Above: Two screens, two piles of papers and a list of events on his whiteboard suggest that writer-editor-publisher Weldon Burge has plenty to keep him busy — even after retiring from his day job.
By Ken Mammarella
Photos Courtesy Weldon Bridge
Newark resident Weldon Burge calls himself “a born writer.” He was writing creatively by age 16. Editing came later, then publishing. And since 2024, he has been helping other writers through programs he plans at the Kirkwood Library.
“I enjoy working with other writers, giving a voice to new writers and introducing readers to new writers,” he said, referring to the eight anthologies that he’s published.
Burge was born in Middletown and earned an English degree from Bob Jones University. His first job was proofreading patents, and he devoted 35 years of his career to Independent School Management, a North Wilmington company that reaches 7,000 private schools worldwide.
Along the way, he devoted his free time to telling stories. Many were journalistic, including features for various gardening magazines, Delaware Today, Out & About, and The News Journal. Many were short stories, mostly horror and suspense, but also a few fantasy and science fiction. (On his business card, he calls himself a suspense/thriller writer.)
His storytelling eventually expanded into longer fiction.
Burge adapted maps of Wilmington to create New Warfield, the setting for Harvester of Sorrow: An Ezekiel Marrs Thriller, his debut novel and what he plans to lead into a series of police procedurals.
In 2021, he published his first novel, Harvester of Sorrow: An Ezekiel Marrs Thriller, which features a series of vicious crimes involving murder, kidnapping, tainted cocaine, and voodoo.
It’s set in the fictional town of New Warfield, which some Delawareans might find suspiciously familiar. That’s because Burge took maps of Wilmington and renamed streets and landmarks. “That way, I know where all those things are, such as hospitals, schools, police stations, etc.,” he said. “I have that continuity.”
Harvester of Sorrow is intended to be the first in a series of police procedurals starring detective Ezekiel Marrs (the name evokes both the Bible and something otherworldly), his wife Nikki, fellow detective Gordon O’Daniel, and two voodoo villains, Edouard LeBorg and Joy Moonjean. Most of it is set in 1993, before DNA analysis and other modern forensic techniques. Setting it in a fictional location also allows him to follow his own set of laws and procedures, partly built on what he learned at the Newark Police Department’s citizens police academy.
Smart Rhino Publications
In 2012, he founded Smart Rhino Publications. The name comes from a long-ago dream involving “The Thinker,” that famous Auguste Rodin statue of a guy on a large rock. “I had a dream that Rodin’s statue had the head of a rhino. And I said to myself ‘That must have been a smart rhino.’”
Burge shows off his first novel and an anthology of his stories — Harvester of Sorrow: An Ezekiel Marrs Thriller and Toxic Candy: Tales of Suspense, Fantasy & Horror. Behind him are some of his favorite books by other people.
Smart Rhino’s first book was an anthology titled Zippered Flesh: Tales of Body Enhancements Gone Bad. Two stories were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, from the Horror Writers Association, and he later published a novella that was nominated for that award as well. None won, but he was very honored for earning the nominations so early in his publishing career. Smart Rhino has so far published 17 books. There are two Zippered Flesh sequels.
He worked with Joanne Reinbold, founder of the Written Remains Writers Guild, to create two Smart Rhino anthologies. Someone Wicked: A Written Remains Anthology and A Plague of Shadows: A Written Remains Anthology both featured fantasy, horror and suspense stories. “Weldon and I met many years ago at a Rehoboth Beach Writers Conference,” she said. “We shared a belief that Delaware writers deserved more exposure both in our state and nationally. We decided to publish our own anthologies featuring local writers along with a few invited guest authors. Weldon and I shared acquisition and editing duties.”
Being a publisher is demanding work. For another anthology of 24 stories, Burge received more than 120 submissions. “I read every story,” he told author Dana King on his blog, One Bite at a Time. “I also edit and format each book. (I do, however, rely on a cover artist, cover designer and proofreader for each book.) So, yep, time is always an issue. But I love doing it, so I make the time.”
The Writer’s Process
Writing is also demanding. Burge doesn’t have a set routine, but he does favor certain elements: A fountain pen for the first draft, instrumental heavy metal music to “get my brain going,” and notebooks all over the house for whenever ideas strike. “I drive my wife nuts, because there’s so much clutter,” he said about Cindy, a retired occupational therapist. “And sometimes I can’t find things.”
“I used to keep a notebook right next to the bed, and the problem with that was I’d wake up, write something quick and then fall back asleep,” he told writer Debbi Mack on her Crime Cafe podcast. “And then in the morning I look at the notebook, and it’s gibberish.”
A Home for Writers
Burge keeps notebooks all over his house, for wherever – and whenever – inspiration strikes.
Beth Borene, manager of the Kirkwood Library, asked him to restart the library’s Delaware Writers Studio. The program, now branded the Delaware Authors Forum, usually runs the last Sunday of the month.
“He is well connected within the local author community, which both first got him on my radar and has greatly helped us restart and grow the program within the community — of established local authors, as well as of people who are interested in becoming newly published authors,” she said.
“Our meeting room seats up to 50. Attendance at the forum’s first panel session in April 2024 was almost standing room only at 43,” she said. Since then, lectures on freelance writing and how to find an illustrator have been the most popular. In November, the forum hosted its first holiday book fair, with 24 authors and two publishers. The forum is looking to host another fair this summer.
Writing Advice
He has also conducted his own workshops, mostly at libraries, but also at conferences and other events. His diverse experiences enable him to quickly answer writers’ common questions:
• Can I make it as a writer? “Probably not,” he said. “You should write for love.”
• How do I appeal to an editor or a publisher? “Proof it,” he said. “They’re looking for something that they can immediately use.”
• Where do I get ideas? One good way is called a prompt, which is an image, some words or a scenario to spark the imagination for something different. “Editors [of anthologies] are looking for something unique,” he said. Something such as “A Day at the Beach with the Gramthrottlemax Family,” one of the stories in his personal anthology, Toxic Candy: Tales of Suspense, Fantasy & Horror. The prompt: “What if a sea monster came up onto the shore with the family to have some fun, which included eating lifeguards and that sort of thing?” In Rehoboth Beach.
— To explore Burge’s books and upcoming events, visit WeldonBurge.com
