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Brian Yansky

Goodreads Author

Born

I live in Austin, Texas, The United States

Website

http://www.brianyansky.wordpress.com

Twitter

BrianYansky

Genre

Humor and Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

Influences

Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Christopher Moore

Member Since

November 2009

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I write supernatural horror suspense comedy (a mix of dark humor, quirky, silly humor and satire.), .

I love many kinds of stories. I especially love off-beat, quirky stories with unusual characters and settings that have a sense of wonder and humor.…Falling in love with stories saved me from a life of crime (I’m only sort of kidding; they did save me from something). A lot of my main characters are adopted. Like them, I was adopted. I seem to write often about identity. I live in Austin, Texas. I have no horses or cowboy hats. I do have a 125 pound sheep dog. I’ve taught college, been a bartender and waiter and am now a full-time writer.

I've had five novels traditionally published and something like fifteen independently published. My ind ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Brian Yansky When people ask what my one piece of advice would be to new writers, I always say get a dog. A dog makes you take walks. And walks are excellent place…moreWhen people ask what my one piece of advice would be to new writers, I always say get a dog. A dog makes you take walks. And walks are excellent places to think. And what you will think about it is often what you're working on--the first draft and many subsequent drafts and revisions and so on. The problems, the different kinds, encountered at all stages of writing will be worked on when you walk. So that would be my number one piece of advice. Get a dog. Very important.

My number two would be the tried and true-- which lives up to its billing both as tried (you can't be writer if you can't write--a pretty photo won't do it) and true--it just is--write and also read, which sounds kind of uninspired except that it is REALLY the best advice. Writers become writers by writing. They learn by writing. They learn by their mistakes and they figure out things and they become better. Reading helps. You have to read, but writing is #1 way to get better.

I wrote five novels before I was published. I wrote five novels where I was learning how to write. I thought they were good at the time. I loved writing them. But they weren't really very good. When I figured out why, little by little, I got better. I'm still working on getting better with everything I write.

I was looking at this youtube by Brandon Sanderson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pLdI...
Check it out for inspiration. He wrote 12 novels and hadn't made a penny off of them. He thought the first five were practice but he thought the sixth was very good and he felt like he knew what he was doing. He felt that way about the subsequent novels he wrote, too. But none of them were published. Finally, though, someone did agree to publish #6 which was called Elantris and it became a big hit. Now he's a bestseller.

We've all heard these stories. They're rare but what I like about Sanderson's is that he just kept writing. Twelve books. Whether you traditionally publish or publish independently, you still have to deal with finding an audience. That can be hard. A lot of it is random. A lot of it is luck. What you can control though is your work, your writing, your learning how to write better each book. So the simplest advice---keep writing--is still the best as far as I'm concerned. Write what you love and what you really want to write. Be aware that your writing isn't perfect and keep looking for ways to improve. You'll find your way and you'll love what you're doing.(less)

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

Brian Yansky He was pushed down the stairs and he died. As his spirit was pulled out of his body, he looked up and at the top of the stairs and saw the very last p…moreHe was pushed down the stairs and he died. As his spirit was pulled out of his body, he looked up and at the top of the stairs and saw the very last person in the world he would expect to see.(less)

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Brian Yansky’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 13,339 ratings · 1,068 reviews · 49 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Librarian of the Haunted Library (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 1) 3.78 avg rating — 4,359 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Book Thief (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 2) 4.20 avg rating — 1,207 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Time Machine (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 3) 4.32 avg rating — 808 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Witch (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 4) 4.34 avg rating — 686 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Devil (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 7) 4.43 avg rating — 513 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Monster (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 6) 4.37 avg rating — 495 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Dark Angel (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 8) 4.38 avg rating — 477 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Knife of Death (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 5) 4.28 avg rating — 475 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the Magician (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 9) 4.49 avg rating — 448 ratings — published 2024 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Librarian and the New Gods: A Supernatural Suspense Horror Comedy (Strangely Scary Funny, Book 10) 4.46 avg rating — 416 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Brian Yansky's Blog

Characters Can Show You The Way

Characters Can Show You The Way

I was dreaming last night about my WIP, which woke me, which made me think about my dream, which had my characters in it talking about something that had nothing to do with my manuscript. But then that got me thinking about a scene, and anyone who has insomnia from time to time knows that once you start thinking in this way, sleep is not coming back.

I blam

Series by Brian Yansky

Strangely Scary Funny (14 books)
by

Brian Yansky (Goodreads Author)

4.12 avg rating — 10,816 ratings

Strangely Scary Funny 2 (5 books)
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Brian Yansky (Goodreads Author)

4.48 avg rating — 791 ratings

They're Here (3 books)
by

Brian Yansky (Goodreads Author)

4.12 avg rating — 515 ratings

The Poe Detective Agency (3 books)
by

Brian Yansky (Goodreads Author)

4.14 avg rating — 463 ratings

Alien Invasion (2 books)
by

Brian Yansky (Goodreads Author)

3.41 avg rating — 402 ratings

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Brian is Currently Reading

Brian Yansky is currently reading

Old Bones (Nora Kelly, #1)

by Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author)

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May 06, 2026 08:04PM

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The Lady With the Big Red Bag

by Tillie Rossa

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Mar 13, 2026 08:34AM

Brian Yansky is currently reading

3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years (The Time Traveler's Passport)

by John Scalzi (Goodreads Author)

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Dec 22, 2025 08:10PM

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Brian’s Recent Updates

Brian Yansky wrote a new blog post Characters Can Show You The Way Characters Can Show You The Way I was dreaming last night about my WIP, which woke me, which made me think about my dream, which had my characters in Read more of this blog post »
Jun 16, 2026 12:14AM · like
Brian Yansky is currently reading Old Bones (Nora Kelly, #1) by Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 06, 2026 08:04PM · like
Brian Yansky is currently reading The Lady With the Big Red Bag by Tillie Rossa	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 13, 2026 08:34AM · like
Brian Yansky is currently reading 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years (The Time Traveler's Passport) by John Scalzi (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 27, 2025 05:39PM · like
Brian Yansky is currently reading No Stress Space Express by Jack Bodett (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 09, 2025 03:35PM · like
Brian Yansky is currently reading The Portable Door by Tom Holt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 14, 2025 01:35PM · like
Brian Yansky is currently reading Bob's Saucer Repair (Bob and Nikki, #1) by Jerry Boyd (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 28, 2025 11:44AM · like
Brian Yansky finished reading In the Heart of the Fire (Nameless: Season One, #1) by Dean Koontz (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 08:06PM · like
Brian Yansky finished reading The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie by Freida McFadden (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 18, 2024 01:05PM · like
Brian Yansky is currently reading The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie by Freida McFadden (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 13, 2024 07:32PM · like

More of Brian's books…

Quotes by Brian Yansky (?)

“It takes less time for them to conquer the world than it takes for me to brush my teeth. That's pretty disappointing." Jesse from ALIEN INVASION & OTHER INCONVENIENCES.”
― Brian Yansky

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“You don’t mess with someone’s dog. You just don’t.”
― Brian Yansky, The Librarian of the Haunted Library

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“I’m pretty sure heroes don’t whine. They quietly endure cold, fireless nights. Further proof I’m no hero.”
― Brian Yansky, Homicidal Aliens and Other Disappointments

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Brian’s Quotes

“It takes less time for them to conquer the world than it takes for me to brush my teeth. That's pretty disappointing." Jesse from ALIEN INVASION & OTHER INCONVENIENCES.”
― Brian Yansky

3 likes