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The Alternative Library

The Brian Holtz Interview

Author of "Harvey & Ethel"

Time allowing and authors willing, JJ and I will continue to publish a new author interview in each issue of the Midnight Times. For the Fall 2005 interview we met online with Brian Holtz, author of "Harvey & Ethel". From fearlessly steering the Royal Gorge tram, to lead vocals in a garage band, we dug into the details of Brian's private life and dissected the true meaning of his bizarre story! Enjoy! -- Jay Manning, MT Editor

THE INTERVIEW

JJ Collins: All right, before we get to the most juicy part, something I've been agonizing over since I read "Harvey & Ethel," we'd like to start with some basics. First, we'd like to find out a little bit about the author behind the story. Brian, can you tell us a little bit about you? Like what got you into writing, anything from your past that colors the types of things you like to write?

Brian Holtz: I'm 36, married, and have an 8 yr old daughter. I am an operator on the Ariel Tramway at the Royal Gorge Bridge. I've always been a mostly quiet person in public situations--reserved. That has led people to think that I am shy or odd or both, and that is quite all right with me because I find most of them to be odd. Especially the loud and obnoxious ones. Almost any extrovert you run into, the life of the party types, are compensating for underlying issues and weirdness of their own. Not to say I don't care for them. I do. I like loud people. They amuse me. I have been drawing since I could pick up a pencil. I was a very sick child growing up in Illinois, with allergies and frequent pneumonia. As a child I was not aloud to play outside as often as other children, and I took to drawing cartoons and exercising my imagination instead.

JJ: You have a daughter, you're married and employed? Sounds like you have a very full plate. How do you squeeze in time to write?

Brian: I run the tramway, and find most of my time to write between trips.

JJ: So you're the guy who operates the gondola?

Brian: Yes I am.

JJ: What's it like inside the control booth? Is it a fancy contraption like the control panel in Star Trek?

Brian: It's small, loud, and covered, with control, stop circuits, and gauges. More like 1960's Star Trek.

JJ: Old school, nice. Tell us about some of your other interests. You mentioned that you draw. Do you have any other hobbies?

Brian: I still draw and paint with acrylics, fantasy and dark art being my favorites. I write poetry and lyrics to songs. I am also the vocalist in a garage band called Bowelflower. We do mostly heavy rock and play at places around town. I love the song writing process. When a new tune comes together it is very cool. I like video games. I play the crap out of our Sony PSP. It kicks ass. I'm a pretty busy guy.

JJ: I see that. So give us a brief recap of your writing history. Is this something you've always done or did something draw you into it? (Pun not intended, hehe.)

Brian: I wrote a short story called "Sally's Dark Side." It was about 18,000 words. That was my first big project. I loved it so much that I decided to try writing a full-length novel. That was Nephilim Push. Since then I have written about ten short stories, and another novel called Collapse at Hidden Verse 332.

JJ: How long ago did you write "Sally's Dark Side"?

Brian: I wrote it about six years ago.

JJ: You've already completed a novel. That's pretty impressive. In regards to writing, what are your short-term goals?

Brian: To continue editing and submitting my work and writing as much as possible.

JJ: Prior to "Harvey & Ethel," have you had any other stories or novels published?

Brian: No you are my first. Although I self-published Nephilim Push through First Books online.

JJ: Tell us about that. Where could our readers purchase a copy of Nephilim Push if they wanted to read it?

Brian: It cost me about $400.00 to get it published through firstbooks. It is a print-on-demand book available online at various book sellers such as Amazon.com, Borders.com, AuthorHouse.com. I've sold about a hundred copies. It costs about 15 dollars at Authorhouse.

JJ: Wow. I think that's pretty amazing in view of it being self-published.

Brian: Thanks.

JJ: How about "Sally's Dark Side," have you submitted that to any potential publishers?

Brian: No. It would need serious re-working if I wanted to pursue that. It is not my best work. But it's what got me started.

JJ: What are your long-term writing goals?

Brian: Fame and Riches! I want to continue writing novels.

JJ: Hahaha!

Jay Manning: Brian, what is Nephilim Push about?

Brian: It is a journey into astral projection, a battle between good and evil, and a fictional, scriptural account of the beginning of the world. It is in no way religious.

Jay: Sounds kind of like an epic. Dark fantasy? Science fiction?

Brian: I have two more books in the series that I will write in the future. I've gotten a really positive response from all who have read it, and I'm really proud of that. It's more dark fantasy, rather than science fiction.

Jay: Do you have a primary hero character, or is it comprised of multiple main characters?

Brian: Jack Sawyer is the main character (hero), Sally Benton is also a main character, and the bad guy Howard James Killien.

Jay: Is Sally Benton the same character in from your short story "Sally's Dark Side"?

Brian: Yes. You're quick.

JJ: Brian, tell us about your inspiration for "Harvey & Ethel."

Brian: I have a friend who has always been creatively vulgar. Harvey started with that idea. When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house. There was a small metal fan that sat on the floor and nearly every lamp had a three-way bulb. I found these things to be very usual, regular items in a home, and they off set each other nicely, both having three settings. If the powers of good and evil were to inhabit household items, a fan and a lamp would at least make balanced choices. It made sense to use them. The imbalance in the story came from the people themselves. Ethel definitely had the upper hand, she's smarter than Harvey, and that really pisses him off.

JJ: Okay. Now for the million-dollar question: in layman's terms, what the hell was going on? What were Harvey and Ethel?

Brian: Okay, lets get to it. SPOILER ALERT!!! Anyone reading this who has not yet read the story, I urge you to read the story before you continue. It's much better if you don't know. Harvey and Ethel have been assigned the task of controlling the world's good and evil by way of household appliances (i.e., a lamp and a fan). They compete daily for the opportunity to turn on their set appliance for a designated period of time. The loser of the contest is not allowed to counter with their own appliance. With only one on at a time the power of the world shifts in that direction, when the fan is on bad things happen, when the light is on good things happen. Competing through Jeopardy is their chosen contest. If an appliance is turned on against the rules, the other is allowed to counter it immediately, but naturally the rules are not always followed. Once they've been abused too much, the power is taken from them, and the owners much relinquish the items to new people. Oh, and the two of them get physic updates in their heads, of the good and evil they've both caused. I tried to keep the reader guessing throughout, and I hope they make their own conclusions. It was more fun that way. That's pretty much it. It seems pretty simple when put into a nutshell, doesn't it?

JJ: Honestly...no. I don't think I would have ever read it exactly like that. I'm very happy I got to ask you directly what was happening. I can die a happy man.

Jay: There is quite a bit going on in the background. I got the whole thing with the supernatural powers. And how Harvey and Ethel were basically given those powers through the lamp and the fan, respectively.

JJ: I loved it all. I could tell there was some greater purpose.

Brian: Are you disappointed, or more satisfied?

JJ: Very satisfied. I never would have reached that conclusion.

Brian: Good! It is left up to the reader to ponder, till the end of time.

Jay: I guess one question I still have: was it just random that those two characters ended up with the appliances? That seems to be implied with the ending. When they put the items out for sale, and two new unsuspecting people purchase them.

Brian: Yes.

JJ: I feel like I'm getting a chance to ask one of the apostles what he actually meant by the Bible book he authored. This is great.

Jay: I pretty much got what you have indicated in the spoiler information, but I wonder if there are readers who are left really puzzled. As the writer, do you wonder if you should have provided more clues about what exactly is going on? Or are you happy with it as it is?

Brian: I'm completely happy with it. The fun was letting the reader make his or her own conclusions.

Jay: Good point.

Brian: I think that readers are very used to getting it all drawn out for them. I like to make them think.

Jay: Sometimes you have to let the reader interpret things their own way.

JJ: Very true.

Brian: Exactly, its those kind of stories that I am inspired to write--a message that stays with you after you put the book down. A tale that the reader is compelled to re-read again and again. That's my goal anyway. Humor was what I was aiming for in "Harvey & Ethel," and a sense of bizarre tension. I feel that it worked because of the eccentric characters and their odd predicament. Stories for me are mostly about character and unusual circumstances, and building tension. Whether it is to be strange or horrific, it's the people in the stories that drive the emotion, rising to the occasion or curling up and crying like a little girl. The reader wants to like every character in the story, not just the good guys. They want to like villains too. We all love Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter, why? Because they have charisma--a dark, loathing coolness about them that makes us want more. That idea sits in my mind with every bad guy I write. I try to make it live and breathe in every line. It may sound silly, but it's a passion of mine, I want the reader to love to hate them.

JJ: All, right. As we head toward the end of the interview, we'd like to give you the opportunity to mention any special plugs or projects you're working on.

Brian: My short story "Jeremy's Potential" was just accepted at Thirteen Magazine for publication in the August issue. My second novel, Collapse at Hidden Verse 332, is nearing completion. It is in the editing process, and I will be submitting it shortly for publication.

JJ: Very nice.

Jay: What's Collapse about?

Brian: It's a sci-fi adventure about an earth high school student who gets taken into space to re-set a multiversal generator. Its brimming with strange alien races, bizzare worlds and intergalactic war. Its a mix of epic space fantasy and satire.

Jay: LOL! I bet.

JJ: I have to say we have really enjoyed talking to you, and the revelation about "Harvey & Ethel." Thank you for taking time to meet with us.

Jay: I really appreciate your participating in the Midnight Times author interview, and thanks a bunch for submitting your "Harvey & Ethel" story.

Brian: Thanks for the opportunity, I really enjoyed it.