GC Brown Author Interview with IMPAAKT

Author Interview GC Brown 

Gregory, can you tell us a little about your journey as an author? What drew you to writing?

I wouldn’t say drawn to writing; more like forced. I was in federal prison looking down a road I couldn’t see the end of. Overnight, I went from living what I thought was ‘the life’ to a cage. I went from thousand-dollar loafers to the guy standing next to me wearing the same commissary tennis shoes. My life became a monotony of soul-crushing boredom with no flavor. Day after day of the same fluorescent lights, the same shitty meals, the same shitty staff, the same shitty smell of defeat.

Prison was shitty and boring.

I was so done with it. 

I walked into my case manager’s office, his feet up on the desk, piles of unopened files everywhere, the same smell of defeat, and asked what I could do to make all the shittyness go away.

With mocking disdain, he said, “Write a book.”

Brilliant! Because that’s exactly what I did in my former life of wheelin’ and dealin’.

I walked out of his office, and right into an illegal poker game being hidden from the CO’s—correctional officers—in the back of the showers. I played poker for a few months. Short story: I won; two gang members tried to stiff me; I caught them by themselves the next day. 

We all ended up in the Special Housing Unit—the hole.

If you thought General Population was mind-numbing…

I ended up doing fifteen months in the box. During those months, I was in the middle of my appeals. There were legal calls with my attorney. On one of those calls, he asked me what I did all day in the hole. “Read. All I do is read.” 

He said, “You should write a book.”

Yeah, because I hadn’t heard that one before.

Lo and behold, the USA Today Newspaper makes it to my cell. Front page: Top 10 Hardest Things to Do. Near the top of the list, you guessed it: ‘writing a novel.’ 

They say they come in 3’s.

The universe—God, to me—was telling me to pick up a pen.

Today, here I am with you—a bestselling author, or at least that’s the plan.

Looking at your bibliography, your books consistently garner praise for their captivating storytelling and relatable characters. How do you achieve this level of reader connection in your writing?

First and foremost, it pleases me to no end to hear readers think my books are cool. There is no greater compliment to an author. Well, except maybe if you’re lucky enough to have met the woman of your dreams from federal prison through email, only to have her fall in love with you over your written words and then agree to marry you…sight unseen. 

Yeah, I’ve checked off a few lists.

Anyway, I’ve said this before: on this planet, there may not be a better place than a federal prison from which to learn to write. It’s like a never-ending parade of Drug lords with pizazz, corner boys with gusto, gangsters with bad grammar, pimps without the cane, billionaires still rubbin’ your nose in it, politicians with no comment, and LGBTQ minus the “L’s.” 

Characters in spades. 

I wrote who I saw, who I lived with. Most of the time, it was a high school soap opera sprinkled with violence. Like, who couldn’t write there? I found relatable characters and put them into memorable scenes. 

I found characters who readers could rally behind. 

What, in your experience, are the key ingredients for crafting a “must-read” book that resonates with a broad audience?

This is one of those questions I could answer and make myself sound smart. Answers like, “The key ingredients you need are ‘authentic voice, vivid locales, universal themes and emotional resonance, blah, blah, blah.” Name them off just like that.

I’m not that smart, though.  

Let’s face it, I’m new to this whole writing world…that picked me. 

I’d never thought about writing anything, especially something that required ‘ingredients’. 

When I picked up that pen, it immediately felt like a big deal. A big deal, like there could be money involved. Back then, that’s the way my mind worked. What’s the payday?  Not the deal, the payday.

I quickly ran the numbers.

They made sense.

So, I wrote my first book, solely from ego. At that point in my life, it was my key ingredient, along with sarcastic and witty. And it just so happens I was living amongst all kinds of other egos as big as mine. Their lives and stories and daily grinds became my new life. 

I was staring at the rest of the key ingredients. 

I turned them into my first book, The Wake of the Storm.

The book would go on to win first place for The Benjamin Franklin Award.

That’s a whole ‘nother story.

Beyond the plot, do you weave any personal experiences or lessons learned into your stories? If so, how does that shape the narrative?

Let me start off answering this question giving you a glimpse into the old me. I began my adult working career at 7-years old. This is what it’s like growing up on a small farm in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana. It’s up before dawn and to bed after dark. There are chickens that need their neck rung, giant piles of number 2 that need shoveling, fields that need plowing, and gardens to be tended.

Fast forward to my twenties: I bought and sold mobile homes (because who doesn’t love a good trailer?); which led to flipping houses (before it was in vogue); developing real estate (for the sake of humanity); running nightclubs (where the real magic happens); coding software (because who needs experience?); selling flowers online (the ultimate hustle); serving sushi (raw fish and entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand); and, the pièce de résistance—the African diamond trade (because nothing screams “legit business” like blood diamonds).

So, the answer in short, is yes, there are plenty of personal experiences weaved in and out of my stories. And don’t even get me started on lessons learned. I received a 20-year sentence “up the road” for some of my imbecile moves. My experiences and lessons are all over the narrative. 

Many authors talk about their writing routines. Do you have any specific rituals or habits that help you get into a creative flow?

For me, it’s all about routine. 

In prison, there is zero quiet time between 6 am and 10 pm. I mean zero. It’s 200-300 hundred men per unit. There’s yelling and screaming. There are prison-made speakers. Dudes are rapping, singing, and slamming dominoes. There’s a spades game, a group of gang members doing burpees in the corner, and cops always looking for someone. It’s chaos. Because of this, I got into the habit of writing after the lights were out. I developed a routine. I quickly read through what I had written the day before, jumped in a hot shower, and concentrated on the scene until I could see it. When I had a clear picture in my head, I toweled off, threw on shorts and a t-shirt, and curled up in my rack. 

A dull pencil and typing paper most of the time.

Depending on the creative flow, I either continued the scene or started a new one. 

Even today, with all the fancy stuff to write with, I lay on my chase and scribble out a half-dozen pages or so until I feel like I’ve created a flow that makes my reader forget he’s reading a book.

Your upcoming book, SNIFF seems intriguing. Can you share a brief glimpse into the central theme or concept without giving away any spoilers?

Of course. I love talking about my book(s). SNIFF is a riveting crime thriller that plunges readers into the gritty underworld of high-stakes, international intrigue, and relentless pursuit. The protagonist, Bank Robbin’ Dave, is a former high-flying financier turned desperate criminal. Dave is a complex character whose moral ambiguity and raw determination make him both compelling and relatable.

Starts with a gripping prologue set in South Florida and carefully runs the reader through chapters of various international locales. The plot twists and turns through a maze, revealing more and more of Dave’s tumultuous life and the web of corruption and desperation he navigates. 

The narrative is rip-roaring and paced masterfully to keep you on your toes. It’s unapologetically bold, blending dark humor with stark realism. The dialogue is sharp, the action sequences are vivid. 

SNIFF stands out not just for its thrilling plot but also for its deep dive into the psyche of a man on the edge. It’s a tale of survival, betrayal, and the lengths one will go to for love and redemption. 

The title, SNIFF, is quite evocative. Can you elaborate on the inspiration behind the name and how it reflects the core of the book?

I could tell you a fib right here: that the title, SNIFF, came from some magical place in my head, or that I laid in my prison rack, locked down during COVID, trying to come up with some uber-cool, short, snappy name that would look as cool as it does, on a cover, and then on Hollywood; or that I wanted a title that evoked some sensory connection.

However, I didn’t come up with the title.

One of these many different characters I ran across in the BOP, said it first.

I remember immediately thinking, “Man, that’s a cool name for a book.”

And here we are.

I do have to be honest here, though, “I actually did picture it right then in Hollywood in the Hollywood lights.”

Psst…My Publisher and PR company have been in Hollywood for 50+ years. I’m halfway there. Now all I need is to sell enough books to get to the top of Best Seller lists.

As a writer, you have the power to transport readers to different worlds. If you could magically enter the world of any book (besides your own!), which one would you choose and why?

Hands down, it would be anything Wilbur Smith ever wrote. He helped me through my time in prison. There are these adventures all over Africa, at all different Eras of time. It’s villages and natives, lions and elephants. It’s riding on horseback, living in tents, sailing oceans, and love stories. 

I would fall into Wilbur Smiths’ pages and not come back until the cops yelled, “Chow!”

As a successful author with a dedicated following, what advice would you give aspiring writers who are just starting out?

Well, it’s a bit premature to measure my success. Let’s get to the end of this thing in another thirty or forty years, then look back. I’ll let others make the call. 

I do know that it’s going to take a lot to get there—all the grit and tenacity I can find. And that’s exactly what I will tell everyone aspiring to be anything: “It’s that old farmers’ credo: “First one up, last one to go to sleep and work like there’s no tomorrow.”

One day you’ll look back, and your mind will be blown.

I’m living it right now.

Looking ahead, what are your writing goals or aspirations for the future? Are there any specific themes or genres you’d like to explore in your next book?

Well, I have so many writing goals that I will probably take a few of them with me. I spent years mapping my life out, staring at the bunk above me. Believe me, I have a plan, and I’m already executing it. I have goals in place all the way to the end. I started writing late in my career, and there is a lifetime of milestones that I have to go back and get. 

As for themes and genres for tomorrow’s books, all I can tell you is that I refuse to be ordinary. My writing is all over the board right now. I want to write anything and everything. I’m not going to pigeonhole myself to any one genre. I’m going to give my readers different themes, different plots, and different places. 

Every book.

I won’t know what I’m going to write tomorrow until I read what I wrote yesterday right before I jump in the shower…