They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Patrick Dugan, whose latest installment of the Darkest Storm series, Storm Shattered, came out in May from Falstaff Books!
What does Patrick love when he’s not writing about superheroes that blend The X-Men with the Hunger Games? Spoiler alert: irresistible collectibles, wayward children from wayward worlds, a brewer’s paradise, a game worth ignoring the real world for, and a revolutionary anime. Intrigued? Read on to learn more!
Funko Pops
Who’d have thought these miniature vinyl figures would take over the world? I hate to admit it, but I love them. Not only can you collect your favorite characters from all sorts of properties (Seriously, Golden Girls Pops?) but then there are exclusive and variants that extend your collection. I’ve got well over 100 pops and am installing shelves to display my favorites. I mostly collect Overwatch, Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, Star Wars, and Marvel Pops. Of course, when Funko adds more properties, I’m sure the list will grow.
The Wayward Children Series by Seanan McGuire
These books are brilliant. I love the idea of doors opening to other realms for kids who don’t fit in. If I’d seen these in my teens, I would have been looking for these portals everywhere I went. McGuire blends magic and adventure to produce an amazing story. Each book is different but still has the essence that made me love the first one so much.
The first book in the series is Every Heart A Doorway. It follows Nancy, who’s come back from her Doorway that took her to the Halls of the Dead. She’s returned and now resides at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children. Unlike when others have returned, Nancy’s arrival brings a darkness that eventually the students will have to face.
The odd-numbered books are set at the school, while the even-numbered are set in the worlds the children travel to. All of them are fantastic reads and I highly recommend them.
Asheville, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina has a thriving craft brewery scene and there are some fantastic breweries (Wooden Robot, NoDa, Birdsong, etc.) but Asheville has a vibe that calls to me. So much so that I set my newest book there; the main character is a witch who was called to help protect the nexus point there. To support herself, she is a Brewery tour guide and as such knows all the best places to stop for a beverage, hang out with friends, and occasionally, defend Asheville from the evil seeping in.
Willow’s Dream, Asheville, NC
Asheville has something for everyone. Great food, amazing breweries, art, and a ton of shopping. Malaprops is the local indie bookstore that we spend hours in while we’re in town. Green Man Brewing, Burial, One World Brewing, Sierra Nevada, and Hi-Wire are always favorites. I’ve done homebrewing for years, and it is great chatting with the brewers. If you are interested in how beer is brewed, there are many tours you can take. I’m trying to talk our son into going to University of North Carolina: Asheville to be a brewmaster. (Stay tuned and cross your fingers.)
Burial Brewery, Asheville, NC
The local art scene is fantastic and we always end up with new artwork when we leave. Willow’s Dream is also a favorite. Right next to Brusin’ Ales and both are fun places to shop at. Asheville is always a nice relaxing trip and we’re hoping to go back in the fall.
World of Warcraft
I started playing WOW when it shipped in 2004, and I am still playing to this day. Our daughter, Emily, (a Blood Elf hunter) used to sit on my lap and play. Then I taught her to fish and make me gold…err… learn to love video games. Today she is a hardcore raider, and my wife and I are casual players because otherwise all we do is play and nothing else gets done. I’ll be taking a few weeks off writing when the Shadowlands expansion drops though.
MMORPGs can get a bad rap for the more toxic of the player base, but I’ve met a lot of fantastic people through WOW, and being part of a guild and beating bosses is a load of fun. You can also play solo which is great for when you need to blow off some steam. I’ll play as I try to work out a plot point or how to fix something in the book I’m working on. The artwork and storylines are well-executed and the cutscenes are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Look up Sylvanas Shadowland Cutscene and you’ll be amazed. I also play Hearthstone and Overwatch, but WOW is still the top of my list for gaming.
Cowboy Bebop
The end-all-be-all of anime for me is Cowboy Bebop. I love Seven Deadly Sins (you can find me in my dragon sin of greed shirt at most cons), Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Akame Ga Kill, but my love of anime started with the crew of the Bebop. From the opening beats of Tank!’s driving jazz rhythms you know you’re watching something amazing. I think we forget how revolutionary Cowboy Bebop was when it came out in 1998. The characters are complex and entertaining, and the dialog is clever, engaging, and funny.
Each episode is like a serial that can be enjoyed on its own or as part of the whole. My favorite episodes are “My Funny Valentine,” which goes into Fae Valentine’s past and “Cowboy Funk” where the crew is tracking down the Teddy Bomber. The scene with Jet being the long-haired hippie cracks me up.
With that I’ll say, “See You Space Cowboy!”
Patrick Dugan’s debut novel, Storm Forged, winner of the 2019 Imadjinn Award for best Sci-Fi novel, was published by Falstaff Books in May of 2018. The follow-up novel, Unbreakable Storm, was released in May 2019. Book 3, Storm Shattered, was released in May 2020. Fate & Flux, a steampunk adventure, was released by Distracted Dragon Press in August 2019. The follow-up, Of Cogs & Conjuring, will be released in July 2020.
He is also the Director of Technology Services for Author’s Essentials providing technology solutions and advice for writing professionals. Patrick blogs on the uses of technologies and how to apply them to the writing process. He delves into software, hardware, social media, and all things web-related.
Patrick resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and two children. In his spare time, he’s a gamer, homebrewer, and DIYer.
You can find out more at Patrick’s Website || Facebook || Instagram || Twitter
Author Photo by Jennifer Adelman
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FUNKO POPS FOR THE WIN!!!! Between my husband and I, we currently have 312 items, and that includes the new Funkoverse games, which have a bit of a learning curve (thank goodness for the how-to-play YouTube videos from Geek & Sundry), but are really cute and fun. I love playing the Jurassic Park ones: I get to be a clever girl in more way than one!
Thank you so much for joining us!
I went through and put all my pops into the funko app, though I don’t have nearly as many as you 🙂
Thank you for having me. It was a blast!
Patrick