#I like dabbling into horror occasionally! It's very fun. I think I tried to do that with my Stop Staring at the Door Tord kidnapping fic bu

[obsessivelyloved]

I've read a bunch of your stuff for a while now, and it only just occurred to me that you don't really write for the Yan who attack their affection. I mean, yeah they get "punished" but not actually killed or maimed. That's not a bad thing! I just noticed cause I write Yan totally different and its p cool!

Like, I write them as a horror trope. All the obsessiveness building, a desire to take and control, to dissect the target socially or mentally or even physically, so the Yan knows them inside and out, and no one else can know them the same way. And if that hurts the target, then that doesn't matter.

Meanwhile, you write it more as a romantic or overprotective thing. "The world is bad, and I'll keep you away from it", where its more delusional(? Sorry, I don't know a nicer word for it) than straight up possessive.

I don't mean anything bad by this. Honestly, I think it's super cool! A base concept being two entirely separate subgenres(?) based on interpretation is just awesome, imo! And I'm not trying to say the two styles are exclusive, either! Just a sliding spectrum type deal.

I love your work, and would love to hear your thoughts! Like, do you intentionally stick to Possessive and/or Protective, or is it something you don't even think about? What inspires you? What's your go to trope when thinking about a new au/Yan?

I hope this isn't too much of a bother! Honestly, it's not even really a question, more of just an observation/admiration.

It's not a bother at all! This was honestly fun to receive as no one's ever asked me questions like this. I'm so sorry I got so rambly and excited that I'm gonna have to put this under a read more 😭

I do intentionally stick to the whole Possessive/Protective/Delusionall way of writing for my fics! Growing up, nearly all the yandere fics I could get my hands on and read were violent. I loved reading yandere stuff but so much of it had me baffled and wondering if the yandere even loved their love interest. A lot of it was yanderes hurting and berating their love interest. I just could not wrap my head around the why when I was younger, especially since I was facing abuse at home. My reasoning when I was a pre-teen was a yandere was supposed to be insanely in love with a person, why behead them? (Actual fic I read on devientart)

You can probably tell on my blog since I do this now still, but I bounced a lot between platonic yandere and romantic yandere. Some of my platonic works float around somewhere (I wrote platonic yandere father England to America for Hetalia at some point LMAO) but not much of my old stuff is in my docs. My dad would go through my shit every once and a while and so I was so paranoid with my writings that a lot of stuff is just sitting in one google docs of an email that I can't quite remember.

That was quite long-winded but it's just my go-to. It started out as intentionally writing stuff this way and now I hardly ever think about it. I'm not sure how easy this is to tell from my blog, but I've been suffering from depression for years. I get periods where I feel so energized and alive and ready to write that I spam this or my other blogs with writing. Most of my inspiration comes from those periods, when I receive asks and am actually in the headspace to get the picture out of my brain.

Half the time though, I get the inspiration from stuff I read or watch! And I'm not sure if this counts as a trope, but quite a bit starts as a platonic yandere thing. I think of Tord mainly, being overprotective over a child, and then once I get that out of my system the au shifts. The Android Tord au actually started that way before I shifted to Tord focusing on the other 3! The platonic thing also started when I was young, again from the abuse I was facing at home.

If that doesn't count as a trope, then I suppose robots/unhuman entities! I have quite a few aus like that on here haha. I just love the concept and use it a lot for different aus/scenarios. A concept I've kept in my brain for a long, LONG time is of Zombie Tord taking care of a small child alongside a robot version of himself that he built. Bits and pieces exist in my docs but I've never really written anything coherently lol.

Wait now that you've got me going!!! HOMESTUCK!! I have this bigass au that's remained in my brain off any docs or paper for YEARS! I've tried writing it in a way to post but I've just never gotten very far since there's so much lore and detail that I need for people to understand but get too overwhelmed. A loooot of stuff starts from that au and branches off into whatever single entity I wrangle it into.

Aside from that, I also just don't bother posting anything from it because man people do not like anything that isn't an x reader or even a reader insert. A lot of my stuff flops hard because it's not x reader-based. Whole other can of worms that I won't get into though!

Thank you so much for sending this! This was so surprising and pleasant to receive!

[tanmath3-blog]

My next victim is Brian Minekime. He is a great guy and really is passionate about his writing, art and life in general. He is always glad to help a fellow writer or a friend in need. Being supportive comes easy for him and he is always very genuine. That is a trait I have always admired about him.  Having had several opportunities to beta read for him is always fun and always a great story. He has a lot of talent and you really want to read his stories! They have never disappointed me. He has a wonderfully creative mind. Recently he painted some gourds and they are beautiful. He is a man of many talents! The quote that follows is one of my favorites that an author has shared. Please help me welcome Brian Minekime to Roadie Notes…….

    I think the most important thing I can say about myself is that I work my butt off-putting my heart and soul into my writing or my art when I’m doing that. I don’t do it for fame or fortune and continuing has come at great personal sacrifice along the way. Some days I think I should just call it quits and get a “normal” job, basically give up, then a new idea renews the creative spark and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I only hope that anyone out there reading this enjoys my work. I promise I’ll keep writing it as long as you keep reading it!! 

    1. How old were you when you first wrote your first story?

I got a late start. When I was young I didn’t have the patience or focus to be able to write though I tried. I don’t count anything until around ’07 or ’08 when I was 35-ish I began writing a few stories. I didn’t get serious about it until 2012 when I decided I was either going to try to fail or create something worthwhile… I’ve been writing practically non-stop since.

2. How many books have you written?

I honestly haven’t kept count but I’d guess I’ve written at least 40 to 50 short stories, flash fiction, novellas and one novel (not yet published). My short story “Hell Awaits” was my first published story in Kill For A Copy from Dark Chapter Press. Then a flash fiction piece (1000 word story), Tamed Brute, was published in the eBook Flashes of Darkness: Halloween Special 2015 and lastly my short story, “The Bones of Baby Dolls”, was published in KIDS: Volume I from Dark Chapter Press. Most of what I’ve written are short stories and novellas but I do have my first novel written (which won the Dark Chapter Press 2016 Prize – a novel-writing contest), another novel approximately half done but another is bursting to come out so I’ll be starting on that very soon probably in the next couple of weeks. I have it plotted out as much as I ever do which isn’t much so getting it started is the next step but I have some other things to clear off my plate first.

3. Anything you won’t write about?

I don’t really find anything is off-limits depending on the setting though I can’t see myself writing about pedophilia from the predator’s point of view. My novelette Harvester of Sorrow (available FREE!) is about an abused altar boy getting his brutal revenge and the first short story, The Demon’s Name Is Surveillance, I ever posted on my website is about a child molester/murder being punished in hell but neither glorifies the molester, quite the opposite. That’s one of the things I love about horror is that there are no real taboos. My job as a horror writer is to take a reader where he/she wouldn’t go otherwise but for me there are shoes I don’t want to walk the proverbial mile in. When I write a character I am that character experiencing what they experience so rape and molestation are things I stay away from for the most part but again it all depends on context.

4. Tell me about you. Age (if you don’t mind answering), married, kids, do you have another job etc...

To me age is just a number, I’m 44 but it’s only what you make of it. I really don’t think of it much unless it’s my birthday. I’m single now and in kind of “it’s complicated” relationship. I have a 22-year-old son who most mistake for my little brother when we’re out together. I did a fine job of turning him into a comic, horror and metal lover who also dabbles in some writing and music so I hope he finds his own success with his art. Creating has become the all-consuming beast in my life whether I’m writing or creating art. I started my website in 2014 (originally with a partner) to have an outlet for my writing which was getting rejected all over the place then it blossomed to also doing movie reviews and metal album reviews as well as some other fun stuff. I’ve slowed it down this year to concentrate more on my writing career.

5. What’s your favorite book you have written?

I’m all about whatever I’m working on currently. I like to think I improve with each new story though admittedly some can be duds, it happens. Ironically I’m currently re-editing the first real story I wrote back in 2012 which ended up as a novella at just under novel length with about 35k words. I had proofed and edited this story a couple of times but it’s amazing how much I’ve learned about writing and editing since then making for a much slower process than I originally anticipated. With any luck folks will get to read it soon though I can’t reveal the title because I plan on changing it but the working title is “Impending Doom.” It’s about a banker who wakes to his worst nightmare which only gets worse as it goes along with a few twists along the way. It might be important to note that I worked in the financial sector for about 15 years so the inspiration is a little obvious perhaps.

6. Who or what inspired you to write?

I could give you a laundry list of writers I admire but they weren’t the spark that got me in front of the keyboard. I was an avid reader for years devouring books but often finishing a book thinking “I could do better than that” and after a long run of books I read that I literally hated the ending of I decided it was time to put up or shut up. It took me about a week of thinking what I wanted to do then I sat down and began. I haven’t looked back since. So to answer the question, what inspired me to write were bad, uninspired and predictable stories. I didn’t start writing with delusions of grandeur but rather just to see if I could. People seem to like it so I think I’ll keep at it.

7. What do you like to do for fun?

Drink beer, watch hockey or UFC and eat chicken wings – real wings can only be found in Western New York! I also love watching movies especially horror obviously. Also if you can keep a secret *peeks around to make sure no one’s eavesdropping* when I’m completely alone I like to crank up some metal, head bang and sing along (generally poorly). Shhh, that’ll be our little secret.

8. Any traditions you do when you finish a book?

I do but nothing anyone would probably even notice. I almost always finish with a flurry generally after an extraordinarily long writing session. I get excited when the end is within sight so 12-24 hour writing sessions are pretty much the norm when I’m near the end. Once I finish I lean back put my hands behind my head and try to take a deep breath, kind of basking in the accomplishment. In a sense patting myself on the back then I usually crawl into bed and pass out from exhaustion. Not much of a tradition but a tradition nonetheless.

9. Where do you write? Quite or music?

I write almost exclusively at my desk but occasionally I’ll sit in my TV chair which is more comfortable if I’m going to be writing for several hours. As for music, well, I couldn’t write without it. I have different playlists depending on what I’m writing but generally I listen to doom metal almost exclusively. Doom is very powerful, emotional music which helps put my mind in the right space to write. If I’m writing some action I might play some Slayer or something fast but it’s usually brief. A couple of albums I always listen to for a story of any real length are Kongh – Sole Creation, Pallbearer – Sorrow & Extinction and my personal favorite YOB’s Clearing The Path To Ascend. Music has gotten me through the worst times in my life so every tale I write shares a title with the music that inspired the idea. It’s my way of paying respect to something that has given me so much through my life. The only rule I have in that regard is that my story and the song must have different subject matter which is generally not any problem.

10. Anything you would change about your writing?

I don’t think I’d necessarily change anything but I do strive to take what I’ve learned to make the next one better. I make fewer typo mistakes than when I started which makes proofreading quicker and I’ve edited enough of my own work and others to recognize subtle errors I used to miss like redundancy. The only major thing I’d like to add, not necessarily change, is more complexity. I believe in working your way up to things and what I’m building toward is an epic trilogy that’s been rolling around in my head for years. I don’t think I’m a good enough writer to pull it off yet but I’m getting there.

11. What is your dream? Famous writer?

I have no dreams about being rich and famous, if it happens it isn’t something I have much control over. My dreams are far more humble. I’d like a nice comfortable life that I can enjoy. No longer worrying about where I’ll live tomorrow or what I might have to eat. I’m a simple man with no extravagant taste. A small house with a small yard, a couple of dogs & cats and Satan willing even a good woman by my side. That’s all I really want, a nice quiet life and to continue writing until the day I die.

12. Where do you live?

Right now I live in the middle of nowhere in the country about one hour south of Buffalo, NY just above the Pennsylvania state line. It’s nice and quiet here but who knows where I’ll be tomorrow.

13. Pets?

Currently I’ve been adopted by a 13-year-old cat named Corky though he responds better to Boobers, don’t ask me why bc I don’t know. He enjoys disrupting my writing process by trying to lay on my lap while I sit at my desk that’s when he isn’t outside trying (but failing) to catch chipmunks.

14. What’s your favorite thing about writing?

The rush I get when I get a killer idea or when I’m on a roll and my fingers can’t keep up with the story. Athletes call it being “in the zone” but for a writer it’s when you breeze through a few thousand words in just an hour or two. I’ve spent days “in the zone” and I’ve spent weeks or even months waiting to be. Much like a surfer you just have to ride the wave as far as it’ll take you then paddle your ass off to catch the next one.

15. What is coming next for you?

I really wish I knew but I do have tons I’m waiting for an answer on. First off, I’m one of 14 finalists competing in “The Next Great Horror Writer Contest” through HorrorAddicts. The grand prize is a book contract with Crystal Lake Publishing! The contest involves numerous writing challenges until the winner is announced in October. You can keep up with my progress simply by listening to their podcast. Then my (not so) short story “Cold Heart, Cold Soul” has been accepted by Stitched Smile Publications for a Seven Deadly Sins anthology with a tentative release set for late this year, sometime between October and December if all goes well. Stitched Smile also posted a short story I wrote for fun, Smoke & Stone, just a few days ago if you want to read the last thing I wrote. It was completely written in one day so don’t judge it too harshly. Aside from that I currently have six short stories and novellas pending approval with various publishers. My goal for this year was to submit, submit and submit some more so to that end I have a list of over a dozen anthos I plan on submitting work for as well as the novella I’m re-editing currently and the novel itching to get out of my head. It should be an exciting year for me so all I can really say is “like” my Facebook page where I post updates as I receive them. I should hear about some soon but you never really know in this business. All I can guarantee is that I’ll be pumping out the horror this year including some fun ones like a Mrs. Claus anthology! I’ll be posting updates as often as possible on my website, Thy Demons Be Scribblin, where you can also find a ton of short stories I’ve posted over the last couple of years.

  Feind on the web:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01AH12BVM?ref_=pe_584750_33951330 Website: http://www.thydemonsbescribblin.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FeindGotteshorrorwriter/ Twitter: @FiendGottes Tumblr: Feind Gottes

  Some of Brian Minekime’s books:

  Getting personal with Brian Minekime My next victim is Brian Minekime. He is a great guy and really is passionate about his writing, art and life in general.