Interview with the ever poetic writer Brian Bowyer.
I started thinking to myself a while ago, "Hey, what can I do to help other authors when they first start out?"
When I first started writing my novel I didn't even know there was this entire community of writers who link up and help each other. I thought I was going to be doing it the traditional way and submitting to publishing house. I didn't know the first thing about publishing, I didn't know anything. I still find it hard to process everything I have learned in these few short years, and this is what I would like to offer. Something to help inspire and inform those starting out. Whatever it may be: short stories, poems, novel, graphic novels, or creating book cover, formatting book, and editing. There are some many possibilities in the Indie community it is baffling at times. If you have been following I have already posted some amazing interviews with some incredible people. Who have an eminence mount of talent.
Brian Bowyer is no exception. He inspires me daily with his poetic post. Some to which will have me sitting there staring at the screen waiting for it to come alive. He makes me realize why I fell in love with writing in the first place. So, I would like to thank him for taking the time to answer these questions I had. Thank you Brian, again.
1. How long have you been
writing?
For most of my life,
pretty much. I started writing music and
lyrics as a teen. Lyrics progressed to poetry. I wrote my first screenplay when
I was twenty-three and moved to Nashville the following year to go to film
school. I decided then to try my hand at short fiction. I generated several
stories during the next three years while developing my style and then wrote a
novel called ROAD NARROWS. That book remains unpublished to this day. I spent
the next decade working on my craft and finally published my first novel, SHELF
LIFE,
in 2011.
2. When you are writing
what is your muse(s)?
Life itself, I suppose.
Literature and music and cinema have certainly influenced my work, and females,
of course, from my first girlfriend to my current. Women have always been a
major source of inspiration. Loss seems to be a recurring theme in my work.
3. Is there a certain
emotion you channel when you write?
No, but writing is a very
emotional endeavor. We create characters and then it doesn’t take long before
we’re just along for the ride. A lot of people think that authors put their
characters through a wringer but, for me, it’s the opposite. My characters
never cease to surprise me. Sometimes I fall in love them and sometimes they
break my heart.
4. Do you write on paper
or on a laptop?
For years I carried
notebooks and pens in duffel bags and wrote in longhand wherever I found
myself. On barstools, in cemeteries, mausoleums, museums, cathedrals, band
practices, bedrooms, living rooms, didn’t matter. Then I would type my stories
and screenplays and novels on Smith Corona word processors. Remember those? It
seems like a lot of work in retrospect but it was so much fun. I still write
first drafts in longhand, and then I type everything into Microsoft Word
documents and begin revisions on second, third, and final drafts.
5. Can you provide links
to all of your published works?
As of now I have four
novels (SHELF
LIFE,
NOCTURNAL
BLOOD, GRAVEYARD
BLUES, and GRAVE
NEW WORLD), a collection of short fiction (MATTERS
OF SHADE), a collection of screenplays (NIGHTHOUSE),
and my first book of poetry (THE
LIGHT OF MEMORY) available as paperbacks or eBooks at
Amazon.
6. Do you have somewhere
that readers can find all of your work?
Yes. Here’s my author
page at Amazon:
7. What advice would you
give to someone trying to publish their work?
Read a lot and write a
lot. There really is no other way to do it that I’m aware of.
8. Do you have any
rituals before you write? (Music, exercise, baths, etc.)
When writing by day, I’m
sober. When writing at night, I’m drinking.
9. Do you like working at
home? Or do you prefer going somewhere to write?
I love writing at home,
and I love writing elsewhere. Travel is one of my favorite things to do and I’ve
always loved to begin wherever I find myself, which can be anywhere.
10. Who or what is your
biggest inspiration in life?
Probably love, art,
literature, music, cinema, alcohol, friends and family.
11. Anything you’d like
to say to your readers?
Thank you for reading
my stories.
