'The Halfling House' in After the King (1992) edited by Martin H.Kreighbaum in Dragon Fantastic (1992) edited by Rosalind M. “Straw into Gold: Part II” with Mark A.“The Ornament” in The Magic of Christmas (1990) edited by John Silbersack and Christopher Schelling.Caverns of Socrates (1995) (re-published as Shadowtrap in ebook format, 2014).Once Upon a Dreadful Time (October 2007).Red Slippers: More Tales of Mithgar (2004).Tales from the One-Eyed Crow: The Vulgmaster (short story adapted as a graphic novel by David Keller and Alex Niño) (1991).McKiernan currently lives in Tucson, Arizona. McKiernan's Faery Series expands tales drawn from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books, additionally tying the selected tales together with a larger plot.

McKiernan has subsequently developed stories in the series that followed along a story line different from those that plausibly could have been taken by Tolkien. The prequel, of necessity, resembles The Lord of the Rings the decision of Doubleday to issue the work as a trilogy increased that resemblance and some critics have seen McKiernan as simply imitating Tolkien's epic work. Doubleday then asked McKiernan to rewrite his story, placing the characters in a different fictitious world, and also to write a prequel supporting it. The publisher Doubleday showed an interest in his work and tried to obtain authorization from Tolkien's estate but was denied. During his recuperation, he began writing a sequel to J. In 1977, while riding his motorcycle, McKiernan was hit by a car that had crossed the center-line, and he was confined to a bed, first in traction and then in a hip spica cast, for many months. In 1989, after early retirement from engineering, McKiernan began writing on a full-time basis.

He worked as an engineer at AT&T, initially at Western Electric but soon at Bell Laboratories, from 1958 until 1989.

After military service, he attended the University of Missouri and received a BS in electrical engineering in 1958 and an MS in the same field from Duke University in 1964. Air Force for four years, stationed within US territory during the Korean War. McKiernan was born in Moberly, Missouri, where he lived until he served the U.S. It has since grown to reflect a much broader variety of influences, including 'fairy tales and Oz books and folk tales and other such stories'. His primary setting, Mithgar, was originally meant to host Middle-Earth stories that were sequels to Tolkien's work. His genres include high fantasy (set in various fictitious worlds), science fiction, horror fiction, and crime fiction. Duke University Pratt School of Engineeringĭennis Lester McKiernan (born April 4, 1932) is an American writer best known for his high fantasy The Iron Tower.

The Iron Tower by Dennis L. McKiernan