Barry Hoffman, Continued...

HG: As more and more people turn to the Internet for entertainment needs, will books still be valued in the years to come?

Barry Hoffman: There will always be those who want -- even need --to feel a real book in order to read it. Keep in mind that when books came out on tape -- now they’re on CDs -- the same question was asked. You don’t get the same experience reading a book on the Internet or a machine you can carry with you. When I take my granddaughter to a swimming pool or go on an airplane a majority of the passengers are still reading the old-fashioned way -- a book.

HG: The topic of censorship is a major theme with your magazine, Gauntlet. How does America compare with other countries on the issue of censorship? How free is the land of the free?

Barry Hoffman: While there is still a good deal of censorship here it pales in comparison to the rest of the world. In far too many countries, what can and can’t be read is strictly regulated. I’ve read how in China, the Internet is sometimes blocked -- don’t ask me how -- so the Chinese can’t read about the oppression they suffer. In many countries newspapers are regulated by the government. I just heard today that some newspapers in Iraq who were critical of the government were shut down -- and our soldiers are dying to fight for this government. Journalists in foreign countries have been imprisoned. So, compared to other countries we are an oasis in the desert.

But that doesn’t mean everything’s the way it should be here. Most damaging are special interest groups who don’t want the cause they espouse to be criticized. They do their worst at the local level, joining and even leading library committees and school boards where they decide what can be allowed to be read and what is banned. Books dealing with alternative life styles are routinely censored in many communities and it doesn’t make headlines. Sex-education in many areas is ludicrous with abstinence-only classes offered in too many locales. Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, gays and anti-gays, evangelists, the blind and every other special interest group has advocacy groups that want their group viewed in only positive terms, and picket or file frivolous lawsuits to protect their special interest. It’s censorship of the worst kind. At the same time the Internet offers an enormous amount of uncensored material which, for the most part, can’t be regulated. However, a word of caution. You can bet that these special interests groups are trying to find ways to censor and/or control the Internet. I would bet against them succeeding.

HG: Are any of your novels being considered for movie production? Which one would make the best movie?

Barry Hoffman: None at the moment. Hungry Eyes has been optioned but nothing came of it. I know a number of authors whose work has been purchased and ten years later there still is no movie. It’s Hollywood at its worst. Look at the script used for the Will Smith production of I Am Legend. It went through any number of drafts and as a result it stunk. There was already a phenomenal script written by Matheson himself. A real shame. That’s one reason you have so few memorable movies each season. On the other hand there are far fewer restrictions for television. You can’t wait two to three years to get the script you want for the next episode of a series. That’s why a show like Lost is so great -- a small group of writers take care of the entire series. Some of the best written scripts are now being written for television which many films flounder under the weight of rewrites.

As for which of my books would make the best film, I’d have to say Born Bad. The villain in Born Bad may be my favorite character and I think movie-goers would enjoy all the mischief she creates without getting caught. Shanicha is also a complex character with demons of her own. When my son read the book -- I encouraged my children to read my books even when they were young -- Shanicha was not only his favorite character, but he sympathized with her to some extent. That validated the character to me. What Shanicha does is often truly heinous so to be able to feel sympathetic to her means I succeeded in creating an interesting character.

HG: Do you attend mystery or horror conventions? Any appearances forthcoming?

Barry Hoffman: When I lived back East -- prior to 2002 -- I attended a number of cons. I’d go to Chiller with Jack Ketchum and we’d have a ball. I regularly attended Horrorfind. Sadly, from what I hear writers are getting pushed aside in favor of film personalities. I also went to at least five Necon cons which is probably the best “non-convention” that exists. It’s held on a college campus, and authors and fans mix... and drink, and drink, and drink some more. Fans get to meet authors in an informal setting and writers get time to swap war stories and ideas. I went to the Horror Writers Association meeting in New York City a few times. Since I moved to Colorado, though, I’ve found that attending conventions is a bit too expensive. I wish the World Horror Convention would return to Denver.

HG: Talking about conventions, is true that you were once trapped in an elevator with Rain Graves and Brain Keene and others at a horror con? Do tell….

Barry Hoffman: Oh yes. At Horrorfind. It was I believe the second year of Horrorfind. Far more people attended than were expected and the hotel was overwhelmed. Brian, Rain and a dozen or so others were in the elevator when it just stopped. No problem, right. Someone would notice. Well, it took a good while -- at least half-an-hour -- before anyone noticed. There were some people who began panicking. It was pretty claustrophobic. And, it was one of those elevators with a glass window so you could see outside. It was like, there are all those people walking around, yet nobody knew we were trapped. Then someone -- I have no idea who it was -- pulled out a cell phone -- I thought they were useless at the time and didn’t have one -- and things got really comical. He -- or she -- called the hotel telling them we were trapped. At first we weren’t believed. At some point, though, someone from the hotel decided to investigate and sure enough they found out we were trapped.

The fire department was called -- we could see the fire truck from the window -- and they pried the door open. Nobody was injured, though at least one person was treated -- panic or claustrophobia. The rest of off went off to various parties. I would like to say that I keenly remember Rain or Brian’s reaction. Did the two make passionate love while waiting to get rescued? Nope. Did Rain or Brian begin panicking, killing one of the con's attendees so they wouldn’t starve to death? Not that I can recall, though Rain wasn’t thrilled to be trapped. Did the stench of all of those bodies squeezed into the elevator -- there wasn’t much breathing space -- overwhelm a few? Sadly no. Is it true Brian broke the window, flew out of the elevator and left the rest of us while he partied in a room several floors above? Hmmm. Not sure about that one. It was memorable at the time. I think if you interviewed all those who were in the elevator now you would get several dozen different stories.

HG: It's easy to see that being a publisher can help your writing career by giving you a better grasp of what editors want. Is there any downside?

Barry Hoffman: The downside is if you do your job as a publisher you don’t have as much time as you’d like for your writing. At one time I was teaching and publishing Gauntlet magazine and books at the same time. I didn’t know it at the time but I was working two full-time jobs. When I left the teaching profession I found that publishing still took up much of my day.

HG: What projects are on the horizon?

Barry Hoffman: I’ve written a second and third young adult book that would complete the Shamra series. I came up with a new villain who appears in the second and third books; one that is far more insidious than the villains in Curse of the Shamra. I’m working on a Shanicha prequel because the character kept tugging at me. And, I’ve done a lot of research on a female Lord of the Flies book. I just haven’t had the time to begin that one, though much of it is plotted out. It’s a bit of a daunting project. Lots of characters and a number of different directions that are tugging at me. I often get ideas, jot them down and then play with them to see if it can work as a short story, novella or even a novel. I have a story in He Is Legend -- editor Chris Conlon asked, since I’d published so much Matheson and am a minimalist like Matheson -- based on his short story “The Disappearing Act.” A mini-collection of short stories was published last year entitled Love Hurts.

HG: Sounds like you're keeping busy! Thanks for chatting with us!

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