PJ McIlVaine in Conversation with her A GOOD MAN Protagonist, Brooks Anderson

August 18, 2023 | By Women Writers Women Books | 1 Reply More

About A GOOD MAN

Decades after a brutal childhood trauma, a famous novelist finds his life shattered once again, in this unsettling psychological mystery thriller.

After years of turmoil, Brooks Anderson is sober and has a stable life with his wife and two kids. He should be enjoying life, but the persistent nightmares and sleepwalking tell a different story.

As hard as he’s tried, Brooks can’t run away from the defining event of his life: the senseless murders of his mother and brother during a vacation in Montauk. An eight-year-old Brooks was the sole survivor of the carnage, which left him in a catatonic state. He buried his pain and eventually overcame his demons. Or so he believed.

Now an unscrupulous journalist is threatening to write about the deaths. Fearful that the truth will be twisted to suit sordid ends, Brooks decides to write his own book, despite the grave misgivings of his agent, wife, and father.

However, when the journalist is brutally killed, Brooks finds himself in the authorities’ crosshairs. To prove his innocence and exorcise the past, he digs deeper into his psyche and that fateful summer. His relentless pursuit of the truth soon leads Brooks down a slippery slope that challenges everything—and brings him face-to-face with the real monster of Montauk . .

—

PJ McIlvaine Interviews Brooks Anderson

Getting the notoriously reclusive best-selling author/bad boy Brooks Anderson aka “The Heroin Hemingway” to consent to an interview was like climbing Mt. Everest without an oxygen tank. In other words, almost impossible. And I should know this better than anyone. But I happened to catch Brooks at an opportune moment as he’s still recuperating from the injuries that nearly killed him in the denouement of A GOOD MAN.

PM: Brooks, and I say this in all sincerity, I’m surprised that you’re still alive.

BA: You and me both. I honestly thought I was a goner. I don’t know how many lives I’ve used up at this point. I used to think I was invincible. Hell, I did drugs with Keith Richards. We should both be six feet under. But he’s still rocking, and so am I, even though some days I feel old and creaky.

PM: I was also surprised that you agreed to this interview.

BA: You can thank Cassie, my wife. She said it was the least I could do. I mean, I really put you through the wringer.

PM: That you did. You’re a tough man to pin down.

BA: (with a snort). I don’t know why people say that. I’m really a soft touch. Ask my kids. They’ll tell you. I’m the guy who spoils them rotten, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And it’s not just about buying them the latest gadget. I’m here with them when they wake up and when they go to sleep. I’m in the moment with them–well, as much as I can since I’m still not a hundred percent. Maybe seventy-five percent. But I’m getting there. And I’m still angry with you.

PM: Me? What did I do?

BA: You know damn well what you did. I’m not going to get into it chapter and verse. (A long sigh). But Cassie says I have to let it go. I’m trying. I’m not good at it, quite frankly. Maybe I should see a therapist.

PM: Do you think it would help?

BA: Hell, no. I’ve seen enough therapists and psychiatrists. I know what the issues are. I live with them every damn day. But for Cassie and the rest of my family, I can’t let the demons out. I slip up, and they’re gone. And the sad truth is I probably need them more than they need me. The fact that Cassie and I were able to stay together after all that—

PM: Carnage? Lies? Betrayal?

BA: (wry laugh). It’s a miracle. Families are complicated. Mine is extraordinarily messy. I mean, cosmic level messy. And you find ways to live with it, and hopefully, ways that don’t involve drugs, alcohol, sex, and a host of poor choices. I’ve learned my lesson. It’s not easy, though. You know that as well as me.

PM: I do. Growing up, my family was dysfunctional. Well, not as dysfunctional as yours, yes. But I didn’t know it at the time.

BA: Kids never do. Or they do and it’s too late, like me. I adored my mother. She instilled in me my love of reading and by extension, my writing. And my father, well, I respected him. Yes. But he was a remote figure. He wasn’t a hands-on Dad if you get my drift. But I thought we had a good, healthy relationship. That shows you how much I knew.

PM: And your brother, Palmer? What’s the first word that comes to your mind in relation to him?

BA: (a long pause). Guilt. That it should’ve been me, and not him. That I didn’t do more, you know…to save him and Mom.

PM: But you were a child when the murders happened.

BA: It doesn’t matter. The guilt is still the same. You know what I’m talking about. And we all wish we could rewrite the past. That’s one reason why you wrote the damn book, isn’t it?

PM: We’re not interviewing me.

BA: Maybe we should. Look, we all have demons we want to exorcise.

PM: What about your father? Have you exorcised that demon?

BA: Do we have to talk about him?

PM: I think we need to, yes.

BA: You need to, not me. Frankly, the less said about him, the better.

PM: You’re still very angry. How do you deal with that?

BA: Not very well, as Cassie constantly reminds me.

PM: What are you working on currently?

BA: Well, contractually, I’ve fulfilled all my obligations. And I’m rich enough now that I don’t have to write because I need to fill a publication slot.

PM: You are exceedingly rich.

BA: Obscenely rich. And it’s a burden. No one should be that wealthy.

PM: I bet your kids would say differently.

BA: And my grandkids. And great-grandkids. That was a real kick in the head.

PM: Well, you said your life was messy. What would you change about it?

BA: Oh boy, is that a loaded question or what. And it’s not fair. Of course, I’d give everything to go back to that summer and have it turn out differently. That’s a given, it goes without saying. But this isn’t Star Trek. I can’t go back in time.

PM: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

BA: Jesus, I don’t even see myself going into next week. I take each day as it comes. But ten years from now, hopefully, I won’t be a decrepit, drooling fool that my wife has to ferry around. That I’m still a good husband. Or a better husband.

PM: Do you still have nightmares?

BA: I will always have nightmares.

—

PJ McILVAINE is the author of A GOOD MAN (Bloodhound Books, August 2023), and THE CONUNDRUM OF CHARLEMAGNE CROSSE (Orange Blossom Books, September 2023). Her Showtime original movie My Horrible Year was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Newsday, and elsewhere. She lives on Eastern Long Island with her family and Luna, a pampered French Bulldog. You can find her online at pjmacwriter.com.