Hi {{first_name | Friend}} ,
It’s been a while since I last wrote. You might not even remember signing up to hear from me—so let me quickly reintroduce myself.
I’m John D. Brown, author of action-packed, PG-13 adventure stories like Gun Runner, Servant of a Dark God, Bad Penny, and the Drovers. I write the kind of books I love to read: fun characters in thrilling stories that avoid rough language and keep the romance clean.
And sometimes the best ideas come from real life—like the day I accidentally challenged a bull.
I was hiking a canyon near my home when I saw a number of cows grazing about a clearing and heard a bull bellowing behind some willows. I decided to have a chat and mimicked his grunting. Back and forth we went. Dr. Doolittle and his big bull friend. But then the tone changed, and that bull started to charge through the brush.
It was at this point I realized I’d probably been having this conversation:
Me: Hey, I’m taking one of your women.
Bull: I’m gonna kill you.
Me: Bring it. I’m taking all your women.
Willows shuddered. Branches cracked. And I, thinking none of his women were worth it anyway, scooted. I managed to sprint around a bend and escape—but the encounter stuck with me. Later, it sparked a core idea in my debut novel, Servant of a Dark God.
So that’s me in a nutshell: stealing story ideas from high-testosterone bulls.
I'll be sending out a weekly email for the next month as I warm up my list, then will communicate on a monthly basis about progress on the current stories (currently Book 4 of The Drovers and a Gun Runner short story with Larry Correia), behind-the-scenes insights, and terrific book recommendations.
If you'd like to receive the dispatches, sit back and relax. And if not, no hard feelings—you can unsubscribe anytime at the bottom of this email.
Here’s to more stories (and more bulls),
John
P.S. If you have you ever had a run-in with an animal, hit reply and tell me the variety. I’d love to hear your story. Who knows, I just might use it in one of my tales.
P.P.S. If this email addressed you as “Friend”, that’s because I don’t have your first name. I’d much rather call you by your first name. Share it with me. Hit reply, and let me know.