Member Spotlight: Josie Martin Brown

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is part of my soul. After working in advertising and as a journalist, when I decided to make my living as a novelist, it was as if I’d found my true voice and life purpose. Other than my family, nothing gives me greater joy than hearing that my novels are a satisfying read.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I approach it as I did my other jobs: research thoroughly all premises that can move the plot forward and stick to my deadline.

What is your favorite time to write? Late at night—sometimes into the break of dawn. I love the quiet.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? I have a motto: “Last author standing.” Until it’s just not in you anymore, do what you can to stay in the game. Hone your craft, treat it as a trade in which you are its producer, distributor, and marketer. Because, Unless you have a big machine (publisher) behind you willing to spend big dollars to do it all for you, as writers, we are exactly that.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? It’s an fluid industry. Distribution — getting your story to readers–is where the biggest change is happening. A very close second is how to promote to readers. If you choose not to be a part of either of these components, you won’t sell books. For me, selling my novels is how I make my living, so I do what I can to stay abreast to these changes.

Josie Martin Brown’s The Housewife Assassin’s Manners, Missiles, and Mayhem is out now with‎ Signal Press.