Geoffrey Girard
Ryan Kurtz
Geoffrey Girard writes thrillers, historicals, and dark speculative fiction for adults and teens. His first YA, the techno-thriller Project Cain, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. His short fiction has appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future. Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey currently lives in Ohio where he is the English Department Chair at a private boys’ high school and teaches creative writing, philosophy in literature, and horror. He has a BA in English literature and an MA and MFA in creative writing.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
The Lord of the Rings. Found it in the 4th grade on my father’s nightstand and never looked back. Made wooden swords with elvish runes, fought thousands of orcs in the backyard, learned to shoot a bow, and wrote my first fantasy “novels” in notebooks. Today, the elvish runes are tattooed on my skin, and my first-born son’s middle name is Tolkien.
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” (George Orwell, 1984)
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
John Irving, Ray Bradbury, James Joyce
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
Tolkien, Mary Stewart, Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Stephen King, etc. Reading is my favorite thing, period. I wanted to join my most-favorite club.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Read, read, read. All sorts of different writing, not just one genre. Then, when you’re ready to write: submit your stuff. Enter school contests, submit to online magazines, etc. “Rejection” is okay. If 49 publishers say “no” and 1 says “yes,” you’re a published author! Embrace this part of the process.
