Interview - Author JP Behrens

An accomplished author equally adept with collections or standalone releases, author JP Behrens has worked his way into the current scene with his collection of work taking him along in his career. Now, in honor of the upcoming release of his novela 'Missing in Miskatonic,' I talk with him about his early interest in writing, his process, and details about the book itself.

Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general?

JP Behrens: I grew up watching all those 80’s slasher movies. I couldn’t get enough of them. I always found the creativity in how they killed people so many different ways fascinating and loved how the hero found a way to overcome whatever unstoppable force they were up against. My writing journey in horror started after meeting James A. Moore, now passed, at DragonCon and he talked me into going to NECON where I met my first publisher.

Me: Were you into genre films growing up? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?

JPB: Yes, all genre films (sci-fi, fantasy, horror) were my go-to. I would consider The Dark Crystal one of the first horror movies I enjoyed (that movie is wild when you’re all of seven-years-old). Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street came later. I tended to gravitate toward franchises. One exception is John Carpenter. The Thing, The Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness are all huge inspirations. Now, I get excited for anything inventive, cerebral, and weird.

Me: Who were some of your favorite writers growing up? Do you try to take influences from their style with your own voice in your work?

JPB: I started out with Tolkien and Dr. Seuss. Great combination, right? The problem with starting with Tolkien is that most writers who came after tended to fall short. I fell off of reading for years until a friend introduced me to DragonLance: Chronicles. From there, I branched out. My current touchstone authors are Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, and Mark Twain.

I always try to absorb the styles of the great writers I come across in my daily reading habit. If you aren’t continually learning, you end up stale, complacent, or both.

Me: What was the starting point of becoming a writer? Were you always into writing growing up?

JPB: No, I can’t say I loved writing. I loved telling stories, though, which I think is a big difference. Some people love the act of writing, but not so much the discipline of storytelling.

I played a lot of RPG video games growing up, referring to them as interactive novels. I got to the point where I started trying to develop my own ideas: creating characters, monsters, maps, etc. After reading DragonLance, I discovered that I could tell all the stories and experience all those adventures through writing. Still, I attempted majoring in computer science and programming in college (for the money) with an interest in designing video games. I discovered I hated it. I switched my major to writing and haven’t looked back. It’s been a long journey, but I’m hoping I’m finally on the right path toward achieving my goals.

Me: What is your writing process? How do you stay focused on writing?

JPB: I try to write every day. I hit a minimum of 1000 words, but I’m aiming for 2000. You got to build that endurance, you know? Some days, I’ll end up writing 1000 words of trash, but it’s all worthwhile because I needed to get through all those bad words to find the right ones. I find that listening to music helps me maintain my focus, so I almost always have something playing in the background. Currently, I have a lot of EDM and Nine Inch Nails playing.

Me: How did you settle on the plot for your novel “Missing in Miskatonic?”

JPB: It was a combination of things. I’d always wanted to write a noir-type story and the idea of having it take place in Arkham was too good to pass up. As most noir stories begin, it had to be a missing persons case as well. When it was all said and done, the first book lent itself to becoming Supernatural set in the 1920-30’s with Raymond Chandler and Lovecraft in the writer’s room.

I’m hoping it’s a good beginning to a whole series following the many investigations of our hero Travis Daniels.

Me: Was there any special significance to making the characters interact with the history of H.P. Lovecraft as they do? Is there any special significance to his legacy that helped shape the story?

JPB: I don’t know if there is any significance, per se. I took what Lovecraft created and Derleth expanded on, tossed in a detective searching for a missing girl, and let him explore the darkest corners of Arkham and Miskatonic. A lot of Lovecraft’s work is made up of average men who begin as skeptics and end up either insane or running away in fear. I wanted to use that universe to help define Daniels’ mettle. Future stories will help define and test other aspects of his personality.

Me: How much prep-work went into adding the traits of the creatures into this type of story?

JPB: Not a lot for this novella. The creatures are all based on Lovecraft’s works or the games designed around his works. One could make the argument I cheated on this one as Lovecraft’s uncaring universe fits nicely with a noir aesthetic.

In future books, as I explore different supernatural creatures and cultures, there will be a lot of research. Book Two took a lot of research and help from various, generous sources. I’m hoping I did everyone who helped me justice. Sorry for not being more detailed, but the book isn’t officially approved yet and I don’t want to say too much.

Me: Was there any part of your real self injected into the human characters?

JPB: Absolutely! Every character has some major or minor aspect of me in there. I try to approach my characters as a method actor would approach a role, only I’m playing all the characters. If you want the chance of building a three-dimensional character, you have to anchor that effort in something intimate.

Me: What was the most surprising thing about the arc of the story that emerged as you were writing it?

JPB: So, I tend to plot my stories. In fact, I approach writing books in the same way Da Vinci would approach his paintings. He would apply layers, a little at a time, over many passes until he famously said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” I am shocked by little that occurs in my stories since I start with a thin premise and slowly add layers until I abandon the project to the readers for their judgement.

You can only spend so much time working on a piece before you’re adding too much or obsessive over whether to use a instead of the. Eventually, we all have to set it down and say, “Ok, time to send this out.”

Me: Once it was finally written, what was the process for having it published?

JPB: I REALLY wanted it out for this year’s NecronomiCon in Providence, RI. I can’t think of a better place to launch this specific book. When I started looking for publishers, one of my requests was a truncated timeline to make the show. Joe Mynhardt and everyone at Crystal Lake Publishing have moved mountains to pull it off. In return, I got book two turned in a year in advance. Hopefully, that’ll make up for driving them crazy with Miskatonic.

It was a great experience and I can’t wait to continue turning in Travis Daniels Investigation books for as long as everyone keeps reading them.

Me: How do you do to keep your creative energy flowing?

JPB: Reading and playing games, both board games and video games. The more I interact with the output of other’s creativity, the more I want to tell stories and add my worlds to all the others out there. Going to shows like NecronomiCon and Scares that Care presents AuthorCon help as well since I get to connect to readers and discover I’m not just yelling into the void, which I think is the nightmare of every writer.

Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!

JPB: I’m always working on something. I have a few different projects floating around across various genres. One is under consideration at a publisher (fingers-crossed), two if you count book two of Travis Daniels. Three books are sitting in my computer, one rough draft and two needing rewrites. For anyone who wants to say hi at any upcoming shows, my public calendar is available on my website, JPBehrensauthor.com.