I’ve introduced you to today’s author before, but not like this. With a focus on horror, she answers some new questions and tells us all about her brand new, just released novel, Refraction, Book 2 of the Broken Mirror series, co-authored with Erin Lee. Let’s take a look:

The Interview

I’m so excited it’s October. Thank you for letting me interview you.

Today we are sitting down with M W Brown to talk about Refraction, Book 2 of the Broken Mirror Series and what makes her tick.

So, you’re a horror author. When did you first realize you loved horror?

I loved reading at an early age. I read everything: fairy stories, fables, Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter to name but a few. When I’d read everything on my bookshelf, I looked for something new to fill my appetite and discovered comics. I read The Beano, Dandy, Whizzer and Chips and many others. Then a new one came out called Misty. It had supernatural and horror stories in it. I think it was aimed at the teenage market, but I loved it. When I showed my grandad one day – he told me he loved spooky stories too. He lent me his books of ghost stories and told me of his own ghostly encounters. I was hooked. As I got older, I found Stephen King and Horror films. There was no turning back after that.

Where do your scary story ideas come from?

Everywhere. An overheard conversation, the news, dreams, nightmares, a picture or a comment posted online – anything can get me started on bizarre story idea. I have a 10-minute walk home from work when I switch off from everything else and let my mind wander into the realms of ‘what if’?

(Interviewer comments: “What if” are always the best things to write. So many possibilities!)

You’re on an abandoned farm. You have 3 monsters—Pennywise, a scarecrow, and Pinhead— headed your way. Who do you kill first and what weapon do you use? Will you survive?

I’d kill the easiest one first just to get it out the way quickly, and I think that would be the scarecrow. So, I’d want a big, sharp knife to slice through the straw. With Pennywise and Pinhead left, two monsters that feed on fear, I’d close my eyes and repeat “I’m not scared of you” and hope that does the trick.

Chances of survival? 30/70

(Interviewer comments: Those are some decent odds I think. Pinhead may be your toughest opponent, though. Good luck!)

Are you afraid of the dark?

Only if I think about it! I’m happy to walk around the house at night with the lights off (to get a drink of water for example not because I just wander around aimlessly at night!), but if I start to think about how I’m not scared, I’ll start to think about what would make me scared. My imagination goes wild and I end up racing back up the stairs picturing something terrifying chasing after me.

Trick or treat or pass out candy, which Halloweener are you?

We get a lot of very young children trick or treating in my village, and they all look so cute that I just have to give out handfuls of candy.

So many books, so little time. What’s one horror book you’ll never get tired of?

I’m a huge Stephen King fan and one of his books that I have read many times is The Stand. It’s a huge book with so many fantastic characters that I never get tired of discovering again and again.

(Interviewer comments: A woman after my own heart! The Stand is my #1 favorite horror book, too! I need to read it again.)

Which book was the hardest to write for you? Why?

Probably the third book of the Broken Mirror Series – Shattered. The main characters, twins Amy and Zoe, have a troubled past including an abusive dad. I did a lot of research into how abusive people feel, act and the impact on their victims. It’s a troubling and heartbreaking topic.

And finally, what three pieces of advice would you give a fledgling horror writer?

The first is read – read the classics, the obscure, the new books. Devour as much as you can. When I’m reading, I tell my family I’m working, just because it is fun doesn’t mean it’s not work!

I often hear ‘write about what you know’, but with horror, it’s unlikely you have first-hand experience of being chased by demons, monsters, or ghosts! You won’t hopefully know what it’s like to be stabbed by a serial killer, nor will your readers. But you know what it’s like to be chased by a friend in a game of tag or to cut your finger while slicing vegetables. Use those feelings as a starting point and build on them to draw the reader in with something they can identify with and then ramp up the volume.

Lastly, don’t tell the reader your character is scared, or the monster is horrific—show them and use all the senses. Describe the stumbling footsteps, the pounding heart, the pure panic racing through your body. Fill their head with images of dark, soulless eyes, grasping skeletal arms and the putrid stench of decay. Drag them into your imagination, kicking and screaming hopefully!

And finally, for those that don’t like horror and don’t understand why anyone would write it, please believe me when I say that my horror author friends are some the nicest people I know with the wickedest sense of humor. So please don’t be scared of us, we won’t bite. We save that for our stories.

The Book

Title: Refraction
Series: Broken Mirror series, Book 2
Authors: MW Brown and Erin Lee
Genre: paranormal thriller/horror
Buy link: http://mybook.to/RefractionCI

Blurb

Detours come in passing. Living sister Amy is trying to move on. Traumatized by her kidnapping, she runs to the only person she believes will help. But old wounds split open; making the events in room 303 seem childish.Her dead twin, on the other hand, doesn’t want to move forward. Schooled by her tormentor, Zoe takes a detour from peaceful rest. For now, she has a score to settle. But the powerful connection with her twin draws her back to the real world. Like refracted light changing as it passes through glass, Zoe’s priorities alter too.Will the bends between life and death set the sisters off in the wrong directions again?

About the Author

International bestselling author M W Brown loved reading and writing chilling stories from an early age. At university she studied mathematics and psychology, combining her love of logic and her curiosity of what makes people tick, but it took her several decades in finance to realize where her passion lay and that her imagination needed an outlet.
One day, on a long, boring commute, she discovered her daughter had been playing with the GPS, and an idea popped into her head. It just wouldn’t leave. It kept growing, picking up elements of her favorite genre—horror, until finally, after reading a mediocre book that had managed to become a best seller (her lips are sealed on which one), she thought, “Even I can do better than that. I’m going to write a book.”
Two years later, Portraits in Flesh was published. Unfortunately, because life is never easy, the publishing company closed its door two months later. Thankfully, Erin Lee and Crazy Ink Publishing rode to the rescue. Crazy Ink gave Brown a new home and a place for her to let her dark imagination run free. She had also co-written The Broken Mirror Series with Erin Lee.

Brown has had over a dozen short stories published including ones in these Crazy Ink Publishing anthologies: Art Inspires Words Books 1 and 3, Bloody Bonkers, Christmas Past, Virtue, Inside, Earth Matters, Creeps, Beyond Atlantis and Motel 666. In addition, she’s added International Bestselling Horror Author to her list of accomplishments. She wonders why it took her so long to start writing.

Brown loves reading and drawing. She’s a huge Bowie fan and often drops in Bowie references and wonders if anyone spots them.

Connect with MW Brown:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/mwbrownauthor
Facebook Authors Page: https://www.facebook.com/MWBrownWriter/
Website: www.mwbrown.co.uk
Twitter: @AuthorMWBrown
Facebook Group/Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/allthemadmen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_mwbrown/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/m-w-brown
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17714719.M_W_Brown
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/mbrown9090/
MeWe – https://mewe.com/profile/5adf8ae3569fc0167c47aaba