Trilogy, Black Mirror, claustrophobic and supernatural suspense. Cronenberg.
Omnivore, beer friendly, drugs meh.
Religion: Despairing, exasperated Agnostic. I would love for there to be a God or at least a Supernatural. I insist on capitalizing Heaven and Hell because people don’t take them seriously enough. Why aren’t more reclusive billionaires searching for the Afterlife? Whoever proves how the Afterlife actually works will end up ruling Civilization.
Currently faves, in that if I see it for a split second I must complete it: ‘Salems Lot, Shaun of the Dead, Kelly’s Heroes, The Dirty Dozen, The Matrix.
“In THE FLESH SUTRA Tim W. Burke has charted a diabolical, metaphysical odyssey for his main characters, a journey that will take you through Death itself… and back out the other side.”
— Shawn Garrett, Pseudopod
“In this excellent novel, the writing is crisp, the characters sharply drawn, the plot engrossing; as a result, this tightly written and propulsive narrative addresses postmodern angst about humanity and spirituality in the context of body horror and psychosexual transcendence with literary flair and at times deeply disturbing imagery.”
— Jason V Brock
“Seeds of body horror and jealousy, avarice and desperation all wrapped in fin de siecle city life and the trappings of the Spiritualist movement. This is a beautiful, precision time piece of unease and tension and Tim winds it all the way up, smiling at you as he does so.”
— Alasdair Stuart, Host of http://www.pseudopod.org, the weekly horror fiction podcast