Artist and author Brian Catling discusses his writing and his art

Artist and Author Brian Catling discusses his writing and his art

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3rmzinv

Interview Timeline

Brian Catling is a poet, sculptor, painter, and performance artist. He makes installations and paints portraits of imagined cyclops in egg tempera. Brian has had numerous solo shows and has recently published a new book. We spoke about the work, his writing, and the occult. Hollow (Vintage, 2021)

0:35 – Brian talks about why he wrote the book.

3:14 – Brian talks about Christian religion in Europe.

4:40 – Brian talks about the book.

7:40 – Brian talks about about the book being European in focus.

8:14 – Brian talks about his research into the period.

9:07 – Brian talks about poetry in the book.

10:55 – Brian talks about his writing style in the book.

11:46 – Brian talks about how he plans out his book.

12:11 – Brian talks about his approach to writing.

13:12 – Brian talks about describing scenes in his book.

14:51 – Brian talks about his inspirations.

16:08 – Brian talks about not being able to paint what he writes.

16:33 – Brian talks about the surroundings he prefers when he writes.

17:33 – Brian talks about the musical feel of the book.

19:41 – Brian talks about not taking a moral stance in his writing.

20:25 – Brian talks about religion in his work.

21:30 – Brian talks about his favorite characters to write.

23:16 – Brian talks about characters that have been difficult for him to write.

24:17 – Brian talks about writing characters different from himself.

26:11 – Brian talks about how his approach to writing has changed over time.

27:55 – Brian talks about editing his work.

30:27 – Brian talks about his tempura work.

32:31- Brian talks about painting cyclops’.

33:44 – Brian talks about being a fan of ancient and epic literature.

36:13 – Brian talks about things he can’t do.

37:28 – Brian talks about being adopted.

38:14 – Brian talks about his interest in the mysterious and magic.

44:28 – Brian talks about being inspired by the Elizabethan John Dee.

46:26 – Brian talks about what scares him.

48:41 – Brian talks about humans being terrifying.

50:51 – Brian talks about the mixture of cultures.

52:42 – Brian talks about characters whom he’d like to write.

55:27 – Brian talks about his current working project.

59:27 – Brian talks about fiction that he’s enjoyed.

1:02:08 – Brian can be found at bcatling.com.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3rmzinv

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624397/hollow-by-b-catling/

https://www.bcatling.com/

Contact Information

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast. Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Brian Catling

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, academic, podcast, Vintage, fantasy, fiction,

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3rmzinv

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Cris Alvarez Full Contact Nerd Interviews

Post-apocalyptic science fiction with Gene Doucette

Gene Doucette Apocalypse Seven

Post-apocalyptic science fiction with Gene Doucette

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3jkRmfS

Interview Timeline

Gene Doucette has authored more than twenty sci-fi and fantasy titles. He recently released The Apocalypse Seven. We spoke about the book and his writing. The Apocalypse Seven (John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021)

0:51 – Gene talks about his publishing path.

3:20 – Gene talks about self-publishing.

4:16 – Gene talks about Apocalypse Seven.

6:24 – Gene talks about novellas versus novels.

7:51 – Gene talks about his fantasy writing.

9:47 – Gene talks about the setting and characters of Apocalypse Seven.

13:14 – Gene talks about the conflict in the novel.

14:45 – Gene talks about the research for the book.

18:28 – Gene talks about walking Cambridge and the Charles River.

19:29 – Gene talks about bikes.

20:08 – Gene talks about his inspirations.

21:24 – Gene talks about enjoying quantum theory and mathematics.

22:33 – Gene talks about the aesthetic and musical feel of the novel.

25:11 – Gene talks about his writing process.

27:20 – Gene talks about not outlining or plotting ahead of time.

28:59 – Gene talks about writing stories in his head.

30:34 – Gene talks about how his writing has changed over time.

32:11 – Gene talks about his favorite character to write.

32:55 – Gene talks about whether he’s in any of his characters.

34:54 – Gene talks about characters that were difficult to write.

36:57 – Gene talks about trying to understand his characters better.

40:03 – Gene talks about empathy in writing.

40:43 – Gene talks about having once been in sales.

42:19 – Gene talks about being an outgoing introvert.

43:25 – Gene talks about the editing of this novel.

47:08 – Gene compares traditional publishing readers versus self-published book readers.

51:37 – Gene talks about self-published books reader demographics.

53:19 – Gene talks about comic books and D&D.

55:21 – Gene talks about finishing the book.

58:48 – Gene talks about his new hard sci-fi series.

1:01:58 – Gene talks about Amazon Vela.

1:02:30 – Gene can be found on facebook at authorgenedoucette and on twitter and instagram under Gene Doucette.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3jkRmfS

https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/The-Apocalypse-Seven/9780358419471

https://genedoucette.me/

Contact Information

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast. Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Gene Doucette

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, podcast, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, science fiction,

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3jkRmfS

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Cris Alvarez Full Contact Nerd Interviews

Josh Malerman book tour interview

Josh Malerman is a New York Times bestselling author and one of two singer-songwriters for the rock band The High Strung. His debut novel, Bird Box, is the inspiration for the hit Netflix film of the same name. He has written numerous horror works including Goblin. We spoke about the book, horror, Bird Box, and creepy music. Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas (Del Rey, 2021)

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, videos, Del Rey, horror, gothic, fiction,

Cris Alvarez Full Contact Nerd Interviews