I Need More Bigfoot – An Interview with Author Eric S. Brown

It only seems fitting that I cap off a week where I released a novella about skunk apes with an interview with Eric S. Brown, the godfather of Bigfoot books. Now, there’s way more to Eric than just Bigfoot – the dude is quite prolific – but I came to know of his work through my fascination with our hairy cousin. Eric has two books currently tearing up the charts, Crypto Squad and my fave, Bigfoot War (along with its sequels, especially Bigfoot War : Frontier).

It’s been a goal of mine to interview Eric, and now I can cross that off the old bucket list. Enjoy!

1. It’s 1975 and I’m on the TV game show Password. My celebrity partner (I’ll pretend it’s Lynda Carter, complete with Wonder Woman costume) turns to me and says, “Bigfoot”. Now, since I’m a man of the future on an old game show sitting next to Wonder freakin’ Woman, my answer is as clear as a cloudless sky. I blurt out, “Eric S. Brown!” I’m right, we hug and move on to the next round. You are the Bigfoot master when it comes to horror fiction. What drew you to the wild man?

ESB: When I first started writing, zombies were my thing. I wrote them for about eight years. I had a lot of books in that genre published like Season of Rot and War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies. Finally though, even though I still loved them, there came a point when Zombies just didn’t do it for me as a writer anymore. I wanted something else. I remembered back to my childhood, living in rural North Carolina, and there was Bigfoot. He scared the Hades out of me as a kid and I knew I had my what I was looking for. I came up with an idea that mixed the Bigfoot mythos with the feel of a zombie/end of the world book and Bigfoot War was born. Today, it’s still the # 1 rated by customer reviews Bigfoot book on Amazon and it’s had three sequels published to date.

2. Looking at your Facebook postings, I’m amazed by the sheer number of books you have out or are coming out. What’s the latest and tell us a little bit about it.

ESB: My latest two books are Crypto-Squad and Boggy Creek: The Legend is True. Crypto-Squad is another genre bending book like Bigfoot War. The zombie apocalypse is raging and the world’s only hope is government sponsored agency that uses Cryptids as both agents and weapons. Crypto-Squad pits Mothman, The Jersey Devil, Bigfoot, The Chupacabra, and more against zombie hordes in a struggle to save what’s left of the human race. Boggy Creek: The Legend is True is a novelization of the film of the same name.

3. How many books have you published? I know that they’re all not about Senor Sasquatch. What are some of your favorite monsters that you write about?

ESB: I’m gonna go with a lot in terms of a number of books. As to my favorite monsters, of course Bigfoot, Mothman, and Zombies are my top three at the moment. However, I also have a series of Werewolves books called “A Pack of Wolves”. A Pack of Wolves I and II are on the market now and soon Grand Mal Press will be releasing a limited hardcover that collects the two of them and also includes a third installment of the series exclusive to it.

4. If you were on a camping trip in, say, east Texas, and you open up the tent in the middle of the night to see a six foot Bigfoot staring you in the face, what’s your first instinct?

ESB: Pull out the huge freaking gun I was carrying with me and blow it away before it can rip me limb from limb.

5. Now, I often write about ghosts and find myself in situations and places that are know paranormal hotspots. Have you ever gone out Squatch hunting? 

ESB: Trying not to laugh, I will have to answer no. I am a total geek. I am mean super geek. I live in a house full of books, comics, and horror films, seldom venturing outside unless it’s in search of more coffee.

6. What do you think of Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet?

ESB: I have not watched it. Seriously, I love Cryptid stuff and watch loads of horror films and documentaries but that show I just haven’t made it to yet.

7. Have you ever been to Boggy Creek? (on a side note, I had a chance this year but got rained out). What do you think of the movie and is it time for a solid remake?

ESB: I have not though I would love to go someday (if I can convince myself to venture out). I really enjoyed the new one and the old one is a genre defining classic that you just have to love. Working with Jennifer Jaynes, the screenplay writer for it, on my novelization was awesome. She’s such a pro. Between the two of us, I really think the new book blows the new movie out of the water because it functions on a much deeper level and on my end, has a lot more guns and gore.

8. What book are you currently reading and what’s the next one on your to-read list?

ESB: I got hooked on the Honor Harrington series over this past summer and devoured those. Currently, I am waiting on David Drake’s new horror collection to be released. Drake is my hero and in a sense my mentor. He’s my fav. author of all time. And if those didn’t give it away, yes, I read a lot of Military SF. I am much more likely to pick up a book by folks like Eric Flint, Timothy Zahn, or John Ringo than one by somebody like Stephen King.

9. Thank you for taking the time to answer my sometimes-insane questions. Is there anything else you’d like to tell the folks visiting Hunter’s blog and chain?

ESB: Thank you for having me on here. I hope that if you’re looking for something crazy different in terms of Crypto-Zombie horror, give the Crypto-Squad or my Bigfoot War series a go.