STORY OF DENISE BROWN AUTHOR
Originally from Essex, Denise now lives in a Scottish harbour town where there is a castle at the end of the street, and the town tug-of-war team is unbeaten in over 30 years. She believes she must have been Scottish in a previous life, and only wishes she'd kept the accent.
Like many authors, Denise's path to publication wasn't straightforward. Having received many rejections and near-misses, she set the manuscript of I am Winter aside for a couple of years while she focused on other projects. But she knew that Summer's story needed to be told. When she revisited the ms, she realised that her vision had changed somewhat, so she rewrote the book, was longlisted for the prestigious Bath Novel Award from almost 3,500 entries and then sent it to Hashtag Press where it was picked up by Helen Lewis and Abiola Bello. They shared Denise's passion for the book and it was published November 2021, six years after she wrote the first words.
The rest, as they say, is history, or her story...
14 interesting (or otherwise) facts about me:
1. I'm shy! I always have been, which is probably the reason why I hide behind books.
2. I collect Jack Skellingtons. This is on my desk, right next to my laptop, along with my favourite quote.
3. I was a witch in a previous life. A spell went wrong, I got scared, and am still plucking up the courage to try again... Perhaps soon!
4. I have a Cocker spaniel called Lion who's an absolute mouse.
5. Eight-year-old me wanted to marry Cliff Richard, right before...
6. Nine-year-old me wanted to become a nun (not Cliff's fault).
7. I have a phobia of falling. Seriously! I can't even watch someone falling on TV.
8. Favourite movie Lost in Translation, or Bram Stoker's Dracula depending on the weather.
9. All-time crush: John Travolta. I mean, have you seen him in Pulp Fiction and Grease!?
10. I'd love to meet a real Geisha one day.
11. I'd also love to travel to Japan to accomplish item 10.
12. I'm a freelance ghost writer, and other people's imaginations are endlessly fascinating.
13. I believe my characters find me rather than the other way around.
14. I also believe in angels. They don't have wings, and they mostly resemble dogs, but sometimes, when we need them most, they present themselves in the most surprising forms.
"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale"