Interview with Brick Marlin by Sue Babcock
Brick Marlin has written and has had published numerous short stories and novels. He has been published in Sonar4, Macabre Cadaver, The Monsters Next Door, Necrotic Tissue and Blood Moon Rising. His books include The Darkened Image, Raising Riley, Saturated and Crimson, and his most recent Dark Places of Rest. Enjoy what he has to say about life and writing!
1) Your novel, Dark Places of Rest, is scheduled to be published in November. Tell us a little about it and what made you write about this topic and these characters.
Tobias is a time traveler from Earth's future who is part of a Rebellion that is fighting to save the planet from an alien life form that has taken over Earth. Using a time machine, he is sent back to the year 1989 to eliminate a serial killer named Limon who is a mortician who takes pride in kidnapping hitchhikers that walk through the town of Woodbury. Little does Tobias know that the aliens have traveled through time, also, there to intervene and to stop him from doing his job.
The Rebellion believes that if they can save as many souls from the hands of the serial killers of the past, the human existence will have a better population in the future fight against the aliens.
In my book Saturated and Crimson I mention Tobias being sent back in time, but I do not elaborate what happens to him. Dark Places of Rest explains it. So, I guess you could say that I wanted to write a hors 'oeuvre, much like I call my first book The Darkened Image.
2) You have written three other novels (The Darkened Image, (2007) Raising Riley (2008) and Saturated and Crimson (2009) at the rate of about one per year. Are the four novels (including Dark Places of Rest) related? Do they have similar themes? How do you manage your writing around the rest of your life and family?
The Darkened Image, Saturated and Crimson, and Dark Places of Rest are all three related, all three dark science fiction, while Raising Riley is separate, more of a supernatural horror. I usually write in the mornings a few hours before work. My wife has been very supportive of my habit.
3) What motivates your writing and what motivates you to write. Where do you find your stories and characters?
I think that reading a lot does. I love great tales of different genres, and I think it gives me ideas to create in my writing. It's weird to say, but stories seem to appear out of the blue to me, along with the characters to tuck inside them.
4) What work of art still has an impact on you (any art, novel, short story, prose, poem)? Do you feel it has embedded into your subconscious, becoming a framework you unconsciously build upon without thinking about it? Or does your art flow out of you without any undue influence from outside yourself?
I would have to say the original Twilight Zone. I am a big fan of the psychological horror verses the grotesque. Though, I still love to write the stuff to add into my work. I'm always looking for twists to stick into my tales; something that will hopefully make it more unique.
5) As the writer grows and evolves through the years, his narrative voice often changes? Have you found this to be true? How long have you been writing? How would you describe your voice today compared to a year ago or when you first started?
I believe it to be true. Since I've became more serious with my craft in the past few years, I've learned to tell my stories in a better way, rather than before, when I was growing up. And I think it has improved. I don't think that I will ever stop learning more ways to write.
6) Do you agonize over scenes in your stories? Perhaps a scene depicts rape or child abuse, or murder or a very sad scenario, but it's necessary because it's integral to the plot. What do you feel as you write these tough scenes?
Yes, I've dreaded scenes before; especially, in "Raising Riley", since I drew a big part of the premise of the book out of my life while growing up.
7) Do you write your stories or do the stories write themselves? Do you have to get out of the way of the story wanting to be told, or do you feel you need to master your muse and force inspiration to obey?
Sometimes I have to work hard at telling the tale, while, other times the story writes itself. I found this to be both creepy and odd because I'm allowing the characters to do what they want, either having to defend themselves, or not, in the scenery I give them.
8) What is your greatest triumph with your art (writing, artwork, painting, poetry, film, etc.)? What is your greatest failure?
My greatest triumph is being very grateful for editors publishing my work and readers who ask for more and more - course, it's a select few, but it gives me the drive to write. My greatest failure would not being more serious with the craft until I was in my late thirties - I'm having a lot of fun with it!
9) The state of the economy affects everything including entertainment and book sales. Have you been affected? Has your writing been affected and/or influenced by the world and current times (past or present)?
Not really. I haven't been affected, since I'm still trying to sell books to others who have never heard of me.
10) The small press and online magazines are folding faster than ever before. Good quality magazines are having a tough go of it, and their editors are trying to raise the money to send those quality publications to print. What do you think the future holds for the publishing world? Not just the big boy publishers, but small press and online magazines.
It seems to me that there are an awful lot of Ebook publishers out there. I'm guessing that will be the future, similar to a lot of record stores folding because of the ability to buy certain songs on line.
11) What suggestions or recommendations do you have for writers? What do you feel are the two or three most important things a writer should keep in mind?
Write as much as you can.
12) What is your favorite story that you've written? What makes it your favorite?
One of my favorites is one of the tales that I have not been able to publish yet. It leans toward the Twilight Zone stuff.
13) Are there people who have mentored or encouraged you in your writing? In what ways have they helped you?
Brian Keene, Gary Braunbeck, and Tanya Huff have encouraged me to keep writing. I love their work!
14) What projects are you working on now?
Right now I'm working on writing for a wider audience. Most of my all time favorite authors can tell their stories without the use of sex or profanity. I'm trying to mix genres, horror and science fiction, while trying to create different worlds with twists different than what I've read before.
