Brad McCormick

Who's Making That Scary?

Meet is Michael Bradley McCormick, but he usually just goes by Brad.

 

Brad is 41 years old, and currently resides in southern Illinois with his wife, Marybeth, who means the world to him. He has also just published Switchblade, his first book in The Rockwood Trilogy.

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     Brad says, "Growing up in the 80s was a great time for movies, despite what some people say. It gave birth to movies like Exterminator II, Ninja III: The Domination, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Deadly Prey, Cobra, and The Beastmaster. What a line-up! It also gave birth to many straight-to-video slashers, such as the Slumber Party Massacre and the Sleepaway Camp movies. These type of films were ridiculous to some, but will always hold a special place in my twelve-year-old heart. And they are a HUGE influence on me when I develop stories."  

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  How Switchblade came about...

    " I stumbled upon writing novels a little over a year ago when I found out that a coworker of mine had began publishing novels on his own. I was really excited to give it a shot. I had written a screenplay the year before, that I just loved to death, so I decided to turn my script into a novel."

      "I began my mission. I started reading any and everything  I could get my hands on regarding how to write novels. I won't lie, it was very very difficult at first. Novels vs screenplays are a completely different style of writing when it comes to telling a story. In some cases, different as night and day. I was going in without much knowledge on the rules of writing a novel, and I definitely wasn't much of a reader at that point. Of fiction anyway. I was always more of a movie watcher than a reader. Most novels I picked up always seemed to bore me. I hate to say that, but it's true. I eventually figured out why. I kept at it though, and I self-taught like my life depended on it. It was a long process that required about 100 rewrites and constant tweaking, but I never stopped. 

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     When I finally did finish, I did what was best for it at the time, and I completely walked away from it for a bit. The novel was done, clean, and looked decent on the page, but I still wasn't happy with it. It was still missing something. Luckily I found out what that "something" was. It was my voice. 

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      Two wonderful things happened next!

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      I came across Elmore Leonard's book on The Rules of Writing. A wonderful quote from it was something to the effect of "if it comes across as writing when you read it, rewrite it." It hit me like a ton of bricks. Did my story read like a person who was actually telling a story in a casual manner, comfortably, or was it too wannabe, professional writer sounding? Hmmm. It was definitely something to think about. That question, coupled with what came next, was the last pieces of the puzzle I needed, and it came in the form of a book.

    

       I came across Voice: The Secret Power of Writing, by James Bell. This book completely opened the flood gates and changed everything about my writing and how I approached it. From this wonderful little book, I was able to discover my voice. "

 

 

 

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      The first book in the Rockwood Trilogy, Switchblade: A Killer Comedy, is a love letter to the slasher genre. A comedy filled with blood, mayhem, and offensive behavior, which also gives birth to a new kind of killer; the notorious murderer Frank "Switchblade" Butz. A wannabe greaser out looking for a good time, and perhaps a few kills.

 

 

     The second book in the trilogy will be Razorback Bill, and will feature some new baddies, old favorites, and a new hero, Chuck Thunders. A self-proclaimed Super Cop with a mullet built for straight-rocking. After that...

 

 

     The Ghetto Blaster. This will be Brad's "hood" story and will introduce the world to the war-torn Charlie Jones. Who needs Batman? When Charlie Jones suits up, it's over for them. All three stories will be connected in their own way and center around Rockwood, Mississippi, a town with a population of about 95. They should be a lot of fun to read, and I will do my best to not disappoint. 

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