Brian Freeman
NAME:
Brian Freeman
http://www.brianfreeman.com
http://www.sinsofthechildren.com
GENRE IN WHICH YOU PREFER TO WRITE:
horror
YOUR PUBLISHING CREDITS:
In 1996, Brian won a Gold and Silver Key in the Scholastic Writing Contest for his science fiction and literary writing. In 1997, he co-edited his school's newspaper while working on the yearbook staff. That same year he won the Harrisburg Patriot-News award for outstanding high school journalism. His senior year he co-edited the yearbook, and since then he's been a constant contributor to various local newspapers' editorial columns. His short story "Red #5" was recently selected for Pulp Eternities' Best of the Web 1999 anthology.
His work has appeared in such magazines and anthologies as In Darkness Eternal II, Nocturnal Lyric, S.U. magazine, Bright Beginnings, The Loop, Nuthouse, Paths of the Imagination, Mausoleum, Cedar Cliff Annual, The Story Shop VI, Lost Worlds, Outer Darkness, genrEZONE, and many others!
Brian is currently attending Shippensburg University while continuing his work on a new novel. To join his personal mailing list, send a blank e-mail to: brianfreeman-subscribe@onelist.com
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT:
Brian's first novel SINS OF THE CHILDREN will be published in May of 2000 by Dark Star Publications. The official SINS OF THE CHILDREN website can be found at http://www.sinsofthechildren.com.
YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS:
Douglas Clegg, Stephen King, Robert R. McCammon, Peter Straub, Owl Goingback, Dean Koontz, F. Paul Wilson, Al Sarrantonio, John Skipp and Craig Spector, Bentley Little, and many others...
QUESTIONS:
1. At what moment did you decide you wanted to craft words as your main focus in life?
That's hard to say. We had to write "novels" in second or third grade, for a library class. We were learning about books so it made sense that we should all try to write one. In reality, of course, the "novels" were six small pages of that special lined paper for kids (with about an inch of space between lines) stapled together. The idea of creating worlds just thrilled me. And there was something about seeing my name on the cover. I still have that first story at home. It wasn't horror, in case you were wondering, but a Top Gun rip off. <g>
2. What prompted you to write in the genre you do?
The short answer is this: because it's what I enjoy reading, watching, and writing. It's as simple as that.
As for the long answer, I have a feeling I can thank my parents for my desire to write horror. They allowed me to watch horror movies and read horror novels growing up, something a lot parents would have frowned upon. My mom was a big Stephen King and Dean Koontz reader, and when I started reading adult novels around the age of ten it was those two gentlemen who I read the most of. Then came McCammon, Clegg, Lumley, and classics like Lovecraft and Poe and too many others to name here. But the defining moment in my life which could explain why I write horror may have happened before I was even born. Just a few years ago I found first edition hardcover of Peter Straub's GHOST STORY. I opened it up, and the first thing I noticed was the handwriting on the first page. For some reason my mother had written the date and the occasion my father had given her the book. May 10, 1979, for Mother's Day. I was born thirteen days later, and I have a pretty good feeling it was the last book my Mom read before giving birth to me. So maybe Peter set me on this road without ever knowing it. <g>
3. What obstacles did you have to overcome to begin creating your work?
Finding the time, mostly. In high school, when I started the novel that would become SINS OF THE CHILDREN, I had plenty of time for a while. I dropped band after Freshman year, and I didn't have many friends, so I spent most of my weekends pounding away at our Brother Word Processor. Then I started dating, and that killed most of my free time. I still tried to write on Sundays when I had a chance (by then I was using my brother's old Mac LC). Then I came to college, and subconsciously decided to see how many things I could balance at one time. It's not something I recommend to anyone. Now I'm dealing with school work, running a webzine, editing an anthology, maintaining four websites, editing/writing a weekly Stephen King newsletter, moderating five OneList groups, doing the Marketing Coordination for three e-book publishers, and a few other side projects. Currently I'm also editing my second novel, BLACK FIRE, which I hope to start sending out to print publishers in April.
4. Who influenced you the most in deciding to become a writer?
First off, my parents never once told me it wasn't possible. That alone meant the world to me. I also had three English teachers who encouraged me in middle and high school, and that helped.
But all in all, I think it's a person's destiny when they start writing on a consistent basis. You don't sit down one day and say, "I think I'm a writer." It's just something you are. You find yourself making up stories in your head, just to pass the time, or you look at the people around you and wonder what their story is. You don't try for it to happen, it just does.
Writing can be hard as hell, and if you're not a writer in your heart and soul, you won't put up with the days when you can't find the right word or all the rejections you have to face. But if you really are a writer, you'll have days when all the cylinders are firing, your words are just exploding across the page, and you're having a blast. If it wasn't enjoyable some of the time, no one would do it. And if it was fun all of the time everyone would do it.
So it comes down to whether you can put up with the rough days and weeks and sometimes months. If you're truly a writer at heart, you will. You will because if you didn't write there would be something missing in your life. A vacant place inside of you. Or maybe you'd go mad from holding everything in. It's different for everyone. But I don't think anyone decides to become a writer. I think people just finally realize writing is what they've always needed to do.
5. Who has been the hardest to convince you are serious about your craft?
Some editors and agents early on rejected my work when they found out my age. The rejections came without them ever reading my stories. One agent even went so far as to say he couldn't seriously consider representing someone under thirty. His loss, I hope. <g> But no one I know personally has ever questioned whether I was serious about writing.
6. If you could be anything other than a writer, what would your second choice be?
There is no other job for me. I write because I have to. Sometimes I take a week or two off to do necessary work on my websites, or because school is just too demanding, but it isn't long before the stories I create in my head everyday start to demand that they be put down on paper. Very rarely does a day go by when I don't have a couple of new story ideas, and I wish I had the time to develop them all. I couldn't stop writing if I wanted to. It's the world's most wonderful addiction.