Hello all, and welcome to the first author interview in this Summer Series. I hope you enjoy getting to know more about Brennan and that you stop by for the other interviews and for the review I plan to do on his latest novella.
Thanks for reading! Leave a comment below, because we'd both love to hear from you!
1: What was your first book? CAIN: The Story of the First Murder and the Birth of an Unstoppable Evil
2: When did you start writing? 2012
3: If you weren't a writer, what would you be? A musician. I was a full-time professional touring and session drummer before finishing my business degree, getting a “real” job, and starting writing. This is me playing drums:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
4: What is your most recent book? FLOOD: The Story of Noah and the Family Who Raised Him (https://www.amazon.com/Flood-
5: Any books upcoming? The Hunter and the Valley of Death: A Parable of Surrender – Psalm 23 (https://www.amazon.com/
6: Who was your favorite author growing up and why? J. R. R. Tolkien. He made me feel wonder like no one else.
7: If you've ever co-authored, is it harder than doing it on your own? I’m currently co-writing a screenplay with a fantastically gifted writer. It’s actually a big relief. Much easier than being alone. But he’s an awesome guy to work
with! So, I suppose, experience may vary greatly. And screenplays are very different from novels.
8: What are a few main differences between co-authoring and doing it yourself? Doing it yourself, you have no one to bounce ideas off of, and you can get too easily tied up in circles with your own thoughts. Having someone else to generate
ideas can help get you un-stuck way quicker on tricky plot points and character conundrums.
9: What has been the most encouraging comment you've gotten on a book? This Amazon review on my first book from some random reader! It came during a horrible wave of seven 1-star reviews in a row, and literally kept me from throwing in
the towel after my first book. “An incredible work of art. Just wow. Take your time with this book and soak up each page. I love the authors imagination and how he pulled this whole story together. I consider this an avid readers dream. The depth inside this
book far outweighs many I’ve read. Highly recommend.”
10: What are some things that you would say to fans if you met them? “I love you! Thank you for everything!”
11: What was your favorite part of one of your books to write? Basically all of the intense scenes where my characters are pressed to grow through loss and pain
12: About how long does your typical book take to write? If I’m working hard every day, four months.
13: Outline or Make it up as you go? Both. It’s constantly morphing, but without a map, I’m lost.
14: What is your cure for writer's block? Or do you even get that? The cure for writer’s block is typing. Just keep putting words down on paper. Writer’s block is fear. Or pride. Maybe both.
15: Which of your characters is most like you? Lamech (Noah’s father) from FLOOD.
16: Why did you pick the genre you write in? I feel like it picked me. Not sure how else to explain it. . . though I know that sounds either very lame, or very mystical.
I think that when you’re called, you’re not the one in control. It may seem like creatives are in control but. . . they’re not. And none of them feel like they are. If they say they are, they’re
lying.
17: Are any of your characters/plots drawn heavily from your own background? My plots have been drawn from the source material (Scripture) and erupt organically from the text itself. That being said, the themes all resonate with themes
in my own life.
18: What social media do you like to share your works through most? How can readers best connect with you? Email! Email rocks. I read and answer everyone that I receive. You can stay in touch and sign up for a free e-book at
https://brennanmcpherson.com/
19: What was the most difficult thing about publishing your first book? Everything that comes AFTER publication. Publication is fun for about 5 minutes. Then it’s terrifying, and painful. But it’s worth it.
20: How do you choose the names for your characters? Do you research the etymology of the names you use? Yeah! There’s a variety of ways I choose character names. Some choose themselves (again, source material), and others just seem to
fit with the time period. I do a lot of research.
21: What is, in your opinion, the best book you wrote? FLOOD: The Story of Noah and the Family Who Raised Him. It’s much more accessible than CAIN. Though I love and am proud of CAIN because of its density, complexity, strangeness, and
lyrical nuggets. FLOOD is much faster-paced, has better structure, and again is easier and more enjoyable to read (unless you’re a literary fiction nerd who just loves words for their prettiness).
22: Do you do book tours/signings? If so is there a schedule already? I don’t! I have a full-time day job at a ministry, and a young child, so both of those keep me pretty grounded at home. However, I did do a book signing with my friend,
Charles Martin, who’s an amazing author, by the way. Totally different books than what I write, but I love them. He’s the only Romance author I read!
23: What book do you wish you would have written? Wow. Way too many! Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien (HAH! I wish). The Road by Cormac McCarthy (minus the swearing and brutal violence). The Book Thief
(again, minus the swearing, etc.). Too many books!
24: Which of your character would you want to be your best friend? Wow, that’s a tough one. I don’t know! Maybe Abel. Yeah,
that Abel.
25: What advice can you give to fledgling writers? Keep writing. Always pressure yourself to grow. Walk in humility. Seek counsel. Strive to honor God better with each piece of work you put out. But make time also to rest and recharge,
and put your focus on prayer and Scripture reading above anything else. Then let go, and let what you finished be what it is: a snapshot in time.
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