Gary Frank is a man of many talents. Hailing from the horror hotbed of New Jersey, he is not only a talented author but also a skilled songwriter and musician. Recently he burst back onto the literary scene with a gripping tale of terror, The Thing In The Woods.  Want to know more? Keep reading….

 

1-Of all the classic literary conflicts, surely Man Vs. Bigfoot is one of the most primal. What inspired you to write about it?

We have the main character, Rich, who, like most of us, works 9-5 and has the usual adult responsibilities. He gets juxtaposed against Bigfoot who has none of these, a being that Rich sees as free to just live and survive in the wild. It’s appealing to him. The question I examine is who is the real monster in this story. Bigfoot’s just trying to survive, and here come these humans, messing things up.

2-How has your writing evolved over the years from Forever Will You Suffer to The Thing In the Woods?

Forever Will You Suffer I refer to my B-Movie horror novel. It’s a roller coaster ride of craziness in a good way. With The Thing in the Woods, the relationships between the four characters and their story arc, takes precedence over the monster. My writing is less about the thing and more about the people having to overcome the thing.

3-What about living in New Jersey inspires you to write horror?

There’s a lot of weird that goes on in the Garden State, from the former Essex County Hospital, which was reported to be haunted, to the Pine Barrens and the Jersey Devil, to the ghosts in Cape May. It seems a prime place to set more weird stories, especially an urban legend like Bigfoot. There is a national organization that does Bigfoot research missions, and one of their locations is northern New Jersey.

4-You are also a musician and songwriter. What’s the process for writing music like as opposed to writing fiction?

Writing songs and the accompanying music is more immediate. Lyrics kind of flow from one line to the next and there’s a poetic element there that seeks to rhyme. With stories, there isn’t that urgency. It’s more of a marathon than a sprint, which leaves me more space to unfold a story. Songs tend to be more like moments in time, like a photograph.

5-What would you do if you actually ran into a Bigfoot?

Fleeing in fear is high on the list, right after soiling myself. I’d like to think I’d be amazed and remember to take clear photographs. But I doubt I’d be so brave!