Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a performer and writer who frequently appears in local theatre in addition to teaching creative writing classes in a Federal Prison.
While I have had a number of short stories published in magazines and anthologies, my first book is the short story collection A Consternation of Monsters.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Consternation of Monsters was inspired by the fact that I tend to write modern fantasy stories with a minor horror edge. Those, in turn, tend to contain monsters or at least the monstrous. I decided to name the collection after the collective noun for monsters, only to discover that no one could agree on one, or on whether or not there should even be one. As the semi-fictional radio host Rik Winston explains in the intro: “While monsters may come in many different forms and even different species (a few of which may yet prove to be real, living, breathing, formerly-legendary animals someday), the base idea of the monster—the unknown thing in the darkness—is one of the most powerful concepts in history, and one found across all cultures. Monsters, in this way, have been with us from the dawn of time, have accompanied our species on its journey across the ages, and even now lurk in the darkened corners of the allegedly enlightened world of the 21st century. The archetype monster alone deserves a collective noun.”
In these tales, a creature of make-believe proves difficult to disbelieve, a trickster-god takes an unkindly interest in witnesses, eldritch horrors can be summoned using a quilt, frustrated wolves face dangerous prey, the angel of death wears a plaid sport coat, wise old women are to be feared and heeded, the corpses of legends can be perilous to have around, Elvis remains the once and future king of rock & roll, and where one of the most powerful and potentially destructive objects in the world is a fork.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not especially. I wanted to say that I frequently only get writing done when faced with a deadline, but that’s not unusual for writers.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Douglas Adams, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, Rod Serling, J. Michael Straczynski, Lee Maynard, Belinda Anderson, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Jonathan Hickman, Brian Talbott, Archie Goodwin, James Robinson.
What are you working on now?
A Second Consternation
Do you have any advice for new authors?
At all times be supportive of your fellow writers and the writers of your region. When marketing through social media, spend a third of your time on your own works, a third on promoting the work of your fellow writers, and a third just being yourself and talking about anything other than promotion. Be silly.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never wear brown pants with white shoes.
What are you reading now?
Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Being a former broadcaster in a past career, and having used those skills to do quite a bit of podcasting over the past seven years, I have at last stepped into the field of audio book narration. My first book to narrate is The Black Star of Kingston, by S.D. Smith. (http://amzn.to/1TOikGF)
I’m currently finishing the edits and mastering on the audio book version of A Consternation of Monsters, to be released in the first quarter of 2016.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Best of Ray Bradbury. Good Omens. Robinson Crusoe.
Author Websites and Profiles
Eric Fritzius Website
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