Lois D. Brown's Blog

Utah author brings Southwestern myths of lost treasure to life in 5-book deal

(Las Vegas, NV) – After exploring the cave believed to have once held Montezuma’s Aztec treasure, Lois D. Brown knew she had to share the story with her readers. By trade, Lois is a journalist, which some might say makes her skilled at mixing fact with fiction. In her “Legends of Treasure” book series, picked up by Wolfpack Publishing in the summer of 2020, she does just that. She weaves stories that closely resemble actual newsworthy events, but adds action, romance, and even a few ghosts.

L...

A Murderer’s Thumb

            I was five, maybe six, when I first realized my thumbs were different. They were not only different from other people’s, they were different from each other. My right hand sported a long, sleek variety that had the grace of Audrey Hepburn. The thumb on my left hand was short, fat, and stubby—strangely similar to the shape of Danny DeVito.

         As an adult, I learned my odd-shaped digit has been known through the centuries by many different names: potter’s thumb, bohemian thumb...

Ever had a “UFO” moment?

There we were, sitting in the living room, probably watching an episode of Stranger Things, when my daughter says, “Wow, that looks like a UFO.”

Out the front window we could all see it clear as day. (See photo below.)

Hovering in the sky was a classic UFO-shaped light. Maybe it was the time of night, what I’d been watching on TV, or what I’d had for dinner, but the sight made me wonder,  “What would happen if this truly was a UFO abduction?”

My first thought was that it would make great res...

Are “sightings” of mythical creatures on the rise?

This past spring, Gary Campbell, who runs the official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register was interviewed by NPR (yes, we’re talking about National Public Radio) about how quiet things had been at Lake Loch Ness in Scotland. Nobody had reported seeing Nessie in almost nine months.  Less than a week later, “The Sun” ran an article that Nessie’s disappearance was over. She had been spotted.

Since then (and over the summer months) the sightings of mythical creatures (and subsequent postings o...

The Shrunken Head Phenomenon

What is the fascination with shrunken heads? They’ve been around since pre-Columbian times, yet the concept still manages to rear its head (pun intended)  from time to time, even in the good old United States.

Yesterday I pulled into the parking lot of my local city building. After killing the engine and taking out the keys,  I glanced to my right into the car parked next to me.  This is what I saw:

Yeah … I may have peed my pants a wee little bit. There, hanging on the rearview mirror, was...

Egyptian artifacts found in the Grand Canyon?

Probably not, but anyone who knows me knows I enjoy a good “tale.” This summer my family went to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and were amazed by its vastness. While there, I looked up if there were any legends or folklore about the place (because I’m obsessed with that kind of stuff). I wasn’t disappointed.

My favorite piece of Grand Canyon “conspiracy folklore” I found stems from a newspaper article printed on April 5, 1909, in the Arizona Gazette. (See copy of article to the righ...

My Brush with Nicolas Cage

The most famous member of my family is Grandpa’s truck. It’s a green Chevrolet from the late 90s, and for the last month Nicolas Cage, the actor, has been driving it around.

Seriously.

It all started several months ago when the Kanab Department of Tourism asked some local residents if they would be willing to rent their personal truck to some unnamed movie producers. My father-in-law thought, “Why not?” He took a picture of his 20-year-old  Chevy and sent it in. A few weeks later he received...

The Hunt for Anasazi Writings

The Anasazi Indians are considered the “Ancient Ones,” even though their name literally means “enemy ancestors” in Navajo. The Anasazi lived around the Four-Corners area for a 1,000+ years until 1300 A.D. Their engravings into the smooth, red rocks cliffs are remarkable remnants of their lost culture. 

The big question is where did they go? In 1300, the Anasazi left the four Corner Regions. Historians do not know why, but some speculate it was due to the drought in the area. The Anasazi are b...

Mystery of Black Holes

Just when scientists think they have something all figured out, the Universe throws ‘em a curve ball.

Take for instance black holes. Things get sucked into, not out of, a black hole. Correct?

Everyone who has ever  watched a B-list sci-fy film has gleaned that piece of knowledge. And certainly anyone who has passed seventh grade science should also be in the know.

Then what, pray tell, is wrong with Markarain 335?

Markarain 335 is the name of the black hole which decided to spit out i...

Solitary confinement

The protagonist of my latest novel, Robbed of Soul, sees ghosts. No, she’s not psychic. She suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome after being in solitary confinement for eight months in Tehran.   Before doing research about solitary confinement and PTSD,  I worried the whole “seeing ghosts” thing was too crazy to believe. Would my readers  believe my protagonist was really that far gone? But after researching the subject, and learning  how truly awful solitary confinement is to the huma...