Live show this week - An Exclusive Conversation with Alex R. Johnson. Writer, Director, and Now, Novelist.

8pm UK time, this Friday.

This Friday, we’re thrilled to welcome Alex R. Johnson to The Writing Community Chat Show, live on our Substack. This is one you won’t want to miss, and if you’re one of our paid subscribers, you get exclusive early access to the full interview before it hits the public airwaves.

Alex is a storyteller of many dimensions. His gripping 2014 film Two Step made waves at SXSW and earned the rare badge of being a New York Times Critic’s Pick, and it still sits at a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. But Johnson doesn’t just craft stories on screen. His voice now echoes from the page, too, with the release of his debut novel Brooklyn Motto, a mystery-drenched detective noir soaked in late-90s New York grit.

From producing documentaries at the iconic Maysles Films, to adapting Ernest Tidyman’s Big Bucks for Sony and Pascal Pictures, to having his screenplay Northeast Kingdom picked up by Paramount after it was featured on the Black List, Johnson has spent his career pushing the limits of cinematic and narrative storytelling. Now, he brings that same energy and edge to literature.

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🕵️‍♂️ Brooklyn Motto is already making waves:

“A stylish, propulsive mystery...combines novelistic texture with cinematic pace.” – Sam Lipsyte
“Playful, witty, brooding, and heartfelt...a love letter to NYC & detective fiction.” – Evan Handler
“A reluctant GenX PI...in way over his head.” – John Doe (X)

Set in the East Village and Brooklyn in 1998, Brooklyn Motto introduces us to Nico Kelly, a self-deprecating PI whose camera and conscience become equally unreliable. The city is changing fast under the iron hand of Giuliani, and so is Nico’s sense of self. But when he unwittingly captures a murder on film, he’s thrown into a chaotic mystery that might finally force him to face who he really is.

It’s noir. It’s nostalgic. It’s New York with a soul and a hangover. And it’s funny as hell.

BUY IT HERE: https://amzn.to/3ZsVq23

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In our conversation, we dig deep into:

• How Alex transitioned from film to fiction.

• Why Brooklyn Motto is both a mystery and a personal reckoning.

• His love of flawed characters, punk culture, and visual storytelling.

• What it takes to get a project off the ground—whether it’s a novel or a movie.

• And why we’re all just trying to make sense of a world shifting beneath our feet.

🎥 Watch it live on our Substack this Friday. 8pm UK time, at the bottom of this post!

📣 Paid subscribers will get early access to the full video and audio.

🌍 Everyone else can catch it on our YouTube and podcast feed two weeks later.

Want in early? Consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber. Not only will you get bonus content and exclusive interviews, but you’ll also help keep The Writing Community Chat Show alive and growing.

See you Friday.
CJ & Chris.
The Writing Community Chat Show.