Speculative Fiction with a Historical Twist!

Kathy L. Brown Bio
Kathy L. Brown lives and writes in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Her hometown and its history inspire much of her fiction. When she’s not thinking about how haunted everything is, she enjoys hiking, crafts, and cooking for her family. Her first novel, The Big Cinch, was published by Montag Press in 2021. She has three novellas available: Wolfhearted, The Resurrectionist, and Water of Life. Her blog and other musings live at kathylbrown.com.
A lifelong bookworm, Kathy counts the following as some of her most influential read: Gaudy Night (Dorothy Sayers), Fern Hill (Dylan Thomas), Seven Story Mountain (Thomas Merton), The Dain Curse (Dashiell Hammett), The Heart of Stone (Wilheim Hauff), The Bloody Chamber (Angela Carter), and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (autobiography-Maya Angelou)
Appearances and Teaching
Author Kathy L. Brown is available to speak to book clubs, conventions, and conferences. Workshop examples include:
Yes! Do Make a Scene. (First presented at Archon 44.)
Enliven your fiction with effective scene building in this interactive session. Understand fiction’s basic building block and learn practical tips to structure a scene’s tension, add conflict, and ensure reader engagement. For new to intermediate fiction writers.
Summary, Scene, Sequel in Storytelling.
How will you communicate your story? Show? Tell? A little of both? Learn the features and bugs of fiction’s formats. For new to intermediate fiction writers.
The Threes Cs of Fiction: Conflict, Crisis, and Climax. (First presented at Archon 46.)
In addition to their Ps & and Qs, storytellers must mind their Cs: Conflict, Crisis, and Climax. But how can these concepts help us create convincing and captivating conundrums for our characters? You’ll leave this practical workshop with concrete ideas for your creative crafts. For new to intermediate fiction writers.
Interviews and Features
- Liminal Fiction Website Author Spotlight. March 12, 2025.
- CanvasRebel Magazine. March 20, 2025.
She made the mostly-virtual rounds doing book promotion for The Big Cinch. On January 28, 2022, Kathy did a reading and interview at Spine Bookstore and Cafe. Following are guest blog appearances:
- “Learning to Let Go” at CynthiaVespia.com
- “An Excerpt from The Big Cinch” at Lee’s Hall of Information
- “The Belfast Bar’s Battered Cod Recipe” at Cat Rambo’s The World Remains Mysterious
- My interview at Debbie Manber Kupfer’s blog
Reviews
An editorial review of Water of Life from My Writing Life. ” I always think the sign of a good voice is when I start reading in accent – or at least hear the characters in my mind – and that was pretty much from the get go. It’s a pretty unique tale. Again, I will not give much away in a review, but it’s a new perspective on the Selkie, Fae and the meeting of cultures from across the pond from each other, all carried off with great skill.”
An editorial review of The Big Cinch from Independent Book Review. “This book reads like nothing I’ve ever read before. The great writing and description really make it stand out among other books set in the same time-period. It is a great pick for anyone interested in a dark urban fantasy with inspiration from the 1920s.”
Contact
Publisher: Montag Press Collective, Oakland, CA
Website: kathylbrown.com
Email: kathy@kathylbrown.com
The Storytelling Blog at https://kathylbrown.com/storytelling-blog/
Threads: @kathylbrownwrites
Instagram: kathylbrownwrites.
Blue Sky: @KathyLBrownWrites.bsky.social,
Tumblr: kathylbrownwrites
Substack: @kathylbrown378495


This page last updated April 11, 2025.