The Big Question with Steve Beai
Interview with: Troy Brownfield

To say that I’ve made some interesting friends over the years would be a serious understatement. One of the funnier people that I’ve ever met is Steve Beai. When I met Steve, he was playing drums with my good friend Blind Jimmy Blues. Steve, James, site designer Shawn and I spent many evenings in the Coffee Grounds in Terre Haute prior to my finishing grad school and moving to Indy.

As fate would have it, Steve’s done some pretty cool things since. And even though he still runs Reservoir Studio, Steve’s success has come from writing. In fact, Steve’s novel, Widow’s Walk, was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist this year. That’s an amazing feat in the field of horror fiction. Steve has published over a 100 other short stories and articles, and his book on censorship, Censoring the Censors, was very well-received.

So, this famous pal of Shawn and I has dropped by to answer some questions and basically explain himself. Kids, Steve Beai…

THE BIG Q&A

Q1. Steve, on his novel:

A1. Widow’s Walk is set in a suburb outside of Kansas City. I drew much from the area where I spent about fourteen years and many of the places, such as the story’s main setting, the children’s park bordered by woods, actually exists. The main character is a county Sheriff who’s seen better days. As the book opens, he is an alcoholic, facing a divorce and certain failure at his job as he tries to unravel the mystery of a young boy’s death in the woods near the park. The more he learns about the case, the stranger things become and he begins to question his sanity as events from the past come back to haunt him. That’s all I’ll say for the sake of those who haven’t read the book except that certain reviewers have declared that I’ve pulled out all the stops, and I guess that may be true; there are creatures, both real and imagined, along with a good bit of action, a compelling mystery, and some memorable characters such as Alvy Morehouse, the teenage killer introduced in a flashback section of the book.

Widow’s Walk is available through all on-line retail channels, i.e., Amazon and Borders, and local bookstores can order the title if they don’t have it in stock.

Q2. On his Bram Stoker nomination:

A2. The Horror Writers Association honors Superior Achievement in Horror each year with the Bram Stoker Awards. Since I’m a member of the organization, I was notified via e-mail that Widow’s Walk was a Finalist. There’s a three-tiered process to the award. Works are recommended by any interested member of HWA, then a Preliminary Ballot is sent out. After an initial voting process, works in each category are cut to include only the four receiving the most votes. Then, the Final Ballot is sent to members for the last stage of voting. There were ten other novels in the category with Widow’s Walk, including Wes Craven’s Fountain Society (which didn’t make the final cut), so I was honored when the book passed all voting stages. Q3. On his initial interest in writing:

A3. I’ve been writing for a very long time, since elementary school days; my grandfather developed my love for words and what they mean and I think that consequently led to my aptitude for English and the other liberal arts. I began writing professionally in the eighties, with a short (five year!) break between then and now, as I moved around the country. Finally settling back in my home state a few years ago, I re-started my career with the release of Censoring the Censors, a paperback compilation of previously-published (and hard-to-find) columns and essays on censorship I initially wrote as an ongoing column for the national Small Press Writers and Artists Organization. (Also available through on-line and retail booksellers). Currently, my agent has two more completed manuscripts on her desk in New York (including one set in Indiana) In addition, I produce at least two short stories a month, in between working on larger projects. Of the short work, there’s over a hundred pieces out there, published in various on-line and print magazines. I’m lucky in that I manage to sell short work on a fairly regular basis, owing, I guess, to my output. I write every day. EVERY day.

Q4. On being a musician and how it impacts writing:

A4. Good writing has a definite rhythm in both what is being said to the reader and how it is presented. I think my drumming background, as well as my writing style, both came from whatever internal sense of music and rhythm I have. I listen to words as I write, following the melody, so to speak. It’s like when you read a book and are suddenly interrupted by a passage that doesn’t seem to naturally flow into the next, causing you to re-read the offending part the writer has dropped the beat. I’m always conscious of that meter, or try to be, anyway!

Q5. On his influences:

A5. I’m a big fan of both Harlan Ellison as a person as well as his writing. Harlan and I met over the phone one day when he called in response to my mailed request for a comment on Censoring the Censors. I’ve followed his work for over twenty years and point to him as the biggest influence in my own writing. So that initial call left me understandably beside myself… since then, we’ve spoken frequently–as frequently as writers who live long distances apart do–and we saw each other at the World Horror Convention in Denver this last May. Other writers I admire are Sherman Alexie, Donald Barthelme, Iain M. Banks, Philip K. Dick, Bradbury–the list is fairly extensive.

As far as filmmakers, I enjoy the work of Martin Scorsese, Tarantino, Kubrick… EVERY one of Kubrick’s films, including The Shining (which I consider a failure as an adaptation) are compelling, if even for their repellent qualities, haha! I found his final work with “Eyes Wide Shut” an effective horror story; the sexual element was, in my opinion, overrated in the publicity–but the story was fascinating from the standpoint of watching it unfold and asking yourself, “What would I do in this situation?”

Musically, I enjoy Steely Dan, The Police, Metallica. I’m not a big fan of any music from the last few years–absolutely cannot stand rap or hiphop, but I’m a big fan of R&B– REAL R&B as opposed to sampled crap. Also not too fond of most Country & Western, though I do like some of the old standbys–Willie Nelson, for instance. Hands down, the best music going from the most accomplished musicians in my lifetime has to be XTC–these guys have been putting out music for almost twenty years, yet remain largely undiscovered by the masses. And that’s a definite shame. If all musicians except XTC were to stop tomorrow, that group would be the only music I’d ever need.

We’d like to thank Steve for dropping by and discussing his work! You can get Widow’s Walk and Censoring the Censors at amazon.com or other fine outlets. Steve’s website can be found at www.stevebeai.hypermart.net. Check ‘em out.

As always, if you have any guests that you’d like to see us get, or have an indie comic that you’d like to promote yourself, let Troy know at psikotyk@aol.com.

Troy Brownfield is the Editor-In-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. Another fact about Steve is that he’s able to drink more coffee in one setting than we ever thought humanly possible. Troy’s in awe of the man.

The Big Question with Mark Waid
Interview with: Troy Brownfield

Whenever you write columns and do interviews, you make a mental list of who you would ultimately like to have as a guest. I’ve always wanted to be able to ask questions of personalities like Warren Ellis, Kevin Eastman, and Matt Wagner, and fortunately, I’ve been able to do so. However, there was one writer that I really wanted to track down, based on his obvious work ethic, affection for certain characters, creativity, and all-around insight.

And here he is.

Our guest this time has written The Avengers, X-Men, and Captain America. He did The Flash for eight years and co-created its spin-off, Impulse. With Alex Ross, he did the magnificent Kingdom Come. He’s one of the forces behind the new Gorilla Comics and writes Empire there. He writes Gatecrasher for Black Bull. And he’s just taken over as the writer of nothing less than the JLA. Ladies and gentleman, he’s Mark Waid.

THE BIG Q&A

Q1. You just ended a remarkable run on “The Flash” (98 regular issues?). If you would, please tell us how you feel about departing a book that obviously means a lot to you personally?

A1. It’s no secret that Wally and I dovetailed enough for me to (I think) seamlessly overlay my own personality, speech pattern, and personal goals and dreams onto him. If ever I had an alter ego, Wally was it. We had similar upbringings–small-town boys who wanted to move faster, fathers we couldn’t connect with, a real desire to find outside the standard family dynamic that which family gives you. And the day early on when I first wrote, in Wally’s voice and my own, “Time is the enemy,” I knew I’d found a vehicle for my own self-expression for as long as I liked.
However.
Eight years later, Wally and I were in different places. Through him, I’d worked out a lot of my own issues with romance, with women, with impatience and with self-image…and one day, I woke up to realize that our roads had finally diverged, that we’d maybe learned all we could from one another at this stage in my life. The issues I now have to work out nearly a decade later are probably things for which Wally’s not an appropriate vehicle. Maybe Golgoth is. Maybe Gatecrasher. I’m not sure yet. Stay tuned.

Q2. By now, you’ve taken over JLA. Perhaps the greatest thing Grant Morrison did with the book was to give it a consistent iconographic tone. What would YOU most like to bring to the book?

A2. Without losing Grant’s scope, I’d like to bring a lot more character intensity to the book. The standard line on a team book is that you can’t do anything substantive to characters who have their own books. Baloney. If you don’t think what’s about to happen between Batman and Superman isn’t substantive and far-reaching, you’re wrong. And wait until you see what’s coming with Aquaman and Wonder Woman.

Q3. This is the semi-obligatory JLA line-up/bad guys question. Will we get to see old favorites like Zatanna, The Ray, Firestorm, and, dare I say it, Amos Fortune and the Royal Flush Gang, during your tenure on the book?

A3. For the LAST TIME, I HATE FIRESTORM! Seriously, Firestorm’s better left to the Jay Faerbers or Ben Raabs of the world who have the same nostalgic affection for him that I do for, say, Robby Reed or Mr. Terrific. Better for me to work with characters I have a passion for. Zatanna. Atom. Adam Strange. And, yes, eventually even Amos Fortune and the staggeringly unfortunately named Royal Flush Gang.

Q4. Who are some of the other writers and artists that you believe are elevating the field of comics?

A4. Grant Morrison. Devin Grayson. Grant Morrison. Tom Peyer, when he gets his damn work in. Scott McCloud. Grant Morrison.

Q5. What advice would you give to young writers wanting to break into the field?

A5. Speak kindly of me when I’m a burned-out hack and you’ve just stolen my last regular assignment.

Q6. Gorilla Comics. Tell us what we need to know.

A6. Eight creators with proven track records doing dream projects with 100% editorial control. If that’s not a recipe for good comics, it’s all hopeless.

Q7. You’re one of the top writers in the field. Still, you’ve faced some editorial obstacles from time to time. What’s the single most difficult thing to deal with as a high-profile comics writer?

A7. Not allowing it to make you fat and lazy when it comes to challenging yourself. It would be so, so, so easy to write nothing but amusing, vaguely entertaining super-hero comics for the rest of my life, and I could probably have a relatively long career, but eventually everyone would catch on that I was just repeating myself endlessly, using the same old tricks and schticks. Denny O’Neil once told me that my responsibility as a writer is to force yourself to learn new habits by reaching into that bag of tricks every four or five years and throw out half of ‘em whether they still work or not. Wise words.

Q8. How cool is it to see a character you co-created (Impulse) and another you reinvigorated (Max Mercury) being released as DC Direct figures?

A8. Immeasurably. Now, if only Warner Bros. had allowed Nickelodeon to pick up the live-action option like they wanted to a few years ago…but the toys are keen.

The staff of Shotgun Reviews would like to thank Mark Waid for taking the time to be our guest here. Be sure to read Mr. Waid’s monthly work, especially Empire and JLA. If you’re a Flash fan, you’ll also want to check out the recently released Dead Heat trade paperback. As always, if you have any guests that you’d like to see us get, or have an indie comic that you’d like to promote yourself, let Troy know at psikotyk@aol.com.

Troy Brownfield is the Editor-In-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. You can read his review of Empire #1 over in the Comics section.