Brandon Barr * Background
Writing:
In fifth grade I began writing stories. At that age, I loved stories with monsters. I'd read them to my friends, who happened to be my main characters. I think it was fun for them because they never knew which of them would live, or which would find themselves in the jaws of a swooping Pterodactyl. Yes, I killed off many of my friends in my stories, but they were always back, fresh and smiling for the next story. Yes, it is dangerous, fictionally, being my friend. . . "Am I gonna die? Not the dreaded evaporation monster! Raymond! NOOOOO!"
As I grew in maturity, I started to write stories akin to what I was reading. What was I reading? Oh, almost exclusively Michael Crichton. You know: Jurassic Park, Congo, Sphere, The Andromeda Strain, Eaters of the Dead. By the time I reached junior high, I was writing, slightly more sophisticated stories. At least the page counts had jumped for 2-4 pages to 15-40.
Then came the days of confusion. Somewhere in the middle of eighth grade, I wondered off into oblivion. Oh the glamour of high school! Movies, friends, girls, hormones, sports, school, emotions. . . I was . . . not a rational being any longer. I lost my focus for writing in high school--or, well, it took a backseat to being a teenager. If I could take back time . . .
Next came college. It was great. My sophomore year I began dating the woman I was going to marry. The end of my Junior year we were married. I was an English major. Amanda and I had a class together . . . World Lit with Dr. Lu. Thank you Dr. Lu for assigning a creative writing project. That project back in the fall of 2003 re-ignited my hunger for fiction writing. Since that assignment I haven't stopped.
And, now, no matter the genre, Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, mainstream, surrealism, literary, I charge forward, pressing on towards the goal. And that goal is . . . to move. To touch. To bring to tears. To cause laughter. To bring chills. But mostly, to write in such a way that I bring glory to the God whom I serve.
Life:
Presently I'm in my mid-twenties, happily married, with a cat and two rats. Born and raised in Southern California, I attended college at California Baptist University where I graduated with my degree in English.
Outside of writing I have a great job working for a telecommunication company. Free time is mostly spent writing. I try to get in 20 hours a week. Outside that I love spending evenings with my wife. Fishing, softball, baseball, board games, reading, rock hunting, arrowhead hunting, garage sale hunting, backpacking, wiffleball--all hobbies I enjoy when I find the time.
I'm a bit of a luddite. That means I'm not a big fan of technology. I don't like the control it has over our time. TV, movies, video games, internet, gadgets of all shapes and sizes. Time wasters, all of 'em! Not that they don't have their roles, its just they like to take us by the throat and drain life and living out of us. Machines, trust them like you would a velociraptor with a mounted RPZ shoulder attachment.
Lastly, I have the privilege of serving at my church youth group. I love just being able to see young men and woman grow in their faith. I attend a Calvary Chapel church, and some of the friendships I've formed through there are an amazing blessing. I've accepted Jesus Christ as my deliverer and redeemer. That means my sins are forgiven and forgotten! An amazing thing! And that's not all . . . he's giving me his own spirit, the Holy Spirit, and now, through the strength his spirit provides, I seek to serve him in all I do.
Reading:
I love reading, mostly fiction. In fact, other than the bible, almost exclusively fiction, although I've read some amazing non-fiction. The most influential writers in my life, in no particular order, are Michael Crichton, Ray Bradbury, and C.S. Lewis.
Short stories . . . I love short stories! I read those all the time. Some of my all time favorites are:
The Annals of Eelin-Ok, by Jeffrey Ford; Call Me Joe, by Poul Anderson; It's a Good Life, by Jerome Bixby; Blood Music, by Greg Bear; Tome Edison's Shaggy Dog, by Kurt Vonnegut; The Three Hermits, by Leo Tolstoy; Baby Is Three, by Theodore Sturgeon; Scanners Live in Vain, by Cordwainer Smith; Desertion, By Clifford D. Simak; Not Long Before the End, by Larry Niven; To build a fire, by Jack London; Space Time for Springers, by Fritz Leiber; The Cold Equations, by Tom Godwin; The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilmen; Basilisk, by Harlan Ellison; Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory, by Orson Scott Card; Arena, by Fredrick Brown; The Veldt, by Ray Bradbury; Mars Is Heaven, by Ray Bradbury; Pillar of Fire, by Ray Bradbury; Zero Hour, by Ray Bradbury
Novels. Who can resist a good novel. Here's what I've read the last two years.
2005:
-Slaughter House Five, Kurt Vonnegut
-Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
-The Pearl, John Steinbeck
-Shane, Jack Schaeffer
-The Call of the Wild, Jack London
-Hondo, Luis L'Amour
-Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
-The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
-Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clark
-Conan the Savage, Leonard Carpenter
-Xenocide, Orson Scott Card
2006:
-Children of Dune, Frank Herbert
-Children of the Mind, Orson Scott Card
-The Book of the Dun Cow, Walter Wangerin Jr.
-Dawn-Apocalypse Rising, K.G. Powderly Jr.
-The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
-Tortilla Flat, John Steinbeck
-The Little Prince, Antoine de Sain-Exupery
-Neuromancer, William Gibson
-Dragon Flight, Anne McCaffrey
-The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
2007:
-Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick
. . . Currently reading, "In Fury Born," by David Webster.
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