R. S. HILL : speculative fiction author.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio in July 1964, Hill's passion for story telling began while listening to his grandfather spin tall tales about gigantic rats, ferocious sharks and the man who caught a missile in his teeth. Growing up in a family where he was the second of five children, Hill's craving for solitude eventually led him to cultivate an overactive imagination that often got him into trouble.
An average student and standout athlete, Hill excelled at basketball and was a member of a state and national championship high school football team in 1981. After hearing a sound recording of Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" in his junior English class, he knew he wanted write.
A graduate of Cincinnati Moeller High School, Ohio Wesleyan University and Xavier University, he holds a bachelors degree in Journalism (OWU) as well as a Masters in English Literature (XU). Hill began writing seriously while working as an editor for the newspaper at Ohio Wesleyan.
After finally taking a creative writing class during his senior year in college, Hill decided to abandoned his plans to become a professional journalist and devote his life to writing poetry and fiction.
Hill self-published his first novel, Under the House, with 1stbooks/Author House in 2002. After a handful of exceptional reviews, Under the House caught the attention of Martin Maasai, an independent publisher. Maasai reprinted and released his first novel in December, 2004. Hill's second novel, Benny, The Resurrection will be published by Desert Moon Books in October 2006.
R. S. Hill lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife and two children.
Inspirations:
R. S. Hill has been inspired by many writers from different genres, time periods, and cultural backgrounds. Among his many favorites are Iain Banks, Clive Barker, Stephen King, H. P. Lovecraft, Octavia Butler, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Arthur C. Clarke, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Ding Ling, Chinua Achebe, Ken Kesey, Junot Diaz, Isabel Allende, Philip Roth, F. Paul Wilson, Richard Matheson, and Sherman Alexi.
Writing Organizations & Affiliations: