As some of you will be aware and, just in case I haven’t made it obvious enough before, I’m a big movie person. Curt MacReady is born out of that to a large degree.

Similarly to Quinn Hendricks, MacReady (or Mac as he tends to be called in the books and in my head) started off in as just another background character intended to help move the plot along, and then something happened.

In the same way as Quinn, I have fun writing for Mac so I’ve brought him back a couple of times now and I intend to use him again. At the moment I’m even working on his own short story, War Stories, which will have his introduction to the world of House Valerius and his first meeting with Quinn.  Part of my affection for him is transferring to Ash (hardly surprising) and Mac is quickly becoming one of the group of Watchmen (including Casey and Quinn) who are turning into Ash’s personal guard.

Those of you who have read House Valerius (and/or share my taste in movies), have probably realised that some elements of the character are a homage to Kurt Russell’s character in The Thing; the surname, some of his clothing, even mention of him spending time at a weather station in the Antarctic. I’ve invented my own character history,  some of which will come up in War Stories, as well as changing some fundamental details, such as the first name which is now the same (albeit with a different spelling) as the actor’s, along with age and birthplace.

So far, Mac made a second appearance in House Valerius and shows up in the later chapters of A House Divided. In addition to War Stories, he also makes a small appearance in A Life Almost Ordinary, transporting Elizabeth from London to Shadowcroft.