tom sniegoski

The Brimstone Network
by Tom Sniegoski
Available Now

Thirteen-year-old Abraham (Bram) Stone has never lived an ordinary life. Home is a monastery in the Himalayan mountains, where the monks train him in otherworldly fighting skills. Bram's father, Elijah Stone, leads a group called The Brimstone Network - an order of warriors and sorcerers who provide the last line of defense against all paranormal dangers.

Bram always knew one day he'd take his father's place. But that day comes far too soon when a bizarre man named "Mr. Stitch" arrives at the monastery and breaks the news to Bram -- every member of the Brimstone Network, including Elijah, has been assassinated. Suddenly it's up to Bram to form a new Brimstone Network out of the rubble of the old, and hope that he can rise to the challenge in time to stop a terrifying threat to humanity.


IBT: If you could choose one fictional character to bring into real life, who
would you choose?

TS: I'm going to cheat here and give you a bunch of fictional characters that I would bring to life. If I could, I'd bring the Wild Things from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are to life. It was my favorite book growing up, and it's still one of my favorites. The monsters are just incredible, and I think I'd look pretty cute in that white wolf costume. "Let the wild rumpus begin!"

IBT: How did you survive being a teen?

TS: I survived with good friends, and my love of "stuff". When I say stuff I mean all the things that have sort of defined me as who I am today . . . movies, comic books, toys, books. Without these things I think I would have lost it. They provided me with the perfect escape when I needed it.

IBT: Have you ever written something that you feel uncomfortable writing, knowing that your family and friends will probably end up reading it?

TS: I was raised Roman Catholic, so some of the religious stuff that I used in my first series The Fallen rubbed some folks (my parents) the wrong way. What I had to explain to them was that this isn't necessarily the way that I think, it how the characters that I created think. I had to really stress this to them. I had similar stuff come up with my adult novel, A Kiss Before the Apocalypse.

IBT: What were some of the bigger issues you faced as a teen (that you can share)and how have they affected the stories you've written? Do you think these issues still affect teens today?

TS: Bigger issues . . . Hmmmmm, y'know, I really didn't have many issues as a teen. I just sort of did my own thing. Sure, there were problems that came up because of the weird stuff that I was into, but they were pretty minor when you stop and think about them. Sure, I was called freaky and bizarre every once in a while, but most of the people that I knew just sort of accepted me for how I was. Other then that, there really wasn't anything else that was an issue.

I think you see a bit of this showing up in quite a few of the books of written . . . the outcast amongst normal folk. I think I use this device quite a bit because it's so universal. We all feel like outsiders for one reason or another.

And I think this issue will always exist, not everybody is the same . . . with the same likes and dislikes . . . so somebody who feels like an outcast will always exist.

IBT: My favorite character from the Brimstone Network is Mr. Stitch, his inspiration is obvious but can you tell us how have the books you've read inspired the books you've written, if at all? What about movies? The last line in Brimstone Network reminded me a lot of the last line in Monster Squad and it made me squirm with delight.

TS: I LOVE the Monster Squad :) The Brimstone Network was me writing the kind of book that would have made me tremble with delight when I was a kid. I was always a huge fan of the adventure stories and characters that came out of the 1930's and 1940's (The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Spider) I used to read paperback reprints of these old time stories and just fell in love with them. These, plus my love of monster movies and superhero comics were all that I needed to come up with the Brimstone Network.

The Brimstone Network was written for me . . . Tom Sniegoski . . . if I was twelve or thirteen today.

Did I mention that I LOVE the Monster Squad?

IBT: What is the strangest thing you have ever gotten inspiration from?

TS: Inspiration is strange with me because it comes out of nowhere. I could be walking my dog, Mulder, and suddenly an idea springs into my head . . . or taking a shower, or going to the bathroom for Pete's sake! It like a spark going off inside my brain . . . usually there is no rhyme or reason. I never know when it's going to happen. Sure, I can feel suddenly creative when I see a good movie, or hear a particularly awesome song, but this is nothing compared to the weird lightning bolts that sometime go off in my head.

IBT: Many writers say parting with a character is hard. Do you ever look back on a character and wish you had changed something about him or her?

TS: Not really. I have desires to come back to the character sometimes, and to write more stories with them. My characters in The Fallen are prime examples of this . . . I'd love to look them up now, see what they've been up to. The characters in my Sleeper books as well.

IBT: What is the one thing such as, sky diving or any other daring thing, that you would love to do but you are too afraid?

TS: It's not that I'm afraid to, it's just out of my comfort zone. I wish I liked to travel more . . . I hate it. If I could go to sleep and wake up in my destination, that would be perfect. I can't stand the whole drawn out process of traveling. It's a nightmare to me. And as far as sky diving and stuff, yeah, right. I'm crazy, not stupid.

IBT: What do you do when you are faced with writer's block? What helps you get over it?

TS: I usually work on writer's block one of two ways. The first thing I do is to step away, and to do something else (go to a movie, read some comics, listen to music). Getting away from a project for a bit sometimes helps the juices to ferment a bit, and things become a whole lot clearer when you go back to it. The other thing I sometimes do is just to struggle on, forge ahead . . . beat the story into submission. Bend it to my will, so to speak. . . break down the block with mental sledge hammers. This one doesn't work all the time, but every once in a while it's the right thing to do.

IBT: You've written so many books, out of all of them, which is your favorite
character or series you've created?

TS: I think my favorite character is Remy Chandler from my adult, dark fantasy series. The first book is A Kiss Before the Apocalypse, and I think it's the best thing I've ever written. As far as my YA stuff, I think The Fallen series is my favorite out of that stuff. A whole cast of really awesome characters that I really grew to love.

IBT: Are you working on anything now and can you share anything about it with us?

TS: The project I'm currently working on is sort of top secret, so I can't talk about that, but I can tell you about a book that I just finished that will be out in October of 2009. It's called LEGACY and I think people are really going to dig it. The premise of the book is, what if you were an eighteen year old, high school drop-out, and the father you never knew growing up suddenly came back into your life . . . and he's a real life superhero . . . and to make matters worse, he's dying and wants you to carry on the family tradition. What do you do?

How does that sound?

IBT: Do you have an escape plan in mind if zombies were to invade?

TS: No escape plan necessary. I'm going to find out a way to control the Zombie hordes--becoming the Zombie Whisperer--and rule the world with my faithful dog Mulder by my side.

What a glorious world that would be.