This blog is an inclusive platform to share my stories and the stories of those that empower me to keep going. We all have unique backgrounds, perspectives, and paths. Sharing our stories can create a sense of awareness, encouragement and general dialogue on the micro and macro level. Let's share our past, present and write our future together.
"Iron sharpens iron, so be intentional about who you have in your corner." -jasmine rashae
This story started back in October 2010. At dinner one evening, my wife, Audi, said, “You’ve read your entire life and always have a book in your hand. Sometimes, two. You have a passion for reading. You should write a book.” In surprise, I responded to her in my best Michael Jackson voice, “I’m a reader, not a writer.” [In “The Girl is Mine” Michael sang, “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”] That night, I dreamed the original plot for my first novel, Don’t Speak. When I woke up the next morning, I wrote down my dream and researched online how to write a novel. Always a “math person” growing up, I wrote for school and work, but not for pleasure. I discovered The Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson, which resonated with the analytical side of me. I outlined my novel and then, for over a year, I woke up at four a.m. every day and wrote for two hours before work. And I am not a morning person. At all. I attended a writers’ conference in Oregon and pitched my political thriller, Don’t Speak, to a few agents. An agent from San Francisco, who loved the concept, asked me whether this was my first novel. When I told him it was, he asked me how long I had been writing it. I said ten months. He told me to send him a query letter and the first few chapters. Then, he smiled and said, “but it isn’t ready.” I didn’t know how he knew that without reading it. At the conference, I learned about character development, structure, dialogue, pacing, and marketing your book. One agent remarked that a manuscript must be perfect and polished before submission. You had one chance to make a first impression. My notebook was filled with notes. Reality set in. The San Franciscan agent was right. My novel wasn’t ready. I continued to work on Don’t Speak. At a writers’ conference a couple years later in New York City, I pitched the fourth draft of Don’t Speak, believing the novel was finished. There was interest from agents, but they didn’t believe it was ready. By the time I completed the novel in November 2015, I decided to self-publish. The traditional publishing route can take up to two years or more (if ever) from manuscript completion to hitting the bookshelves. I didn’t want to wait. Audi and I formed a publishing company—with a client base of one—and published Don’t Speak in January 2016. Don’t Speak received a positive review from Kirkus Reviews, high praise for a first-time novelist.
The second book in the Jade Harrington series, Rule of Law, was published in March 2017. Reaching Amazon’s best-seller list in the Mystery, Thriller, Suspense – Crime category, both books have sold in the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and New Zealand, in addition to the United States. During this cold and rainy Seattle winter, I have been working on book three of the series with the goal of releasing it the latter part of 2018. I’m also writing a standalone novel. Writing a novel is hard work and all-consuming. I am fortunate that my parents and my athletic background prepared me well for the discipline that it takes. The sacrifice, the time, the research, the gallons of coffee, the lack of sleep, thinking about my character arcs while someone is talking to me about something else, my cat sitting on my keyboard as I try to write, the criticism, the praise, the encouragement, writer insecurity, the deletion of a favorite phrase, the story idea generated while watching television or reading a book, the idea that pops up in a dream that I cannot remember when I wake up, the editing, the re-editing, the re-re-editing, the broken promises (“Sure, I’ll critique your novel.”), and putting writing on hold for months at a time when life got in the way. I learned a lot on this incredible journey. About writing, about new things, and about myself. Writing is not a linear endeavor, but more like a stock market graph; there can be amazing highs and gut-wrenching lows. I’ve met many people in person and online who supported, motivated, and cheered me on, and let me know I was not alone. I’ve also had the incredible support of my wife, family, and friends when I go missing for months at a time. I would not have missed this journey for the world.
- J.L. Brown