Beau Johnson is an annual guest here, and the blog is better because of it. Beau is always entertaining and gives thoughtful answers, no matter what kind of goofy questions I throw at him. He also knows more about cheese than is considered healthy by most people.
His new book, Like-Minded
Individuals, drops on Monday.
One Bite at a Time: Welcome back to the blog, Beau.
It’s always a pleasure catching up with you.
Your new book is titled Like-Minded Individuals: A Bishop
Rider Book. Bishop has been away for a while; I won’t say why. What brought
him back?
Beau Johnson: Hi, Dana. First off I want to thank you
for lifting the ban! That was a tough couple years, and I apologize for the
misunderstanding. I’m glad we could sort things out and know that never again
will I mistake pillows for something they are not! I kid, of course, but it’s
always nice to throw a John Candy reference out there when I can. So, Bishop
Rider. If I’m honest, he’s not really back. He’s still dead last time I
checked. But as ever, his ghost looms large, ensuring his war continues.
OBAAT: A couple of years ago you said in an interview
with the This is Horror web site that “horror and crime are cousins of a sort.”
Would you care to elaborate?
BJ: It’s a fine line I think. A balancing
act. The monsters Bishop Rider fought and the ones Jeramiah Abrum
continues on with, they do more than just go bump in the night. The rapists,
the pedophiles, the human traffickers. They’re real. They aren’t made up. Not
really. The crimes Bishop Rider and Jeramiah Abrum attempt to abate as
scary-horrible as they come.
OBAAT: You specialize in short stories, though you
are also a not infrequent contributor to Shotgun Honey, which I consider the
pre-eminent venue for crime flash fiction. What is the appeal, and what are the
challenges, to going even shorter than usual with your writing?
BJ: The challenges of flash are the same as a short
story in my opinion, only compacted. You have to get in, get out, but tell a
coherent story all the same. My own goal or mantra when writing anything is
‘set the hook, omit the boring parts, and stick the landing’. I’ve gotten
better at it over the years, but as with a lot of things, I have much to learn.
OBAAT: Reviewer Michael Patrick Hicks wrote this
about Bishop Rider and Jeramiah Abrum: “They aren’t good guys. But they may be
the necessary guys, the right guys, the ones needed to fix — or at least send a
message to — our neutered justice system, the bastard cops, and an immoral
country that caters wholly to the white, wealthy, and powerful.” Care to
comment?
BJ: I’ve always stated Bishop Rider was the bad
guy. This hasn’t changed. He believed it, struggled with it, but
did what he felt he had to all the same. Jeramiah is a different breed,
choosing to see things through a lens Rider never could. In other words,
Jeramiah believes he’s the good guy. The way things are going
post-Rider, how they’ve escalated, I suspect he always will.
OBAAT: If memory serves, and correct me if I’m wrong,
you were talking about quitting. We’re all glad you didn’t, but what changed
your mind?
BJ: Well that is very kind of you to say, Dana.
It is. Truly. But yes, I did quit. The whole endeavor lasting a grand total of
ten months until some very kind people helped me change my mind. It started
with Shawn Cosby and went through to Paul J Garth, Laurel Hightower, Steve
Stred, and too many others. The food for thought I was given, it was enough for
me to realize I was doing a disservice to myself because of what I’d become
focused upon. My most popular book then (and now) is my third, All
Of Them To Burn. The absolute failure of Brand
New Dark, my fourth book, is what brought around my decision to hang up
the pen. In hindsight, however, I sometimes think maybe it had to happen. For
the story to go on, I mean. It doesn’t paint me in a favourable* light, no, as
I never thought of myself as a quitter, but here we are, two books past my
self-imposed ‘retirement’ and I have to admit I’m still having fun. All told, I
remain indebted. (* - Read with Canadian accent.)
OBAAT: The inevitable cheese question: what cheeses
would you include in the ultimate macaroni and cheese recipe?
BJ: Have we ever talked about Havarti?
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