Author Spotlight: N.M. Brown

Imagine the scariest story you have ever read, now times it by three and lock yourself inside a house with it for all day.

As a stay at home mom, this author doesn't have to pretend.

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All joking aside, Natalie sat down with us to describe her inspirations and journeys as a writer and here is what she had to say.

What got you into writing? And what drew you to horror specifically?

I actually started writing for therapeutic reasons. In 2017, I was diagnosed with Primarily Obsessive (Pure O) OCD. My therapist Billy was the one who suggested I take all of my mental worst case scenarios and write them down. One sentence changed my whole life. I’m sitting there in the office sniffling into a tissue explaining all of the things that could go wrong when you operate a vehicle (I was terrified of driving) and he sat back and said, “Ya know, you’d make one hell of a writer.” A couple years later, I posted my first story on Reddit and here we are!

My sister Diana introduced me to my first scary movie at just 4 years old. And beyond that my mother, rest her soul, had raised me around horror for my entire young life. I loved the cheesy stuff. Return of the Living Dead part II (1988) was one of my favorites. As I got older, I learned how fun it was to push the boundaries of fear within my own mind with more psychological horror and thrillers. It works well with my overabundance of serotonin also. Every frightening scenario that plays out in my mind can be written down with new characters, those are their problems now, not mine. It makes me thankful for the life I have.

What influences have you had in your writing career?

Well as a teenager I read a lot of Stephen King. I remember being 12 years old and my grandmother taking away my IT book. I snuck it back and crossed all the swear words and sexual situations out of it with a pen but apparently that wasn’t good enough either lol. I owe Stephen King a huge apology for defacement and censorship.

In my own career, there are truly too many to name. I know that’s a cop out but it’s totally true. There are so many NoSleep authors that I’ve read and looked up to who I talk to on a daily basis now. I never thought I’d see that day. NocturnalNanny and Colourblindess on Reddit have written some groundbreaking things for the Nosleep subreddit and I speak to them every day as my closest friends.

What’s your proudest achievement as a writer?

This is difficult because I try my best to be a person of modest character. But honestly all of them. I started as a stranger and in one calendar year have been in 42 anthologies, published 4 books with many more on the way. Check out Awakened Origins and Strange Lands by Kyle Harrison on Amazon! Get your pre orders before the price goes up in April! I’ve had stories narrated by some of the literal greats. I went from not thinking my author voice was worth being heard to being a semi regular on Creepy Pod, having a Christmas story chosen for the NoSleep Podcast Season 13 Christmas episode, and last but not least have managed to work my way into the Scarecrow Tales podcast family where I write, voice act, edit, and produce episodes and YouTube videos. I knew nothing about any of this two years ago. I’m pretty proud of all the knowledge I’ve gained. When I started writing I set out to learn everything I could about the indie horror industry. That’s just what I’ve done and then some.

What are your goals for the future?

I actually plan on releasing my first book on November 25th of this year, my 34th birthday. *Cringe* Hahaha And Melodi Marvin and I’s publishing house (Nocturnal Sirens) has quite a few releases in the near future as well. Our future looks dark and terrifyingly gorgeous, just how we like it.

Be sure to check out more from Natalie in two stories from our upcoming release, UnLeashed; now on Amazon for pre order!

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