The following is an interview with Eddie Generous on his new novel, Radio Run. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Generous about the inspiration behind the novel, his creative process, what he hope that readers will take away from the story, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of your new book, Radio Run! For those who may be unfamiliar, how would you describe the novel’s premise?
Eddie Generous: Essentially, it’s a take on the dystopian game show, particularly The Running Man. (The film as opposed to the book – if you’ve read the Stephen King book and then watched the Schwarzenegger film, you know the adaptation is pretty loose.) So, take convicted felons and put them against the odds, but instead of gladiators trying to kill them, you’ve got huge beasties, genetically mutated monsters hungry for all the mankind meat they can get.
BD: The novel is not only an action/adventure tale of eight criminals attempting to survive a long and arduous journey, but their journey is made ever-more complicated by the supernatural creatures that stand in their way. What inspired you to tell this supernatural thriller?
EG: This one came down to a few things. I’d never done an adventure novel and I like them. Add to that point, Severed Press is always open to submissions. So often you write something and there’s nowhere for it to fit, so it can be nice to look at an open call and aim. Plus, adventure novels can be fit a nice and easy mold (take characters, start them at A, and run them through the gauntlet until Z). The last point was that I wanted to challenge myself to write a novel in ten days (finished on day nine at a little over 60,000 words), so something a little more formulaic seemed the best route.
BD: Were there any previous creators or works that impacted your approach to the story?
EG: Like I said above, The Running Man, but also The Mist, Jurassic Park, Fallout IV, and Thelma and Louise.
BD: What can you share with us about your creative process in working on this latest book, and what do you hope that readers will take away from the story?
EG: The process was physically demanding. My body was stiff and strained by the end. A couple days after finishing, I couldn’t sit and had to pop some old codeine pills, watched movies all day standing up. It was wildly taxing. I guess I tense up while writing and I was putting in eight to twelve hour days for each of those nine days. I actually wrote fairly in-depth blog posts on the progress as I went.
As for what I hope people take away, I’m hoping for some elevated heartrates, some chills, some emotional responses, and at the end for them to let out the breath they’d held while burning through the wasteland with the cast.
BD: Do you foresee expanding this story into subsequent novels?
EG: Not this one, but you never know. Adventure novels are a hell of a lot of fun to write, and it wouldn’t be impossible to continue things.
BD: Are there any upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
EG: In October and then here in November, I’ve written two monster, adventure-style horrors about great beasts (one being about dinosaurs and the other about a prehistoric bear). One being a bit like if Jules Verne wrote horror and the other borrowing the mayor idea from Jaws, you know, how nobody believes the big bear is anything unusual until it’s at least partly too late. Also, I watched some old bear and sasquatch movies. Grizzly was all right (a bit of content borrowed Jaws in that one, too). I’d also read David Seltzer’s Prophecy. It’s a classic creature feature about a mutated bear-like thing. Put me in a good headspace.
I’m in the editing stage for the first one and haven’t had a second look at the other yet. Hopefully, I can sell them.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Radio Run?
EG: I guess they could check out the Severed Press site or they can visit my site.
