Sunday 27 December 2009

An Interview - Brendan Garner


Brendan Garner is the author of Possession, Obsession and a Diesel Compression Engine, a chapbook of Belfast-set horror tales with a smattering of black humour. He’ll get around to the website thing some day, but in the meantime, you can catch the odd Garner tweet here. Yeah, yeah, there isn't much there. He'll get around to that some day too.

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

Very little. I blame writer’s block. Or getting blocked. I have plans to work on a sequel to my unpublished novel, FIREPROOF, but have a lot of thinking to do before I commit myself to it. Mostly around whether or not FIREPROOF will actually be published in this lifetime.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of your typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

I turn off the TV and stare at a computer screen. Sometimes words come out. Most times they don’t.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Drink. Read. Watch horror movies. The order varies.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the comic-horror fiction scene?

I still haven’t figured out that trick myself. Considering contacting somebody about a soul trade off...

Q5. Which horror writers have impressed you this year?

I reckon The Twelve by Stuart Neville has horror elements and that rocked my socks off.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

The Gates by John Connolly. Loving it.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Break into the comic-horror fiction scene.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

I’d have been more successful.

Q9. Do you fancy sharing your worst writing experience?

The day I figured out that I can’t write when I’m drunk was a pretty bad one. I’d heard Stephen King doesn’t even remember writing Cujo because he was profoundly blitzed the entire time. Thought I could emulate that. I really couldn’t.

Q10. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

No. Stop being lazy and come up with a decent tenth question, will you?

Thank you, Brendan Garner!

7 comments:

seana graham said...

Wait a second...

Gerard, this is either the easiest or the hardest interview you've ever done.

The word verifier, while not necessarily reflecting my own views is pretty clear on its stance, though. It says "poxyy".

Gerard Brennan said...

Seana - Yeah, it was a little confusing in parts, I gotta admit.

Cheers

gb

seana graham said...

I don't know how you're going to feel if young Brendan becomes Northern Ireland's answer to Stephen King, leaving you in the dust. It might lead to an identity crisis of some sort at the very least.

Photographe à Dublin said...

I enjoyed the dry wit in this interview.

Happy New Year to all.

marco said...

A story in which Brendan Garner slowly kills Gerard Brennan would be written as crime or horror?

Happy New Year

seana graham said...

Psychological suspense.

Gerard Brennan said...

Photographe à Dublin - Thank you! And the same to yourself.

Marco and Seana - I reckon I'd find that horrific but Garner might call it a romantic comedy. He's a bit of an ass, really. I'll go with Seana's Psychological Suspense.

Happy New Year, guys.

gb