I'm incapable of writing without social commentary. I like to think that it's integrated and not really heavy handedly didactic.

In recent years Shirley has written "tie-in novels" and novelizations such as Constantine based on the Keanu Reaves movie and the best-seller Bioshock: Rapture(Tor 2011) a novel providing a prequel to the Bioshock videogame story. Gibson acknowledged Shirley's influence in an introduction to Shirley's City Come A-Walkin. In 2000 Shirley recorded several tracks with Tony and Paul DeStefano of Too Hip For The Room and also appears on their Blue Öyster Cult tribute album Don't Fear The Remake.

Shirley is a prolific writer of novels and short stories TV scripts and screenplays who has publiJohn Shirleyd over 30 books and 10 collections. His collections include the Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild award-winning Black Butterflies Living Shadows: Stories: New & Pre-Owned and In Extremis: The Most Extreme Stories of John Shirley. John Shirley (born 10 February 1953) is an American fantasist author of noir fiction and science-fiction writer.