Brian Pinkerton's Blog

A.I. is stealing my novels to feed bogus books by fake authors

The Atlantic recently exposed a database of books being used to train A.I. and populate A.I.’s content library, which enables anyone to create, distribute and sell derivative works assembled from the creative efforts of others without their permission or compensation. This is also known as theft.

I gained access to the database and searched it to see if any of my own books were included. And the answer was yes. A.I. systems by Meta and others are offering up the concepts and elements of two of my novels as ingredients to anyone who wants to push a few buttons and spit out an instant book and sell it on Amazon under the false pretense of their own original work.

Apparently, A.I. is collecting its knowledge base from pirated books floating around on the internet. This creates multiple layers of theft that is a nightmare for an individual author to untangle.



I’m not a robot. I’m a human being who spends thousands of hours creating original stories from my own blood, sweat and tears. The thought that my labor is feeding someone else’s false credits – and bank account – is hugely upsetting. I know I’m not alone, judging from the ire of my fellow writer friends.

What happens when an author’s ARC is pirated and enters the A.I. library before the original work even comes out? (An ARC is an Advance Reading Copy, sent to reviewers and booksellers ahead of a book’s publication.) Someone could quickly construct a knockoff of a new Stephen King novel before King’s novel reaches the general public. They could slap their name on the copycat work as “author,” self-publish and immediately put it up for sale without ever taking the time to actually read the work they allegedly wrote.

Amazon is already facing a glut of A.I.-generated novels, especially in more formulaic categories, like Romance. As long as the cover art looks decent, the general public won’t necessarily recognize the difference. Amazon gets a cut of the profits either way. The losers, of course, are genuine authors who will see their sales and readership diluted in the flood of A.I.-composed books.

One of the outcomes of the recent Hollywood writers strike was an agreement that studios will not base movies on A.I.-created content. But how will they know what’s legit and what’s been secretly automated by a lazy wannabe writer?

Readers will suffer, too. The end result of all this will be a sharp rise in unoriginal works lacking in any real imagination or individual expression. Books will be based on content that reaches backward not forward. That will get dull fast.

You’re probably wondering which two books of mine have been sucked into the A.I. machinery. I’m not going to say. That would be like a rock band telling you which of their albums can be downloaded for free on BitTorrent. But I will share this much: interestingly, they are two of my horror novels. The A.I. bots steered clear of my “evils of high tech” sci-fi thrillers. Perhaps they chose not to perpetuate that particular narrative.

Are We All Doomed? The Nirvana Effect

I fear the Cloud like I fear death.

Similar to what awaits me in the great beyond, the Cloud is an abstract concept that replaces a physical existence with something intangible I can’t visualize but simply must accept.

I know it’s where people store their books, music, photographs, correspondence, money, critical documents and other personal items, but I like my things where I can see and touch them to reassure myself they exist. That’s why I have overflowing bookshelves and a ridiculous CD collection. I print too many emails, and I still write checks and stamp envelopes to pay utility bills. Here’s the most horrifying thing you will hear all day: I still receive DVDs from Netflix in the mail.

I know it’s not rational, so we don’t need to start that argument. The more important issue is what do I do with all this paranoid energy? Well, write a dystopian science-fiction thriller, of course, where technology takes over and society deteriorates into isolation, chaos and crisis. What happens if one day we make a complete transition to a digital life?

The Cloud has its defenders, and it makes good sense on levels of convenience and ecology. But I know too many people who have lost entire libraries of music files, eBooks and family photos when the invisible storage locker undergoes a full-on vanishing act. In the bat of an eye, the Cloud can wipe out a lifetime of accumulation like a house fire.

How can I trust the Cloud when I can’t see it? How do I know it’s double locked? Just because some tech company tells me so?

My son has a virtual reality set-up in his room: bulky headgear that traps the eyes and ears, blinking sensors on 7-foot tripods, and digital experience packages ranging from immersive games to idealistic environments to extreme thrills.

One day I tried out the VR experience and entered a manufactured world. It was realistic, perfectly dimensioned and scaled, and after just a few minutes, it made me sick to my stomach. My physical being rejected it. After I removed the gear and touched real walls and furniture to shake off the bogus stimulation, a lingering discomfort remained: like it or not, this is the wave of the future.

My new book The Nirvana Effect is set only a few years from now. Virtual reality has reached the next level where just about any human sensation can be replicated by tricking the brain and nervous system. The technological breakthrough is such a success that it quickly becomes more popular than real life (not a stretch of the imagination given the real-life events of the past year). What happens next? Most human experiences take place in the Cloud. Traditional society begins to erode. And it gets even worse when the government steps in and decides to hijack – er, subsidize – the technology for increasingly nefarious Big Brother purposes.

The Nirvana Effect will be unleashed upon the world in April 2021 in hardback, paperback, audiobook and – somewhat ironically – eBook editions. The pre-release reviews have been great, and I’m very excited to download my story into your imagination. It’s a big adventure on a broad canvas with regular people facing critical decisions with epic consequences. The book shows what happens when you blur the distinctions between real and fake, and surrender control. The technology boom doesn’t just want to captivate your mind, it’s grasping for your soul.

How far will we submit to computers and where will it lead? After reading The Nirvana Effect, you might think twice about how much time you spend with your head in the Cloud.

The Hollywood Horrors of Rough Cut

Almost everyone who writes entertains the idea of writing screenplays at one time or another. Some of us even act on the impulse, ignoring the relentless obstacles and draining frustrations that litter the path to Hollywood.

In the 1990s, I wrote four screenplays and cowrote a fifth. In bursts of activity, I would write, rewrite, pitch and hope. At the same time, I refused to quit my real job or move to California to pursue the goal with single-minded obsession. Many others do—and you find them all over L.A., waiting tables and stocking groceries. I stayed in Chicago, wrote late at night, and used the mail and phone. Yep, this was pre-Internet.

During those years, I secured two Hollywood agents. I received enthusiastic calls from production companies and studios. Three of my scripts finished in the top 2 percent of a screenwriting competition run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars people). I flew to L.A. to meet with interested producers.

Bottom line: none of my scripts became movies. They remained piles of three-hole punch pages between card stock covers bound by brass brads, black text on white, unfulfilled. The most accurate quote I ever heard about Hollywood came from screenwriter/novelist William Goldman, who said, “You can die of encouragement.” Many times I encountered exhilarating praise from high places...then weeks later became a foggy memory. The enthusiasm mysteriously dissipated, victim to Hollywood’s short attention span. My calls weren’t returned, even when I was returning their calls.

Another typical scenario: I would be asked to rewrite and rewrite to satisfy the whims of someone who claimed to be connected but ultimately lacked any power. It was startling how many people would “know” stars (directors, producers, performers) and then when the true relationship was revealed, it was hopelessly remote at best. In a strange reversal, they were looking to make connections through distributing my work.

I also discovered how easy it was to become buried in the insane volume of screenwriter wannabes. Anyone who knows the alphabet can write a script ... and apparently does. Books, web sites, seminars and consultants devoted to “Selling to Hollywood” are as common and insincere as “get-rich-quick” real estate schemes. It was a constant battle just to get my scripts on top of the five-foot slush piles in the offices of cynical agents and studio readers. Eventually, I was spending far more time pitching, marketing and networking than actually writing—the only part I truly enjoyed.

One of the scripts that generated the most enthusiasm was Low Budget, a thriller/dark comedy about dueling indie horror film directors. My agent loved it. The script received tantalizing flashes of interest from nearly a dozen studios and production companies. But, ultimately, no deal.

I was told one of the obstacles was the recent box office failure of Matinee, another movie about horror filmmakers and cheap “B” movies (starring John Goodman and directed by John Dante). After an exciting few months of buzz, Low Budget was shelved.

Flash forward several years. I stopped writing spec scripts and turned to writing novels. I sold two thrillers, which were released in mass market paperback. While brainstorming story concepts for my next book, I started thinking about adapting Low Budget into a novel.

I never lost my affection for Low Budget and its twisty plot, oddball characters, glossy/gritty Hollywood settings and squirmy, suspenseful build to an action-packed finale. So I expanded the screenplay into a full-fledged novel and renamed it Rough Cut . The book became one of my most enjoyable projects. Rough Cut developed a small but enthusiastic cult following and unanimously positive reviews.

2021 marks the book’s 10th anniversary and what better way to celebrate than a fresh promotion. The original edition is out of print, but you can’t keep a good book down. There’s a snazzy new paperback release from Dark Arts Books and an ebook from Crossroad Press. I hope you’ll check it out. You can imagine the movie that could have been. If you provide the popcorn, Rough Cut will deliver the thrills.

Portions of this blog were plagiarized from “Unreleased: Three Screenplays by Brian Pinkerton.”

Hitchcock: Master of Suspense

During the past few years, I have watched EVERY single Alfred Hitchcock film and now, to start a slew of arguments, I will RANK them from BEST to WORST.

Hitchcock is one of my biggest influences. I love his artful, character-driven, twisty plot approach to suspense (not to mention the generous sprinkling of dark humor). Some of my books have an unmistakable Hitchcock vibe to them, especially Vengeance and Bender.

Obviously, this ranking is just my personal opinion. Agree? Disagree? Furious? Let me have it.

The Great

1. Rear Window (1954) – A masterpiece of suspense; brilliant on multiple levels from filmmaking technique to storytelling to social commentary

2. Strangers on a Train (1951) – A classic thriller, full of fabulous twists, tension and dark humor; a personal favorite of mine; Raymond Chandler was one of the writers

3. Psycho (1960) – The iconic horror film that spawned a million imitations; revolutionary in its day and still one of the greats; the studio did not want the film made but Hitch pushed it through with his own financing and TV crew

4. Rope (1948) — Audacious concept: college students kill a classmate and invite his family and friends to a party where the guests unwittingly dine on the trunk containing his corpse; brilliant, harrowing and startlingly philosophical

5. North by Northwest (1959) – Fun action thriller with great momentum, classic chase scenes and wonderful charm; inspiration for the James Bond movies

6. Sabotage (1936) – Riveting and shocking tale of terror cell in London plotting to bomb civilians; way ahead of its time!

7. Vertigo (1958) – Hypnotic and obsessive with bold visuals and mesmerizing music score; many consider it not only Hitch’s best film but one of the greatest movies of all time

8. Notorious (1946) – Emotionally rich, wonderfully suspenseful and darkly romantic; Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains are perfect

9. Marnie (1964) – Cold and cruel romantic suspense laced with sexual blackmail, rape, frigidity, prostitution, murder, a suicide attempt, sexual assault on a child, and an ugly tragedy involving a horse; gripping, unsettling and hard to shake; possibly his darkest film and that’s saying something

10. The Birds (1963) – Gleefully disturbing; Hitch provides the master’s touch to a bizarre concept and succeeds despite the inevitably outdated special effects (that are still more scary than CGI); no-music soundtrack adds to the dread

11. The Lady Vanishes (1938) – Very entertaining and funny mystery on a train

12. Lifeboat (1944) – Intense, superbly executed World War 2 drama about American and English survivors of a torpedoed ship sharing a lifeboat with a crafty German officer; story by John Steinbeck; Oscar nominee for Best Director

13. Foreign Correspondent (1940) – Lively, classic Hitchcock with several unforgettable scenes and a steady build in excitement and characterizations; nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture

14. Rebecca (1940) – Classy and beautiful gothic love story; eleven Oscar nominations; Oscar winner: Best Picture

15. I Confess (1953) – Man admits to murder in confession to priest; the priest stands by his vow of confidentiality even after becoming a suspect himself; great suspense with moral complexity

16. Frenzy (1972) – Hitch’s second-to-last film is one of his classics, featuring a nasty London serial killer; his only R rated film (nudity and violence); the potato truck scene is a gem; screenplay by Anthony Schafer

17. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – Good fun as an Indianapolis family gets caught up in an international assassination plot; classic Albert Hall scene

18. Saboteur (1942) – Refresh of “39 Steps” innocent-man-on-the-run framework; episodic with many great scenes and memorable moments; Dorothy Parker was one of the writers

19. Rich and Strange (1931) – Underrated, hidden gem about bored couple seeking adventure and getting in over their heads – literally! Visual, funny and dark

20. Blackmail (1929) – Early sound movie; woman kills her abuser and then a witness blackmails her; eerie and well done

The Good

21. Torn Curtain (1966) – Cold war thriller, perhaps not as fresh as his earlier works, but still plenty entertaining with a brutal fight scene, wacky bus ride and suspenseful chalkboard math formulas

22. Trouble with Harry (1955) – Wonderful oddball black comedy about a pesky corpse in a small town; unique and endearing

23. The 39 Steps (1935) – Energetic, typical Hitchcock with twisty plot and great banter; innocent man on the run, caught up in spies and intrigue

24. The Lodger (1927) – Hitch’s best silent feature, about a killer on the loose; introduces his visual style and skill for suspense

25. The Wrong Man (1956) – Exquisitely shot, bleak docudrama about mistaken identity (and Catholic guilt); featuring a quiet, suffering Henry Fonda

26. Stage Fright (1950) – Fun, fast-moving suspense about an actress trying to clear her friend who is accused of murder; memorable Boy Scout-with-bloody-doll scene

27. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) – Hitch’s favorite but I found it middle-of-the-pack; brilliant direction, tense moments, memorable bursts of dialogue but an overall uneven narrative

28. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) – Peter Lorre is great; an entertaining thriller, if a bit screwy; later remade by Hitchcock with better results

29. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) – Hitch takes a break from thrillers to direct a screwball comedy – and succeeds! Carole Lombard is fabulous

30. Dial M for Murder (1954) – Terrific first half but the second half succumbs to its suffocating, single-set, stage-play source material and becomes very talky with convoluted detective work

31. Suspicion (1941) – Wealthy woman marries too quickly and then has suspicions about husband’s true intentions; good but not great in my humble opinion; Oscar nominee for Best Picture and Oscar winner for Best Actress

32. Under Capricorn (1949) – Edgy love triangle and a rare period piece from Hitch; great performance by Ingrid Bergman

33. Jamaica Inn (1939) – Action-oriented, generally entertaining, with a fun, hammy Charles Laughton performance

The OK

34. To Catch a Thief (1955) – Light, entertaining caper flick with good cast (Cary Grant/Grace Kelly), colorful scenery (Oscar winner for Cinematography); maybe too lightweight

35. Spellbound (1945) – Somewhat tedious and draggy murder mystery solved through psychoanalysis; memorable for nympho scene, gruesome child death flashback, and dream sequences by Salvador Dali; Oscar nominee for Best Picture and Best Director

36. Secret Agent (1936) – Peter Lorre is great/weird; strange plot twist has heroes accidently killing an innocent man; most of the film is so-so

37. Topaz (1969) – Long, episodic international thriller based on the Cuban Missile Crisis is ultimately unsatisfying but has its moments; includes the perversely beautiful purple dress murder scene

38. The Paradine Case (1947) – Courtroom drama, dark and psychologically complex; Gregory Peck is good

39. Young and Innocent (1937) – Man wrongly accused of murder, a common Hitchcock theme done better in later films; cute but forgettable except for amazing dolly shot to reveal suspect

40. Downhill (1927) – Silent drama; young man willingly takes blame for friend’s scandal and his life unravels; dull start but last 30 minutes are very dark, hallucinatory

The Neh

41. Family Plot (1976) – A goofy couple tangles with kidnappers; Hitchcock’s final film is a lethargic dud, despite a screenplay by the legendary Ernest Lehman and soundtrack by John Williams

42. Murder (1930) – Talky murder mystery set within theater troupe; notable for shocking suicide scene at circus

43. The Manxman (1929) – Silent love triangle melodrama; Hitch’s last silent film, shows increased filmmaking savvy; uneven performances

44. The Pleasure Garden (1925) – Silent romance melodrama about the love life of two women; Hitch’s first film

45. The Farmer’s Wife (1928) – Silent comedy about a farmer looking for a wife

46. Champagne (1928) – Silent comedy about a wealthy, spoiled woman learning a lesson

47. Easy Virtue (1928) – Silent melodrama about woman haunted by her past; adapted from a Noel Coward play

48. The Skin Game (1931) – Talky, slow melodrama about a feud over land that leads to tragedy; visually static

49. Number 17 (1932) – Talky, confusing, hokey ensemble mystery with decent but crude train finale

50. Juno and the Paycock (1930) – Dreary, claustrophobic Sean O’Casey play about poor Irish family

51. The Ring (1927) – Silent melodrama about two boxers in love with the same woman; you can guess what happens next

52. Waltzes from Vienna (1934) – Lame, flat musical bio of the Strauss family; even Hitch considered it a career low

Note: One early Hitchcock film, The Mountain Eagle (1926), is presumed lost and unavailable for viewing.

How I Started the Apocalypse

The following interview originally appeared on the web site SF Signal and was conducted by Carl Slaughter. Sadly, Carl died on August 11 in a car accident. You can read about Carl's extensive history in science fiction fandom and teaching around the world here. He interviewed more than 140 writers. This conversation from 2016 begins with a focus on the zombie trilogy How I Started the Apocalypse and then branches into other topics.

Carl Slaughter: Why jump on the zombie bandwagon?

Brian Pinkerton: I didn’t jump, I was pushed! And I’m glad it happened. Severed Press approached me and asked if I would be interested in creating a zombie series for them. I had previously written a short story for one of their anthologies, Zombie Zoology, about a swarm of mosquitoes carrying the zombie virus. They liked the story and offered me a book deal. My first reaction was concern that I couldn’t do anything new with the zombie genre. But then I came up with an idea to turn the cliché inside out: instead of humans threatened by zombies, what if a sympathetic zombie was threatened by humans? And Chaz was born.

CS: What’s the science premise? What kind of zombie is Chaz? Resurrected? Flesh eating? Rage infected? Shuffling in slow motion? Grunt talking? Does he retain intelligence and memory?

BP: Chaz is the subject of a secret government experiment to revive the recent dead. When the reanimated corpses display an uncontrollable appetite for human flesh, the lab is shut down and the zombies destroyed. But Chaz escapes.

Chaz is fully functional. He can walk and talk like anyone else, although he is in a pretty bad state of decay. He smells bad. He doesn’t grunt and shuffle around. He’s a “smart zombie,” trying to blend in with society. He remembers his past. He’s not real happy with his current predicament. He fights his addiction to flesh eating like an alcoholic trying to resist booze.

CS: What do the government agents plan to do with Chaz and why is a zombie ideally suited for the task?

BP: The goal of the experiment is to create a new breed of “super soldiers”. It’s the ultimate army. Just recycle corpses. You don’t have to deal with casualties because they’re already dead. You don’t have to pay out any military benefits. They can take a bullet or lose a limb and keep on fighting.

CS: Is Chaz a protagonist or an antagonist? Sure, he’s a victim of rogue government and he has feelings for his family. But he turns other people into zombies. How do you get readers to empathize with a character who is trying to exterminate humans and repopulate the planet with a zombie species? How do you get readers to empathize with a character who sets in motion an apocalyptic battle against the human race?

BP: That’s what makes him rich and engaging. He has good intentions but can’t control his impulses. Chaz needs to eat human flesh to survive, so he’s in self-preservation mode. But he’s fully aware of the implications of spreading the virus and ruining civilization for everybody else. In the beginning, he tries to only eat people who deserve it – the evildoers of society. After he feasts, he shoots his victims in the head to prevent their rebirth as zombies. That’s his plan anyway. But he fucks up and one thing leads to another…

In the first book, there’s a scene where he dines on a violent drunk and unwittingly becomes inebriated himself. Then he goes on an eating binge. He wakes up with one hell of a hangover and has to backtrack and find his victims.

CS: Which actor would play Chaz in a screen adaptation?

BP: Nicolas Cage has the right mix of dark edge, quirky humor and tortured empathy. He can do action and Average Joe. Maybe Johnny Depp.

CS: Why did you change the cover art for the sequels?

BP: The first two books in the series originally came out with cartoony covers depicting smiley faces with increasing levels of decay. For the third book, the publisher suggested a fresh approach that included revisiting the first two book covers, and I agreed.

While the smiley faces hinted at the humor within, it was maybe tipped too far in that direction. The new covers are grittier, more focused on Chaz as he evolves from fugitive to leader of the uprising.

CS: How did you get Hugh Howey to write the introduction?

BP: It was the publisher’s idea. They had the connection with Hugh. When they suggested him, I wasn’t familiar with his work. I Googled him and discovered his book had just been optioned by Ridley Scott. He was on the verge of stardom. I later met him when he was in Chicago promoting Wool. He’s a very nice guy and an advocate for independent authors.

CS: In your book Anatomy Of Evil, the characters are possessed by a spirit and start manifesting evil/base behavior. Is the premise that the possessed already have desires that are magnified after possession or that the possessor imparted an alien nature? Is there a message in the story?

BP: The possession targets a vulnerability in each of its victims and amplifies it. Essentially, it removes the self-control and notions of good that keep us from acting out on our darkest impulses. Evil emerges from seedlings that develop in our soul rather than channeling an external force or persuasion.

CS: Simultaneous to your zombie theory, you came out with Bender, which is like your earlier novels. Are you going to write more in the science/paranormal subgenres or was this a brief excursion?

BP: I like to mix it up. Thrillers, horror, mystery, humor and often combinations of those elements. How I Started The Apocalypse is horror with dashes of humor. Killer's Diary is horror with a mystery at its core. Bender is a thriller. The genres change but all of my stories feature ordinary people thrown into frightening, life-altering situations.

CS: What was the inspiration for Killing the Boss?

BP: I wanted to use the dynamics of an office setting for a murder mystery. The business world makes for a fun backdrop and it’s one I’m very familiar with. Several of my managers over the years have gleefully claimed to be the inspiration for this book.

The setting was also ideal for the unusual storytelling approach I wanted to use: telling a book-length narrative through emails, memos and other communication documents.

CS: Was this ever done by another mystery writer?

BP: I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done to this degree, with such a diversity of source documents telling the story. I included receipts, faxes, newspaper clippings, all sorts of things. I’ve read novels composed entirely of emails or letters, but not assembled across this kind of mix of materials. I wanted to create the feeling of a detective going through a box of clues.

CS: Do you plan to do more documentary format murder mysteries? You certainly wouldn’t have much, if any, competition in this subgenre.

BP: Prior to Killing the Boss, I wrote a short story in this style that was published in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. It was fun, so I tried the same approach for a novel. I don’t know when I’ll do it again. It was extremely difficult, using this method to create characterizations and build out a plot. Not just the writing, but the formatting, since every document had a different look and feel. Turning it into an eBook was even more torturous, retaining the intricate tabs and settings so every piece of evidence looked right.

CS: What kind of research did you do for your article in Horror 201: The Silver Scream?

BP: That was easy. None. It was just me ranting about various things like CGI and the Loudness Wars.

CS: Are all the characters in your hilarious Rut comic series dysfunctional or are there any together characters?

BP: They all have quirks, but hopefully that’s what makes them endearing, funny and maybe even identifiable.

CS: Are we all Ruts?

BP: I think many of us live in a rut. Stuck in a groove we can’t get out of, whether it’s our job, family drama or the little frustrations of everyday life.

CS: How does a horror writer who writes such scary and gruesome stories also write such irresistible and wholesome comedy skits?

BP: Because I’m schizo. I don’t know. I like a strange, wide range of stuff. I like classical music and industrial noise bands. John Waters films and Peanuts cartoons. Barry Manilow and GG Allin. I should have my head examined.

CS: How long will you continue the series? It’s easily as good or better than anything in the newspaper funnies pages. Any plans to go syndicated?

BP: Thank you! I created The Ruts back in the mid 1990s. I produced around 130 comic strips and sent them around to various places. I received a little bit of interest, but no syndication deal. Maybe they were ahead of their time. More recently, I self-published the cartoons in a book that I sell through Lulu. The cartoons are also available for free on my web site. I’ve enjoyed cartooning since I was very young.

CS: Why do you handwrite your stories?

BP: I think it connects back to the cartooning. I need paper and pen to release my imagination. I can’t create on a machine. Anything is possible when tackling a blank sheet with ink. It’s less distracting because I’m away from my computer and all of its convenient diversions.

The handwritten pages make for fun giveaways. If someone reviews one of my books online, like on Amazon or Goodreads, they can notify me through my web site, and I’ll send them an original page. They can see my creative process in all its scribbly glory.

CS: What projects are on the horizon?

BP: I’m outlining a new book, a psychological time travel story. It’s a romance-thriller-horror novel masquerading as science fiction. After the epic scope of the last few books, this one is more intimate and claustrophobic. Last year was hectic with the release of Bender, Anatomy Of Evil and the third book in the Apocalypse series all converging, even though they were written at different times. I’m going to slow down a little bit, but I won’t stop creating. I can’t!

The Gemini Experiment interview

What inspired me to be a writer? How do I craft stories? Why do I write dark fiction? Am I sick in the head? The answer to these questions and more can be found in this new interview, which also appears on barnesandnoble.com and the Flame Tree Press web site.

How did you get started writing?

My mother was a high school English teacher. When I was young, she took me on regular trips to the local library, and I would come home with stacks of books. I knew at a young age that I wanted to write my own stories.

My grandfather was a newspaper publisher in Steuben County, Indiana. He also owned a local printing press, so growing up, we always had supplies of paper all over the house. I would use them to create books, without breaking the binding. Each pad was its own book. I would write the stories and also draw the illustrations. I loved the art of Maurice Sendak and Jack Kent. I also loved comic strips like Peanuts and B.C. I wanted to be a cartoonist.

But my cartoons started taking the form of long narratives, rather than short gags. During my early teenage years, I would create epic-length cartoon stories on notebook paper and put them in three-ring binders. One was 1,000 pages long, a meandering comedy-action story featuring me and my friends facing off against a super villain. It was called “The Brats.”

How has cartooning influenced your approach to novel writing?

Mainly in my methods to capturing my creativity. To this day, I still love the experience of handwriting stories. I handwrite all my novels. I don’t start them on the computer. In this day and age, people find that very strange. But for me, it frees up my creativity. Just a pen and a blank page.

On the computer, it’s too neat and linear. I feel like every sentence has to be perfect out of the gate. But when I’m scribbling on a pad, I’m free. It’s like sketching with words.

The computer also has too many distractions. I want to check my email. I want to go on social media. I go wandering and don’t come back.

I actually write on a big drawing table in the basement. No distractions. It’s just me, the furnace, the washer and dryer, and spiders. And a very big cup of coffee.

Is your writing spontaneous or do you outline?

I definitely outline my books in advance. I like to create stories with intricate plotting and twists and turns with a deliberate rhythm. I want to pace when certain things are revealed. I like to build to a big finish that brings all the threads together. I hate writing into dead ends. I like my writing to be fast and efficient. I don’t want to throw out huge chunks of work because the story took a wrong turn.

I use index cards and a folder stuffed with scraps of paper with notes and ideas for memorable scenes and ways to link them together.

People ask if it ruins the fun of discovery for me, since I know how everything will turn out as I’m writing. The truth is that although I know where the story goes, I’m never sure of how the characters will react. For me, the fun and spontaneity is the response and development of the characters to the crazy situations I put them through.

What draws you to writing dark fiction?

I like building tension and suspense. It’s just fun to send readers on a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes it’s psychological, sometimes it’s more action-driven. Sometimes I include humor, which naturally arises out of tense situations. It’s like a relief valve.

I’ve written in the thriller, sci-fi and horror genres, but my approach is pretty consistent: I want to tell stories about ordinary people who get caught up in extraordinary situations. Often they are things that scare me. I give life to my demons and then I kill them.

What’s your approach to creating characters?

I want people to really identify with my main characters. Then I take them on a wild journey. I want the reader to think, “What would I do in this situation?”

My first goal is to engage the reader emotionally, to take a sympathetic character and thrust them into a crisis that might include their first encounter with crime or violence. My lead characters are regular people: teachers, office employees, working mothers, construction workers, book store clerks…

How did you choose your main character for your new book, The Gemini Experiment?

As I get older, I start to dwell more on mortality – the ticking clock that unites every single being on this planet. We’re not going to live forever.

Tom Nolan, the main character in The Gemini Experiment has had his life expectancy cut short by a terminal illness. He’s a young family man suddenly facing the end. He is recruited for an experiment to explore the potential for expanding lifespan through technology – the ability to digitize a human brain and upload it into a robotic reproduction of his physical self. He soon discovers he’s a pawn in a much bigger scheme that threatens the world.

I don’t want to give too much away, but it builds to the ultimate case of identity theft.

How would you describe your writing style?

My goal is momentum. I want the writing to be crisp, clear and easy to follow so your eyes glide down the page. And I want the reader to be constantly engaged by a feeling of “What happens next?” I love ending chapters with cliff hangers. I love cross-cutting between two plot threads of suspense. I want to create situations where you wonder, “How will they escape?” “How will they survive?” “How can this bad guy be stopped?”

I think that in some of my earlier books, I spent too much time on table setting – establishing characterizations, circumstances, location, backstory – before really thrusting the plot into motion. I’ve learned more about how to sprinkle those things into the narrative along the way to keep the story moving. I don’t want to bore the reader. I don’t want to bore myself!

When I edit my own work, I’m constantly tightening. Eliminating unnecessary words. Deleting adverbs, strengthening verbs. Fewer words but more impactful words. My vocabulary is relatively simple. I’m not trying to show off with gratuitous verbosity or send people in search of a dictionary. That pulls the reader out of the story. My books are entertainment, a relief from day-to-day drudgery. They shouldn’t be a chore to read.

If there’s any sophistication or attempt to be clever, it’s in the subtext, but not bogging down the sentences. I like sneaking in social commentary and satire into my books, but it’s always under the surface.

A lot of your books are set in Chicago. What do you find so compelling about the location?

Well, I’ve lived in the Chicago area for most of my life, so write what you know…

Chicago is my home. I love it, most of the time. I can plunge more quickly into the storytelling because I know the environment inside and out. The sets are already built.

Chicago has so many textures to choose from. It’s a city with great heart and soul. It’s hot, it’s cold. It’s rich, it’s poor. It’s friendly, it’s dangerous. There’s a great palette of colors to work from. Los Angeles is for dreamers, New York is for cynics, Chicago is somewhere in-between. It’s pragmatic and down to earth… a big city but still very personable.

That said, many of my books move around quite a bit. They might start or end in Chicago, but they jump around the United States or the world. The Gemini Experiment starts in Chicago, but bounces around to Florida, Washington DC, Russia…

Did you study writing?

Writing has always come naturally. And that’s probably because I read a lot as a child. I was a shy kid and preferred to express myself in writing rather than in social situations.

At the University of Iowa, I took undergraduate classes of the Iowa Writers Workshop, one of the oldest and most prestigious writing programs in the country. One of my teachers was the fiction editor of Esquire magazine. I remember he liked my literary attempts but rolled his eyes when I wrote a mystery story. He said, “Well, I guess that sort of thing is okay if you aspire to write for Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.” I remember thinking, “Yes, I do!” I also took American Literature classes from David Morrell, who wrote First Blood and created the character Rambo.

After Iowa, I attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and got a master’s degree. It helped me stretch my writing skills so I could make a living with it. Not all my writing is fiction. I have a job writing for a local corporation. It helps my keep my fiction writing sharp and vice versa. A lot of the underlying requirements are the same: clear, compelling, technically accurate prose to engage a reader.

Are you related to the Pinkerton Detective Agency?

I get asked that a lot, because I have written mysteries. People ask if Pinkerton is a pen name but no, it’s really me.

Allan Pinkerton was the first private eye and founded the first detective agency. He was a spy for President Lincoln in the Civil War. He hunted Jesse James. I don’t know if I’m a direct descendant but it’s very likely we have common ancestry in Scotland.

I don’t feel that it influences the type of books I write. In fact, aside from Killing the Boss, my books don’t focus much on the detective or investigation. My themes are more Hitchcock-like…. innocent people who become entangled in crimes.

Is writing hard work or does it come easy?

Both! It’s very time consuming and challenging and can make my brain hurt, but I love it. It’s exhilarating.

Writing a novel is like going on a vacation. You get to visit new places, meet new people, have some adventures and excitement, and then return to the safety of home. The blank page is my passport.

Eight from the ‘80s

For too many years, off and on, I’ve been working on a very long novel that takes place during the 1980s. I am flooded with bittersweet nostalgia every time I revisit it. Of course, playing the proper music helps. I have a special fondness for eighties music, and that is my excuse for diving into eight favorite songs from that era that send me back in time. In no particular order…

Dr. Mabuse by Propaganda (1984). Before the internet, I searched out cool and unusual music through college radio stations, oddball fanzines and independent record stores. I made monthly pilgrimages to the fantastic Wax Trax record store in Chicago for indie releases and imports. (Wax Trax later became a record label for many of my favorite industrial and experimental bands.)

One day, I entered Wax Trax and the clerks were spinning a really wild German synthpop 12-inch single and I immediately fell in love with it. It was Dr. Mabuse by Propaganda on Trevor Horn’s eccentric Zang Tuum Tumb label. Between 1983 and 1988, I devoured everything ZTT offered and you’ll see the label appear at least one more time in my 8 favorites list. The original Propaganda lineup lasted for just one album, A Secret Wish, and that LP remains a highlight of extravagant yet strange 1980s music.

The Final Cut by Pink Floyd (1983). After the glorious epic bombast of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, the band’s follow-up album, The Final Cut, was a much quieter affair musically but seething with sustained tension both on record and behind the scenes. At the time of its release, Rolling Stone magazine called The Final Cut Pink Floyd’s masterpiece, an opinion shared by hardly anyone else. Most reviewers wrote it off as a depressing and tedious Roger Waters solo album. Keyboardist Rick Wright had been fired for laziness and drummer Nick Mason was replaced on at least one track by an outside session drummer. David Gilmour inserts some searing guitar solos, but it’s otherwise a whole lot of cranky Roger. Throughout the album, he whispers, screams, snarls, whimpers and scolds his way through the loss of his father, horrors of war, senseless politicians, fearful relationships and the infuriating ignorance of the beer-guzzling public. He cries out to Jesus, fantasizes about killing world leaders in a gas chamber, contemplates slashing his wrists and ends the album with visions of a nuclear holocaust. Unamused, the public did not embrace this record. The band split up soon after, later reforming without Waters.

It’s a really difficult album, but I love it. There’s nothing radio friendly across its twelve tracks and the closest thing to a potential single (Not Now John) is sabotaged by repeated use of the F word. For this list, I’ve chosen the haunting, melancholy title track. It’s Roger’s dark, sad reflection of his own fragile psyche, possibly the most nakedly emotional thing he – or anyone – has ever placed on a pop album. His trembling whine and angry howls represent a tortured man exposing himself to the world after the walls around him have been torn down. This is the sound of Roger Waters battling personal demons without the window dressing of The Wall’s operatic narrative and inflatable cartoon characters. It’s an astonishing display of music as therapy and, ultimately, the path to recovery.

Such a Shame by Talk Talk (1984). The de-evolution of the band Talk Talk is one of the more fascinating stories of 1980s music. I say de-evolution because over the course of five studio albums they neatly unraveled from slick commercial pop to defiantly tuneless organic meanderings. Their transformation infuriated their record label and baffled fans, but those later releases eventually became cult classics deemed ahead of their time. Satisfied with their musical end state, the band split up in 1992. In 1998, vocalist Mark Hollis released a delicate, nearly comatose solo album and then drifted away like a breeze, never to be heard from again.

My favorite Talk Talk period is in the middle, when they still crafted catchy songs but injected them with a unique personality and jagged emotion. Mark Hollis has an amazing voice, sometimes reminiscent of Bryan Ferry, and the musicianship is top notch with session players like Steve Winwood. Picking one track is tough. It’s My Life is a classic but you already know that one and the cover version by Gwen Stefani. Let’s go with Such a Shame. I don’t know why the song starts with elephant noises but the band probably won’t tell you.

Cloudbusting by Kate Bush (1985). When I first discovered Kate Bush, I was so enthralled with her music and beauty that I immediately ran out and spent all my money on her discography. She returned the favor by never touring the United States. Hounds of Love is easily one of the greatest albums of the eighties, sensual and mysterious, a rewarding journey through darkness and light. Side one of the LP consists of five captivating songs, including the unforgettable gallop of Running Up That Hill. Side two is devoted to a complex musical suite about drowning that pulls you in like a whirlpool and leaves you satisfied like a grand short story. For my list, I’ve chosen Cloudbusting, a song about psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich and his Cosmic Orgone Engineering experiments as told by his son Peter. Never mind the description. This song soars.

Two Tribes by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1984). More than any other band, Frankie Goes To Hollywood exemplified 80s excess: crass marketing hype, immense sound production, engorged 12-inch singles, batches of remixes, out-of-control studio costs, and in-your-face lyrics, videos and record sleeves. Frankie’s debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, filled four LP sides and included a merchandise order form. The first side was dominated by the outlandish disco title track with the most pompous opening imaginable. It was a whole lot of fun while the party lasted, but the hangover was inevitable. Record company lawsuits, band infighting and declining sales accelerated Frankie’s demise. Frankie had shot its load.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood was the big moneymaker for record label ZTT, enabling them to fund more esoteric interests like Propaganda, Art of Noise, Anne Pigalle and Andrew Poppy. (Art of Noise’s Moments In Love was this/close to making my Favorite 8 list.) In college, we used to drink too much and play the extended remix of Frankie’s Two Tribes really loud at all hours to annoy/flirt with the girls downstairs. Eventually someone called the cops. Those were the days...

Anywhere Out of The World by Dead Can Dance (1987). Dead Can Dance never fail to transport me, creating audio adventures that send my soul around the world and backward through time. I have a hard time describing them – at times ethnic music, sometimes gothic and medieval, enriched with a fascinating blend of classical and unusual instruments. Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard split the vocal duties, alternating 1950s-style crooning with the heavenly wailing of angels. Their music paints dramatic pictures, so it’s no wonder Gerrard also contributes to award-winning film soundtracks. This is one of their darker numbers, sung by Perry, sounding like he’s bellowing from deep inside musty catacombs yearning to see the daylight.

The Mystical Body of Christ in Chorazaim (The Great in the Small) by Current 93 (1984). One of my fondest radio memories is discovering after-midnight experimental programming on the far reaches of the dial – a jaw-dropping, brain-frying blend of speech fragments, industrial noise, electronics, ambient sounds and other abstract elements to create a disorienting audio sculpture for weird freaks like me. The source for this madness was a couple of free-form college radio stations (WZRD & WNUR) with a limited range but lots of imagination. It was like tuning in to secret alien broadcasts.

This started my affection for dark experimental music of the 1980s. My CD collection is ridiculous with obscure, room-clearing electronic noise. The early works of Current 93 made a considerable impression. This track, from the deeply disturbing Nature Unveiled LP, is essentially the soundtrack to a nightmare. Or perhaps the sounds you hear when you make that final journey from life to death to Hell. It’s horrific and dark, anguished and mournful, and damn near beautiful. Current 93 later turned their attention to acoustic, neo-goth folk music with mystical lyrics, creepy and special in its own right but less throat-grabbing than the epic soundscapes of their early years. Listen to this alone in the dark at 2 a.m. I dare you.

True Faith by New Order (1987). I don’t dance, but if I did dance, I would dance to New Order. The joyful beats, colorful synths and powerful bass blend marvelously with Bernard Sumner’s thin, intimate vocals to create an unforgettable soundtrack for a special time. “True Faith” is one of the best songs of the 1980s, starting out romantic and ending with a tinge of regret and embarrassment, perhaps like the decade itself. This is classic eighties pop at its peak.

Now back to writing stories.

Rough Cut - author interview

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Catwalk that originally appeared on the web site Horrorview. A fan favorite, Rough Cut has been rereleased in paperback by Dark Arts Books. The ebook is available from Crossroad Press.

Q: Welcome, Brian! Thanks for your time, and wow, I really loved Rough Cut. Where did you come up with the initial idea for the story?

BP: Rough Cut actually began as a screenplay, a B movie turned inside out. It was intended as an exploitation movie about exploitation filmmakers.

The script made the rounds in Hollywood with some encouraging nibbles but no bite. I was told the audience for this kind of movie was too “specialized.” So I turned it into a novel as a way to reach that specialized audience.

Overall, the story appealed to me because I’m a fan of B movies. I’m fascinated by the quest of the low-budget filmmaker to strike gold with limited funds and scrappy perseverance.

Q: I've dealt with the indie film scene for over a decade. It's obvious you have a great feel for the b-movie ecosystem. I got a strong Lloyd Kaufman feel when I first read Harry's introduction. Was the Troma films icon an influence in Harry's character?

BP: Yes, in part. Harry is something of a hybrid of several low budget, DIY movie makers: Lloyd Kaufman, Roger Corman, Ray Dennis Steckler, Fred Olen Ray, and, of course, Ed Wood. I read Kaufman’s book (Make Your Own Damn Movie), Corman’s book (How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime) and even some indie filmmaking “how to” books. I listened to Steckler’s commentary track on The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters. I watched more Grade Z horror movies than is healthy.

Q: I loved the tie-in to the simple, middle Pennsylvania, Catholic couple. What was the influence to include a small-town actress wannabe in the overall feel of Rough Cut?

BP: I wanted to paint the contrast between an outsider and insider’s view of Hollywood. Nora Hurley escapes her small industrial town to go west and live out her dreams in L.A. She expects a shimmering paradise of glitz, glamour and instant stardom. Instead, she encounters a dirty, drab city littered with broken dreams and opportunists. Her fate is one of the main drivers of the story.

Q: I think I know the answer to this already, but give our readers an idea. How much of the horror movie legacy was already carved into your brain (pun intended) vs. what you had to research for Marcus' obsession?

BP: Most of it was already soaked into my skull. As a kid, I watched the Universal and Hammer monster movies on TV. I devoured Famous Monsters of Filmland. I made my parents buy me back issues for Christmas. Later, I experienced the 1980’s “slasher” boom. I’ve always enjoyed the vicarious thrills of the horror genre. However, I do not collect movie props like Marcus or attempt to make my own movies.

Q: I loved the pop culture references you worked in. There were two particular instances where you mentioned the modern struggle of indie authors vs. big print. Does your opinion match the characters'? What kind of opportunity do you think is out there for independent authors in today's multimedia markets?

BP: I believe the playing field is leveling somewhat with the changes in publishing and distribution. To be a success, you don’t have to be picked up by one of the “big six” or receive featured placement in chain bookstores. With ebooks, print on demand and the Internet, there’s a much lower cost of entry and an immediate access to distribution. At the same time, this has created a glut of small presses and self-published works, so you have to work hard to get noticed. But many of the tools are at your disposal. You have more control over your destiny. Hopefully, the good books will get noticed.

When good writers do bad things

I’ve written many stories about good versus evil. My newest book is different. What happens when good becomes evil?

I turned traditional themes inside out in Anatomy Of Evil. It’s one of the few writing experiences where I actually felt guilty about what I had done after I completed the manuscript. I felt the urge to issue an apology.

I created four of the nicest characters you would ever hope to meet. Gentle, caring souls united by their passion to help others and make the world a better place.

During the course of the story, I invite you into their lives. I show you the purity of their hearts. I engage you in their acts of kindness. They become your friends.

Then I make you hate them.

For me, fear isn’t the monster under the bed. It’s the horror emerging from within. The shock of unspeakable evil coming from unexpected places...or persons.

I once heard someone say evil equals good plus time. Or maybe I made it up. But the theory was that humans are not born to be sadists, criminals and killers. Something happens that transforms innocence into wickedness during the life journey.

Are the sinful shaped by their environment?

Or do they become possessed from the inside?

How well do you really know your friends, neighbors and acquaintances? What’s beyond the façade? Can you really trust them?

Should you trust that nice smiling author who introduced you to a charming cast of characters in his new book: an upstanding neighborhood police officer, a heavenly Sunday School teacher, a sweet and selfless working mother, and a heroic football star with a heart of gold?

Or is that author going to do something bad to them?

Something very, very bad.

Perhaps he’ll write a blog about it to make it sound like he’s really sorry and didn’t mean to do any harm.

But do you believe him?

This blog post originally appeared on The Deep End.

The Most Frightening Show on Television

When I was young, fear was defined by monsters of the imagination: living dead, bloodsuckers, werewolves, aliens, mutants and bogeymen. They captivated me.

As a parent, my fears have changed. I’m far too pragmatic to worry about ghosts and goblins. There’s only one thing that truly scares me: the nightly news.

Every evening, I am dished up a mind-numbing display of shock and horror. The stubborn storylines don’t change: deadly shootings...terrorism attacks...gruesome car wrecks...tragic drownings and fatal fires...child abductions.

That last horror especially resonated with me when my children were little. I remember dropping off my daughter each morning at daycare with a rise of cruel angst tormenting my psyche.

What if she’s not here when I return?

It was unthinkable, which was why I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

How did I cope? I did what any decent writer would do to exorcise demons. I exploited my own insecurities. I wrote about it.

I simply switched the daycare setting to a nanny and let ‘er rip. My novel Abducted was born.

Abducted tells the story of a young mother, Anita Sherwood, who quits her job to become a stay-at-home mom with her 2-year old son. He has been under the care of a nanny. The nanny is very attached to the little boy and becomes distraught when she learns her services will no longer be needed.

On the night of the mother’s goodbye party at work, the nanny disappears with the boy. The next day, the nanny’s body is found drowned off the coast of California, with a suicide note that indicates she also drowned the child. But they never find the boy’s body.

A few years later, Anita is on a business trip in Chicago, standing on a street corner. She sees a sad face in the window of a passing bus. And that face looks just like her son.

Outlandish? Perhaps, but read on.

On the day that Abducted was released, a news story broke on CNN about a mother who found her kidnapped little girl, who had been presumed dead in a house fire. As it turns out, the fire was deliberately set by a kidnapper who took the baby. Everyone thought the baby perished in the fire.

But the mother refused to believe the baby was dead. Years after the fire, she saw a little girl at a neighborhood birthday party and was struck by the girl’s resemblance to her own children. She told the girl there was bubble gum in her hair as an excuse to pull out some strands. She took the hair to the police for DNA analysis. And it was a match.

As a parent, that story is mortifying. As a writer, the plot twist is exhilarating.

So the next time you’re looking for a good scare, don’t bother with the obvious: The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Dexter or True Blood. Just catch a whiff of your local news and remember...

Real horror is closer than you think.

This blog post originally appeared on Not Now...Mommy's Screaming.

To read more about the creation of Abducted, download the free e-book The Making of Abducted.