Look and Listen

Biography

For more than twenty years I have been a professional engineer in the field of highway construction. In addition to dreaming up creative new ways to interfere with your morning commute, I have done a lot of technical writing. I’ve only been writing fiction seriously for a few years. I grew up in a remote area of Missouri’s eastern Ozark Mountains. We only got one television channel, and it was snowy if the weather was unsettled. The only computers back then belonged to NASA and the guy who invented the internet was still in elementary school. The library card came to be one of my best friends and with it I learned to unleash the power of the imagination. Most of the fiction I write is set in that region and reflects its unique culture. I like bold lead characters with traditional values, detestable bad guys, and wholesome themes. There will nearly always be an element of supernatural horror. It goes without saying that Stephen King has influenced my work. That is so with any modern writer of horror whether they admit it or not. Other favorites are Peter Straub, Anne Rice, Dan Simmons and Tom Clancy. I’ve written a few short stories, but on the satisfaction scale they rank somewhere between mowing the lawn and kissing the dog. Novels are my passion and I self published my first, Theodosia’s Flock, in 2007. My second novel, The Hermit’s Lair, is now available. Check out my web page to download free excerpts www.dgbryant.net

Inspiration

I have been a vocal critic of most popular fiction for quite some time and my frustration came to a head a few years ago. I was out of town for work and forgot to pack anything to read. Facing the prospect of an entire evening in a motel room with only the endlessly squawking box for company, I trotted up the road to Kmart. There I selected a novel by an author who I’d enjoyed reading in the past. In a word it was awful. The characters were cartoonish, the dialogue absurd, and the plot so transparent I successfully predicted the ending after the first chapter. It was so awful, in fact, that I finished it only out of morbid fascination that anything that bad could find its way into print. When I got home I ranted about it at length and commented that I could write a better book. My wife, in her usual stoic manner, suggested that I quit bitching and do it. I accepted her suggestion and the result was my first novel. I think it’s pretty darned good. My readers can judge for themselves.