I've always loved poet Marianne Moore's line about "imaginary gardens with real toads in them." For Moore, it means poetry; to me, it's also a definition of the best fiction. Fantasy fiction, yes -- but isn't all fiction fantasy? A fictive place, be it a half-acre garden or a whole world, springs to life around a reader. The people you meet there, the events that happen, the objects you take in your hand, are real for as long as you're there. They live in your memory after you've left that place. And guess what -- they're not the author's doing only, but YOUR doing too -- your creation and your reward. Because of this, my influences have been the writers who've helped me to achieve the reality of the places they create. Brian Aldiss, Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin first and foremost. And so many more. For something about my reading, take a look at this page on my website: http://www.marypattersonthornburg.com/reading. That's a start, and it's changing and growing every day.   

My short stories have been published in ZAHIR; CICADA; STRANGE, WEIRD, AND WONDERFUL, and THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, among other places.

My novels (A GLIMMER OF GUILE, THE KURA) are published by Uncial Press. Uncial has also published two of my novellas -- GHOSTS and BATTLE ROYAL. I've published several other short stories, including DARKNESS AND LIGHT, THE BOY-WOLF, MADAME CLOTHILDE'S GRANDMOTHER'S VERY DARK REVENGE, and UNCLE BUD'S HEALTH MINE AND THE GIRL WHO'S GOING TO FIX THE WORLD. The list is growing... stay tuned!

My story "Niam's Tale," published in the young-adult magazine CICADA in 2010, was awarded the 2011 Magazine Merit Honor Certificate by the Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators.