Beau Johnson is from
Brantford, Ontario and has been getting raw with readers on both sides of the
border in such publications as Out
of the Gutter Online, Shotgun Honey, Spelk, HST, and the Molotov Cocktail. His
first published collection, A
Better Kind of Hate, drops
August 14 from Down and Out Books..
One Bite at a Time: Tell us about A Better Kind of Hate.
Beau Johnson: A Better Kind of Hate is a no-holds-barred
collection of feel-good
OBAAT: Did you write
these intending them to be a collection, or is this more of a compilation of
stories published elsewhere first?
BJ: These stories
were never written with the intent of being collected. Once that was thrown to
the wind, then yes, more stories where written precisely for this collection. New
content, as it were.
OBAAT: Understanding
he’s not the sole protagonist in the collection, but Bishop Rider is the engine
for multiple stories here. Where did he come from? In what ways is he like, and
unlike, you?
BJ: Ha! I'm
pretty far removed from Bishop Rider. He's combination of many things, but
anger is the thing which drives him most. Call him Frank Castle. Call him
Charles Bronson. Call him a man who is trying to save himself by saving others.
OBAAT: Many
anthologies have a unifying theme. Do you have one in mind here, or is the
unifying point the fact that you wrote all the stories?
BJ: I never
thought about theme until Joe Clifford mentioned this: Whether showcasing
Rider or another flawed hero, Johnson operates in shades of gray, where
sometimes all it takes is for a bad man to kill a worse one. I like that. Pretty
much puts the whole book into perspective theme-wise. I can't thank him enough.
OBAAT: How did A
Better Kind of Hate end up with Down & Out?
BJ: Tom Pitts. Tom
Pitts. Tom Pitts. As I have said more than once, he put the bug in my ear. After
a false start with another publisher, Tom again swooped in to save the day. He
suggested I approach Eric Campbell at Down and Out. Low and behold, the rest is
me still dancing as we speak.
OBAAT: We agree: Tom Pitts is the goods. As good a
person as he is a writer, and his writing kicks ass. How do you know Tom?
BJ: I met Tom about five or six years ago
through Joe Clifford and Out of the Gutter Online. Joe was the editor of the
Flash Fiction section then, and I believe Tom became co-editor about the time I
first started sending out submissions. For truth, I believe it was Tom's doing
that got one of my earlier pieces for Out of the Gutter, “A Patient Man,”
accepted for publication. Joe was on the fence about it if memory serves, and
asked if he could have bit more time to let this new guy have a look. Lo and
behold, an acceptance was born. That was the start of me having Tom Pitts in my
corner. I think Henry Rollins should play him in the movie.
OBAAT: Besides the friendships with Tom Pitts and
Joe Clifford, you and I share another connection: Down and Out Books. Tell us
what it’s like working with Eric and Lance and the whole extended family.
BJ: It. Has. Been. Awesome! Those guys are so
great, so professional. Every question I have had has been answered. Every
thought responded to. And don't even get me started on how they cleaned up the
inside of A Better Kind of Hate. I
don't know what it is, but me and semi colons, we are going to come to blows
one day!
OBAAT: What made you decide to be an author?
BJ: I always
liked English better than math. Maybe that was it. I can't say for sure though.
What I can tell you is I have always liked to write but life got in the way for
many of the years where I did not write. Which is fine. I'd have it no other
way. But when I got back to it...man, it is a feeling like no other.
OBAAT: What kinds of
stories do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors, in or out of that
area?
BJ: Crime
fiction, of course. Anything King. I am also enjoying his son, Joe Hill. I dig
Christopher Farnsworth as well, he of the President's Vampire. Ryan Sayles of the Richard Dean Buckner
series. There is Marietta Miles, Paul D. Brazill, Eric Beetner, and still there
is more. Too many to name.
OBAAT: Do you
outline or fly by the seat of you pants?
BJ: Pants. Nothing
but pants.
OBAAT: Give us an
idea of your process. Do you edit as you go? Throw anything into a first draft
knowing the hard work is in the revisions? Something in between?
BJ: Great
question. I'm something of an in-between kind of writer. Put it down, fix it
up. If I have to stop, I sometimes go back to the beginning when I
start up again, fixing as I go until I'm at the spot I finished at and then go
on from there. Once that is done, once I think the story is mostly done, I
revise it 10-15 times. Easy. I then let it sit a couple of weeks
and stew. Complete, I give it a once over and then send it to my brother
or sister and they take a [look] for any kind of typos I more than likely
missed.
OBAAT: Who are your
greatest influences? (Not necessarily writers. Filmmakers, other artists,
whoever you think has had a major impact on your writing.)
BJ: Stephen King.
No question. I'm not even remotely in his orbit but he is the guy who got me
hooked. I liked Joss Whedon a lot. Vince Gilligan. Garth Ennis.
OBAAT: If you could
have written any book of the past hundred years, what would it be, and what is
it about that book you admire most?
BJ: I know I
sound like a broken record, but King. The
Dark Tower specifically. I love how it winds through almost every aspect of
his work. I love that he never knew this was happening from the beginning. I
love the moment I realized it was.
OBAAT: I sense an affection for the work of Stephen
King. What is about his writing that appeals to you so strongly?
BJ: Hmm. How do I put this into words? It's not
just his writing, because it is, but it the seeds he left me, there when I
began to read him. There I was, nose deep into Eyes of the Dragon, minding no one's business but my own, and I
come to realize the wizard of that book, the Big Bad, is none other than
Randall Flagg, the man in black himself. Yup, pretty sure my head went and
tried to explode when that particular puzzle piece feel into place. Like so
many before me, Stephen King has had me ever since.
OBAAT: Have you read half-memoir/half-how-to-manual
On Writing?
BJ: Oh yes. Twice. Great stuff. All of it. I
don't think I quite have the game to pull off everything he suggests but I'd be
lying if I said I wasn't trying.
OBAAT: Is there
anything you wish interviewers would ask about more? Some topic you’d like to
see writers discuss more in forums such as this?
BJ: Cheese. I
would like to see more discussion steered toward cheese and all its inherit
goodness.
OBAAT: Okay. I’ll bite. What’s your favorite cheese
and why?
BJ: Ha! Nice. All cheese. Every kind. As for
why? Well, that'd be telling. But if anyone really wants to know, hey, it might
be in the book!
OBAAT: What are you
currently working on, and why does it kick ass?
BJ: As of this
moment, not a thing. Ah, the life of a pantser!
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