It’s incredibly gratifying to see notes from gay men telling me how much they connect with him. Joel, like me, is a Texan boy living in New York, but when I was writing The Bright Lands I was extremely broke, whereas Joel is lavishly successful and has a bit of the arrogance that brings with it, though of course much of his ambition has a painful source. JF: The protagonist, Joel, was a challenge because I very much did not want to write a stand-in character for myself. JJ: Which character was the hardest to write? Do you have a favorite?Īpple | | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound Coffee or tea is a must, but those drinks also help me know when it’s time to quit for the day: typically by 2:00 my bladder is so overcaffeinated I can’t sit still, so then I take a walk and read in Central Park. I write from 6:30 to 9:30 every morning, break for an hour for breakfast, then keep going until 1:30. In front of a window, snacks, coffee? Any fun idiosyncrasies you’d like to share? I’m not entirely convinced I was living in the real world as I finished this book. I honestly don’t remember much of my life in the three months before the novel sold. JF: From start to finish, a little under a year, but that was a year of hard writing.
It’s been the goal from day one, and I’m insanely lucky that it’s worked out so far. I dropped out of school to write, worked crappy jobs, eked by.
JF: This is, truly, all I ever planned to be. What’s your writing background? Is this what you’ve always wanted to do? JJ: The Bright Lands is an impressive debut. As Joel and a cast of misfits search for Dylan, they learn more about the shame and secrets and bigotry their town has harbored for decades, and soon all roads lead to a mysterious place known as “The Bright Lands.” And then everything catches on fire. Joel Whitley, a gay man who left town ten years earlier under mysterious circumstances, comes home to help his brother, Dylan, the town’s star quarterback, only for Dylan to disappear the next day. JF: Well, on the one hand, The Bright Lands is about the small town of Bentley, Texas, where football is king. I couldn’t be happier to be bringing this particular book into the world at this particular moment. John Fram: I’m doing pretty well! I live in New York City, where the horrible grief and paranoia of Covid is slowly passing and, in its place, we’re finding horror and rage, which feels far more productive.
First off, how does it feel getting your amazing debut published during everything else going on in 2020? Are you doing okay?
We’re excited to get the inside scoop on your debut, The Bright Lands. Janelle Janson: Thank you so much for your time, John.
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