Saturday, June 4, 2011

An Interview With Eric S. Brown: Bigfoot, Zombies, and Apocalptic War

As a kid I had a very sinister recurring nightmare. It kept me awake for many many nights during my childhood. It involved a menacing creature... A large hairy mass with bright piercing white eyes. I would hear it outside my bedroom door coming down the hallway with each step getting louder and louder and the rumble of his steps would cause the house to shake. From moonlight through my window, I'd watch in horror as the bedroom doorknob began to turn and I'd hear his heavy breathing from the other side of the door... The door would slowly open and in frozen terror I would wait to finally see the scary beast as he and I locked eyes... He peering at me as if he were delighted to have finally found his prey... And me staring back in absolute horror... Clutching my blankets as they were my only sanctuary against this evil creature...

When I woke up from that dream, there was always an initial feeling of relief that it wasn't a real event, but then another shock of horror. It was as if that creature had me in a spell, and was still standing there looking at me under a cloak of invisibility... I was never sure. Was my door open when I went to sleep?... Hadn't it been closed? That creature's terrifying face is still engraved into my memory today, and I am well past the days of my childhood.

Dreams are funny... Until now I have never written this nightmare, but I still have a vivid mental recollection of it. If I were to put this story into book form, I'm sure that it wouldn't be a best seller, but then you never know. I talked with Eric S. Brown the other day, who did just that... He wrote novels based off nightmares he had as a child, and from those stories he's built a very successful writing career.

Bigfoot War
Available on Amazon

His book, Bigfoot War (Kindle Version from Amazon) gained Mr. Brown cult like status in the eyes of his fans. His newest release, Bigfoot War II Dead in the Woods just went to press a few days ago, and was released to Kindle last night. It will be available in paperback in a few short weeks. I was able to have a chat with Mr. Brown about this new book, and other projects that he has been working on.

.Eric S. Brown... Please tell me about yourself.

I'm a horror author living in North Carolina. I grew up watching movies like Dawn of the Dead and the Legend of Boggy Creek. To date, I have written over 30 books and have had hundreds of short stories published.

Are most of the books you've written centered around Bigfoot as the central character?

Actually, most of my books are zombie apocalypse stuff. I had been writing zombies for years before I came up the concept for my book Bigfoot War. To date, Bigfoot War and Bigfoot War II: Dead in the Woods are my only Bigfoot books on the market. However, I have a crypto-horror collection coming out later this year as well as a Bigfoot comic book from Knightwatch Press entitled Croatoan. I am also currently at work on Bigfoot War III: Food Chain.

The Legend of Boggy Creek is based on actual events, as is much of the lore that is published about Bigfoot. Do you tie actual situations into your stories, or is it completely fictional?

Oh my take on Bigfoot is crazy different. The creatures are stronger, tougher, and WAY meaner than any I've seen before. They eat flesh and really go to war with the humans in the south. Though, they're still Bigfoot, they're based more on my childhood nightmares than any real science. Bigfoot War is an almost apocalyptic take on the mythos. In the first book, a small town of 800 people struggle to survive as a whole bloody tribe of like over sixty beasts come out of the woods and attack the town. Things get even crazier in Bigfoot War II as the zombie apocalypse occurs in the wake what happened in the first book. Yep, zombies and Bigfoot together in book II. It's one heck of a bloodbath.

Bigfoot and zombies. Two of the current cultural icons... Heh. Do you get alot of marriage proposals?

Marriage proposals? Ha. The Bigfoot War trilogy does have a VERY loyal group of fans. They're super supportive of it. There's even a fan created Facebook page that's trying to get it made into a movie.

That rocks! Have you been contacted by any movie companies about it?

Um, I cant' talk about that. Sorry.

No problem... Who did the artwork on the Bigfoot War book covers?

Gary McCluskey did the art for Bigfoot War II: Dead in the Woods. Sadly, at the moment, I can't remember who did the art for the first one. I can however say the town is a real place up north. The publisher took a photo of it and merged it with the art on Book 1. I wish I knew the name of the town, but I do not.

Bigfoot War II Dead in the Woods
(Available in paper back soon)

How far are you on the third book, and when do you expect it to go to publishing?

Bigfoot War III: Food Chain is moving along at a steady pace but I don't know how much longer it will take me to finish it. At best, I'd say it might be out early next year.

Tell me about your writing style... Do you have a complete story in mind before you begin the process, or do you kinda write off of the cuff, letting the story "write itself"?

My writing style is very fast-paced and visual when you're reading my stuff. My books tend to MOVE and keep you turning the pages hopefully. As to my process, I usually come up with an idea and then the world and characters drive the story from there.

What keeps you busy in your personal time?

I love watching horror films and science fiction stuff and I am a life long comic book collector who started buying books at age 4. I am also a husband and father.

How long will the story go... In other words, how many books do you plan to write about Bigfoot War?

As of now, I plan for it to end of Book III however I do have an idea for a prequel so we'll see.

Then what is next for you... More Zombie books?

The next thing I have coming out after Bigfoot War II and the Bigfoot comic book, Croatoan, is a collection of short fiction from Naked Snake Press. It's kind of like the book Unabridged, Unabashed, and Undead: The Best of Eric S Brown except this time instead of being all zombie stuff there'll be a bunch of crypto horror tales too including Mothman and Yeti stories.

You seem to know alot about crptozoology. What are your personal beliefs when it comes to the existence of the Yeti and Bigfoot?

I totally think it's likely that they exist. I just hope they aren't as bloodthirsty as my take on them.

If our readers are interested in buying the Bigfoot War books, can they get them at all the major book stores?

Any book store can order them but it's unlikely unless you live in western North Carolina that you'll find them waiting there. Most likely you'll find my book War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies from Simon and Schuster instead. However, Bigfoot War and my other books are available via Amazon.com, Bn.com, etc.

I think if you're a fan of "survival horror", "apocalyptic fiction", or enjoy Bigfoot horror B movies, you'll love the Bigfoot War trilogy. So check it out eh?  Thank you Mr. Church for having me by.

You are most welcome, Eric. Thank you for your time.       

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