Meet Brennan Lafaro

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brennan Lafaro. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brennan, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

I wasn’t always a big reader, but when I discovered that love in my late teens, there was this feeling like I needed to play catch-up. Literary, thriller, classic, horror, sci-fi. If people had found meaning in it at some point in time, I wanted to give it a try, and I did. I read widely, and I still do.
How do you keep creativity alive, at least when it comes to being an author? You have to continually fill the well. Some authors need to remove influence from their writing process, and I understand and respect that, but I’ve found during the six or years of my writing journey that when finding the next path becomes tough, taking a break and either discovering something that influences me or revisiting a seminal work that I already know I love often help fill that need.
Another boost to creativity is surrounding yourself with like-minded people, a writer’s group to foment conversation, sharing of ideas, writing advice, critique, and accountability. After all, sometimes the biggest block to creativity is not getting in front of the computer in the first place. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a group called We Are Providence, formerly a chapter of the HWA (Horror Writers Association) with monthly meetings, in-person events, support chat, and anthologies every other year. Outside that group, I’ve made some of the best friends of my life through writing and reading, people who I talk to every day, and help me to keep creativity alive.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Brennan LaFaro, and I’m a music teacher by day, horror writer by night. I’ve been writing for almost six years, and in that time I’ve published seven books, with an eighth out next month. Reading has been a lifelong love for me, and writing was always something I wanted to do, but felt I lacked the tools to do. Until the day I sat down and gave it a go. My first book, titled Slattery Falls, told the story of the most haunted house in Massachusetts and a trio of amateur ghost hunters drawn into its web. Even more than a New England ghost story, it’s a book about found family, friendship, and later-in-life coming of age. It’s also the first book in a trilogy, collected all together under the title I Will Always Find You: The Complete Slattery Falls. The other project I’m best known for is a series of horror western books called the Buzzard’s Edge Saga, including Noose, The Demon of Devil’s Cavern, and the forthcoming Where the Daybreak Ends. These books take place in the Arizona territory in the late 1800s and follow a man out for revenge and his mute adopted daughter against the horrors of the new frontier, but historical and supernatural.
I consider my brand of writing to be horror with hope. It can be a bleak genre, but the stories I most enjoy reading and writing always contain a kernel of light thrown in to shine among the darkness.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Discipline is important to any writer, practiced or aspiring. Carving out the time to get words down no matter what else is going on in life. There will always be excuses to not put in the work, but if it’s something important to you, it’s something you will create the time to accomplish.
Patience is another necessary component of writing. This can be applied in a multitude of ways, from recognizing that writing a novel is chipping away a paragraph at a time to the submission process. Hurry up and wait is a cliche you hear often in publishing, and for good reason.
Lastly, kindness. Writing is hard work, it’s talent, but it’s also connections, and if you have the first two, but garner a reputation for being difficult to work with, you’ll find opportunities drying up. Be good to people. It’s free and easier than a lot of people make it seem.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

The best thing my parents always did for me, and arguably the best thing any parents could do for their kids, was allow me to be myself and follow my dreams. They allowed me to go to college for art, then switch to music when I decided that was the avenue I needed to explore. They encouraged me to become a teacher and never miss an opportunity to tell me how proud they are of who I am and what I do on a daily basis. In an indirect, but quite obvious way, this consistent support likely led to me attempting to write my first book, despite being unsure it was something I could do. When you grow up with voices at your back saying “You can do it”, it makes a world of difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.brennanlafaro.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/brennanlafaro
• Twitter: http://www.x.com/brennanlafaro
• Other: Substack Newsletter – http://brennanlafaro.substack.com
  Webstore – http://brennanlafaro.bigcartel.com

Image Credits

Michael Upstill
Francois Vaillancourt
Val Halvorson
Matt Wildasin