Name: Charles Patrick Brownson
Charles Patrick Brownson is a writer of dark fantasy and horror fiction. He grew up along the Gulf Coast of Florida and was educated at the State University of New York at Fredonia where he studied English Literature and philosophy. He has lived in over a dozen states within the U.S., including Alaska. He now lives in Seattle, Washington where he is at work on a novel.
I knew I wanted to be a writer from the age of fourteen when I submitted my first short story to the now defunct Twilight Zone Magazine. That three-page, double-spaced manuscript I banged out on a portable manual typewriter earned me my first rejection letter. Since then, I’ve continued to develop my craft by creating and rewriting original stories, and always learning something new in the process.
After experimenting with different forms of writing, I settled on speculative literature as that seemed a natural fit for my sensibilities. But what I write isn’t purely escapist in nature. As the fantasy writers Ann and Jeff VanderMeer once expressed in an NPR interview, I believe that fantastic literature is a haven that allows me to tackle difficult real-life subjects in a way that is both effective and expressive.
The type of fiction I like to read most are stories and novels that take me out of my own reality, but at the same time offer insight and emotional resonance that stays with me long after I’ve put the book down and returned to the real world, which is the sort of writing I hope to produce in the years ahead.
Education: State University of New York at Fredonia, Literature & Philosophy
Likes: Dan Simmons, Thomas Ligotti, Haruki Murakami, Cormac McCarthy, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Peter Straub, David Wong, Richard Matheson, Paul Auster, Samuel Beckett, Ellen Datlow, both high and low culture, cemeteries, the color black, cloudy or rainy days, Goth & Darkwave music, Vampire Wine, absinthe.
Dislikes: bright sunlight, hot weather, closed-minded people, literary elitists, a messy desk or apartment, going to sleep and waking up.
Status: Married for 17 years with one 15 year-old son.
Links:
Triangulation: Last Contact anthology: (Steampunk Fantasy Adventure story)
Collective Fallout "Fantastic" issue: (Supernatural Horror story)
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/collective-fallout-vol-3-no-2/15706105?productTrackingContext=author_spotlight_2128948_
Smashed Cat Magazine (Experimental Flash Fiction story)
http://www.smashedcat.com/ [November 29, 2011]
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