A few days ago, I received a note from Judith Willis, widow of Ronald Willis, one of the founders of the International Fortean Organization (INFO). His posthumous novel, lost for some forty years, has been published:
A Troll’s Phantasmagoria by Ronald J. Willis, founder of the International Fortean Organization (INFO), is set in the early 1970s, when it was written. Yet many of its themes still resonate today. Its weird and wacky characters include Garn, a troll of the Scandinavian sort and Lucy, A PhD-holding prostitute and expert in ancient languages. Along with wild and funny events, the novel includes allusions to death, Fortean phenomena, Lovecraftian lore, mysticism and various religions and spiritual paths including Gnosticism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Paganism. Its language and writing style range from racy to poetically profound. Unusual aspects of this novel include, in the first chapter, a square-formatted poem scanned in from the original typewritten manuscript (using a typewriter, the author had to continually turn the paper four different ways while typing the poem). Ronald J. Willis (1930-1975) founded the INFO in the mid-1960s. This novel’s manuscript was found in the proverbial old trunk by his family after a 21st century move and is published on the 40th anniversary of his death. It is believed that the novel was written before he was diagnosed with brain cancer in late 1974. Distributed by Ingram, A Troll’s Phantasmagoria is available from many online booksellers in the US and many other countries, as well as through brick-and-mortar stores.
I am about to order myself a copy.
A Troll’s Phantasmagoria by Ronald J. Willis, founder of the International Fortean Organization (INFO), is set in the early 1970s, when it was written. Yet many of its themes still resonate today. Its weird and wacky characters include Garn, a troll of the Scandinavian sort and Lucy, A PhD-holding prostitute and expert in ancient languages. Along with wild and funny events, the novel includes allusions to death, Fortean phenomena, Lovecraftian lore, mysticism and various religions and spiritual paths including Gnosticism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Paganism. Its language and writing style range from racy to poetically profound. Unusual aspects of this novel include, in the first chapter, a square-formatted poem scanned in from the original typewritten manuscript (using a typewriter, the author had to continually turn the paper four different ways while typing the poem). Ronald J. Willis (1930-1975) founded the INFO in the mid-1960s. This novel’s manuscript was found in the proverbial old trunk by his family after a 21st century move and is published on the 40th anniversary of his death. It is believed that the novel was written before he was diagnosed with brain cancer in late 1974. Distributed by Ingram, A Troll’s Phantasmagoria is available from many online booksellers in the US and many other countries, as well as through brick-and-mortar stores.
I am about to order myself a copy.
