Today I have the privilege to introduce you to a wonderful writer, doting father and devoted Christian, Stanley P. Brown. Stanley is a friend and fellow #WolfPackAuthor, and if you’ve never read anything by him, it’s high time you do. But first, check out the interview below, and learn all about what makes Stanley tick!
1. Who are you? Tell us a bit about yourself.
Professor, Department Head, Scientist, writer of weird stories, Christian, Father of three daughters, Husband of one wife, Lover of wine and dark chocolate, Marvel nerd. Love of movies, new favorite just watched, John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. Fabulous work by Keanu Reeves.
2. You are an author. Tell us about your books.
I write paranormal, broadly speaking, which includes everything from political thrillers with a paranormal twist to contemporary sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal mixture to children’s fantasy. Basically, things I like to read, but I read widely and get inspiration from many, many genres. Each book is meant to be a series, except Veiled Memory, which is Book 1 of The Stonehenge Chronicles. Book 2, The Ruby Ring, will be released from my publisher, Black Opal Books, on November 16, 2019. I am also writing a children’s animal story called The Captain of Tally Ho, based on my two cats. It, too, is paranormal. It is a middle grade fantasy, like Fallen Wizard. So, I have 4 mythologies I am currently working on and will be for the foreseeable future. I soon have to get to the sequels of Fallen Wizard and The Legacy.
My Amazon page is amazon.com/author/spbrownbooks.com. My website is spbrownbooks.com. Here are a few other links to find my three novels (Fallen Wizard, Veiled Memory, The Legacy) I’ve published so far:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-legacy-sp-brown/1127200190?ean=2940158795954
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/751832
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-legacy-94
https://www.scribd.com/book/361345090/The-Legacy
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-legacy/id1295278836?ls=1&mt=11
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fallen-wizard-s-p-brown/1129095410?ean=2940161900666
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/878402
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fallen-wizard
BOB: https://black-opal-books.myshopify.com/products/fallen-wizard
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cromwells-folly/id1412568526?ls=1&mt=11
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/383898255/9781626949669
3. What motivates you to write?
Boredom. I write because I like to and because I quickly lose interest in normal life, I suppose, is a good way to put it. I write fiction and study theology, my two great passions. I’m close to retirement, so my work (academic) writing has pretty much dried up.
4. What is your writer’s Achilles Heel?
What am I bad at? I would say writing description beautifully is a real gift I just don’t have. One of my favorite children’s authors, Philip Pullman, has it in spades. Read his stuff, far better writing than what J.K. Rowling did in the HP series. I loved HP, don’t get me wrong, but Pullman is an artist.
5. What is your personal connection to the setting/characters in your books?
In Veiled Memory my protag is an academic historian and so is my wife. She has triplet daughters and my wife and I have three daughters. The Legacy is set mostly in Mississippi where I’ve lived for many years. Fallen Wizard is initially set in my hometown in Louisiana. And in The Captain of Tally Ho, the mythical land of Tally Ho is really the street I live on in my town in Mississippi.
6. What is your favorite thing to discuss with your readers?
Probably plot, and from a technical standpoint with other writers, point of view issues.
7. What is the most annoying question you get from your readers?
How did you come up with your story idea? I have an answer for each story, but it annoys me to tell it. Want to hear it?
8. What are some of the life-changing books you’ve read, and why?
In fiction, all of Tolkien for the sheer expansiveness of it and for his take on serious issues like immortality and death. Heavy, I know, but that’s Tolkien. He’s The Dude.
9. What is the one book you wish you had written, and why?
Oh, I don’t know. It’s a good question I’ve never thought of and gives me a headache just thinking of it. I will say that I do not like copycats. I try to make my myths original.
10. You are also a member of the #WolfPackAuthors. Tell us a bit about your involvement with the group.
Love the interaction, though I can see that the personalities involved and the types of things we are all interested in are quite varied. We’re tied together with the purpose of promoting the work of the members. For that, I am appreciative. As an Indie author, promotion is time consuming and largely confusing. WPA are helping a lot, and Twitter, generally. Nice group. We ought to plan a biennial convention. Seriously, it would be fabulous.
11. What is your greatest passion?
I’m a Christian, so Lord Jesus, His worship and approval. That follows Tolkien who was also a Christian, yet a writer of fantasy and different worlds. I do the same, but am cognizant that I must not deny the faith in my work. A tricky thing to pull off when you write paranormal. But Christianity is supernatural, isn’t it, so I’m right at home.
12. Do you have other talents or hobbies?
Working out/staying healthy.
13. What are you currently reading?
A work of theology from my favorite theologian, James R. White. I am also a regular listener to his podcast.
14. Are there any new projects in your future?
Working on a short story set in the story world of The Legacy. Actually it’s set in the immediate aftermath of the story, told from the POV of a minor character in The Legacy.
What’s next for you?
I need to finish the short story and then concentrate the rest of the year on finishing The Captain of Tally Ho, which I hope will come out summer, 2020. Then on to other sequels in my various mythologies.
15. And the question that everyone gets asked: Recommend one Netflix series I should watch.
Oh, definitely, The Last Kingdom based of the historical novels of Bernard Cornwell. Really good BBC work. Love it and him. Eagerly waiting for the next season.