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Hello, I'm Brian Holshouser from Oklahoma USA; author, musician, entrepreneur, father, husband, coffee snob, and a follower of Christ.
[The following was taken from multiple podcasts and various interviews]
Q: "Why is your PFP a fox?"
A: "Haha, meet Boots. When I would go out to cafes, libraries, or book stores to write and promote, my oldest daughter would hand me Boots so I wouldn't be alone. I spent countless hours with this little guy by my side. He served as a reminder; a sentiment of why and what I was working for so tirelessly, and what I had to look forward to when I returned home."
Q: "When did you start writing?"
A: When I was about 11. Well, actually earlier, though I wrote music on the guitar at 11 that I still remember to this day."
Q: "What influences your writing?"
A: I've been a fan of fantasy since I was very young. I grew up watching The Princess Bride, played games like Warcraft, Zelda and Final Fantasy, and some of the first books I fell in love with were classic fairy tales and fantasies such as Peter Pan and The Hobbit. I also enjoy a good story with genuine, well-written heroes making hard choices. I think that's why I loved Spiderman growing up, because behind the superpowers was a really great story with a lot of nuances that felt so relatable. That and it was the 90s, and that era of marvel cartoons was epic."
Q: "People seem to be enjoying your books. When did you start writing your debut, Gwyn's Kingdom, and what was the drive behind it?"
A: "Somewhere in the early 2010s I really wanted to try writing long-form stories. Most of my writing before that was poems or music, which is good, but far from a complex story like the ones I loved reading. It took a while to figure out but once I got into the flow it was incredibly therapeutic and fun. My biggest regret is waiting so long to publish."
Q: "Why did you wait?"
A: "Publishing a human-written book, under your real name, takes a lot of guts for anyone who has built a professional reputation. Despite how well it's received, there will be those who don't like it, think it's weird, or will straight up make fun of you for it. I'd be lying to say it's not incredibly difficult to rip out a part of your soul, put it down on paper, and place it on display for the world to judge."
Q: "What's one thing you want readers to know about your books?"
A: "That they're clean and spice free. I know it's increasingly difficult for parents to trust a new YA author. A lot of adults enjoy my books as well, but the stories really resonate with readers close to the ages of 12-17, maybe younger if they're reading more advanced. Parental trust is so hard-earned these days and presents a major barrier to entry for authors writing YA for this age range. For the parents who I've won over, I can't thank you enough for passing my books and name along to others. Nothing beats that word of mouth!"
Q: "Tell us about the magic system in your Gwyn's Kingdom and Nakiri's Last Stand books. Is it based on occult or witchcraft?"
A: "No, unless you count what the bad guys are doing. My magic system is fairly unique, but I wanted it to feel intuitive as well. I've done a lot of electrical and engineering related work in my life, so my systems use some principles similar to how electricity functions. It's not meant to feel or represent the occult by any means aside from the bad guys using necromancy (treated as a dark form of magic). My goal was to make it feel fun and fantastical, like pixie dust in Peter Pan, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, or the numerous uses of magic in Narnia. Most parents don't have an issue with it, though I could understand if a parent questioned it."
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