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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.
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