The Bookshelf: Local Author Spotlight: Jan W. Brown

Published 11:00 am Saturday, March 16, 2024

Let me introduce you to local author Jan W. Brown. He retired from law enforcement after 32 years. He enjoys writing novels based on little-known historical events.

Brown lives with his wife Shelia in Chatsworth. He has written eight novels.

You can meet Brown at our annual Author Fest on Saturday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Read on to learn more about Brown, his writing process, current projects and tips for new authors.

Request: Tell us about your writing process and the way you brainstorm story ideas.

Brown: It begins with just a notion. Maybe a fleeting wisp of a dream, as I lie tossing in bed at 5 a.m. Or, it could be something I’ve read from a newspaper or magazine. Maybe something I heard in passing. It could even come from a song on the radio. I might have the same thought the next morning, or later in the week. I’ll write it down. Just a note to remember this thought from the other thousand or so already in my notebook.

Before long that notion becomes an idea. Over the next few days or weeks I’ll nourish that idea. I’ll ask myself, could it happen? Did it happen? How did it happen? And does anyone care?

Then just to get it out of my mind, I’ll sit down and write. I’ll start with a vague outline. Usually by then, I know how the story will start and how it will end. Though often, during the writing process, that will change.

I like to write in the mornings, and I try to write every day. I really don’t have a set time, or length of time. It just depends.

Question: What is your inspiration for writing?

Brown: That’s one I can’t figure out. I’ve always enjoyed telling a story. Our time in this world can be long or short. We never know what will happen. Writing gives me the opportunity to express myself. Who knows, maybe one day, many years from now, in a land far, far, away, someone will open a dusty old box or enter a forgotten room and find one of my books. By then a book might be a curiosity or relic.

Q: Do you believe in writer’s block?

Brown: Oh, yes. Sometimes I’ll reach a point in my story and it just stops. Nothing! At that point, I take a step back. Might be a day, or week. I mull it over, let what’s already happened in my story roll around in my mind. Then I’ll go back. Sometimes I back up and change events or characters. I often reverse events or move them around to make the story flow easier.

Q: How did you celebrate the publishing of your first book?

Brown: I just sat for awhile. All the editing, planning the chapters, plots and subplots, done. Wow. Didn’t know what to do with myself. That lasted a few days, then I had an idea … next thing I knew I was back at it again.

Q: If you were given the opportunity to form a book club with your favorite authors of all time, which legends or contemporary writers would you want to become a part of the club?

Brown: Wow! How about Mark Twain or Edgar Allan Poe. Jack London, Robert Ludlum and Jack Higgins. I really don’t think I would have a room large enough to house all the writers I’d want in my book club.

Q: Can you tell us about your current projects?

Brown: I am in the editing stage of my next novel, “Tears Along the Coosawattee.” It will surround the hunt for a killer and include historical events before, during and after the Civil War in North Georgia. It should be out by early or mid-summer.

Q: Any advice you would like to give to aspiring writers?

Brown: Write! Don’t’ let rejection get you down. Don’t wear it on your sleeve. Write! Keep writing. There are thousands of stories out there. There are more undiscovered artists than ever. Don’t quit your day job and plan your future and fortune around writing. Just write, and let that path take its course.

My first novel took me four years to write, between working, and family, and life. It then took me 20 years to publish. Not from rejection, but from life getting in the way. I’m now ready to publish my ninth.

• You can find Brown’s books in our local author section. Drop by the library and check them out. We are open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Brandy Wyatt is the administrator of the Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library.