Friend a Day – Brian Keene

Photo by Debbie Kuhn

CONvergence week continues!

I don’t know what it is about Brian but he and I hit it off right away.  We aren’t all that similar but there’s something about him that made him instantly likable.

A few years back, we had a competition to see who could stay up later at the dead dog party.  We were both sitting at dinner and were exhausted and I was thinking it would be an early night for me.  Then Brian bet me that he could stay up later than me.

Later, he offered me a drink and I told him I didn’t drink.  “Why didn’t you tell me that before we made that bet,” he asked.

“Because you didn’t ask,” I said.

I stayed up far later than I wanted to but the important thing is I won the bet.  It was for $1.

Brian is a writer the way some people are truck drivers.  He is always writing.  He is always looking for that next job that will keep him employed at what he does best.

And he’s always fighting to make things better for himself and his fellow writers.  When he perceives something unfair in his industry, he will bang the gong to make it right.  He’s a prizefighter in an industry that needs more people like him.

He’s very open about who he is to the world.  His life, like the lives of so many writers, is not the perfect world we might expect.  He is honest about those challenges that he faces and it makes him relatable to the people who read his work.

I think that the thing I like about Brian the most is his quick wit and willingness to play.  If you throw him on any kind of panel or show, he’ll look natural and at ease.  He knows how to relax and enjoy the ride.

I only get to see him when he’s at the convention and he hasn’t been in a few years.  I think I need to make it my personal mission to figure out how we can get him back next year for sure.  The convention just isn’t as much fun without him.

To learn more about Brian, go to his website and read his blog.  I know I do!