How close do you pay attention to the language that an author uses to weave together his or her story? Enough to catch every idiosyncrasy? Freelance writer and aspiring author Corey Mallonee has John Bellairs – and Lewis Barnavelt especially – to thank for making him a reader and it’s Mallonee’s reflections on John’s use of language that brought him to our attention. Originally from Bangor, Maine, a smallish town not entirely unlike New Zebedee, though with considerably fewer evil warlocks to its history (he’s never run up against any of the Windrow clan to our knowledge), Mallonee has been an accidental sports reporter, worked in the book publishing industry, and currently lives in upstate New York.
