Tag Archives: author

Interview with a Writer ~ Denise Brown

Posted on by vgemmell

This week I’m delighted to welcome writer Denise Brown to my blog. Denise writes Young Adult mystery thrillers and when I read her debut I am Winter a few years ago, (now re-released as We Know What You Did), it stood out to me as it was so raw and real, with well drawn and believable characters. I always get excited when I come across other YA mystery writers who base themselves in Scotland, and loved finding out more about Denise’s writing journey, and tips! (Note to self: keep my phone off when I’m writing). It’s reassuring to discover I’m not the only one who doesn’t always follow a structured plan. Read on to gain an insight into Denise’s writing world…

Denise Brown is a freelance ghostwriter, proofreader, and copy editor, who still pinches herself some mornings that she gets to sit at her desk and write stories for a living. She often wishes that she could go back and tell her eight-year-old self that it’s okay to daydream because that’s where the magic happens.

Born in East London, Denise has now settled in Scotland where she feels certain she must’ve lived in a previous life. She loves dogs and snow globes and has a teensy obsession with Jack Skellington.

Her debut YA murder mystery I Am Winter was published by Hashtag Press in 2021, relaunched in November 2024 as We Know What You Did. Her second novel, It All Started with a Lie, followed in February 2024. Her third murder mystery No One Keeps a Secret was published in August 2025.

When did you first start writing?

I always loved books. I suffered from chronic shyness as a child – still do to be honest – and books were my escape from having to interact with people. It was the same with writing stories. But when I left school, writing wasn’t an acceptable career choice for a teenager from East London, so life took over, as it does. I got married, had babies, and repeated the process a second time. So, it wasn’t until later in life, when my children were growing up that I realised it was finally time to focus on me. I began studying for an English literature degree with the OU, took an advanced creative writing course, and have been writing ever since.

What do you write?

Personally, I write mystery thrillers for young adults, although I’m also working on a middle grade book too right now. As a ghost writer – I’ve been writing full-time since the pandemic – I mostly write niche romance and some omegaverse.

What was your first published piece of work?

It was a gritty YA novella called The Devil on Your Back, published by Salt. This was fresh out of my creative writing course and was a huge ego boost!

Why do you write?

Because writing is now like breathing. I can’t imagine a world without books or writing. I’ve been writing every day for the last twelve years, and stopping now would be like giving up food or air or my dog!

What, or who, has helped you on your writing journey?

My children have always been extremely supportive. They believed in me even when I had no belief in myself. Impostor syndrome is still there, but I think I’ve learned to deal with it more effectively these days. But I think the real turning point for me was being longlisted for the Bath Novel Award. It was the justification I needed to carry on despite the rejections because someone liked my writing and believed that my story was worth reading.

Share a writing low with us. What did you learn from this?

My first book I am Winter was noticed by a couple of people. A literary agent requested the full manuscript but decided not to proceed because she felt that it was too young adult for her list. Then I signed a contract with a relatively new publishing company, only to find a few months later that the book was too mature for their list.

What I learned from this is that a book will be discovered by the right person at the right time, and no amount of querying will ever alter this. If it isn’t a right fit for both author and publisher, then it is time to walk away and try again.

Share a writing high?

Well, the first one has to be the day I received an email from Helen and Abiola of Hashtag Press, telling me that they wanted to publish my first book I am Winter. Without them, and their relentless passion for their authors, I wouldn’t be sitting here now talking to you.

But I’d like to share another one with you also. In December 2023, I attended an Indie Book Launch with lots of other indie authors at Foyle’s Charing Cross to promote my second book It All Started with a Lie. While I was there, a reader came over and told me that she’d come specifically to meet me because she loved my first book so much. It was the best feeling, knowing that someone had read my book and enjoyed it that much!

Share some of your favourite lines from reviews, or comments you have received about your work, which boosted your confidence (tell us what piece of work it relates to)

A reader wrote this about my first book I am Winter, and it literally brought tears to my eyes because it was more than I could’ve ever hoped for when I first started writing:

“This YA novel has my heart, and Summer all my love.” (Summer is the main character)

But this (below) has to be one of my favourite quotes for It All Started with a Lie, simply because it’s honest and straight to the point, and it made me laugh:

“Every character was likeable, except the murderer. And Jed. F**k Jed. But everyone served a point (even Jed).”

Any tips for new writers?

Write every day, even if it’s a hundred words. No writing is ever wasted. And read for pleasure every day too. Because while you’re reading, your brain is subconsciously absorbing what works and what doesn’t.

And for all writers; any tips for keeping motivated? And how do you find time to write?

I write full-time, so the second question doesn’t really apply. But what works for me to keep me motivated is to never have a fixed outline to follow. I realise that this won’t work for everyone, but I find that I get easily bored if I don’t allow the characters to do their own thing within a loose storyline. Also, switch off your phone! My phone is always on silent. Which annoys my daughters when they’re trying to get hold of me while I’m working.

Do you have a regular writing routine, or do you write in frantic bursts?

I follow the Pomodoro Technique of writing in twenty-five-minute bursts and then taking a break from my laptop for five minutes to make a cup of tea, or do some hoovering, or cuddle the dog!

Where do you write? (A dedicated space, or on-the-go)

At my desk. Since my daughter recently moved out, I now have an entire room dedicated to my workspace, with views of the woods in the distance which is lovely. Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people who can write anywhere. I’ve tried writing on train journeys, but I suffer with motion sickness, so it simply doesn’t work for me, and cafés are too distracting.

Any stand-out books you have read recently?

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey. It’s a retelling of The Little Mermaid, and is so charming, and so beautifully written that I didn’t want it to end.

Other books that I absolutely adore are:

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma (quite possibly my favourite book ever)

We Were Liars (of course!) by E. Lockhart

And more recently:

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Happyhead by Josh Silver

Where can we find your books, and find out more about you?

Denise’s books can be bought in Waterstones, WH Smiths (now TG Jones) and on Amazon

Author website: About | Denise Brown Author

Instagram: Denise Brown Author (@denisebrownuk)

What sells books? (blog post 14 of series)

Posted on by vgemmell

As part of this series I felt it was important to talk about marketing. This is where I feel I let myself down as a writer as I don’t think I’m very good at promoting my work, or knowing how to be seen and heard in a world that seems to be full of people talking into cameras, shouting to be heard.

How do you cut through the noise, and get people to notice your work, and choose your book to read? What sells books?

Sorry if you read the title of this blog post and got excited, as I don’t have some magic answer to this question. If I did, I’d be quitting my day job and spending lovely days happily typing away immersing myself in my writing, instead of trying to stay awake enough in the evening in order to get words down on paper (or the screen).

Here’s some marketing tips I’ve read over the years:

Find where your audience hangs out and connect with them there

Talk about the story behind your stories

Do free give-aways and promotions

Do talks and events

Contact local press

Do a blog tour/connect with bloggers

Try sponsored advertising on social media

Join up with other authors and do joint promotions

I’ve tried variations of the above over the years. One of the most successful events I think I’ve even been part of (in terms of live sales made), was a Yay YA! schools event organised by the very supportive writer Kirkland Ciccone who invited Scottish YA authors to participate, made sure our books were ordered in and sold on site, and organised for hundreds of school pupils to be bussed in to the venue for the day.

I was in one of the theatre dressing rooms, where I was instructed to read extracts of my book to rotating groups of the school pupils, and honestly it was some of the best engagement I’ve ever had from teenagers. I felt like a celebrity that day as at break time I had a queue of young people waiting to get their book signed and I even had a couple chase me (literally) across the room, shouting my name and asking for my autograph. I sold out of books that day.

This event was a success because the schools who attended clearly had selected enthusiastic readers, and they had all been told a bit about the authors prior to the event (Kirkland had made up promo posters and information was shared online, with a build up on the lead up to the event). It was obvious some of the kids had already sought out our books before coming along, as one teacher approached me with a teenage boy in tow, explaining he really wanted to talk to me as he thought Follow Me was the best book he’d ever read. It showed me the power of other writers supporting writers, and teachers and librarians being supportive of writers, building up an excitement that made teenagers notice us and our books.

Other top events where I’ve made the most live sales have been my launches. On the night of my debut launch in Waterstones I had a great turn out and sold out the books my publisher brought along. When I did an online Facebook launch for Promise Me I hit the best seller lists that day on Amazon. I also made really good sales for my invite only in-person launch of Young Blood, and made decent sales the day I did an online Facebook launch. You should be able to view some of the posts from my Facebook launch of Young Blood here

During online launches I prepared visual extracts from my book, with insights into where the ideas came from, insights into some of the characters, and music clips to accompany some extracts. I encouraged engagement by posing questions, tying some of them to giveaways.

During my in-person launches I read short extracts from my books, had someone ‘interview’ me to ask pertinent questions about the story, and then opened it up to a Q&A with my audience. I went all-out at my Young Blood launch, turning it into a bit of a party with drinks and an array of snacks, balloons and table stands in colours matching my book cover. At both of my in-person launches I used the site Eat my Face to order edible cake topper covers of my book to stick onto cupcakes.

For events I often make up bookmarks and I recently made some postcards also – see images of them below. I use Vista Print for this type of merchandise, creating image layouts on Canva first.

A lot of the time when I’ve delivered workshops or community events I’ve been told I can’t sell my books, or I’ve taken some and made no sales. Libraries have supported me by buying in my book in advance (often creating a nice display to highlight my book). In Scotland authors are encouraged to join the Live Literature database – see here – which means when I deliver workshops and talks, (and a school or community venue has signed up to receive Live Literature funding), I am guaranteed a standard fee. The funding comes from Scottish Book Trust. So I do earn money from most of my events, but it doesn’t always then translate into book sales.

I’ve been fortunate to appear in newspapers, local circulars, and I was interviewed for Teen Titles magazine many years ago. I know from recent ‘press coverage’ it made no impact on my book sales at all. It’s a helpful way to build awareness and become ‘known’ which is part of a long-game of building up an audience, even if the audience can sometimes be participants in a creative writing workshop, as opposed to hard-core readers of my work.

I think ultimately what sells books is personal connections, and word-of-mouth recommendations. Librarians have bought in my books thanks to school colleagues mentioning my name; librarians I’ve met at events have then got in touch later down the line to ask me along to events (when I met one at a ‘Teen Title’ party she then invited me to talk to an assembly of 2nd years and it was two of them who then interviewed me for Teen Title magazine). A supportive colleague recommended Young Blood to a local book group and it secured me some new fans.

I know I buy books a lot based on personal recommendations all the time. So if you’ve enjoyed any of my books please, please, please, tell your friends about it! Also leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads really helps too, or if you want to do that in the form of sharing a post on social media about my book that is also amazing. People take much more notice of that than any post I attempt to do about my own work!

I’d love to hear from writers with some top tips of your own.

And readers… what makes you buy a book?