Meet S.P. Brown

The Write Way Café welcomes S.P. Brown, an academic, author, and creative soul, shares his process, his inspiration, and his vision.

When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book? 
I assume you mean fiction since that’s what I’m being interviewed for. I have several college textbooks published. It’s an interesting story. Way back in the very early 90s I attended the same church in Oxford Mississippi as John Grisham. I never personally met him and very soon with the publication of The Firm he experienced a true meteoric rise, almost overnight. Well, a friend of mine at the same church had the crazy idea that we could do that. Easy, no problem. “Anyone can write a great novel, right?” Well, fast forward to 2005 and, bored with my academic work, I sat down with a tablet and began knocking out story ideas. The answer to that query my friend and I had was, no. It takes some real talent to achieve what Grisham had done. But I needed a challenge, and getting published in fiction turned out to be more of a challenge than I had originally expected. For one, in the 15 years since Grisham had started, the industry had changed and many, MANY more people were writing and publishing. It was very difficult breaking in, even with good work and even with an indie publisher. But it’s been fun.

What was your path to getting Veiled Memory written and published? What type of research did you do? 
A germ of an idea. I knew what I wanted to accomplish with the trilogy (the second is half done). I also had to learn the craft, so in the early years I did a LOT of exploring with this story and it went through several iterations. I’ve never taken a creative writing course, but I read widely in fiction across many genres. I also read LOTS of books on writing and started reading novels with an eye on the writing, the craft. I also read lots of authors’ blogs on writing. Everything helped. I write paranormal thrillers with strong elements of fantasy and sci-fic (Veiled Memory especially) so I also had to do some research in astronomy. One subplot in Veiled Memory is that the moon’s orbit is declining (that discovery serves as the very first scene of the novel set in the prologue). Yet I seek to ground my stories well in the real world, so what consequences will there be? How could the elliptical orbit change? I’ve even interviewed astronomers on that. I wrote some of the story from Ithaca, NY, its setting, but other places I had to research closely and remotely. The book went through several changes. It started as an adult novel (the way it is now), but fairly early on I changed it to a middle grade fantasy. I even “won” literary representation with it (the Ethan Ellenburg Agency in NY City). Now that was exciting. On my way, right? Wrong. My agent literally fell apart, a personal meltdown, and the book went nowhere. The agency and I had a mutual parting. I decided then to do it alone. I knew it was a good book, publishable, marketable. So I switched it back to its original form as an adult novel and morphed some of the characters. I spent years trying to gain representation for it in its current form but couldn’t pull that trick off again, so decided to go the indie route. I didn’t want to self-publish. To me that isn’t publishing. I know there are lots of people doing quite well that way, but it isn’t for me. My bias.

Where did the idea for Veiled Memory come from?
Harry Potter, actually. I have always been fascinated by J.K.’s underworld of witches and wizard’s but she never delves into their origin. I wanted to do something new, a new mythology with a deep backstory that explains the origins of my own fictional covert group. So, Rowling and the world of HP were my inspirations, but, of course, my trilogy, The Stonehenge Chronicles, is absolutely very, very different. I abhor copy cats, so this is a way different story, but the inspiration was in HP, which I really love. Also, my goal was to create a mythology of Stonehenge. So, by the end of the trilogy we’ll know why and how it got made, what it was used for, and the origins of my covert community. I won’t say here what I call them. As you read their backstory comes to light.

Why did you pick the setting you did? 
I wanted a strong connection to NY City, but with the backstory of my main character running to start a new life, I wanted an interesting area of the U.S. with a certain quality in proximity to NY City. I knew it would be centered in a university setting, so Ithaca and Cornell were perfect. Plus I knew the area. I have a brother who lives in upstate NY and I actually wrote some of this book from Ithaca. Ithaca is simply interesting.

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself? 
My MC, Madeline Alleyn, is an academic historian. Both my wife and I are academics and my wife is a historian. Other than that, no, no real connection.

Did you face any blocks while writing the book, and if so, how did you handle them? 
I have never had a writing block, but I do give my stories time to percolate. Nothing comes superfast. And I edit a lot as I write, so plot and character have a chance to jell that way.

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
Inevitably, for me, the characters start writing the book on their own. I know that is a cliché, but it’s true for me. The thing does gather steam and often goes in unexpected places as I let the story percolate through the writing process. I don’t have the full story when I start. I have the ending and that’s it. I work on the beginning A LOT. Once written, I edit many, many, MANY times, even as the writing is ongoing. Then I get people to read it. I smooth out inconsistencies, etc. No surprises, really, just hard work.

What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world; about psychokinetic powers, ancient stones, and Celtic history?
I’ve tried to explain the writing process in my earlier responses. Basically, the story writes itself. I once tried to do what Grisham does, writing a short paragraph on each proposed chapter before even beginning the book. For me, that is an impossible task. I have to begin the book. The rest is discovery, seat-of-pants writing. The rest you mention is all wrapped up in research and bits that is just made up by me. But I try to write grounded stuff. Veiled Memory is very grounded to the real world. Well, except, you know, for all the telekinesis and telepathy. The ancient stones idea is all wrapped around this extensive backstory. Also, I belong to a Celtic group where I live (Brown is Scottish), so I’m making connections there. I make some other connections; you’ll have to read the book to discover these. Can’t give too much away!

Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you. 
I literally write everywhere. I have a home office, but believe it or not I also write in front of the TV in the den. Distractions. I love them. I write while I run and remember the stuff and when I get back I furiously jot everything down, even dialogue oftentimes. I write at work. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone. If something is bubbling to get out, I let it out in snippets of time even there.

What are some of your favorite books and why? 
Harry Potter series for the seriously deep plot. His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman for the seriously excellent writing (the man is brilliant). All the detective stuff by Michael Connelly. All the spy stuff by Vince Flynn. Grisham’s legal thrillers. Jim Butcher’s wizard detective series – The Dresden Files. JRR Tolkien’s famous sword and sorcery stuff for his fantastically deep mythology.

What are you working on now? 
Book Two of The Stonehenge Chronicles. It’ll be called The Ruby Ring. It’s the sequel to Veiled Memory.

Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre? Which one and why?
My writing is mixed genre as it is. My first novel published last year, The Legacy, is a political thriller with ghosts and sorcery and terrorism in it. I call it a paranormal thriller. The current one, Veiled Memory, is a contemporary fantasy with a strong sci-fi element. The one being released August 4 this year, Fallen Wizard, is a middle grade fantasy. I also have a children’s chapter book I’m trying to find a published for right now, The Captain of Tally Ho, is an animal adventure story with a paranormal twist. So, as you can tell I am not confining myself to one narrow genre.

If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be? 
Wow, hard question. Maybe a country doctor in an idyllic setting where folks counted on me. A time in America long since passed, I’m afraid.

What aspect of writing gives you the most trouble? 
Definitely the opening. It has to do so many things and must be as good as your craft can make it to draw the reader. 

     When Celtic historian, Dr. Madeline Alleyn, abandoned her husband, it was to protect him and her unborn triplet daughters. Now, nearly eighteen years later, her 17 year-old girls are smart, normal, but something has never been right with Madeline. There are compulsions she doesn’t understand and secrets she’s intent on keeping from her daughters, secrets her dead father never fully divulged, secrets her mysterious mother took to the grave giving her birth.

      Now, the people Madeline is hiding from have discovered a way to unite the clans. They seek her mother’s archeological find, ten stone tablets with a story to tell of the existence of the Community, the secret origin of Stonehenge, and of quantum sorcery. But the secret community is divided, and the most dangerous among them think the time is ripe for showing themselves to an unsuspecting humanity. They must conquer. The prophecy of Tarkus demands it.

      Madeline is desperate to keep her children hidden. She knows the prophecy from the night her husband revealed his true nature to her. But time is running out. Will she be able to find her mother’s hidden artifacts before her enemies discover that her children are the key to world conquest?

Amazon        Black Opal Books       Smashwords
 

About S.P.:  Born on August 30, 1953 in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to a painter (Joseph Harry) and a homemaker (Vivian), Stanley P. Brown as a child always had heroes. These were mostly in the form of his big brother, Harry, and those populating the pages of Marvel Comics. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff to be a superhero himself, he concentrated on academics at Louisiana State University and The University of Southern Mississippi (where he earned his doctorate in Exercise Physiology). He went from there to his first academic post at The University of Mississippi. Others followed, as did many, many scientific publications and several textbooks. But the call of storytelling remained strong in him and he answered that call. The Legacy, his debut novel, is the result of that. Other novels (Veiled Memory and Fallen Wizard) are following in short order, with sequels planned for the three fictional worlds he has created.

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