I often tell people that it feels to me like the characters in my story tell me their stories and I just sort of transcribe them. So, there have been times I am surprised to find out how a chapter has ended or what happens to a character, and I hope the readers are as well.
Bryan Alaspa – 4 March 2013
The Back Flap
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A QUIET, RELAXING, WEEKEND GETAWAY… The cabin is not deserted. It is the summer retreat of Jeremy Liden, an author who has just started to taste the fruits of success and the good life, which includes the summer cottage in Wisconsin. The same weekend Jeremy and his friends decide to get away from it all two dogs seek shelter beneath the summer house porch. Two dogs who have been trained to fight. Trained to attack. Trained to kill. What Jeremy and his friends find at the house is sheer, snarling terror, and as things get desperate, they begin to wonder if they are going to get out alive. Nature made these dogs, but man made them VICIOUS.
About the book
What is the book about?
The book is called Vicious, a kind of classic “man against nature” story. A young writer and his wife head up to his cabin in the woods of Wisconsin along with another couple for the weekend. The second couple are having problems with their marriage and all involved are hoping that this time alone will help them work things out. What none of them know; however, is that two massive dogs who have been involved in a dog fighting ring have killed their handler and gotten loose. The two dogs have now taken up residence, and staked out as their territory, at the cabin where the couples are headed. When the couples arrive, the dogs decide to revert to their man-taught instincts and fight. Terror ensues. The four people end up trapped inside the cabin, while outside they watch as the dogs guard their territory.
When did you start writing the book?
Well, I really began writing it all the way back in 2007. However, I would write this one, then put it aside, then work on it again for a while, then put it aside. All the while I was also writing other books and publishing those. It was a bit tough.
How long did it take you to write it?
I guess it took me a few years. As I said, I started it in 2007, but I didn’t make the real push to finish it until 2010 or so. However, that was really due to me starting and stopping.
Where did you get the idea from?
I had been wanting to do my own take on the whole “cabin in the woods” version of horror. I had this idea of people trapped inside a house or some kind of structure, but I struggled with what kind of animal or monster should be outside stalking them. At one point, I thought it might be a bear, and even toyed with setting the story in the Arctic and making it a group stalked by polar bears, but nothing really felt right. Then, one day, while working at a local public library I came across a true crime book about a woman that had been attacked and killed by two dogs in the hallway of her apartment building in San Francisco. The dogs were Presa Canarios dogs, which are a bit like pit bulls only even stronger. And the images of these dogs inside the book made me realize that if two dogs like that had been brutally trained to fight, they would be very hard to beat, and I knew what kind of animal would now be stalking the cast of characters in my book.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Yes, definitely. I am a dog lover. I even protest puppy mills (which are where most pet shops get their dogs) in my area. So, having dogs as the antagonist in the novel was tough. I struggled with the ending and what would ultimately happen to the dogs. I also worried about the same things that plagued Peter Benchley after Jaws became a hit. People were afraid of sharks and began killing them. I don’t believe that there are any breeds of dogs that are born bad. I believe that humans turn good dogs into violent dogs. So, I struggled to make people fear the dogs without hating them. Ultimately, that’s how I ended up writing two endings, which you can read in the book’s bonus material.
What came easily?
I am usually pretty good at writing out action scenes and this book has quite a few of those. Those are fun to write and that comes pretty easily for me.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Most of the characters in my books, of the main characters, are based on people in my life. In this case, the writer character is probably a fictional version of me. The other people within the cabin are also based on people in my life. The other satellite people and secondary characters in the book are entirely fictitious. I generally use a mixture in my books.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Stephen King is a major influence and has been throughout my career. His ability to tell a story and creature realistic characters is something I strive for. Also, his choice of genre has always appealed to me. Peter Benchley was the first writer I admired when I was younger and made me realize that people could actually be an author as a career. These days, one of my biggest influences and the one author that I really admire and follow is Blake Crouch. I love how he has followed the indie publishing path and become a huge success because of it. That really inspires me.
Do you have a target reader?
Not really. I mean, I write for adults, but I don’t sit down and think of a particular reader when I write. I hope both men and women love what I do and I have gotten good feedback from both during my career. I just target fans of thrillers, horror and suspense.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Well, I do have a day job, so I would love to say that I wake up at whatever hour I choose and then immediately start to write, but that is not the case. I do not generally work from outlines, although I do create character bibles for my longer works. I always write from beginning to end and I am not one who comes up with an ending and writes that first and then work backwards. I often tell people that it feels to me like the characters in my story tell me their stories and I just sort of transcribe them. So, there have been times I am surprised to find out how a chapter has ended or what happens to a character, and I hope the readers are as well. So, most of the time I write in the evenings, after work, and when I am in the depths of writing a new work, try to do a minimum of 1,000 words a day.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
As I mentioned above, no, I don’t use outlines often. Only very rarely. For example, I have a series that has had two books published within it and I have a loose outline of the overall story arc. I also write non-fiction, and with that I often do a kind of sketch and general outline.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I wait until I am done. I have to kind of brain dump first and just get the story out. Then I go back and edit and polish.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I have, before. Well, technically, I have befriended some professional editors who have been nice enough to do edits for free. Thankfully, with this one, although my wife and I did take our turns editing and doing rewrites, the small press publisher who wanted the book gave it two rounds of edits from editors on their staff.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Always! I absolutely cannot write in absolute silence. I either have the TV on or music. I love classic rock. I am a big fan of Pink Floyd. There is radio station out of Indianapolis (although I am in Chicago) that streams online and has a smartphone app. They are WTTS and they have the best DJs and selection of music and I listen to them.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I used to, but not anymore. Now I think there are too many ways for an author to bypass agents and publish either directly or via small presses. This is not to say I am against agents. There are times I wish I had one to help me market my books and deal with contracts and publishers. However, agents seem to run the other direction when I approach them. No idea why. I think I’m a nice guy!
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
Well, I jumped into indie and self-publishing when Print on Demand (POD) publishers came into being in the late 90s when my novels just could not find a publisher. My first novel utilized POD and then my second and third books were as well. Each time, I tried to find a publisher or an agent, but they said no. I published my novel Rig for Kindle as soon as that became available on a lark. I did it just to see what would happen and, lo and behold, it started to sell. I then began publishing directly. These days, I tend to immediately think of publishing directly for Kindle and e-readers. However, for Vicious I had another author friend recommend this new publisher, SalGad Publishing, and their stated goal was to make books successful so that their authors can quit their desk jobs and write full time. Well, that is truly my goal and I reached out to them with Vicious. They liked it and that was that. I have truly enjoyed working with them and the feedback has been valuable.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?
In this case, the truly amazing and brilliant Stephen Bryant did my cover. He was teamed with SalGad already. I have done covers on my own and my wife has done them. I have two novels where I used a good friend of mine named Erin Engelmann who I also think is brilliant.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
Well, with Vicious it has been amazing because all of the burden is not on my shoulders. SalGad has the plan, but I do assist with the marketing. When it comes to that and all of the other titles I have published on my own I tend to wing it. This is my first blog tour, for example, and I did this on my own.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
First off, don’t give up and don’t listen to people who try to tell you that publishing on your own for e-readers and other methods somehow makes you less of an author. That’s bunk. At the same time, I have learned the hard way that finding a good editor and taking the time to make your book as good as it can be is important. It is also extremely difficult. I mean, I still struggle with it and no matter how many people read the darn thing, errors still get through. Again, keep writing. Never give up and never let your imagination become stagnant. It’s like a muscle and if you let it sit there unused it atrophies and that is so sad.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Chicago. I love Chicago. Even the winters.
Where do you live now?
Naperville, a city about thirty miles west of Chicago.
What would you like readers to know about you?
That I am passionate about writing and strive to write stories that entertain.
What are you working on now?
Too many things! I hope to have an audio book version of my thriller One Against Many out soon. I am doing edits and rewrites of my first Young Adult book, called Sapphire, and I hope SalGad will want to publish that later this year. A new non-fiction book called Chicago’s Unsolved Crimes and Mysteries will be published by Schiffer Publishing later this summer. And, finally, I am working on a new mystery/thriller right now.
End of Interview:
For more from Bryan, visit his website.
Get your copy of Vicious from Amazon US (paper or ebook) or Amazon UK (paper or ebook).