Atlanta native Brent Winter wrote his first story in sixth grade: a piece of Silmarillion fan fiction telling how the hobbits were created. Lord of the Rings was helping him survive a grim period, and he wanted to immerse himself in that world even more deeply by adding to it.

The impulse to enter other worlds through writing never left him, but for many years he couldn’t decide what kind of stories to write: mainstream literary fiction? Surrealism? Science fiction? Straight-up horror? He tried it all and more besides, racking up scores of rejections, a contest win, some honorable mentions, and an MFA in creative writing along the way.

Finally he asked a West African shaman what he should write. The shaman told Brent he’d come into this world with “bone-seated information” about “the other world,” and the sole purpose of that information was to share it through stories. So that’s what he does, writing literary supernatural thrillers about D Street, the neighborhood in downtown Atlanta that you can’t find on your own; someone who’s already been there has to take you first.

Brent now works as a writer and editor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. When he can, he visits Atlanta and D Street, where he gets readings at Simon Magus, has dinner at the Oracle, and takes in shows at the Aerie.