Discover J.J. Brown books infused with a passion for nature, science and family. Genres include memoir, narrative nonfiction, novels, short stories, mysteries, poetry, speculative fiction and noir fiction. Independently published in print, ebook or audiobook editions and available most places books are sold.
When the Baby Is Not OK: Hopes & Dreams
“A deeply emotional and expansive story of growth, connection, and resilience.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Brown regales readers with raw vulnerability, sharing her heartbreaks, setbacks, and triumphs as she navigates unknown waters with two young ones in tow….Inspirational story that marries motherhood and science.” – Booklife Reviews by Publisher’s Weekly
“A truly fascinating insight into genetic disorder, phenylketonuria (PKU), written by an author who knows how to put over the ‘complex’ in an accessible, interesting and compelling way. Highly recommended!” – The Wishing Shelf (UK) editorial reviewers
Will the baby be OK? Out of nearly four million who get newborn screening each year, about 12,000 babies are diagnosed with a “rare disease” in the US alone. Jennifer J. Brown’s daughters were two of them. It was in their genes.
A student who thought about being a scientist first, and becoming a mother second, the news changed her life forever. This intimate memoir of pregnancy, childbirth and the first years of raising special kids revises the story of what to expect with hope. By turns heartbreaking and horrifying, educational and inspiring, here is a raw and remarkable journey of triumph and acceptance.
Independently published nonfiction, February 2025. Available most places books are sold as hardcover, paperback and ebook editions. 10% of all author royalties are donated to The Arc non-profit.
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View chapters, synopsis and reviews here: MORE ABOUT THE BOOK
Read a free book excerpt here: FREE BOOK EXCERPT
Death & the Dream
“Subtle, soul-touching horror.” – Reader review
A memory, a fear or a dream? 16 haunting tales make up this noir fiction short story collection to uncover faces of death and meanings of dreams. From rural scenes of childhood in the mountains, to crises of conscience in New York City, Death & the Dream stories illuminate the beauty and the horror in ordinary lives.
Touched by death, mothers, daughters, scientists and murderers each explore the fine line between hopes and dreams. In the story “Mouse Chimera” a scientist is locked in the laboratory with virus-infected chimeric mice she created. A dreaming student searches for love in the bars of The Village, in the tale “Hills of Rabbits.” In “Underground” an anxious commuter tries to guess a victim’s identity after a haunting subway incident. A daughter with schizophrenia fights for her right to affection in “Mother’s Love” while a researcher finds her experiments contaminate workers around her, in “Lab after Dark.”
These realistic characters, and more, face death around them as inescapable parts of their lives. Author J.J. Brown brings the authenticity of a modern science background to her writing.
First edition independently published, 2011, 2014.
Second edition published 2025. Available most places books are sold as paperback, ebook or audiobook editions.
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Read a free book excerpt here: FREE BOOK EXCERPT
The Doctor’s Dreams: 4 Novellas
“J.J. Brown reaches into the recesses of our psyches and pulls out the forbidden.” – Reader review
What do doctors dream?
Four fiction novellas in the 2nd edition of The Doctor’s Dreams explore inner lives when faced with sudden change and uncertainty.
The Doctor’s Dreams
On New Year’s Eve, Doctor Marsha Arzt has mysteriously gone missing, somewhere between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Looking for clues, her brother discovers she kept a secret dream diary. Her nightmares reveal a crisis of conscience, and seem to predict a future he isn’t able to face alone in the wee hours of the morning.
Mosquito Song: Dreams in Old San Juan
After an unborn baby’s mysterious death, a New York City molecular biologist travels to Puerto Rico to investigate. Fears of a new pandemic mosquito virus haunt the scientist’s plans, and her dreams. Her next DNA experiments reveal a personal stake in a future she is not ready to accept.
The Finest Mask
In a dystopian, disease-ridden society, a perfect gene holds the cure. What if the Europeans who came to North America 300 years ago had been susceptible to epidemics, but the 500 Indigenous nations’ people were not? This is the alternate history world of “The Finest Mask,” where disease has disfigured nearly all of Europe’s population. A gene hunter travels from London to New York City in search of an illusive gene for perfect skin, to prevent the ravages of infections and the disfiguring scars.
After the Layoff
Chemist Eve Wissen feels like a decapitated, single head of household after a surprise layoff at work. A workaholic left adrift in New York City, she adds up the unemployment facts. Numbers are no longer her friends. Her sudden freedom thrusts her into a void where she scrambles to find a way to support her two sons, and reinvent meaning for her life.
First edition independently published, 2014 includes two Novellas, “The Doctor’s Dreams” and “After the Layoff”.
Second edition publishes Sept, 2025 and includes all four Novellas. Available most places books are sold as paperback and ebook editions.
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US Paperback at Amazon / Kindle
American Dream
“What must be done when the dream becomes a nightmare?” – Reader review
Can an artist’s journey confront every fear, doubt and memory to overcome depression? A fictional family saga set in New York City and upstate New York in the US. A struggling artist’s life is in ruins when he miraculously finds himself in line to inherit an abandoned castle. The artist’s older sister, a banker, schemes to exclude her brother. A mental health diagnosis of severe depression complicates his struggle to claim his inheritance. Estranged from his own son and a dysfunctional family, his creativity becomes a healing power. His artistic spirit redefines the “American dream” for him, revealing treasures within.
Independently published, 2012. Available most places books are sold as paperback and ebook editions.
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Comorbidity, Expressions of Love
“Edgy, often heart-breaking collection of poems left me at times exhilarated, devastated, crushed, and redeemed…” – Reader review
What’s comorbid with our love? All the injuries of a lifetime, experiences and ghost stories mingle in free verse poems. A collection including titles Mother’s Love, Women’s Voices, Ghostly Love, Comorbid Love, Family Ties and Meetings.
Independently published, 2018, 2023. Available most places books are sold as paperback, ebook or audiobook editions.
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Read a free book excerpt and more about the love poems here: FREE BOOK EXCERPT
Brindle 24: the Last Day in the Life of a Town
“A suspenseful and tension filled thriller, combining an audacious fictional analysis of many things already experienced by US communities…” – Reader review
What if a 24-hour environmental apocalypse came to New York? An environmental thriller set in Upstate New York in the USA, Brindle 24 tells the raw story of a family who lived in intimate harmony with the land. Until the day everything changed. In this close community, outsiders are not trusted.
A scientist intrudes planning to investigate the family cat’s sudden death. He suspects chemical contaminants in the ground water. Follow the haunting fates of Brindle’s resident teenager, her pregnant mother, war veteran father and their neighbors.
This ecology-themed fictional story is based on the author’s extensive research into scientific and medical reports about very real effects of fracking (hydraulic fracturing to extract underground natural gas) on nature and human biology.
Independently published, 2012. Available most places books are sold as paperback and ebook editions.
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Canada Kindle CA / Paperback CA / Indigo CA
Stream & Shale Story Coloring Book
“Beautiful way to learn about fracking and how to take care of the nature that came before us…” – Reader review
Take young readers and artists on a trip to the country during the gas rush with this coloring storybook. Set in rural Pennsylvania, this is the true story of a Citizen’s Tour the author joined with the non-profit group Brooklyn for Peace in the US. The trip to gasland exposes hidden effects of fracking (hydraulic fracturing for gas) on nature and the families who live nearby.
Kids will meet the little red cow and white tailed deer, and follow the streams leading through the rocks of the Marcellus Shale. Learn about how drilling chemicals affect our health and environment along the way.
Independently published, 2nd edition, 2016 in paperback and as a read aloud online at YouTube.
Free read aloud of the 2nd edition, 2026, now up on YouTube’s J.J. Brown Books channel.
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US Paperback
UK Paperback UK
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