Know a Nominee, Part Nine: Patrick Freivald

Patrick Freivald provides our “Know a Nominee” interview today. Freivald is nominated in the categories of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for “Snapshot” (Blood & Roses, Scarlett River Press) and Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel for Special Dead (JournalStone).

DM: Can you please describe the genesis for the idea that eventually became the work for which you’ve been nominated? In the case of a work wherein you’ve written multiple stories (like a collection) please choose your favorite part and discuss.

PF: “Snapshot” is a study in vanity. If you look at the seven deadly sins, it’s pretty easy to see why the other six are deadly, but vanity seems for the most part to be harmless. I wanted to explore why it earned a spot on the list, and do so in an unequivocally vicious manner, because it’s something I’d never understood.

Special Dead is the story that wasn’t. I wrote Twice Shy as a one-off novel, an homage to George R. Romero and Heathers designed to make you laugh and feel uncomfortable that you did so. It ends with an apocalyptic punch in the gut, exactly as it had to. Driving with The Redhead™ one day, she told me that there would be a sequel and what it would be about–while Twice Shy is satire of high school life,

Special Dead would satirize the institution, by putting zombies in a special education classroom. I laughed (maniacally) so hard I had to pull over to keep from killing us both. So the idea isn’t at all mine–it builds on mine, and I fleshed it out to be the work that it became, but the kernel, the spark of brilliance, came from my lovely wife.

DM: What was the most challenging part of bringing your idea to fruition? The most rewarding aspect of the process?

PF: “Snapshot’s” difficulty was that it was by nature an exploration. I didn’t know what I was looking for when I wrote it.

Special Dead had to be written, the moment The Redhead™’s idea crossed my frontal lobe it exploded almost fully-formed. I knew what I wanted to say, but devils not only danced but threw house parties in the details. The logistics of oppressive control made the storytelling itself quite difficult; it wouldn’t make any sense for any of the zombies to be given the slightest bit of freedom, and yet without some wiggle room they’d be unable to act in any compelling manner, unable to transform as the story progressed. I refused to compromise on either point, and it took me twice as long to write because of that–but it was the right decision and I’d do it again.

DM: What do you think good horror/dark fiction should achieve? How do you feel the work for which you’ve been nominated work fits into that ideal?

PF: Horror upends everything safe in reality. Good horror shows you where that’s not fiction. Both “Snapshot” and Special Dead turn the lens on real life to a large degree and use monsters (human and otherwise) to illustrate the horrors on the edges of what’s already happening, one through irony and the other through satire. Each should discomfort the reader in different ways by highlighting actual horror through fiction.

DM: I’m curious about your writing and/or editing process. Is there a certain setting or set of circumstances that help to move things along? Where do you often find yourself getting stuck, and why?

PF: An opportunistic writer, I’ve never had writer’s block, but I only write when I feel like it–often nights when the house is quiet, and a lot during the summer when I’m the only one home. I’m on pace for two novels and several short stories a year, but I also take almost four months off to run a competition robotics team. I don’t have a schedule, and I don’t hold myself to a word count per day or per week. I wrote Twice Shy in twenty-two days, Special Dead in twenty-eight. Both went out to beta readers before a rewrite, which in each case took about a week. Then it goes to the publisher, and the editing process takes however long it takes–thus far I’ve been blessed with awesome editors who are easy to work with but won’t let me off the hook for anything they feel needs changing.

DM: As you probably know, many of our readers are writers themselves. What is the most valuable piece of advice you can share with someone who may be struggling to make their way in this life?

PF: I don’t know that I’m qualified to give too much advice on this side of things. I guess “don’t quit your day job” is an important one, because it’s hard to find time to write when you can’t afford to eat. (Not sure if a “lol” should punctuate that.)

I’d like to say something encouraging about what it takes to write a novel, but as it’s not something I’ve struggled with I’m again unsure that I’m qualified. It won’t surprise most people who know me that when I’m not sure what I’m doing, I resort to math: if you have something to say, it doesn’t take all that much to say it. If an aspiring novelist writes just 500 words a session, and only three sessions a week–no herculean feat by any stretch–they can finish a 100,000-word novel in just over a year. Just write, and when the story is done, find some beta readers who won’t flatter you, then edit. Your next will go faster, and the next faster still. It might help to watch less TV and play fewer video games–but it might not!

DM: What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Bram Stoker Awards/WHC (if you are attending)? If not attending, what do you think is the significance of recognitions like the Bram Stoker Awards?

PV: I met a lot of great people last year at WHC, and have gotten to know many of them better through social media this year. I’m disappointed I won’t be able to make anything but Saturday, but am looking forward to reconnecting in person, and meeting new people as well.

About Patrick Freivald

Patrick Freivald is an author, high school teacher (physics, robotics, American Sign Language), and beekeeper. He lives in Western New York with his beautiful wife, two birds, three dogs, too many cats, and several million stinging insects. A book reviewer for BuyZombie.com and a member of the HWA and ITW, he’s always had a soft spot for slavering monsters of all kinds. He is the author of Twice Shy, Bram Stoker Award(R)-nominated Special Dead, Blood List (with his twin brother Phil), and the forthcoming Jade Sky, as well as the novella Love Bites, a growing legion of short stories (including Bram Stoker Award(R)-nominated Snapshot, and Jade Sky: The Beginning, a graphic novella (with Joe McKinney) for Dark Discoveries magazine. There will be more.