A few weeks ago one of my favorite authors passed away. Gary Brandner wasn't only a very talented writer, but one of the most honest. I always enjoyed the conversations we had, and his works.
He has written short stories for anthologies, and novels that have made movie history. from THE HOWLING, to CAMERON'S CLOSET.
Gary and I even share a press home, as well as many of his personal opinions on the world. I can't help but the lost of his place in this world.
I had hoped to one day meet him in person, but that chance is gone. I am thankful to have met him online, and I hope many of you reading have read some of his works.
And here's his interview that Gary agreed to do on The Eldon Blog a while back:
Today I have a legend on this blog. Okay, I have several from past posts, but this legend wrote the novel, The Howling three years before I was born, and continues to write circles around most so-called horror authors. This author wrote the novel that spun several movies. Granted, his book is better, and the first Howling was the best out of the movies, Gary Brandner got the ball rolling for the classic.
So Gary, when you wrote The Howling, did you expect it to be such a huge success?
Actually, no. That would be thanks to my agent at the time who told me essentially, “Gary, I wish you had talked to me about this before you wrote the whole thing. Nobody is buying horror. This is going to be tough to place.” About a week later Fawcett bought it for a nice advance and I could feed my cat.
What made you decide to write in the horror genre?
Short stories were barely bringing in lunch money, my mainstream novels were not gathering the hordes of readers I expected, too many others were doing hardboiled Private Eyes, and I could not write historical romance with a straight face. What was left? I had always enjoyed a good scary horror story, so I figured why not write one?
Out of all of the stories you have written, do you ever have a story that is your favorite to write?
Dale, this is a tough one. I imagine all my stories dancing around my feet like tiny elves. If I name a favorite there will be a lot of tiny hurt feelings.
However, I’ll name a couple that stand out. My second published story, “Sing to Me, Dead Man,” was based on the goofy rumor of the time that Paul McCartney was dead. It was bought by Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and brought me a personal letter from Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay) that I still treasure. “Julian’s Hand” was probably the easiest to write as in came to me–beginning, middle, and end–in a dream. All I had to do was get it down. Another would be “Coyote Street” that introduced my hardboiled dick, Stonebreaker. I still hope to put him into a novel one day.
EJP asked me, and I said hell yes.
Do you have any new projects coming up?
Oh sure, there is always something cooking on the old hard disc. I won’t go into detail because, as Hemingway said, “If you talk about it, it goes away.”
This would be a long list. I’ll start with Thorne Smith. I read “Topper” as a youngster and was dazzled by the way words could transport you into wild and wonderful worlds. In later years Hemingway showed me how to tell a story in simple declarative sentences. Dashiell Hammett demonstrated how to write death and violence without being either sentimental or gross. Mickey Spillane could tell critics to go bleep themselves while he sold beaucoup million books. And there was...aah, but that’s enough for now.
One last thing, are you a real werewolf? I have to ask.
I would answer this one, Dale, but the claws now sprouting from my fingertips make typing difficult.
Thank you so much for being here Gary. It's an honor.
Thanks for the chance to sound off.
Best,
Gary
Some of Gary's stories on Amazon:
The Howling Trilogy
Evil Jester Digest Volume One
Camron's Closet
Help! Wanted
Gone, but not forgotten...
