I'm happy to host a tour stop for Bryce Gibson's new book Perennials. Read a little about his writing process in the interview below and check out the book!
Summer in South Carolina-a time of ripe peaches, crackling
bonfires, trips to the lake, and the rural legend of a creature known as the
Lizard Man. This year, a very real monster is lurking about. The victims all
have one thing in common-they share their names with plants. Soon it becomes
apparent that seventeen-year-olds Dusty Miller and Nandina Bush may be next on
the killer's list. "That was when I realized that the red I saw in the
driveway wasn't blood. It was a scattering of rose petals. Deep down, I knew,
right at that very moment, that what all of us had been afraid of for the past
several months had already happened. The serial killer had finally made his way
to Crow County." - Dusty Miller
Interview
What made you get into writing? When did you
realize you were a writer?
I’ve been making up stories for as
long as I can remember, but the earliest stories that I know for a fact that I
actually wrote down were from when I was a young teenager. I still have them.
They are short horror stories that I thought were along the lines of the Point
Horror books from the early 90s. Mine were handwritten on lined notebook paper,
stapled together, and had covers that I drew myself. You can see some of them
on my Facebook page.
I think that the structure of
storytelling in horror movies has had the overall biggest impact on my desire
to write.
How did you come up with ideas for your
stories?
The idea for Perennials came to me one day when I was working in my yard. Ideas
often come to me this way, out of the blue, doing the things that I enjoy. The
initial thought was this--a love story between two teenagers, Dusty Miller and
Nandina Bush. Not a minute later I had another thought--what if there is a
serial killer that is targeting people that share their names with plants.
Who’s your favorite character in your book and
why?
I felt very attached to the
protagonist, Dusty, from the moment that I started building his character. Most
of the book is written in first person, from Dusty’s perspective. To me, he
seems like a real person. Aside from Dusty, I like the supporting characters.
They are always fun to write.
What are some of your favorite books and
authors? What inspires you?
Off the top of my head, a couple of
my favorite books are Innocence by
Jane Mendelsohn and The Halloween Tree by
Ray Bradbury.
I have quite a few favorite
authors--Alice Hoffman, Anne Hite, Lauren Kate, Clive Barker, Joyce Carol
Oates, and Sarah Addison Allen, to name a few.
What inspires me as a writer? Horror
movies. Reading a good book, especially one by a favorite author. Gardening and
agriculture. Rural and small-town locales.
What’s your next writing project (If you don’t
mind sharing)?
My next book is tentatively titled The Reading Buddy. It is my take on the
stalker/obsession sub-genre of horror and thriller stories. It will take place
on a farm in South Carolina. A good bit of werewolf folklore will play into it.
It’s still in the very early planning stages, but I’m looking forward to
writing it.
What is your favorite part of writing?
I like the initial thought process
of when the story is unfolding, when my mind is running with the story so fast
that there is no way that I can write it down fast enough. Then the technical
process of the actual writing takes over. When the book is finally 100% complete
and ready to be read by others is the best thing about writing.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Have your book professionally
edited, publish it, and start writing another book.
Book Review
Perennials has a really interesting premise--a serial killer who
is killing people because they are names after plants. And overall it has
likable characters and is an easy and fast-paced read. I felt invested in the
characters, Dusty was a very likable hero and not a bad protagonist. I was
easily able to picture setting and enjoyed the descriptions of the setting in
the rural south. However, there were quite a lot of description, and in places
it slowed the story down. The reader doesn't need to know every description of
a room the character is in, or copious amounts of backstory unless it is
relevant to the story. A little setting up is okay, but there was almost too
much at a lot of points in this book.
I also have to be honest and say I was a bit disappointed in the
actual outcome of the case. (view spoiler)
Apart from that though, I still did enjoy the story itself and
it kept me reading and guessing which is always important with mysteries.
Rating: 3/5 stars
(Read this review with spoilers on Goodreads)
About the Author
Bryce Gibson writes Southern fiction that takes readers to charming and oftentimes sinister areas of the South, He has a degree in Media Arts from the University of South Carolina, works full-time as a farmer, and lives in South Caroline with his wife and their dog.
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