Originally? Was it ever stated?

Did he take Magda's last name when they were married? What was that? Arrghh I can't remember, it's been too long...

What is a Grand Unification?

The Grand Unification, or GU as they are affectionately known, is a gathering of fans of F. Paul Wilson.

The very first event of this type was held in October of 2001 and was put together by yours truly and Lisa Krause. A few of the active members on the board during that time decided to take our love for each other into the real world. We met up in Baltimore, MD and spent a few days causing trouble, hitting up the inner harbor, going to Jasons Woods in PA, and doing karaoke in the hotel bar.

That year, FPW graced us with his presence and we all lost our shit as we were granted an intimate audience with the man whose books we loved and who inspired many of us to want to be writers.

We had so much fun that we attempted to have some type of GU each year.

The GU:2 was held in Atlanta, GA in October of 2002. We met more folks from the board and expanded our circle of friends into the real word.

For some odd/stupid reason we decided that visiting Paul at the Love is Murder convention in Chicago in February of 2004 would be an awesome idea for the GU:3. It was of course but it cemented the fact that the next destination should be warm and Sunny.

In February of 2005 we met up in DisneyWorld for the GU:4 and had the time of our lives.

The following year we went back to the cold and opted to have the GU in Boston, MA. This was the biggest GU we ever had, the group getting so large we overtook an entire bed and breakfast.

The following year we all met up in Nashville for a GU that Paul did not attend. At this point the gatherings were more about friendships with each other than just about meeting Paul.

There was some downtime in between the next events as members of our group got married, got divorced, had kids, had surgeries, etc...

We would not meet up again for a few years when we decided to visit DisneyWorld again. Again, this particular GU was larger than the others and ultimately led to folks going off on their own and doing their own things. We began referring to this event as the Fractured Unification, or the F-U.

A couple years ago a few members of the board met in New York for the International Thriller Writers convention to hang out with Paul. There was a mix of legacy members and new folk and though not an official GU, since Lisa and I were present we decided this was close enough to be canon. Maybe a .5U..that seems like a good name for it.

When is the Next GU

It has been a few years since we have had an official event, but the time is now. We decided to have a Grand Unification in March of 2015 at some place warm and fun. We opted for Sin City itself, Las Vegas, as our gathering point. The GU:LV will be held April 16-20. We have chosen the Monte Carlo resort as our headquarters due to central location on the strip as well as affordability compared to other mid-tier properties.

Will Paul Be There?

Paul is scheduled to attend. I don't know why he insists on agreeing to hang out with us, but he is gracious and a friend and we love the guy. We just can't let him know that or our years of tormenting the guy on here and on Facebook will all be for nothing.

We do our best to allow newcomers to the group to have as much access to Paul as they want. We have known him for years and are sort of over him at this point. New members to the group get seating next to him at restaurants and events while the rest of us look on and reflect upon how we used to be just like you.

I Want to Meet Paul, But I Don't Care About "The Regulars". Is This Still Okay?

Absolutely. We will do our best to make you feel welcomed and allow you to spend time with Paul. We will go above and beyond to ensure that you get your books signed and questions answered. If after all of that you, decide that you want nothing to do with the rest of the group, you are by no means obligated to spend time with us.

Honestly, we (the legacy members of this board) want to meet you and hang out with you, but we have almost 20 years of history with each other. We have seen many incarnations of this forum, we remember the Kade Cole board that preceded it and the mailing list before that. We know what it means when someone says "The Red and Black forum".

There will be tons of inside jokes being tossed about: "Larnyx", "Rabid dog", "Elevator Button", "Curb Jump", and "Indian A. Law", you may feel overwhelmed and left out.

So, you are not obligated to hang out with us outside of the GU activities. We won't be upset of angry. but we most likely will talk about you behind your back.

What Activities Do You Have Planned?

It is Vegas! The possibilities are endless. There are tons of restaurants from which to choose, casinos as far as the eye can see, nightclubs and bars, live theater, bars, comedy shows, bars, strip clubs, bars, and bars.

The resort at which we are staying is home to the Blue Man Group theater, so we will do that one night. Several of us want to take in a showing of "Evil Dead: The Musical", but to be honest, as of right now...we are sort of just playing it by ear. We will finalize plans in a few weeks.

I Want to Go!

Excellent! We are glad to have you. We have a facebook group set up. If you want to be added to the group and you are on facebook simply let us know on this thread or feel free to email me (Tony Harrington) at harri3601@gmail.com Use "GU" as the subject line. You can also email me for more details. We will be putting together a distribution group email for the GU in the next few weeks.

Any questions? Feel free to ask below and we will answer as soon as possible.

1/1 - happy 2015 to all

1/3 - "Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads." - George Bernard Shaw

1/4 - Allow me to share the pain (the last panel is pretty clever) http://tinyurl.com/ksfpl6j

1/5 - I agree: "Of all the things I thought might happen in 2015, a sex scandal involving Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz was pretty low on the list." (Conan O'Brien)

1/7 - the Charlie Hebdo tragedy. as someone Tweeted: "The gunmen's basic message: If you don't stop calling our religion intolerant and violent, we'll murder you." JE SUIS CHARLIE

1/10 - "The Compendium of Srem" is now audo: http://tinyurl.com/nsdqhyq

1/13 - A rambling interview recorded during the San Francisco stop on my last book tour. (Do I always talk with my hands?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkEPlIRStg8

1/14 - had surgery on my left-hand Dupuytren's contractures.

1/16 - new FEAR CITY review http://buzzymag.com/fear-city-repairman-...ul-wilson/

1/17 - THE BOY WHO CAME BACK FROM HEAVEN didn't go. He says he lied. The irony is in his surname: http://tinyurl.com/meb5w3f

1/19 - post playoff question: Is it true the Colts' QB has changed his first name from Andrew to Shitowta?

1/21 - A surprising view of US troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French soldier. It's nothing like what I thought it would be. http://tinyurl.com/lf8m96l

1/22 - Is this the mindset of modern journalism? Let zealot thugs determine editorial content? This DeWayne Wickham should be immediately fired as dean of Morgan State University's School of Global Journalism and Communication http://tinyurl.com/ns4cfrp

1/23 - Word from ITW that FACE OFF has sold a combined 70k+ hardcovers and ebooks. Plus sales of the individual ebook singles of the stories are over 27k. Not bad at all. http://tinyurl.com/nbzagl3

1/23-25 - Borderlands Writers Bootcamp - a good group this year.

1/25 - SYNCHRONICITY DEPT:
After hearing a radio business report about how people are working longer hours and not taking their vacation time (or if they do, they work through their vacations), this McDonald's commercial came on:
(from memory)
Her: Do you remember breakfast?
Him: No, what's that?
Her: Once upon a time it was what people used to eat in the morning.
Him: (startled) Before work?
Her: Yes. They'd journey to the land of Golden Arches for fresh eggs and bacon. (excited) I think I remember bacon!
Him: (resolute) Let's find these Golden Arches! Let's have this breakfast!
Her: And on the way I'll tell you about vacations.
Him: My great uncle had one of those.
(Effective advertising reflects the zeitgeist. The best advertising influences it.)

1/27 - Must. See. This. Film. (and if you have any love for 60's music, so must you) These guys played on damn near EVERYTHING http://wreckingcrewfilm.com/

1/30 - all right - I just saw this for the 1st time. Totally cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbomTIW...e=youtu.be

1/31 - it's White Castle! Why are they surprised? http://tinyurl.com/nfwlx9z

May 12-15 – Stoker Weekend – Vegas, baby

June 7 – speaker at Santa Barbara Writers Conference – Santa Barbara, CA

July 7-10 – Thrillerfest – NYC

September 15-18 – Bouchercon – NOLA

Just finished Consipiracies and am nearing the end of All the Rage. I have been following the Secret History and noticed that "Home Repairs" should have been included in Conspiracies and "The Last Rakosh" should be included in All the Rage, but I am not seeing either of them. Can someone please explain? Thanks!

About half way through reborn and just heard this character mentioned by Emma. First time I think I've ever come across a character in fiction with my last name. Paul, any particular reason you chose that name, or did you use it just because?

Hey Paul ... I saw on the main site page under the "My So Called Life" section that you are recovering from a procedure on your hand for Dupuytren's contracture. Both my dad and my oldest brother have/had that also. My brother had some type of procedure several years ago (I think it was also a needle aponeurotomy) and I recall him saying his recovery was somewhat painful. My dad, who is 91 now, decided to just let his go. I'd say his ring finger is pulled forward at about a 30 degree angle. It does affect his use of that hand a little but not significantly.

I sure hope your recovery is as quick and painless as possible. And I hope it has not caused too much interference in your writing output!

Just finished the whole Jack series (still trying to get the last couple Adversary Cycle books) and I was looking at the Young Jack books. I've seen them listed as young adult titles. Not sure how I can ask this nicely, so apologies in advance if this sounds a little rude. I'm wondering how they "feel"? Do they retain the FPW feel just with toned down violence or are they really only going to be of interest to a young reader?

I believe I read the keep when I was in 6th grade, 31 years ago. My dad was reading it and sounded worthwhile, may have been the first real novel I read and saw the movie when that came out. A number of years after that I saw that my dad was reading Nightworld so I read that too. Then sometime early last year I stumbled across The Keep on netflix and watched it for the hell of it. That's when I decided to read The Keep again, and thanks to my evil phone and kindle app allowing me to instantly download the next book went on to read all of The Adversary Cycle, Repairman Jack, Repairman Jack Early Years, Sibs, some of the short stories, and now on the second book of teen Jack. Quite an amazing bunch of books. FPW, I think you need to fill in the time gap between Fear City and The Tomb. Jack must have been doing something interesting during that time and with only 2 more novels to complete it seems too soon to be done with Jack.

Like most people here I have read all of the novels (and shorter works) that Dr. Wilson has written. The only story that I have read that he co-wrote was "Dracula".
Interested in people's opinions of the co-written works - perhaps an order to read them suggestion of best to "worst".
Thanks,
Steve