Best Selling Author Eric.S Brown Talks Bigfoot, Comics and Bloop

Today I am not alone in these horror themed halls, but have the rather enjoyable company of fellow author, Eric S Brown.  He has agreed to take a few minutes out of his day and sit down to talk with me, so without further ado, let’s get started.

Eric, thank you for being here with me today. I am a big admirer of your work and your productivity, so it is an honor for me to have you drop buy.

1.       You write novels, a newspaper column, a comic book, my hats off to you. How do you managed to find time to get it all done.

ESB:  It’s pure grace of God combined with the sheer determination of wanting to write.   That said, I miss sleep.

2.       Much like myself you have young children am I correct?

ESB:  I have a ten month old little girl and a seven year old son who keep me on my toes being Mr. Mom.

3.       Do you find yourself to be somewhat flexible in your writing patterns and times or do you have a set period where, emergencies apart, you cannot be disturbed?

ESB:  I pretty much have to write whenever I can.  There are no such things as set times for me.  I however do prefer to write alone.  I will often escape in my car and write in some parking lot somewhere.

4.       Let’s take a moment to talk about your writing. It is only the 9^th of January, but you have already brought two books out this year. Let’s start with the first one, Bloop. Where did your inspiration for this book come from?

ESB:  Bloop actually wasn’t mine.  Director/Producer James Baack came up with the concept and hired me to write a script treatment for it.  That treatment was so well liked, they asked me to turn it into a full out novelization which I did.  Bloop is a crazy book about Yetis, warrior nuns, and a giant Godzilla style monster.   The other book already released this year is Bigfoot War: Outbreak.

5.       You are probably best known for your series Bigfoot War. Can you tell us a little bit about this series?

ESB:  After eight years of writing mostly zombies, I got really well acquainted with the end of the world and totally sick of zombies.  I wanted a monster that was bigger, faster, and scarier.  Growing up in the rural south, Bigfoot was something that scared the crap out of me.   So I took the zombie apocalypse formula and turned it into the Sasquatch apocalypse.  I had no intention of Bigfoot War becoming a series when I wrote the first book but it was so well received and raved about by reviewers from everywhere from Rue Morgue Magazine to Chizine to the Horror Fiction Review as well as by readers, it currently has over 100 five star reviews on Amazon, that I couldn’t help but write more.  The first book is a small town affair that kicks off the war.  The second book introduces the zombie apocalypse to the series.  The third book picks up years later after zombies have crushed humanity and leaves our races struggling to survive against the growing number of Sasquatch who now see the world as their own.  Bigfoot War IV and Bigfoot War: Frontier are both old west prequels that set up the events of Bigfoot War II: Dead in the Woods.  Bigfoot War IV also crosses over with my A Pack of Wolves series as events drag the family of gunfighter werewolves in a direct confrontation with the very first zombie Sasquatch pack.  Bigfoot War: Outbreak, the newest in the series, also ties into Bigfoot War II: Dead in the Woods expanding the story of the second book and taking it into a more urban setting as Sasquatch tear through city streets, toss about police cars, and the dead start to reanimate to eat the living.

6.       Would you say that these novels will appeal to a wide range of Genre readers?

ESB:  Oh yeah.  They’re simple, fast paced, fun stories that anyone who likes action or horror can enjoy.

7.       You have just released the most recent addition to the bigfoot saga, so I have to ask, how long can this series run for? Do you have a set number of Bigfoot books ready and then you will say, OK, done is done, or could you keep writing them?

ESB:  The people reading them still really seem to love them and I continue to get fan-mail about the series.  The books also continue to get great reviews.  I have plans for a 7^th book in the series later this year if possible and Coscom Entertainment has released a collected Kindle box set of the first three books.

8.       You recently mentioned on Facebook that you have been talking with some producers about possible movie options on your stories.  Congratulations on that. Do you think that Bigfoot Wars would make a good movie?

ESB:  Bigfoot War has been under option for a long time.  Lord willing, someday it will get made.  As to the latest option stuff, I can’t say about a lot about that yet beyond that a company is interested in maybe turning some of my short fiction in a film.

9.       Would you consider the idea of an animated movie? Manga for example? As a horror writer, I believe that in some instances, for some creatures and hellish tales, the freedom offered by a medium such as Manga makes it an untapped reservoir of movie making potential.  

ESB:  I recently just did a book for Bizarro Pulp Press entitled Jack Bunny Bam-Bam and the Weeper Apocalypse.  It’s the tale of a green rabbit hitman in a future world that’s part cyberpunk, part magical, and post-apocalyptic in nature.  I would LOVE to see an animated film of it.  A Jack animated film would in some ways be even cooler than a Bigfoot War movie.

10.   Bigfoot aside, your true passion is Comics am I right?

ESB:  Yes.  I am a lifelong comic nerd.  I was also recently hired by Unstoppable Comics to write their superhero team book The Storm Chasers later this year.  My arc on the book will begin with issue 10.  I am really excited about it and can promise some really cool stuff to come in the series.

11.   Which universe are you the bigger fan of?

ESB:  As a kid, I loved Marvel and DC but as I got older, Marvel just lost it for me.  Their movies and marketing may rock but their comics, not so much.  DC’s writing and the care they gave to their actual books makes Marvel look like a joke compared to them, at least to me.

12. Who is your favorite character and what about him was it that first made him (or her) stand out to you.

ESB: The Flash and Wonder Woman are two of my favorites.  I would love to have super speed for obvious reasons.  Ha.   With Wonder Woman, I am a fan of strong female characters and she certainly fits that.

13.   I am really sad that Comics are not a bigger part of the UK lifestyle, I have long admired them from afar. As a fan, would you say you are ever too old to start reading them?

ESB:  One is never too old to enjoy comics.  They are a very under respected form of literature.

14.   For any other wannabe readers out there, where would you recommend they start? Can they pick up a recent series, or do they need to go right back to the early comics and familiarize themselves with everything?

ESB:  That totally depends on the title.  With the Legion, my favorite team book, you kind of have to know some going in or you’re lost.  With books like say Jonah Hex however one can leap in anywhere and be fine.

15.   You also, on top of everything else, write a weekly newspaper column on Comics right?

ESB:  Yes, I write a local, biweekly column called Comics in Flash.  It’s equally a comic news, opinion, and history of the characters kind of deal that is just one more effort on my part to get the rest of the world to love comics like I do.

You sure are a busy man, Eric, thank you once again for dropping by, and I wish you the very best of luck with it all.

Bigfoot War: Outbreak

 

 

 

 

 

Bigfoot War: Apocalypse Box Set

 

 

 

 

Boggy Creek