Sean Bridges
Author Interview - Sean Bridges
Author of Gunbarrel Highway
Texas trophy wife Claudia Grant dies after she causes an early morning car accident. In the other vehicle, Daniel Morrison, an attorney struggling with a pending divorce and pill addiction, panics and leaves the scene.
The victim’s husband, congressional candidate Hayden Grant, is a corrupt politician who seizes the opportunity and places a million-dollar reward on Morrison’s capture. Dead or alive.
Daniel is on the run. Roya Navarro, a determined San Antonio police detective is hot on his trail with local law enforcement, county sheriffs, a hungry journalist, and trigger-happy citizens all across the Lone Star state out on the hunt for the bounty.
Author Interview - Sean Bridges
Author I draw inspiration from:
Elmore Leonard - Now that he's gone I'm really savoring his work. It's always good to grab one of his books and get lost in his work.
Author Interview - Sean Bridges | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
I'm big on a comfortable nest to relax in. I like to read indoors and outdoors, but I enjoy being able to fall into a story while on a plane, tucked against a window seat.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Ben Richards - The Running Man by Richard Bachman. We wouldn't be stuck for long. He would figure a way out. Even if it seemed impossible to escape.
Author Interview - Sean Bridges | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I was bullied a lot through middle school/high school in Indiana (I lived there for 4 years) so I learned to stay below the radar and just get from class to class and secure a safe seat on the bus to go home okay. But occasionally my English teachers would select to read my essays or work in front of the class. I secretly felt proud of those moments but at the same time I dreaded it because I knew it painted a large target on me.
Also when I first read Stephen King's reaction to getting 'Carrie' published. I treasured that story and told myself when it happened to me, I would buy my significant other a hair dryer (you gotta know the story for that to make any bit of sense).
Funny enough, decades later when I got a late-night call from my editor that my book was being picked up for publication, my fiancé (at the time) didn't react much at all to the news. It kinda deflated the mental balloon I had of that moment. But I still plan on buying a hair dryer for someone, someday.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback: Because I'll search for 1st editions of books I want to own. Dislike because it's usually a paperweight.
Paperback: It's my go-to reading choice. I always have a few on a stack I need to get to. I don't really dislike them. What's there to dislike about a paperback book?
E-book: It's a great way to distribute your work around the world, and the ease to have so many books at your fingertips is a great invention. Dislike, I just lost track of using my Kindle and it ended up in a drawer. More of a personal preference for me.
Audiobook: I have an audio production company (Audible Parade Productions, we make movies for your mind). so I'm partial to the audio book world. Dislike, one reader to tell the story. The voice talent needs to be able to bring the work to life and some voices out there seemed designed to put you right to sleep.
The last book I read:
Blaze by Richard Bachman. I loved it. Kind of a twisted version of 'Of Mice and Men'. It was an abandoned Stephen King project that technically is the last Bachman book. I was holding onto it for awhile before finally reading it and I just fell right into the story,. I'd love to see it come to life as a movie down the road.
Currently reading: Unknown Man #89 by Elmore Leonard. I had read this an an e-book but didn't really remember it so I picked it up as a paperback and it's my story I'm into right now. It's so easy to fall into Elmore Leonard stories and this is one of his Detroit thrillers. He writes characters like no one else. It's so easy for him and they just pop off the page
Funny aside - I recently cribbed a line from the book. One day while working as a bartender, I told a customer: Hey, man. You really wear that hat. -- That quote came right from this novel :)
Author Interview - Sean Bridges | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
For screenwriting I tend to go pen & paper before tackling a first draft on a computer. I use Final Draft software and sing its praises. It's the only screenwriter software for me.
For novels, I sometimes write out an outline. Honestly it tends to be heavy on the front of the story but that's okay, it's a sketch forward. Then I use that outline as a skeleton to go back and flesh out the story. It always goes beyond what I initially envisioned but I'm glad I take the time to sketch out a rough roadmap.
When I'm tackling the draft, I'm using a formatted Microsoft Office template. And I always write how many pages I work on or write clean for the day, and the next day I re-read and edit what I wrote the previous day and push on a little forward. I repeat that process through the draft until the end.
Once the draft is complete I'll print it out and edit on the page, and then go back into the manuscript and alter and make changes there. You can really pick up mistakes or flow looking at your work in a different format.
I also found professional editing to be very helpful. I worked with two separate editors and a proof-reader on this book and it was immensely helpful. I'm always careful and conscious of my work, but having additional sets of eyes on it through the gamut was so beneficial.
Now that I have a home at The Wild Rose Press for my creative work, I'll continue to embrace the editing process and work with professional editors moving forward.
Also when I write, I like to work in silence and let the story unfold. But when I edit, I have music playing. I figure if the story can cut through the noise as I work through it, then I'm onto something that will blossom.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Cpl. Joker from The Short Timers by Gustav Hasford. He'd watch out for me, because if I got hurt my mom would find him when he got back to the world and beat the shite out of him. (that would make me Rafter Man though, and he goes crazy and gets crushed by a tank.).
Author Interview - Sean Bridges | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Airline pilot. If I could go back in time I would take all the money I spent on college and get my pilot's license and work through the ranks to become a professional pilot. Also always wanted to learn how to fly a helicopter. Funny enough I was born on December 17th and that's the first day of flight from the Wright Brothers in Kitty Hawk, NC.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I'm in Texas so for the short time period I can wear a coat it feels awesome. I miss the fall. So let's say, any fashion era where you dress in cool clothes for fall weather. That September/October crispness in the air. Damn. Could be any decade and I'd be happy dressing up for that.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Australia and New Zealand. I've love to explore that part of the world. It's on the other side of the planet, I would love to have adventures and life experience there. It's a bucket list to spend a year or more down there, just living.
My signature drink:
Ice water. Can't get enough. I like an Arnold Palmer (although I hate the name). More green tea than lemonade.
Alcohol, I love a good Sidecar. It's my go-to cocktail if I'm out and about. Cognac, Triple Sec and Lemon juice, with sugar around the rim, garnished with a lemon twist. I first had one in Harry's New York Bar in the St. Germain district of Paris. It was an Ernest Hemingway watering hole. That really impressed college-aged me. Sitting in a bar in Paris having a drink at Hemingway's bar. Felt very cool doing that.
I'm a beer guy. Sea salt and lime is my favorite. Shiner makes a good one. Real Ale in Blanco, TX makes the best one (Vamanos - if I can find that, I'm in the right place.)
Favorite artist:
In no particular order: Stephen King, The Police, Rembrandt, Bryan Ferry, Elmore Leonard, Joe Lansdale, Bruce Campbell, John Carpenter, George Romero, Sergio Leone, my Dad, The Coen Brothers, and, Vince Gilligan.
Number one on my bucket list:
In November, I'm travelling to London to see a stage show in the West End (Dr. Strangelove) and then taking a train to Frankfurt, Germany for a long overdue visit with family. That's a trip I'm currently building towards and will have an amazing time. And I'm going by myself.
I'm rebuilding from a hard break-up earlier this year and I'm going on an adventure I've always wanted. I'm currently working as a bartender and saving my cash and will make it happen. It was something I'm determined to do.
And it's the first in a number of bucket list adventures. Self love & self care and self worth. Those are my building blocks right now.
Anything else you'd like to add:
I'm excited for this new book to come out. My first professionally published novel. It's an accomplishment. I'll be curious to see and hear the reactions. I'm sending out ARC review copies now and we'll see how those roll back in. I'm proud of the work and life is good.
2024 has been a wild ride so far, and we're just getting into the second half. Here's to it. Cheers.
Find more from the author:
Author website: https://audibleparade.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.bridges.3/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sean_bridges_author/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-patrick-bridges-2272b261/
About Sean Bridges:
Author Interview - Sean Bridges
Sean Bridges was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. He's an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl award-winning screenwriter and author. He's a Stephen King Dollar Baby with his festival winning audio production of One for the Road.
His Audible Parade Productions created a serial audio thriller, Triple Six. They're currently at work on their next horror/suspense audio series, Parasite Zero.
He produced and directed two documentaries in the Caribbean. One in Jamaica for teachers and students. And one in Trinidad for the Port of Spain, Vision 2020. He’s worked on a number of projects for Troublemaker Studios out of Austin, TX.
He lives and works in the Texas Hill Country.
