Intimate Interviews

Escape with CJ_Brown_Pen

AfterDark Team: First, can you introduce yourself to our AfterDarklings? Tell us a little bit more about who is hiding behind the pen of ? 😉

CJ_Brown_Pen: Hi, I'm CJ!

Wife and mother of two wild boys. When I'm not writing, I'm usually working with special needs kiddos or keeping up with my own boys.

I LOVE being outdoors and am a bit of a fire-bug, so camping is where I enjoy my summers.

I'm constantly reading, crafting, and daydreaming.

AfterDark Team: Nice to meet you, CJ! 😁

You seem so sweet and multi-talented! Can you tell us what kind of crafts you're making?

CJ_Brown_Pen: Just like writing, I'm a distracted crafter. I dabble in a lot: photography, painting, clay and metal works, beaded earrings, crochet and knitting, and so much more.

My current passion is hand made cards and anything I can use iron-on vinyl on. I have a Cricut, but I've been making cards long before I had something to cut it for me.

AfterDark Team: Oh wow! Really multi-talented indeed!

You said 'just like writing', does it mean your writing process resembles crafting in some ways?

CJ_Brown_Pen: You could say that, yes. I have so many story ideas for stories and often get sidetracked. Unlike my crafting, though, I sometimes struggle to end my books. It is a bittersweet achievement.

AfterDark Team: Oh totally! It's hard to let go of our babies, right?

Speaking of them, tell us a little bit more about your characters, the stories you create, and well, your writing universe.

CJ_Brown_Pen: Ooh! What a good question! Originally, I based my characters on people in my life, and my writing had been a type of therapy for past traumas. I still base a lot of my characters on real people, but my writing has changed.

Following where inspiration leads, I work with dreams I've had, take parts of books I've read or shows/movies I've watched, and make them my own.

I enjoy linking stories through characters, building heat, and giving the reader excitement.

No matter the book, it is my hope to create an escape from reality with a run-in with a few characters that cause a lasting impression

AfterDark Team: Aww, love this last sentence! It's beautifully said, and so true! Reading is the best escape to reality 😉

And if you could escape in one of your books for real, which one would you choose?

CJ_Brown_Pen: Most definitely my newest, Finders Keepers.

I've been waiting for an opportunity to introduce this complex world of magic for a long time, and when ONC posted their prompts for this year, I felt it was time.

Similar to the world we know, Finders Keepers reveals the magical world around us, hidden from humans.

AfterDark Team: Oooh nice! We wish you good luck for it! You're almost there 😉

ONC being limited in time and words, how do you organize to reach your goals and write this story?

CJ_Brown_Pen: Initially I wrote like mad because the prompt I chose fueled inspiration. Once I was rolling, it was my hope to get one chapter out each week, but I slowed down.

Since starting ONC, I had several health problems arise wich messed with my plan.

At the end, I've plotted where I want the story to end and I'm pushing myself to write whenever I'm able. I'll edit when I'm finished with each plotted chapter.

AfterDark Team: Oh, we hope it's nothing serious. Sending you our well wishes!

We know how hard it can be to keep motivation when the health is acting up, and that's really inspiring of you to keep going at your pace.

Do you have tips or a little message for people in the same situation as yours? Or maybe just people struggling to manage life and writing in general?

CJ_Brown_Pen: One of my biggest assets is having a friend who also writes. She is invaluable! We bounce ideas off each other, read excerpts of work for one another, and help motivate when motivation starts to falter.

Something else I'd say helped me through was never stopping. If I got stuck on one story, I'd look at writing prompts or read something else to get my inspiration flowing again. We all get stuck, sometimes, just keep going. It is worth it to keep on writing ❤

AfterDark Team: That's nice advice, and so inspiring!

Before we wrap it up, do you have a little word to say to your readers? Maybe a teaser for what's coming in your writing or a question for them? 👀

CJ_Brown_Pen: Thank you! I want to continue to thank all of my readers. I appreciate them!

ONC just closed, and I finished Finders Keepers. I will be working on book two, soon.

A lot going on in the background! I do have some books I had to unpublish and one that needs completed.

I'm working on book two of Seeing Red, my first book as well as a thriller/mystery about a small town with a string of murders. There are lots of twists and I hope to keep my readers guessing. The Life Unled is a book I've been working on since last summer and it is almost ready to be released. <3

AfterDark Team: Congrats on finishing another amazing story, and thank you for answering all our burning questions!

We had lots of fun, and we'll be on the lookout for your next stories! 👀

Don't forget to follow CJ_Brown_Pen if you too, want to see more!