Today we have my interview with Ryan Craig Bradford, author of Horror Business. For the rest of the tour schedule, go here. And don't forget to read through to find the rafflecopter giveaway, thanks to Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours
First, a bit about the book.
Armed with a passion for classic B-grade horror movies, a script co-written by his twin brother, and a wicked crush on his death-obsessed neighbor; hardcore horror fan Jason Nightshade must finish his student film.
But his plans are derailed when the children of suburban Silver Creek start disappearing – his twin brother among them. Battling a possessed video camera, a crazy zombie dog, a monstrous bully, and a frighteningly broken down family life, Jason embarks on a mission to find his lost brother so the two can write an ending for his story.
As any horror fan knows, saving the day won’t be easy, as Jason finds himself forced to face the real world where death isn’t just a splash of fake blood on a camera lens.
My interview with Ryan Craig Bradford:
1.
Where/how did you come up with the idea for your story? Did it suddenly pop
into your head or were you brainstorming?
I'd had
the idea to write a horror novel that paid an homage to B-grade genre films for
awhile before actually sitting down to write Horror Business, but could never figure out the angle. Then, in
2007, there was this weeklong period where I suddenly and mysteriously had a
series of fever dreams and nightmares, from which I'd wake drenched in sweat
and shivering. My girlfriend told me what I said while asleep: sometimes they
were disjointed sentences, sometimes they were extremely troubling non-sequiturs, and occasionally I'd slip into a
pristine, foreign tongue.
Anyway,
I can't remember the full content of these dreams, but I was able to parse out
bits and pieces, which eventually became basis for Horror Business. And once I started writing it, the dreams stopped
as suddenly as they began.
2. Did
you start with the main character, the world or the overarching concept?
I
definitely started with the main character. However, the main character in Horror Business—Jason Nightshade—has
gone through so many changes since the first draft. He used to possibly be a
werewolf (I wanted to play up the ambiguity). About halfway through writing the
novel, however, I experienced a severe bout of writer's block. I began reading
a bunch of terrible memoirs because I thought that would help me get into the
minds of other people. It was actually Tim Allen's Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man where I had an epiphany: Allen's had his share of troubles, but he's
always been true to himself. Make you main character true to himself and, in
turn, yourself!
So I
wrote Jason as a regular human boy instead of a possible-werewolf and the story
just flowed.
3.
Panster or Plotter? Or in between?
I'd like
to think I'm more of a panster (I had to google that btw), although I think I'm
becoming more of plotter as I age. Pansting (am I doing this right?) is
definitely more exciting, but plotting requires less work down the line.
There's a rule that I like to follow (but actually made up just now): plotter
in the streets; panster in the sheets.
[Marlene: oh yes, you're doing this right - yay pansters!]
4. Are
you a fan of writing contests?
I'm not
NOT a fan of them.
5. How
did you find your agent? How many query letters did you send?
I've
actually sent out very few query letters in my writing career. The whole
process of finding an agent and that whole scene—in my opinion—is counteractive
to writing. It seems strange to me that one would have to do the whole
presentation and dance—forming a pitch, polishing up a manuscript—just for
someone to maybe accept it, turn it around, and do the same thing to a publishing house. I feel that it wastes a lot
of time that you could be writing. It feels like, with query letters, you have
take on the role of an agent to acquire one.
I got my
agent, Rebecca Podos at Rees Literary, from publishing a story in [PANK], a
great online journal. This story got her attention and she approached me, asked
if I had anything novel-length. I sent Horror
Business and she acquired it, pending some editorial suggestions.
Horror Business ended up being a difficult book to sell because
it's not totally classifiable, genre-wise, and it's pretty rough/harsh for the
YA crowd. I think it took close to a year and a half for it to find a home at
Month9Books, and let me just say I have the utmost respect for Rebecca because
she had the determination and perseverance to push the book, again and again.
Her belief in it is what eventually got it sold.
I
imagine that if I had found an agent on my own terms with query letters, I may
not have that same determination on my side.
So I
think all this is to say: write more, query less. Get an agent who will fight
for you, don’t fight for an agent.
6. What's the best marketing tool you've found so far?
Twitter
and Facebook are fine, but I've found them to be less useful as time goes on,
especially when there's so much emphasis on cultivating personal brands and
online presences. The last thing I want to be is a "brand", and there
is nothing more unappealing than a person who is an online, non-stop,
self-promotion machine. As I write that, I know that I'm just as guilty as
anyone else, though. I guess it's a necessary evil.
I'm a
big fan of subliminal marketing. I have tried incorporating the words
"Horror" and "Business" into casual conversation more
often, sometimes under my breath, similar to punctuation. For example, a
sentence might go (words in brackets are whispered): "[horror] Have you read Tim Allen's
memoir? It's great! [business]. You
end up sounding slightly creepy, but people remember creepy!
I've
also started saying "Horror Business" in place of "God bless
you" after someone sneezes. This often startles people, but I think it
does a pretty good job of getting inside their heads.
[Marlene: ok, this is hysterical!]
7. What
do you like best about your mc?
I like
how he's kind of an a-hole. I never understood why people want their
protagonists to be "likable". Throughout the editing process, I got
a lot of notes from editors wanting to make Jason more likable. It was
probably the biggest complaint. But I also understand why people wouldn't want
to spend a few hours with someone that they dislike. In the end, I found a nice
middle ground that I'm happy with. Jason is complicated; he can be cruel and
selfish, but he is also human and we, as readers, grow with him. You ultimately
root for him.
8. What
do you like best about your main antagonist?
There's
a bully in Horror Business based on someone
I knew in high school. It was incredibly fun to write his scenes—basically
turning him into a dumb monster. It's childish, I know, but … *sits back,
cracks knuckles, puts on cool shades* …whatever
9.
Anything else you like to share about your journey or your upcoming launch,
including links to giveaways or ways people can help spread the word?
I hope
you enjoy Horror Business! I spent a
lot of time on it, and it's been a crazy, long journey from writing to
publication. Now I just have to get over the fear and anxiety that no one will
like it. Let me know what you think, and find me online at ryancbradford.com. I
also tweet: @theryanbradford.
[Marlene: yeah, based on this interview, I MUST read Horror Business]
About Ryan Craig Bradford:
Armed
with a passion for classic B-grade horror movies, a script co-written by his
twin brother, and a wicked crush on his death-obsessed neighbor; hardcore
horror fan Jason Nightshade must finish his student film.
But
his plans are derailed when the children of suburban Silver Creek start
disappearing – his twin brother among them. Battling a possessed video camera,
a crazy zombie dog, a monstrous bully, and a frighteningly broken down family
life, Jason embarks on a mission to find his lost brother so the two can write
an ending for his story.
As
any horror fan knows, saving the day won’t be easy, as Jason finds himself
forced to face the real world where death isn’t just a splash of fake blood on
a camera lens.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
