INTERVIEW: Brian Drake

 

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If being prolific is the key to success, then author Brian Drake will soon grace the pages of blogs far greater than this one. He currently has three series going--The Rogue Gentleman, John Coburn, Wolf (under the Dean Breckenridge moniker) and now Steletto--and has several titles in the pipeline for 2015. Brian recently took the time to answer some questions and one thing became perfectly clear--NEVER compare his books to Archer.

MARK: You already write multiple other series, so what made you want to start a new one?

BRIAN: A couple of things happened. 24: Live Another Day was announced and that got me binge-watching early 24 episodes to lead up to it. Then Gerard de Villiers, a French author who wrote the Malko Linge spy series, passed away. These two events started me thinking about doing a straight spy series. The Rogue Gentleman is an action series laced with humor, featuring an ex-spy and his adventures, and I wanted to do something to offset that. I had hoped to release The Termination Protocol in time for the new 24 series earlier this year, but I missed that because an editor at an actual publisher had the manuscript. They ultimately didn't move forward, so I released it myself.

MARK: As they say, never let one person's failure to move forward make you go backward. (Actually, they don't say that; I just made it up.) What made you want to become an action writer?

BRIAN: My imagination gets fired up with the idea of the heroic quest. Mystery and adventure stories are full of that, either solving a crime or locating secret documents, for example. You can do anything with the form, either something traditional, or a spoof, and it all fits. I like to explore the theme of what makes humanity tick, and you may have noticed The Termination Protocol features a short discussion on why it is man's nature to "live on his knees" and be controlled by a central power. We see a lot of that in the world and, worse, not much opposition, so I thought it was an idea worth exploring, albeit briefly. You don't see explanations like that often in adventure fiction, so I hope I'm breaking some ground normally reserved for standard literary efforts.

MARK: You know what else you don't see? Intestinal maladies. Seriously, imagine how cool it would be to read an Executioner novel where Bolan missed an opportunity to take out a target because he was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and had to rush off to find the nearest toilet? Anyway, are there certain authors you draw inspiration from?

BRIAN: Most of the guys I read are dead now. If I had to name a top three, it would be Jerry Ahern, Ian Fleming, and Dashiell Hammett. I suppose the next question is how, but we don't have enough space for an analysis.

MARK: Since everyone you read is dead, if you would mind not reading my books, I would appreciate it. You are on record as stating you sometimes write your manuscripts by hand. Do you just enjoy cramped fingers or is there another reason you occasionally eschew a keyboard?

BRIAN: I like the sound of a pen scratching on paper. I like the idea of creating something by hand, whereas typing straight into a computer seems so remote, and I don't like the feeling of detachment. I like the idea of not having to find a power source if I want to write somewhere other than home (such as jail). Everything gets typed eventually, of course, and along the way I'm able to make improvements, so the written draft is really my first.

MARK: They say you never forget your first. Speaking of firsts, The Termination Protocol is the first in a new series, so how would you describe your new character, Scott Steletto?

BRIAN: Tom Clancy once said that the CIA is a large office complex that empties out at five o'clock every day. Another author, Barry Eisler, who worked there, said the CIA is like the Post Office with spies. I wanted to approach Steletto as a working man who has the same complaints about his job that everybody else does, then races around the world shooting bad guys. I think it will make him more identifiable to readers. Ian Fleming did the same thing, if you look closely, especially in Moonraker, where James Bond spends the first chapter sifting through paperwork at his desk. Hardly the stuff of the movies.

MARK: I can hear it now: "Somebody fetch me a bloody martini, shaken, not stirred, while I fill out this report accounting for every bullet I fired yesterday." OK, these days, if your name isn't Lee Child, it seems difficult to generate much noise in the action-adventure market. What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to a author aspiring to find success in the genre? (And no, "write erotica instead" doesn't count.)

BRIAN: That's funny, because I had a chat with one knuckleheaded friend of mine the other day who suggested I do just that. She even suggested titles: 50 Shades of Agent 69 and Double-0 Seven Inches Is Not Enough. But I told her I could never do that because I don't know how to spell "cock."

I have no idea how to answer your question. In fact, I should ask you. How many copies of your novel, The Assassin's Prayer, have sold just in the time it's taken to read this? I've given up trying to find the magic combination. Some of us are going to hit a home runs, some of us will make base hits, and the rest of us won't get off the bench. I seem to do a little better with each book, even if only for a short time. The Termination Protocol sold ten copies its first month, seven its second, and now it's stalled. No amount of advertising seems to work and I've exhausted so much money on this effort that things are going to be tight for the remainder of the year. I have an ambitious 2015 planned, a book every two months (stockpiled, if nothing else, unless I can afford the covers that frequently), and if it doesn't turn around, then it's time to hang up the pen and find another way to fund my addiction to Jammie Dodgers. Right now the only people making money off my work are my editor and cover artist. It's the sad reality of self-expression. F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in America, but I'm trying to hang on through the intermission.

MARK: If it makes you feel any better, I had to go Google Jammie Dodgers. What do you think is the single worst mistake new authors make?

BRIAN: Holding back. Forget what people tell you about how to write. Follow your instincts and write your book.

MARK: My instincts tell me to write dinosaur porn, but thus far I have ignored them, and I'm pretty sure the world is a better place for it. While your earlier books all feature violent action, The Termination Protocol seems to be a bit more graphic about what happens when the bullet hits the bone. (Yes, that's a nod to .38 Special.) Was it a deliberate choice to ramp up the explicitness?

BRIAN: Actually, it was Golden Earring who sang "When the Bullet Hits the Bone," and now I have that song stuck in my head, so thanks a lot.

I wanted Steletto to be a throwback to the men's action novels of the '70s and '80s. I read a few of those before I started writing, so there's more violence, more suggestive sex, stuff like that. That tone may or may not transfer to the other series. It is kind of fun to write that way.

MARK: Golding Earring ... doh! Way to keep me honest. (For the record, I was thinking of "Bone Against Steel" by .38 Special, but don't ask me why.) In The Termination Protocol, there is a minor character named Mark Allen. Was that just happenstance, or do you actually borrow the names of people you know for your characters?

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BRIAN: Hahahaha ... yes, it was an accident, I swear, and calling him a "minor character" is being generous--he's only there for a scene or two. (You're the second Mark Allen I know, by the way--I sold a car to the first one a few years ago, when I worked for GM.) I've borrowed many names from people I know. I did a book in 2010 called Show No Mercy, which has since been unpublished because I hated it, and in that one I named a nympho femme fatale assassin after a goodie-two-shoe I knew at church, and that gave me a big laugh. I don't worry about people finding out. Friends and family don't read my stuff. A prophet has no honor in his own home, as Jesus said. I should try using my girlfriend as the next nympho femme fatale assassin; it might be a kick ... or get me kicked in the head. A buddy tried to read The Rogue Gentleman once, only to tell me he felt like he was reading an episode of Archer. I'd given him a signed copy but took it back. He's lucky I didn't smack him with it. Seriously, an Archer episode??!!

MARK: Smacking him would have been justified. Just sayin'. What's your favorite action movie and what makes it special?

BRIAN: The go-to answer that nobody will argue with is either Goldfinger or Die Hard, but I'll go for the odd choice: The Magnificent Seven. Not only a stellar action movie but one that has true character arcs. The characters either change, or don't change, but know they need to change. There are some great scenes about the morality of the gunfighter and the fact that time is marching on and they have less and less time to exist in their chosen lifestyle. If they don't die, they will be forced to change, and you're left with Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen riding off into an uncertain future. Great show.

MARK: You'll probably want to smack me when I admit that I have never watched The Magnificent Seven. Some writers say to write whatever you damn well please, others insist you have to build your brand. What's your position on the subject?

BRIAN: Write whatever you damn well please ... and if it displeases somebody, write more of it.

MARK: Be true to yourself and follow your own path is always good advice ... unless your true self is a serial killer. Let's wrap this up by having you tell us what's next for you.

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BRIAN: Steletto #2: The Fairmont Manuever is in the can, and ups the ante on action. Steletto #3: The Graypoole Resurrection is almost ready as well. The Rogue Gentleman #3: Another Way to Die is coming in 2015. I think the Wolf series, which I write under the name Dean Breckenridge, has had its day, but I may do one or two more to properly end the series. I'd like to try a western or sci-fi but I have no idea where I'll fit those in.

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