Author Interview: Robin Brown

Hello, and welcome to an all new series of author interviews. The long anticipated anthology "We Were Heroes" will be coming out in 2016, and in preparation for this release we'll be running interviews of various contributors.

MTI:  Today I'm interviewing Robin Brown, who contributed Where We End Up. Thank you for being here. Starting off, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

RB:  I'm 25 and I live in England. I'm working to pay the bills but I still enjoy writing and every so often I send something off. This has been a lovely surprise!

MTI:  Now, getting down to business; what first compelled you to weave fiction, and what's your favorite type of story to write?

RB:  Writing has always been a hobby since my early teen years and I've never shaken it off. I like that I can write anything I want. It's a very freeing experience. My favourite type of story would probably be similar to Where We End Up. I enjoy darker stories that challenge our views. Having said that, I've had a little recognition for two children's TV pilot scripts which I also enjoyed immensely.

MTI:  Tell me, if you had to pick just one author who has influenced or inspired you, who would it be?

RB:  Terry Pratchett. His books are not only fascinating, original and very clever, but they are also fun!

MTI:  Your story, Where We End Up, appears in We Were Heroes, an anthology devoted to the theme of aging, retired, or out of their element superheroes and villains. Tell us a little bit about your contribution to this collection.

RB:  Is mine the dark depressing one? For me, when I read the theme, I found it very funny and light-hearted—the image of Superman on a zimmer frame popped into my head!—but I kept thinking about it and I realised what a terrible thing Superman getting old would be.

MTI:  Who's your favorite superhero (or villain)?

RB:  I'm fascinated by Superman and how the world would see him if he were real. One of my many pipe dreams is to write a Superman story that portrays his world as I imagine it would actually be.

MTI:  That would be an interesting read.  I'm sure I'd enjoy it.  Now, if you, yourself, could have any superpower, what would it be?

RB:  Super powered intuitiveness - I'd use my power to annoy everybody.

MTI:  Ha.  Clever.  Shifting back to your writing, can you tell us a little about what you're working on right now?

RB:  I'm working on a submission that I hope to submit in a literature competition and I'm also working on a screenplay for another opportunity.

MTI:  Other than your contribution appearing in We Were Heroes, do you have any other stories being published in the near future?

RB:  Nothing right now, though I haven't sent any stories off at all during 2015 so I only have myself to blame.

MTI:  We're both in the same boat on that one.  On a lighter note, have you watched any good tv lately?

RB:  I'm just starting on Hannibal Series 3 and I'm looking forward to it a lot because the first two series are incredible. Warning! You need a strong stomach and it gets weird often but it's probably the best thing I've seen on TV, certainly in the last few years. Side note: it has been cancelled though... hopefully someone else will pick it up.

MTI:  How about music?

RB:  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon and I've recently rediscovered P!nk.

MTI:  What was the last movie you saw, and what did you think of it?

RB:  Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it's awesome! So much fun.

Readers love samples. Do you happen to have a story excerpt you'd like to share with us today?

Page 1 - Little White Lies

            This can happen one of two ways; either I tell you the truth and you hate me, or I walk away right now and we never see each other again - and you end up hating me anyway. It's not up to you though. This is a choice we both need to make but, given my current circumstances, that's impossible. So this is how I'm doing this.

            I have written the truth here. It's in your hands right now and it's yours to do with as you wish. If you want to read it then read it. If you don't then don't. I've made my choice. Now make yours.

            If I could tell you where it all began I would. You know I would. I know my parents weren't conventional. Actually, the more I find out about them the more I realise how much of an understatement that is. But I also know how apart I was from them. Is that right? Does that look right? Can children be apart from their parents? Different is what I mean. I'm not going to do any corrections or cross anything out because I don't want this to look like my school work.

            I'll try and stay on topic as well but it's difficult. There's so much I want to say to you, so much I want to explain, but it's like a maze in my head. I don't know which way to turn or what to say first or if any of it even needs saying. I'll start at the very beginning of the maze, as basic as possible, and I'll go from there.

            My name is Simon Waters. I'm twenty four years old, caucasian, British, I've been unemployed since leaving school at sixteen, I've lived in London my whole life but I've rarely stayed in any one part of the city. I know something's wrong with me. I also remember what you called me when me first met. I have no doubt you remember too but I do wonder how much of it you remember and how well. I remember it perfectly. I close my eyes and look into my memory and I can relive that night. Word for word.

            "It's raining." The first two words you said to me, "You'll get wet if you stand over there."

            No one does that. No one talks to other people at the bus stop. Everyone waits in this resentful, awkward silence. But you talked. And to me. You were right. It was raining hard. A million hard rain drops hitting the ground every second. Unstoppable. Bloody soaking. That's what I remember saying to you.

            "Bloody soaking more like." I said, and you laughed. You can't take that away from me. None of them can. You laughed and smiled. That became the first moment we shared together. I know later things got bad and I know there were times where you hated me, but we still had this moment. Despite everything else, this moment was perfect. It made it all worthwhile.

MTI:  Well, that certainly whets my appetite for more!  Thank you for a great interview, Robin.  Those who want to check out more of your writing can buy a copy of We Were Heroes, coming out February 29, 2016.