His Mississippi background has influenced some of his stories, especially A Dozen Tough Jobs . Them Bones was named after three Mississippi counties. This is evident in several of his works, whether the history is native American history, world history or the history of the United States. Howard Waldrop is a fiction writer with the best history knowledge that I have come across. One remarkable thing is that Waldrop manages to make the history fun and interesting , and it always fits in nicely.
Some writers use their knowledge in a certain field only to show off.
Waldrop really uses his history in a way that fits naturally in the story. A good example appears in the novel Them Bones where he combines ancient American history with ancient world history and molds them both to fit in his own universe. Nowadays, Howard Waldrop lives in the state of Washington, where he spends his days fishing for trout. This statement may very well capture the spirit of Howard Waldrop, who has made himself a reputation in the science fiction world by constantly selling his works to the publisher that pays the least. Of course, this doesn't change the fact that he is born with talent and that he has received awards like the Nebula and the World Fantasy Award.