Featured Interview With Brian W. Peterson
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a small town outside of Kansas City, Missouri. I now reside with my wife in the countryside, outside of Kansas City, Kansas. Although I write thrillers and sci-fi, my characters frequently have a Midwest sensibility.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
In grade school, I started writing brief poems and short stories in English class as we learned about the different forms of writing. I read only as required in school, but in Freshman English, when we exchanged short stories in class, I learned that my friends found my writing interesting. Kids wrote about spending the summer at Grandma's or taking a vacation with the family. I wrote a fictionalized story about someone breaking into my house when I was home alone and I had to shoot the intruder at point-blank range in order to stay alive. It was a momentous moment for me to watch people's reactions to my stories.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don't read many modern novels. I loved Jack London, and my favorite author was E. A. Poe. I've read some modern sci-fi I enjoyed, including Asimov and Bradbury. While I read a lot of non-fiction, usually history, I love to read novels that have deep, complicated characters. People are complicated; the best way to write realistic characters is to delve into those complexities. This has steered me into psychological thrillers. I love drilling into characters' minds to observe their fears, desires, and dysfunction. I really enjoy taking normal people and putting them under extreme pressure, so those are the kinds of stories which inspire me to write even more.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
"Wager of Death" is a psychological thriller about a businessman who, along with his co-owners, are under attack. As they deal with arson and murder, a junior executive manufactures a bet which he claims would give him control of the company. The bet is illegal and would not hold up in court, but its purpose is to mess with the businessman's mind. The businessman fights to save his company–and to stay alive.
Typical of me, we delve into the main character's paranoia and explore the boundaries of his sanity. There is something oddly appealing, at least in entertainment, of going along for a ride of mental deterioration.
My first three novels all started as screenplays, so I used the screenplays as outlines for the novels. I then expounded on the stories and dug deep into my characters' motivations and psyches.
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