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Brehmer writes serialized mystery

Brandon Brehmer is the author of four novels and an ongoing series of episodes found on Kindle Vella. His work involves post-apocalyptic worlds, ghosts, supernatural beings, romance and adventure. James Card Photo

Waupaca author explores supernatural, dystopian worlds

By James Card

Brandon Brehmer is a Waupaca author who cannot be labeled as a writer of any particular genre.

His three-book series, stand-alone novel and his ongoing serialized stories are a mix of post-apocalyptic fiction, horror, thriller, mystery and romance.

He was approached by Amazon a year ago to write for Kindle Vella, a digital publishing platform for distributing serialized stories. The first three stories are free and then readers can purchase other stories by using digital tokens.

He started the “Fall of ‘77” a paranormal mystery. He considers it as his best work yet. He has released 11 episodes and so far they gained some positive reviews.

In the fictional town of Huckleberry, Massachusetts, an unemployed writer, Lane Buxton, is offered a lucrative job by the wealthy and mysterious Mr. Posabee.

An intruder breaks into his house and Buxton shoots and kills the man. It is Posabee and before he dies he says, “Now the contract is officially signed.”

He later learns from Posabee’s lawyer that he has inherited the man’s entire fortune. There is one stipulation: Lane and his fiancé must reside in their house where Posabee died. This is when the weird things start to happen.

The title refers to two time periods that hold a fascination for Brehmer. “I love 70s music. I love fall and everything about it. I really get deep into that. If fall is right around the corner and they read that book, they will feel cozy. I have this obsession with horror movies from the 1970s. When I started writing this story it came out of nowhere,” said Brehmer.

Nightmares captured

One story that came out of nowhere came from a dream. He woke up from a nightmare and wrote out the visions still lingering in his head. His father got cancer and he dropped out of a college program he was enrolled in to take care of his dad. His father later died. The story was still sitting on his computer.

“After my dad passed, I told myself no more. I’m not living like this. I’m putting out this book and its getting out there. His death actually made me do all this,” said Brehmer.

It was published in 2019 and is titled, “Madness from Above.” It about a man trying to survive in a dystopian world while avoiding crazed cannibals. In 2020, he published two more books in the Madness series: “Darkness,” a mash-up of apocalyptic, science fiction and horror; and “Winter’s Revenge,” where the protagonist is a girl who faces ghosts and demons.

Brehmer took a break from the series to write “The Teenage Love Cycle of an Unknown Creature,” which is about a girl with a rare disease who falls in love with a boy who carries his own secret. A murder in their small town sets them on a journey involving the supernatural.

The fourth book in the Madness series is halfway finished and without a title. “I froze, I left it and said I would come back to it when the time is right,” he said.

Motivating others

Motivating others

The “Fall of ‘77” is in digital format. His other books can be purchased digitally or as a soft cover on Amazon. His work can be also found at Goodreads.com The Book Cellar on Waupaca’s Main Street also has some copies for sale.

His books are self-published on Amazon but Brehmer also is going the traditional route and shopping around another book to literary agents. So far he’s received polite rejections.

He is slowly making money on his efforts and is paid quarterly. “My first bonus showed up. It was half of what I expected but my wife says, ‘Babe, that just paid a bunch of bills.’ I’m absolutely positive it’s going to take off,” said Brehmer.

His wife works at Park Vista Retirement Living and they have two teenage daughters, one teenage son and a Chihuahua. Besides having his books published, he’s back on track to finish his degree in information technology from Purdue University.

Brehmer wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to write and often works late into the night. In between, he pulls part-time shifts at the Marathon I-Mart. With the little free time he has left over, Brehmer uploads quick-take videos on social media.

“My hobby has turned into inspiring other people. I’m not anywhere big right now – I still have a long way to go but I wake up every day and ask, “Who am I inspiring today?”

On TikTok he has 12,300 followers and 157,000 likes. One video has received 4.3 million views. He does videos daily. Some are motivational and others are humorous.

“If you would have asked me three years ago, I would have said I’m watching TV and getting fat. Now I’m probably the most motivated people you will ever meet. I’m motivated to do what it takes to where I want to go. I believe you have 84,000 seconds in a day and I believe none of that should be wasted,” said Brehmer.

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