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Dean M. Drinkel met Jason D. Brawn many (ha ha) years ago when Jason came to see at least two of Dean’s plays (if memory serves one was Clive Barker’s Frankenstein In Love and then one of Dean’s original pieces, The Catskills) and a friendship was borne. Jason (who recently graduated with an M.A. – well done!) is a talented writer and has worked with Dean on a few projects now so when it came to the Short Sharp Shocks! Series, it was a no-brainer that Jason would be involved.
Demain Publishing: Hey Jason, hope you’re doing fine. Let’s get straight down to it – can you tell us a little about The Intruders? Jason D. Brawn: The focal point of this story is what if witch-hunting existed today in rural England, still practiced by the locals. The story focuses on a couple sharing a holiday home that was once owned by the Pendle Witches. DP: Ah, the Pendle Witches – I actually wrote my degree dissertation on the Salem Witch Trials so I remember that I did some reading up on witch trials in Europe...interesting and intriguing...for The Intruders did you have to do a lot of research? JDB: I did do a little research, as I've already been to the area of the Pendle Witches, and I did think outside the box at times. I guess I do that with most of my stories – a combination of fact and fiction. DP: Which you have constantly made a success off...did you have any particular challenges when you wrote The Intruders? JDB: Keeping the suspense going, which was hard. DP: Well you succeeded there my friend. While you were writing, did you ever feel as if you were one of the characters? Are there parts of The Intruders which are based on events in your own life? JDB: Hell no, but I did tell the story from one character's POV. DP: Out of interest do you find anything particularly challenging when you write? JDB: I tend to find my own voice through each story. I do not pay much attention to my own voice. DP: Let’s talk then about your influences...who is your favourite author and what is important about their work? JDB: Edgar Allan Poe for the way he can turn your paranoia into your worst monster, and I love reading Sigmund Freud's The Uncanny, as a book. DP: Now that your M.A. is finished I suspect you’ve got a little more free time – what are your current projects? JDB: A folk horror screenplay and a contemporary Gothic thriller novel set in East London. DP: Both sound very much up my street. Folk horror is certainly en vogue and I love Ben Wheatley’s work...do you suffer from writer’s block at all? JDB: I am always inspired by art, literature, cinema, TV, dark history and travelling, and finding lots of ideas for me to write. So the answer to that question is no. DP: Good for you. With a couple of the projects on the go at the same time do you outline or just go for it? JDB: For short stories I don't. But because I'm writing a screenplay and novel, I am finding my story through that process. DP: So Jason do you have a favourite theme that you write about and do you learn anything when you write? JDB: The fear of losing control of yourself. Each story I craft is a learning process and I can only get better when I keep writing. DP: And if you were writing a synopsis for a newspaper / magazine article – how would it go? JDB: A young couple's holiday retreat in a secluded cottage is rudely disturbed one night, when they hear noises outside. What is it? And who are they? And what do they want? And why them? DP: Very succinct. Finally then, tell us something your readers might be surprised to find out about you? JDB: I am not weird. DP: Thanks for your time Jason and all the best with The Intruders (and other stories). To connect with Jason: Website: http://jasonbrawn.weebly.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasonbrawn
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CategoriesArchives
November 2023
AuthorDean M. Drinkel |