In conversation with Faith Bicknell-Brown

Today I've got Faith Bicknell-Brown, one of the Something Wicked Volume #2 anthology authors visiting. Welcome, Faith, pull up a hot seat for a little Q&A...

Tell us a little about your short story in the anthology.

My story is called Trashcans. It’s about a young man named Toby, who is under his older sister’s guardianship. He’s on the verge of becoming eighteen and he can’t wait to get away from her. Vanessa is controlling as well as verbally and emotionally abusive. Everything culminates one night when she forces him to take the trash out to the curb. Toby discovers “help” can manifest in unexpected ways.

What gets you writing? Tell us a little bit more about your approach.

I write nearly every day from about 8am until 3pm. Once my feet hit the floor in the mornings, the first thing to get me going is several cups of strong, black coffee and reading email. After that, I open whatever manuscript I’m working on and start writing. There’s either rock, pop or bluegrass music playing in the background. Sometimes if I find one of my favorite programs on one of the history channels, I’ll listen to the dialog as I write. I find many odd things from history to science very inspiring.

What do you think are particular challenges associated with short stories as a form? As for longer works, do you have anything planned? 

With short fiction, a writer must deliver the plot and characters in as short a word count as possible without skimping on plot and characterization. However, I still find readers saying, ‘I wish this story had been longer.’ That’s frustrating to read or hear, but short fiction is just that—short.

And longer works? Well, I’m currently working on a new novel. It’s paranormal with some horror and sci-fi elements woven into it.


What's the one short story or novel you keep going back to (we all have them), and what makes it stand out above all the rest?

One I’ve read by another author is The Truth about Unicorns by Bonnie Jones Reynolds. It’s historical horror and fantasy. The atmosphere and style of the novel, plus how the author blended magic and witchcraft, sucks me in every time I re-read it. It’s an old book that’s out of circulation, but I managed to find an autographed copy for my bookshelves.

However, when it comes to my material, my favorite would be my novel my agent has been holding on to called Moone Spell. It’s about a werewolf curse accidentally placed on a man because his wife wanted him to be home more often. The heroine has escaped from a sadistic ex-husband, so she faces him and the werewolves in an effort to protect her children and find true love.

What scares you?

If you mean typical jump-out-of-your-skin topics, it would have to be snakes. I hate 'em. I can’t even stand to watch anything about them on TV or to come across a picture of one in a book!

Linkage: 
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