Brian Barnett Interview

Blood Bound Books: Brian Barnett appeared in Night Terrors with the gruesome story What’s in a Man’s Nose is His Own Business. Can you tell readers what the tale is about and how you can up with the idea for such a disgusting (we mean that in a good way) idea?

Brian Barnett: What’s in a Man’s Nose is His Own Business is about a man who gets stuck in rush hour traffic, and as many drivers do, he gawks around at the other drivers. Then he sees something that makes him wish that he had minded his own business.

I suppose I got the idea from doing exactly what the main character does. I tend to look around at other drivers from time to time when I’m at a red light. I suppose I’m just a curious person. Some people will do the strangest things right there in their car in front of the world. I suppose they absentmindedly think that they are completely alone since they are in their car.

BBB: We all people watch when we’re stuck in traffic and I think that’s what makes this story so effective. People can relate. I don’t know what I’d do if something like this actually happened while I was watching though!

BBB: You were co-editor of the Toe Tags anthology. How was your experience working on that project? Would you edit again or would you rather be the writer?

Brian Barnett: That was a fun, yet hectic project. William Pauley III and I came up with an idea to put together an anthology of our favorite small press and flash fiction authors. We were lucky, everyone that we invited agreed to join the project and it went over very well. It finished third overall in the Preditors and Editors poll for best anthology. The only problem was that we decided to do the project in August or so and we wanted to release it in late September or early October. The editing process was frantic, to say the least. Poor William and Joshua Day did all the artwork for the book and I know that they had to be pushed to the edge to get it completed in time.

I love being an editor. It is fun to see all the different writing styles and alternate spellings (for example, stories from British authors spell color as colour). There is always a sort of giddy excitement that comes over me when a new story comes my way. I wish I had the time and money to run a fiction magazine. I think it would be fun.

Yes, I am working on a couple of projects now as an editor. Toe Tags II is in the works. Again I’m working along with William Pauley III and Joshua Day. The other project I’m working on is a very large anthology of 50 authors that I’ve tentatively titled Absolute Horror. That is in its beginning stages right now.

But, although I do enjoy editing, there’s nothing quite like writing. I have absolute and full control when I write. The only problem with me is that I have too many ideas that hit me all at once. I jot down vague notes before scribbling a few paragraphs then I move on to another project. I have a half-dozen unfinished projects that I really need to get finished.

BBB: What’s the first movie that really creeped you out?

Brian Barnett: The first movie that creeped me out was most likely The Watchers, the adaptation of the Dean Koontz novel starring Corey Haim. I was very young when I saw it for the first time and there were a few scenes that still stick with me today (one being a kid’s bloody glasses lying in the woods and the other being a police officer’s eyes laying out of their sockets). Looking back, it’s a decent movie, but nowhere near as scary as I thought it was when I was little. Yet, any time I see it, I still get that ominous chill from those two scenes. I suppose I’ll never shake that completely.

BBB: Karen is a huge Koontz fan and I remember watching that movie with her a while back.

BBB: Who or what inspired you to write? What other genres do you explore?

Brian Barnett: I have many inspirations ranging from other authors to movies to music. The main authors that got me interested in writing were: H.P. Lovecraft, Clive Barker, Richard Matheson, and Joey Froehlich.

I know that virtually everyone has heard of the first three writers, but almost nobody has heard of the fourth. I work with him during the day. He writes poetry and has been published dozens of times. He has a collection of poetry titled: Fuel of the Tender Years, with a forward written by Stephen King. I suppose Joey was one of the first people that I looked at and thought, hey if he can do it, surely I can. It helps to know that you can see a fellow published writer nearly every day. It doesn’t seem quite so difficult to achieve that way.  

Early John Carpenter movies, such as The Thing really got me interested. There is something to the dark seclusion that really speaks to me. That was such a great psychological horror movie underneath all that monster makeup and gore. Who can you trust? Who has The Thing taken over? Does it really matter? There’s no place to go.

Music-wise, I have to mention Warren Zevon. His lyrics were always so dark, yet whimsical. He had that perfect folksy-rock touch that made you believe that he was spinning an old yarn from his childhood. Excitable Boy, for example: as cheery as it sounds is a very dark song.

I hope that some day I can use all these inspirations to help me when I create a story. Sure, I can be gory as long as there is some substance, just as I can be dark and funny in the same story. It just takes work and I try to take inspiration from the masters.

As to the second part of the question, besides horror I’d like to write a little science fiction. I can’t say that it will be any good, but recently I’ve taken an interest in science fiction stories. Who knows, it could be fun. I also catalogue family stories – as in MY family stories. My grandparents and their siblings’ stories that get passed down, I try to record. Granted, I don’t have very many fully written out, but I do have them jotted down. One day, I’ll have to be sure to finish that project. Some of those stories are absolutely hilarious.

BBB: The Thing was amazing. And if Warren Zevon influences you, we wouldn’t mind seeing you contribute something to the Rock is Dead anthology. Lawyers, Guns & Money anyone?

BBB: What is the one thing that would surprise readers about you?

Brian Barnett: Maybe my sense of humor? I love Monty Python. I have all their movies and the entire Flying Circus series. I have a dozen or so of the Simpsons seasons on DVD. I love to laugh and to joke around, generally. I’m not as creepy as the stories as I write, I promise.

I also love my family a lot. Nothing satisfies me more than to kick back and spend time with my wife and son on the weekends. Sometimes we’ll spend a Saturday morning watching movies. Those are good times. I read my son a lot of books to. If you look at my Goodreads profile, you’ll see a large number of children’s books listed. Trust me, I’m not reading them just for me.

I suppose doing these things remind me of when I was younger and was able to watch movies with my parents and sister. We’d all get some popcorn and watch some Abbott and Costello or something similar. Those were good times, indeed.

BBB: Theresa recommends you read the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull with your son. It’s a fun fantasy-adventure series.

BBB: Is there a website that readers can follow you on and are there any upcoming projects that we should be on the lookout for?

Sure. I have a personal blog site. I update every time I have something to say that is newsworthy. Also, all my stories that I’ve every written that can be accessed online are listed there. Check it out here:  

http://merrilyhauntingfrankfort.blogspot.com/

Also, I’m a Facebook member, though I don’t spend as much time there as I used to.

http://www.facebook.com/brian.barnett1

One last place to find me is on the previous mentioned Goodreads. So if you want to be Goodreads buds, send me an invite. I have an author profile there, so be kind, please.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3335769.Brian_Barnett

BBB: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.