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SUNDAY SPECIAL: Eric S. Brown

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

I interviewed horror author Eric S. Brown about his latest set of projects.  We talked about Bigfoot, movies, and what makes him tick.
 

Tell our readers a little bit about your book, Bigfoot War.
 
Bigfoot War was a dream project of mine.  I love the “Bigfoot” genre of horror and watch all the sasquatch movies I can find.  Today, Bigfoot is regarded mostly as a joke or a peaceful giant and even those who do try to make the monster scary, usually feature only one creature in their work.  I wanted to bring back the FEAR and do a book where a really secluded, rural town found itself under siege from a whole pack of the monsters.  That’s what Bigfoot War is.  It’s a Bigfoot horror tale I always wanted to see a fan.  
 
What do you find interesting about Bigfoot as opposed to other urban legends?


I grew up and still live in the backwoods of North Carolina.  Bigfoot always scared the crap out of me as a kid because he was a monster who could be real.  On top of that, Bigfoot isn’t exactly an easy kill like a zombie.  This is a hulking creature who can tear through the walls of your house or your locked door like it wasn’t even there. 
 
What’s your favorite movie (or book, other than your own) written about this creature?

Wow.  That’s a tough one.  There are a lot of good and cheesy Bigfoot movies out there even if they do only feature one creature for the bulk of the film and maybe allude to a tribe or pack at the end.  I guess, at least as I type this, I am going to go with Sasquatch.  Lance H. is an amazing actor and that particular film was better done than most in the genre.

You’re a busy writer these days. Do you tend to work on one thing at a time, or do you juggle several projects?

I am always juggling.  Just in the last few weeks I finished up a new Agent Death adventure, “The Zombie Farm”, for the Anti-Heroes dual novella book with David Dunwoody to be published by the SF imprint of Library of the Living Dead Press, Under Dead Down for Pill Hill Press, signed on to write a book for Sonar 4 Publications, and saw Kinberra Down head off to the printer and Bigfoot War released. All that is on top of my columns, interview requests, finishing a new short story called “Children of the Snake” for the Gentlemen of Horror anthology, and stuff with Simon and Schuster for the upcoming mass market re-release of War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies.  As they say, writing isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle.  

You have other books coming out this year. Can you tell our readers about them?

There’s way too many to mention in detail as counting the Simon and Schuster version of War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies, I have nine books slated for or already published this year and one on deck for 2011. I think the coolest of those yet to come are The Weaponer (which is my “I had to top Season of Rot” zombie book that I think may be my best work in the zombie genre!), The Human Experiment (my first DARK, superhero novel), and Undead Down Under which is a hardcover novella collection due out in October, 2010.  

Where can our readers go to stay on top of all your projects?

I am on facebook and post there often and www.pillhillpress.com has a great bibliography page for me.  
 
If you had to write something that was not paranormal or action adventure, what would it be?

I can’t see myself ever writing anything outside of horror, zombies, SF, or super heroes.  I am a simple kind of guy who writes from his heart as a fan and writes about the stuff I would want to see/read if I were in the reader’s shoes.  

Assuming you have downtime, what do you like to do to relax?

I like to spend time with my wife and four year old son, read comics, and watch a lot of TV.  I also love horror films.
 
What music is in your stereo or I-Pod right now? What kind of music inspires you to write?

At this moment, a greatest hits CD by The Cure, Day and Age by the Killers, and INK by the Fixx. I love all kinds of music from Disturbed to Duran Duran but I really think that The Cure and Rush define me.   

What horribly done movie could be made into a great remake if you had a chance to rewrite it?

I would like to see a Bigfoot movie like my book Bigfoot War where it kind of has a zombie/end of the world (at least for one town) feel to it.  As to real movie, I don’t know that I feel qualified to rewrite anything but I would love to see The Fantastic Four films redone.  They just made mockery of Victor Von Doom and that was just so, so wrong. 
 
What do you wish someone had told you when you first started writing?

I wish I had known about all the great online resources for writers like www.ralan.com etc. sooner in my career.  That would have been helpful.
 
What’s the thing that keeps you coming back to your writing?

I can’t stop even when I want to.  Some people are just born with a pen in their hand, they just have to find the faith to use it.  I did and now it’s who I am. 

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

Thanks for taking the time for this interview. It’s been a pleasure.  I hope very much if you like Bigfoot stories or unique fiction, you’ll swing by www.amazon.com and give Bigfoot War a try. I also have out a brand new, Jonah Hex style, horror western entitled How the West Went to Hell that is a quick and fun read that I hope you’ll check out too.  I think it has one of the best covers of all my books to date. 

__________________

©2010 Eric S. Brown

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THE WOLF BOYS By: Eric S. Brown

Friday, April 17th, 2009

The camper rocked back and forth as the two dozen or so dead who’d encircled it hammered and pushed against its sides trying to get inside.  Muzzles flashes lit the night from its singular window as Paul fired round after round into the things trying to pull themselves up and crawl in to get at him and Burt.  Burt angrily shoved Paul out of the way.  “Stop messin’ around with that little piece of crap pistol!  We got a whole freakin’ arsenal in here and you’re pussy footin’ around with a 9 mm!”  Burt leveled his M-16 at the creatures and let loose on full auto.  Paul struggled to keep his balance as he popped the clip from his pistol and slammed a fresh one home.  “What the hell are those things Burt?” he demanded.

Burt’s rifle clicked empty.  “How the devil am I supposed to know?” he snapped.

“You said this would be easy Burt!” Paul raged.  “You said there would only be two of them.  You didn’t say nothing about them being able to conjure up the dead!”

“You idiot!” Burt screamed as he swung the butt of his M-16 into the snarling face of a dead woman wearing a pink sundress who was halfway inside the camper.  Her nose caved in from the impact and the force of the blow sent her toppling back out the window.  “This ain’t them!  This must be that shit they were talking about on the radio as we drove up here!”

Paul stepped forward raising his pistol, popping off a trio of shots as Burt tossed his M-16 aside and snatched up a shotgun from where it lay in the floor.

In the darkness of the woods, Eddie and Steve watched it all.  “Poor bastards,” Eddie commented.  Steve shot him a glare.  “You’re kidding right?  Those buggers came up here to hunt us.”

“Still nobody should die like that.  It’s not right for the dead to be eating the living.”

Steve shook his head.  “It was their own science and pollution that caused the dead to get up.  Smell of those things.  They stink of man’s crimes against nature.”  Steve saw the look on Eddie’s face.  The younger boy was completely tuning him out, lost in his own holier than thou thoughts.  “I can’t believe it,” Steve said, “You’re going to help them, aren’t you?”

Eddie didn’t bother to answer.  He started running towards the battle and the pack of the dead.  “Nice knowing you bro!” Steve called after him.  Steve sighed and walked on into the deeper part of the woods.  Eddie was old enough to make his own choices however foolish they were.

“Toss me a clip!”  Paul demanded as Burt stood shoving shells into his shotgun.  By luck more than skill, they’d killed over half of the rotting men and women surrounding them.  They’d finally figured out that if you shot the things in the head, they went down and stayed there.  An inhuman growl echoed in the night.

“What is that?” Paul yelled as the camper suddenly stopped rocking.  Burt pushed his last shell into the shotgun’s chamber and raced over to the now empty window.  Outside the camper, a hulking, half wolf-half man monster tore into the remaining dead.  It lifted one of the things off the ground, tearing it in half with ease.

Burt smiled.  “It’s one of them! He’s helping us!”

Paul peeked through the window as Burt lunged for the cases of weapons they’d brought with them.  “Where are the damned rifles?” he complained shuffling through their stockpiles.  Finally, he stood up with a .30-.06 in hand, darting back to the window.  The battle had stopped and the night was quiet again except for the wolf-thing’s heavy breathing as it stood among the now unmoving corpses of the mutilated dead which littered the forest floor.

Burt jerked up the rifle as the monster looked at him with surprise in its yellow eyes.  The rifle cracked and a silver cased bullet caught the monster in its throat.  Its howl of pain sounded like a demented gargle as it collapsed.

“Get the camera! Get the damn camera!” Burt ordered Paul as he ripped the camper’s door open and jumped outside.  “We got the A-hole!”

Paul and Burt filmed the transformation as Eddie’s body reshaped itself from wolf to human.  “Whoo-ee!  Those boys in town will have to believe us that those freaks are werewolves now!”

Paul tried to smile but found he couldn’t.  “What if there’s not a town to go back to Burt?  What if those dead things are everywhere like the radio was saying?”

Burt laughed.  “Don’t you worry none.  We’ll kick their stinking asses too if we have to!”

___
© 2009 Eric S. Brown

For more great Eric S Brown stories, check out. “Unabridged, Unabashed, and Undead:  The Best of Eric S. Brown” from Library of the Living Dead Books. Eric’s other works include Season of Rot from Permuted Press, and Zombies: Inhuman (the second edition) from Black River Publishing, all three set for release in 2009.  His short fiction has been published hundreds of times in markets ranging from Dark Wisdom to Ethereal Tales.  Some of his past books and chapbooks include Cobble, Madmen’s Dreams, The Queen, Dying Days, Zombies: The War Stories, As We All Breakdown, and Viruses and Vamps to name a few.  Eric also writes ongoing comic book columns for Abandoned Towers Magazine and a local entertainment paper called The Guide. Find out more at www.myspace.com/esbrown4

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