Author
Bio:
Born in Southern California, B.C. Johnson has been writing since he realized it
was one of the few socially acceptable ways to tell people a bunch of stuff you
just made up off the top of your head. He attended Savanna High School in
Anaheim, and an undisclosed amount of college before deciding that weird odd
jobs were a far greater career path.
This lead him to such exciting professions as:
aluminum recovery machinist, lighting designer, construction demo, sound mixer,
receptionist, theater stage hand, wedding security, high school custodian,
museum events manager, webmaster, IT guy, copywriter, and one memorable night
as the bouncer at a nightclub. He is trying very hard to add "vampire
hunter" and "spaceship captain" to that list.
He currently lives in Garden Grove with his supernal
wife Gina, and his half-corgi, half-muppet dog Luna. He also spends time with
his two brothers, his parents, and his close friends, whose primary pursuit are
usually healthy debates about movie minutiea. When he's not working or writing,
he's been to known to pursue all conceivable geeky avenues of interest
including but not limited to video games, the sort of TV shows/movies Benedict
Cumberbatch might star in, graphic novels, podcasts, funny gifs, the whole
thing.
He's also been known to apply his special brand of
hyperbole and mania to pop-culture humor essays for various websites that can
be found on his homepage, bc-johnson.com. B.C. also has a high school noir
short story called "The Lancer" available on Kindle. He also has a
short story in the Curiosity Quills "Chronology" Anthology, called "In
the Clutches of the Mummy Prince." It is a ridiculous story, and you
should check it out.
Deadgirl is his first novel.
1. Tell
us how you came to be an Author with Curiosity Quills Press.
I was lost in the wilderness, and when all my
reserves were empty I saw it, glowing, a pure white goat amid the dark,
grasping trees. Well, that’s actually sort of true. Metaphorically. My first
novel, Deadgirl, had been published elsewhere, but that company went under and
with it, my novel. My agents (Sharon Belcastro and Ella Marie Shupe) found
Curiosity Quills, aka, that goat in the metaphor from earlier. They wanted Deadgirl, they gave it a brand spanking
new cover that I love. CQ brushed the
dust off my shoulders and straightened my tie and sent me back out into the
world.
2. What
do you enjoy most about being a CQ Author?
Other than the amazing covers? Seriously. I realize
I’m sounding like an infomercial right now, but it’s actually pretty rare to
have a publisher churn out an almost 100% Cover Excellence Rating, or “CERs,” a
measurement for covers I just made up.
The second part that’s so great: the people. The
editors have all been talented, willing to kick my ass when I’m wrong, but also
pretty understanding of the odder bits of my stories. They’re creatives, and
they’re willing to take chances. You all stay pretty connected with other CQ
authors, and they’ve been supportive, helpful, and always willing to share
marketing tips and tricks, which is my weakest aspect.
3. What
have your experiences been like working toward being published?
Inspiring and heartbreaking in equal measures.
Having a book get published, then not, then back again is the kind of emotional
roller coaster ride you imagine it would be. Lots of emotional “weees” and
emotional vomiting. It’s a lot of work. The writing itself is akin to wrestling
a rhino whilst naked. The editing portion is like the rhino being wrapped in
barbed wire. The marketing is like trying to ride the rhino through a series of
flaming loops.
I guess the short answer is “rhinos.”
4. What
would you have done differently?
I would have focused my writing more. I’ve only got
about three books finished, but I have about six half-finished manuscripts
sitting around, trying to see how much dust a piece of paper can actually hold.
I like experimenting when I write, trying new genres, playing with perspective,
playing with voice and tense and non-linearity. Sometimes it works out, but a
lot of times it just collapses in on itself.
Basically I wish I’d focused more on one kind of
writing and polished that up, and then proceeded in baby-steps to other styles.
5. How
has your book been marketed?
We just did a huge blog tour that had all kinds of
interviews, cover reveals, excerpts, the whole deal. We’ve been cultivating
reviews, which have actually been almost entirely positive. It’s floating
around 45+ reviews and 80+ ratings on Goodreads with a 4 star average, and I
think around 35+ rating on Amazon with 4 star average. Only like four or five
of those are family members, so they’re actually pretty authentic. Heh.
We did a book trailer. I’ve been using the website
Fiverr to try more unorthodox guerilla marketing strategies on college campuses
and the like. CQ got me on Netgalley, we’re did a book giveaway on Goodreads.
We’re shotgunning everywhere, just trying to get people to check the book out.
I think appearances at local book stores are in the immediate future.
6. Any
advice on how to better market a book?
I am the wrong person to ask, honestly. I’m the most
cliché, stereotypical floaty-headed dreamer, so that kind of stuff eludes me.
I’m using the “do everything and hope one of the methods works” approach. I can
only control the writing, so I try to make it worth marketing and just hope
people tell each other about it.
7. Last
question; If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go, when
would it be, and what would you be wearing?
That’s a tough one. I’ve got a few spots I’ve always
wanted to check out. So, because I’m fickle, let’s say Britain for now. I’d
drink at every pub in England/Scotland/Ireland, and I’d eat lots of sausages
and potatoes and fish, and then I’d die from my liver and heart exploding. I’d
be wearing some kind of long, cool wool coat with a mysterious profile, and
probably shoes.
Deadgirl
Blurb:
Dead is such a strong word...
Lucy Day, 15 years old, is murdered on her very
first date. Not one to take that kind of thing lying down, she awakens a day
later with a seemingly human body and more than a little confusion. Lucy tries
to return to her normal life, but the afterlife keeps getting in the way.
Zack, her crush-maybe-boyfriend, isn’t exactly
excited that she ditched him on their first date. Oh, and Abraham, Lucy’s
personal Grim Reaper, begins hunting her, dead-set on righting the error that
dropped her back into the spongy flesh of a living girl. Lucy must put her
mangled life back together, escape re-death, and learn to control her
burgeoning powers while staying one step ahead of Abraham.
But when she learns the devastating price of coming
back from the dead, Lucy is forced to make the hardest decision of her re-life
- can she really sacrifice her loved ones to stay out of the grave?
Chronology
Blurb:
It's time... for time! Embark on a literary journey
through the ages with Curiosity Quills Press in our latest, greatest, and
BIGGEST annual anthology yet. Filled with short stories by greats the likes of
Piers Anthony, J.R. Rain, Richard Roberts, Scott Nicholson, Tony Healey, and
more, Chronology will send your imagination down unexplored tunnels of history,
from the earliest days to a far-flung future.
Links to CQ work:
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