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Brian Paone

Goodreads Author

Born

in Salem, MA, The United States

Website

http://www.brianpaone.com/

Twitter

PaoneBrian

Genre

Fiction, Horror, Fantasy

Influences

Stephen King

Member Since

July 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/brianpaone

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Brian Paone—a Salem, Massachusetts native displaced to northern Virginia—has been a published novelist since 2007. Brian is primarily a speculative fiction author who doesn’t know how to stay in his lane. His novels feature an array of subgenres for those readers who dare to venture just outside of realism.

Brian is a police detective in Maryland and has worked in law enforcement since 2002. He is the father to four children, a self-proclaimed rollercoaster junkie, a Star Wars 501st member since 2005, a New England Patriots fanatic, and his favorite color is burnt orange. In 2019, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming the proud owner of a 1981 DeLorean!

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Brian Paone The best and most rewarding thing about being a writer is the vindication that I touched somebody; either somebody suffering from drug abuse or depres…moreThe best and most rewarding thing about being a writer is the vindication that I touched somebody; either somebody suffering from drug abuse or depression or somebody who just needed an escape. The five star reviews on Amazon are all good and dandy, but it’s the people who read any of my three novels, and feel like it touched them the way certain books have touched me in my life. For example, one of the most influential books I have ever read was The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I read it at a time where I needed to connect to a character like that. So whenever I get an email, or Facebook message, from someone who has read any of my books and tries to convey how much my writing meant to them personally, is way better than anything I could ever dream of with any success. I didn’t realize it until recently, but all 3 of my novels conclude with some kind of “redemption”. Maybe it’s because I am a die hard Star Wars fan, and at the core, Star Wars is really about Vader’s redemption and that shines through in my own writing, but nevertheless, there is some form of redemption. I think that’s why my books resonate with people so much. Sure, you can have a story that ends in retribution, or revenge, but redemption is a different monster. I think that’s that what we are really all after in the long run. The reader may not like the outcome of my stories, but they can’t argue that there isn’t a strong grasp of human decision and redeeming actions by the main characters to end the book. So when I get random emails and messages from readers who tell me that a part of my book really spoke to them on a personal level, THAT is above and beyond the most rewarding thing.(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Brian Paone Coming up with ideas for a novel when your mind goes blank.
The only thing worse than a blank mind, is a blank screen. When there isn't even a single w…moreComing up with ideas for a novel when your mind goes blank.
The only thing worse than a blank mind, is a blank screen. When there isn't even a single word on the screen to kick start any sort of inspiration. This seems to be when procrastination starts. All of a sudden checking your email, answering ignored messages on Facebook, tweeting about the secret ingredient in your grandmother's pasta sauce, looking to see how many undefeated NFL teams there are left, taking a shower... all seem to become more important and none of those are good reservoirs for finding ideas.
You tell yourself: "Self, just start writing words and then make sense of it later."
Stephen King is my favorite author. I have a bookcase in my writing office that is my "Stephen King Bookcase." It has every single one of his books in hardcover, all in chronological order. I started collecting his books 1989, when I got The Dark Half for Christmas that year. I have never missed a new release. My daughter and I were looking through them, and it boggles my mind that he is never short on ideas. I also don't believe that he has a team of ghostwriters like some authors have been accused of having.
It took me 20 months to write my first published novel, Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts (2007), a total of 19 years to write my second published novel, Welcome to Parkview (2010), since technically I started writing it in 1991 but really truly worked on it between 2008-2010, and a total of 3 years to write my new novel, Yours Truly, 2095. I am very fortunate to have published 3 novels, and have 3 of my books out in the world (and selling), but man, it sounds exhausting to publish 2 novels a year like King does. I've started the preliminary outlining for my 4th novel, and the real writing probably won't start until November or December, and I'm still mentally exhausted from finishing Yours Truly, 2095.
So, I learned, for novelists, short stories are a perfect way to keep the juices flowing with minimal pressure and expectations. Short stories are like a proverbial exhale before trying to hold the weight of a 90k word manuscript again. I finished a short story titled, "Outside of Heaven," that is coming out in November in an anthology, and it felt really good to be able to just write... and write something under 10k words. I have solid plans and plotlines worked out for my 4th and 5th novels (which should bring me somewhere to about 2018 or 2019), but I really think I'm going to bang out a handful of short stories throughout that time to help fill in the empty spaces of "novel writing."
And if they are any good, I just might, in good ol' Stephen King fashion, publish a book of all my collected short stories sometime in the future.
So that's what I have on the horizon. Two new full length novels to be published over the next 3-4 years, and a book of all the short stories I'm going to write while those 2 novels are being worked on.
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Brian Paone’s books

Average rating: 4.02 · 461 ratings · 171 reviews · 37 distinct works • Similar authors

	Yours Truly, 2095 3.91 avg rating — 109 ratings — 5 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
	Welcome To Parkview 3.33 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 2010 — 5 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
	Moonlight City Drive: Part 1 4.13 avg rating — 52 ratings — 4 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
	Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts 4.43 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2007 — 10 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
	A Journey of Words: 35 Short Stories by Brian Paone (Goodreads Author), Randy Blazak, Laurie Gardiner (Goodreads Author) 4.78 avg rating — 27 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
	A Haunting of Words by Brian Paone (Goodreads Author), D.W. Vogel, Virginia Carraway Stark (Goodreads Author) 4.33 avg rating — 27 ratings — 4 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 Post-War Dream 4.43 avg rating — 21 ratings — 4 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
	These Walls Still Talk 4.05 avg rating — 21 ratings — 2 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
	A Contract of Words by Brian Paone (Goodreads Author), Stephanie Perry, Gabriella Balcom 4.36 avg rating — 11 ratings — 2 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
	Moonlight City Drive 2: Electric Boogaloo 4.60 avg rating — 10 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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Series by Brian Paone

Moonlight City Drive (4 books)
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Brian Paone (Goodreads Author)

4.16 avg rating — 67 ratings

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Brian Paone is now friends with Ryan Ord
Dec 29, 2025 11:35AM · like
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Brian Paone has read The Last Neuro-Trancer by Brian Paone (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
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Quotes by Brian Paone (?)

“dreams are unfinished thoughts.”
― Brian Paone, Yours Truly, 2095

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“My hand was stuck to the knob, and I stood in the doorframe. The Beatles playing “Hey Jude” on the front lawn would’ve been an easier scenario to swallow than what I actually saw. Yet, despite my surprise, somewhere inside my head, I knew that this was not a dream. It was all too real. I could taste it. I could see it.”
― Brian Paone

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“I felt all the blood rush from my head and collect itself in my stomach. I had to sit down.”
― Brian Paone, Yours Truly, 2095

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