Novelist and Screenwriter, Brian Fitzpatrick

Brian Fitzpatrick is the author of the bestselling science fiction trilogy, MECHCRAFT, and the
co-screenwriter for the upcoming science fiction film, THE SIMIAN TRIALS.
Fitzpatrick’s writing journey began at the age of seven after accidentally watching the horror
classic, Night of the Living Dead. After a week of sleepless nights, Fitzpatrick put pen to paper
and has been creating tales of wonder and terror ever since.
Fitzpatrick grew up on Spielberg, Carpenter, Lucas, Cronenberg, King, Rice, Koontz, and Barker.
Science fiction and horror are in his DNA.
His bestselling novel series, MECHCRAFT, has been dubbed The Matrix meets Harry Potter with
a dose of Terminator violence.
Industrial rock band, Chemical Straightjacket, wrote and released a song based on Mechcraft’s
villain, Sasha and her maniacal ruthlessness. The song, “Tendril and Blade,” is the title track
from their 2021 release, Dark Progression: https://chmclstr8jkt.bandcamp.com/track/tendril-and-blade

Recently, his new scifi horror short story, Deus Ex Synthetica, was published in the Blood
Fiction v2 anthology.
His current project is a commission to write an epic fantasy adventure novel set in the
upcoming Dungeons & Dragons campaign, The Black Ballad.
Fitzpatrick navigates Hollywood and the fiction world with hope and perseverance, and a dose
of strategic marketing to push his writing career to new heights.
When he’s not writing, Fitzpatrick enjoys investigating the paranormal with his wife and their
team.
Fitzpatrick enjoys engaging with an audience in person and online, and talking shop over coffee

Author interview with Brian

At what point did you decide to be an author and what was your path to publication?

I’ve been writing stories since age 7, but I got serious about making this a career about a dozen years ago. I originally focused solely on screenwriting, having a lifelong love of cinema. My scripts performed well in competitions and got me meetings with agents and studios, but fell short of a sale. So I converted my most popular script, Mechcraft, into a novel with the goal of gaining enough book sales to grab the attention of Hollywood to get the story made into a film.

When it came to publication, I debated between traditional or self. This was back in 2016, so self-publication was fairly new and held many obstacles that have since been removed. I went the traditional route, but I knew none of the major players would take on an unknown author. I sought out indie publishers, and quickly found one. The first edition of Mechcraft was released in 2018.

By 2020 I decided to part ways with this publisher and seek out a new one that could help further my career goals. I utilized social media- Facebook groups and LinkedIn mainly, and the querytracker site for their massive database of publishers and agents. I was working on the sequel novel, and the publisher I had hoped to get not only wanted to publish this sequel, but also re-release the original Mechcraft.

Black Rose Writing decided to launch both books on May 4, 2021. But in January 2021 they had an unexpected opening to release a book in November of 2021. They asked if I had a manuscript ready to go. At that time I only had the outline for book 3, but I took a huge risk and told them I’d have book 3 ready by their deadline.

I wrote every available moment for 5 weeks straight, had my editor work her magic, then I gave it one final edit before turning in the manuscript on the eve of the deadline. In the end, Black Rose Writing published all 3 novels in the Mechcraft trilogy in 2021.

Tell us what you enjoy most about writing SCIENCE FICTION / HORROR.

My first encounter with horror was accidentally watching the classic, Night of the Living Dead. After getting past my nightmares I developed a love for the scares. Then growing up in the 80’s with the epic scifi and horror books and movies of the era, it seemed inevitable the genres would become part of me.

What I love most is the escapism. I love to take readers and viewers into worlds they’ve never experienced, full of wonders, adventure, and terror.

Describe your [book/series] in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.

Mechcraft: sentient nanotechnology, warring factions, teen singularity, ruthless villain, scifi action

Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Have an honest conversation with yourself and ask how badly do you want to publish a novel, sell a script, or make a career out of writing. Dedicate the time to learn the craft and practice. Write when you can and cut yourself slack when you’re not able to meet your own goals. A professional editor is worth every penny, but do your due diligence when researching them. And lastly, perseverance is vital: never give up.

What is your favorite line from your book?

“It’s hard to be an angel unless you’ve been a demon first.” –Sasha, Mechcraft: Disruption, book 2

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

For the past 17 years I’ve enjoyed investigating the paranormal with my wife and our team. I also love to cook- especially Jambalaya.

https://linktr.ee/BrianFitzpatrickAuthor