… or at least the place which inspired the Dark Land, namely The Black Country, an ancient district in the Midlands of England.
I am a writer, historian and photographer with a lifelong interest in fantasy, history, science fiction and technology.
Back in the late 80s, I wrote on a freelance basis for several British home computing magazines. Since then I’ve written various articles and papers on astronomy and its history, as well as one or two small local history booklets. 2010 will be my 10th year as a local heritage columnist for my local newspaper, to which I also contribute occasional news and photo stories.
I edit and run, as a way of giving back to my local community, a “hyperlocal” website called ‘The Bloxidge Tallygraph’ (http://www.thebloxidgetallygraph.com), inspired by a scurrilous local newsletter of the 1870s. It combines local history and other features with local news, comment and information.
I am currently working on an alternate history “steampunk” SF novel and a handful of short fantasy stories with Lovecraftian leanings.
I expect Scrivener - to which I am a very recent convert - to be of considerable help with these scribblings and others on my Powermac G5 and Powerbook G4 15". Sadly, it won’t run on my Underwood No. 5 
I suppose authors by whom I am primarily influenced would include Robert. E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, JRR Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and Stephen Baxter.
My personal website, under construction, is http://www.stuartwilliams.net
Cheers,
Stuart Williams
