Karson Brown grew up sailing and living aboard boats in The Pacific Northwest. She turned 21 on a fishing vessel in The Bering Sea and crossed The Atlantic Ocean aboard a 34-foot sailboat during hurricane season before turning 30. Karson raised her two children along the shores of Vashon Island surrounded by a menagerie of critters. She is a writer, photographer, artist, and lifelong devotee of water. Karson is an alumna of Joyce Maynard’s Write By The Lake Workshop, in Guatemala. She currently resides on Alki Beach collecting shells and befriending seagulls. 48 Days to Barbados is her debut novel.
writing

48 Days to Barbados
my debut novel is forthcoming. It is the story of my journey crossing the Atlantic from Portugal to Barbados. An introspective once-in-a-lifetime voyage contemplating themes of childhood trauma, belonging and purpose while sailing waves tall as mountains.
"I come in peace, I whisper to the ocean. I need her on my side. I don't want to fight her, I want to show her I deserve to be here, that I've earned my place upon her malleable surface. I've been preparing for this aquatic adventure since 1975, when I first set sail for Whidbey Island at age four, aboard a 24-foot wooden sailboat with my mother. I want the ocean to know I've been dreaming and patiently waiting for this moment all my life. With every swell we surf, I sail deeper within me."
A passage from 48 Days to Barbados© by Karson brown
You can find my writing among the works of other contributors in the upcoming Vine Leaves Press Microfiction Anthology, "50 Give or Take", available November 2025.
Vine Leaves Press: An Independent press blurring the line between experimental and commercial. To follow their latest projects and stay up-to-date, please visit Vine Leaves Press.
Available for order directly from Vine Leaves Press and Amazon.
she considered staying

arriving in november 2025



Trout and Mallard



arriving in 2025


my first children's book, written for ages 3-8. This is a story inspired by a walk along a stream in Seattle with my sister and our children. It’s a tale of two unlikely species who share a body of water and discover through a gentle, inquisitive conversation, they are more similar than different. Illustrations by my sister, Britney Straus.