I am thrilled to have interviewed author Brady Koch, who shared with us details of his writing life, his book ‘The Negotiated Death of Sara Glen‘, which was released on 24th February 2023, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Feel free to read over Brady’s shoulder if you see him working on a new novel or short story at the coffee shop or library. Despite his penchant for crime, horror, and the unusual in his writing, he’s actually a nice guy and welcomes your feedback.

Brady Koch’s first collection of short works, Guns, Gods & Robots, is now available. His next novel, All our Forgotten Futures, will be available in Winter 2023.

The other year I got a home DNA testing kit and was really interested in pouring over the results. What I found more interesting was that they continued processing and analyzing my sample, occasionally sharing more and more findings. It’s not too wild to think this could go horribly wrong. I thought it would be compelling if a company took this process to the extreme and put one of its paying customers in an extremely challenging ethical dilemma.

I keep all my bullet point outlines in an unlined journal. Each chapter is broken out with the main action in each chapter and the cliffhanger that leads into the next section. I tend to write pretty pulpy and this style of always ending chapters with a new unresolved mystery echoes the kinds of books I enjoy reading. Readers tend to tell me they tear through my books in one sitting, and I think this writing style results in that reader experience. I don’t start the manuscript until I know exactly what the ending will be in the outline.

Like my other books, this title was selected after the fact. The tone of the book can evolve as I’m writing it and I want a title that matches the final product.

I actually make it a point to not name characters after anyone in my circle. They tend to make mistakes and bad decisions, so I wouldn’t want anyone to think this is some sort of subliminal judgment I’m making about them.

I want my books to be as lean as possible so the sections I remove are usually extended conversations. I like to write out long conversations as it helps me flesh out these characters, but ultimately, I have to remind myself this isn’t a stage play.

If you told someone in the 1950’s about how we live now, they would think it’s science fiction. That’s the kind of genre I like most; science fiction that is just one or two deviations away from where we live now.

All in about four years. I finished it pretty quickly and moved on to write first drafts of four other books. That gave me space to go back and edit Sara Glen with fresh eyes before finally publishing it.

Deadly DNA Decisions

Editing. It’s so cathartic to finish that first draft that you just want to live in that moment and be done with the story. But it’s important to sand off the rough edges and polish it down so you can share it with the world.

The entire book lays out an ethical dilemma that slowly gets more and more complicated. I want people to take that journey with Sara and test her decisions with their own morals. It’s a quick read, but I hope a challenging one.

I include my email address at the end of the book so readers can reach out to me. Hearing their reactions to Sara’s decisions has been great. Based on the reader’s lived experiences, they all have varied insights into her choices and how they may have done something different. It’s been great to email back and forth with them and see this little book spark the conversation. It’s a nice little community of readers whom, I’ve now been sending advance copies of my follow-up books to for early reaction.

For an hour each afternoon there’s a sliver of sunbeam that hits the carpet in our office. For that hour, Tyson and Jaxon our chihuahuas are my writing buddies.

Lots of Extra peppermint gum.

My desk is pretty typical, but what’s most important is I’m within arm’s reach of my record player. My family knows if there’s music coming from the office, I’m writing.

I think I would want to me someone in a full lab suit with a vinyl hood on. Like when Daniel Craig was a stormtrooper in one of the new Star Wars movies. I would know I’m in the movie, but nobody else would.

“I can see you aren’t a practitioner of the Oxford comma.”

A big thank you to Brady Koch for sharing his writing life with us and for a wonderful interview.