John Claude Bemis
Biography
John Claude Bemis has always been fascinated by trains. His grandfather, who rode trains all over the country in his "hobo days," filled John's head with curious stories of America's lost past.
John grew up in rural eastern North Carolina, where he loved reading the Jack Tales and African-American Trickster stories, as well as fantasy and science-fiction classics. He began his writing career as a songwriter with the Americana roots band Hooverville. Through old-time country and blues music, he became fascinated with the way America's myths have been passed down through songs.
Drawing on the legend of John Henry's struggle against the steam drill, John began exploring how Southern folklore could be turned into epic fantasy. This passion grew into his first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer, a story set in a mythical 19th-century America full of hoodoo conjurers and cowboys, battling trains and steamboat pirates. The Nine Pound Hammer (Random House, 2009) is the first book in The Clockwork Dark series.
John lives with his wife and daughter in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
John grew up in rural eastern North Carolina, where he loved reading the Jack Tales and African-American Trickster stories, as well as fantasy and science-fiction classics. He began his writing career as a songwriter with the Americana roots band Hooverville. Through old-time country and blues music, he became fascinated with the way America's myths have been passed down through songs.
Drawing on the legend of John Henry's struggle against the steam drill, John began exploring how Southern folklore could be turned into epic fantasy. This passion grew into his first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer, a story set in a mythical 19th-century America full of hoodoo conjurers and cowboys, battling trains and steamboat pirates. The Nine Pound Hammer (Random House, 2009) is the first book in The Clockwork Dark series.
John lives with his wife and daughter in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
