Like a crow in a field of broken glass, Brian Johnson (he/him) is an educator, writer, photographer, and storm chaser. He’s an evil version of Robert Fulghum. His photographs have been published by NOAA, the National Weather Service, and NASA.
He also has a podcast with a writing partner called Tikiman and the Viking, where they interview creatives and discuss their processes and talk about writing.
His works include Middle-Aged Man in a Trashcan, The Dark Cry of Aristid, Hell to Pay.
Author Links:
Storm Website: ruminationofthunder.com
Author Website: fatherthunder.blogspot.com
Book Link: MIDDLE AGED MAN IN A TRASH CAN
Amazon Book Link: B006LD5XAM
On social media as @Weatherviking
What drew you to Sci-Fi-Fantasy as a genre blend, and what were the main inspirations for your Science-Fantasy novel, Middle-Aged Man in a Trashcan?
I grew up in the time of Star Wars, Star Trek movies, Flash Gordon, and, yes . . . Battle Beyond the Stars. I was also a huge comic book and mythology fan growing up. As for Middle-Aged Man, it was born in the classroom. It was an idea started by a student that turned over the reins, and several groups of student and other writers workshopped it over the years. I was working at a National Writing Project site when I did the original webbing (plot and character brainstorming) for the novel. Then when COVID hit, I wrote it on my back porch over 3 months. Scifantasy has always been a comfort for me.
How did the humble trash can become your chosen portal for Joe to travel through the multiverse?
It was originally an Oscar the Grouch joke. Then it evolved over the years with Interstellar and SNL’s David Harbour dark Sesame Street skit. I had also read and taught Holt’s Anthology of Science Fiction for several years. There’s a story in it called “Why I Left Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers” by Lawrence Watt-Evans who talks about multiverse travel and nexus points. Then it all came together. A lone trashcan, in an alleyway, next to a skyscraper, that sometimes glows.
What were the challenges of worldbuilding for this novel? Can you tell us a bit about your worldbuilding process?
I wanted a mid sized city and found Fort Wayne, Indiana. I looked up local history and read a lot about what was happening in the city. Then I started thinking that great question . . . What if? I started thinking about key points in history and changed them. I also looked at my city, similar sized Wichita, Kansas, and played with some of the changes here over the years. Throw in a couple apocalypse versions and you have your Groundhog Day setting but where there are small or very large changes (moon crashing into Earth).
Introduce us to your protagonist, Joe: how did you develop him, and what came first, Joe as a character, or other elements of the story? How did Joe become the right character to be the protagonist in this novel?
Joe came first. I wanted an unassuming, non-heroic, everyman that was broken. He can’t remember things, might be PTSD or Traumatic Brain Injury, but he wants to find his way home on a travel system he can’t control with no maps. Joe is a generic protagonist that builds in the story as you find out things. He’s more apt to have things happen to him than control it due to other things that build in the novel. For some reason, I love tragic, redemptive heros, and Joe was born.
Did any of your storm chaser background and knowledge get transferred into the book, and if so, what?
Storms in one way or another find their ways into my books. I think the biggest thing is always have an escape route with multiple exits. Joe has one, but he always knows how to get there.
What are you future project plans?
Middle-Aged Man has a choose your own ending. I plan to write sequels based on these. I’m also working on a dark viking berserker epic fantasy series based on Norse myth and folklore. There’s a couple YA horror and urban fantasy stories I need to finish and get out there. So . . . many future plans that I treat like a crow in a field of broken glass. Oooooh, shiny!
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