Brendan Moran interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

Hi! Thank you all for having me. I'm an early career writer focusing on short stories and novels. In terms of genre there isn't much that pulls my stories together as I've written science fiction, literary fiction, thriller, and horror. I would say that my writing is defined by simple stories with strong emotional throughlines.

Outside of writing, I live in rural Oregon with my wife and pets. I spend most of my spare time with family and friends, designing board games, and volunteering.

When did your love of books begin?

I've been reading as long as I can remember. My second earliest memory is "reading" a Batman picture book to my parents. They'd read it to me so many times I had memorized it, they thought I was a genius until they figured it out. That's on them though, as my earliest memory is throwing a plastic dinosaur toy through a window.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I've always admired authors and I knew that's a path people chose but the real trigger for me was actually fairly recently. While studying for my undergraduate degree I took a fiction writing course where we wrote a short story. My story was terrible and will never again see the light of day, but I loved the process of it. Even if I never gain any official publications I will be writing for the rest of my life.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

So, I will answer this question in a couple different ways as there are multiple processes to becoming an author, in my opinion. I'll split these into "Learning to Write", "Becoming Published", and "Connecting With Fans".

Learning to write with the goal of becoming an author has been one of the most rewarding in my entire life. It is an immense challenge which has shown great yields in terms of my writing quality, clarity, and volume. I did start relatively recently, but I believe that at this point my writing is at a professional level and I am finally looking to get it published in journals and making it available for sale. It has taken an immense amount of work, but incredibly rewarding. To be perfectly honest, I still need to improve. I don't know whether I should share this or not, but I have the hardest time deciding where commas should go.

"Becoming Published" is something I have taken to doing recently. I attempted to find a literary agent for my still unpublished science fiction novel in June of 2020, and my book was not (and still isn't) published. I put that book aside for a little while as life got in the way and I needed to focus on other priorities, but I continued to write. I was able to revisit the novel and notice areas where I needed to improve, most prominently in my characters showing emotions. I decided I would write a short story a month with the goal of improving on something with the writing in that time. This was the best writing decision I've made since my decision to start writing in the first place. I have decided to send these stories out to literary journals for review, there are several out now, and I post a short story I think is of professional quality on my website www.bwmoran.com for free every month to help me connect with the community and show the quality of my work. The long term goal is to build some buzz around the website and a core of people who would be interested in a novel once it's ready as I do believe my science fiction novel has some immense potential, I am just yet unable to give it the time it deserves.

"Connecting With Fans" is, honestly, a bit of a mixed bag. This is not due to any unfortunate circumstances I've had to deal with, but more of the stage in my writing career I am in. All of my outreach has been to tell friends and family that I am now posting short stories on my website, and using social media to advertise people to my website. My loved ones have of course been great in being supportive, but social media is extremely hard to get traction in. I am using Twitter and Instagram, and both feel like I'm screaming into a void. Those who have gone to my website have enjoyed my writing there, but actually getting people there is difficult as there are so many voices screaming just as loud or louder than myself.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

There's the idea of an author and the reality. If sitting down and putting one word after another is exciting to you, do it. If editing is more exciting than writing something new, go for it. If either of those are not true for you, the kindest thing I could say is to find something else. 

Tell us about your book/books:

This is funny to me as my books are not ready for publication yet. I've included a blurb about my most complete novel and my completed short stories. All of my best short stories will be compiled into a book once a year.

'Averted Vision', my as-of-yet unpublished science fiction novel, is a first encounter meets dystopian story.

'Golden Boy' is a thriller short story about Hope who attends her brother Leon's funeral with Gunther, who she suspects killed her brother.

'The Epigone' is a horror short story about a woman who must decide between her humanly flawed son and his perfected doppelganger.

'Do Us Part' is a thriller short story about an unhappy wedding reception.

'Lost Time' is a thriller short story where Jeff meets with his father Nolan after Nolan's fifteen year prison sentence.

'550 to Seattle' is a literary fiction short story about a strange bus ride.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I cannot believe how positive and uplifting the people in this community can be. It is incredibly humbling and inspires me to give back as much as I can. As sincerely as I can, thank you for your kindnesses, both small and large.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Read something which interests you, not something which you think will be popular. If my writing isn't good to you, don't read it and waste your time. Strive to find someone better.

Where can people connect with you?

My website is www.bwmoran.com. I post a free short there monthly, right now it's 'Lost Time' but that might change by the time you read this so check there for the most recent update. It's 100% free, no obligation or ads.

There's an email newsletter on my website which you can sign up for infrequent updates. My email is bwmoranwrites@gmail.com I am also on twitter and instagram, @bwmoranwrites.

If you end up liking my writing, please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/bwmoran. It would really help me out and help me become a full time writer sooner.