Colorado Horror Author Eyes First Feature Film

Bryan Asbury looks to build off the success of his first self-published book with a new short story collection and film adaptation. 

It has been a busy year for Colorado-born author Bryan Asbury. When I spoke to him in the summer of last year, he talked about the process of self-publishing his first book, “A Windowless Room: Excursions into Horror,” and his excitement at the prospect of turning a story he was working on, “The Mariachi Man” into a feature film. Now, he not only has a new book out under a new publisher but has also been making headway on the film.

Asbury’s new short story collection, “Waking the Dead,” represents a significant evolution of his literary style. While he is still heavily influenced by classic movies such as “Falling Down,” and directors like Rob Zombie, he has started to branch out from thrillers and psychological horror. He said that his new stories are a lot bloodier and more grotesque than his older ones, with a violent, gory edge that marks an exciting evolution in his art style. When looking at his new stories, his stellar dialogue writing and excellent eye for characters are still very much present, but they’re paired with a shocking, more violent tone that works remarkably well. They won’t appeal to everyone, but they work remarkably well for horror fans who either don’t mind or prefer an edgier bend to the stories they read. Asbury noted that, at first, this sort of stylistic change was a foray into unfamiliar territory, yet now it’s become something he has settled into with ease.

“Waking the Dead” also significantly evolves Asbury’s writing career. It is his first book published under his new deal with Evil Cookie Publishing, a renowned presence in the world of horror literature. His first book, “A Windowless Room,” was self-published. In an interview last year, Asbury said he got it out into the world by talking with individual store managers at Barnes and Noble stores throughout Boulder. Eventually, something stuck, and he was able to get a deal to sell his book at their stores. This new publishing deal marks an even bigger step forward, as he noted that the sheer resources available to him from Evil Cookie Publishing positively dwarf what he was capable of when he was self-publishing. They have given him the exposure necessary to get his book out into the world, in corners of the digital realm where people are much more likely to see it. 

To top off these exciting changes in Asbury’s writing and career, he has begun the process of turning his story “The Mariachi Man” into a feature film. When I spoke with him last year, he noted that he had just started writing the story with the help of his wife and was hoping to turn it into a feature film with Danny Trejo in the lead. Now, about a year later, not only is the story done, but Asbury has begun working on turning it into a script alongside renowned Mexican horror director Henry Bedwell. Bedwell, who has dabbled in both the written word and motion pictures, met Asbury through a connection at Avatar Entertainment.

Asbury said that, after finishing “The Mariachi Man,” he turned it into a script on his own and began taking it around to various Hollywood movers and shakers. He noted that it was a challenging process, but eventually, he connected with Larry Robinson, president of Avatar Entertainment. Robinson connected Asbury and Bedwell, and ever since, the two have been working on revising Asbury’s original script. While the process is still very much ongoing, Asbury said he was beyond excited about it all. He noted how his emphasis on dialogue has made the development of the script surprisingly easy and how working with Bedwell is a very new but very welcome creative process.

Taken all together, Asbury has achieved quite a lot in the last year. When I last spoke to him, nearly everything he’s accomplished today was something that he desperately wanted to do. It is certainly incredible to consider that he went from having stories read on horror podcasts to self-publishing, and now, a publishing deal and a potential feature film adaptation of his work are coming up. The man is nothing if not tenacious, persistent, and a fine writer to boot.