Interview with Author J.D. Brown

 J.D. Brown is the author of Dark Heirloom, released on March 31, 2012, and Dark Liaison which was released on May 31, 2013. Though I have read and reviewed both of these wonderful books, I haven't had the pleasure to "pick" Brown's brain. Now I have the chance. 

Tell us about your book? How did it get started?

Dark Heirloom follows the misadventure of a young woman named Ema Marx as she stumbles fangs-first into the world of vampirism. She has no idea how she became a vampire, but she’s convinced the guy who kidnapped her is to blame. Yet, he keeps asking her how it happened. Dark Liaison is the sequel where Ema has to fight a major baddy that she accidently unleashed in the first book.

I really love vampires, ever since I read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, but more recent works always seem to focus on the clumsy fragile human and I was tired of it. I wanted to read a book where the vampire was the main character, and all the other characters where vampires too. Really, I just wanted to give my readers an “up close and personal” look at what I thought the vampire world might be like.

What do you consider your ideal writing conditions?

Home alone, surrounded by silence. I can’t even listen to music while I write, it’s too distracting. I’m very comfortable in my own company, alone with my thoughts. Coffee is a must! Sometimes I’ll get a snack too.

Are you a plotter, a pantser or some combination of both?

I’m a combination, but I think I lean a little more toward pantser because no matter how hard I try to stay organized, something always ends up changing and then my characters take over and all my notes and outlines go out the door. I’m not a writer, I’m just a vessel through which my characters write because they don’t have a physical form.

Name one of your all-time favorite movies.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It makes me laugh every time and I love to laugh!

Describe one of your favorite characters and tell us who you patterned them after and why?

Well, Ema is actually the only one of my characters who I have an actress in mind for, and that’s Mila Kunis. I adore Mila. I didn’t set out to make Ema like her, but Mila definitely works as far as looks and the ability to match Ema’s personality.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I just turn to my own wacky imagination, but when that fails, I do research. My stories are speckled with actual facts and real myths and legends. With so many hundreds of vampire stories out there today, and with every paranormal fiction author trying to re-invent the vampire, it was really important to me to sort of go back to the original vampire myths – and I don’t mean the ones from Romania or the Inquisition. I went much deeper than that in my research. My vampire characters actually pre-date Jesus; just to give you an idea of how far back the myths go.

Name an author or authors who inspire you.

Gosh, there are so many…Anne Rice, for sure. She’s a lovely lady all around…Cassandra Clare and Darynda Jones are two more who come to mind right away. They are just wonderful talented women. They know how to tell an entertaining story, they’re original, but more importantly, all three of these women are so faithful to their fans and I think that’s very important.

Last, but not least, tell us about your current work in progress.

Right now I have a free web serial on my website titled Athena’s Oracle that is a prequel to Dark Heirloom. It’s a romance that features two of the characters from Dark Heirloom, Leena and Jalmari, and kind of chronicles how their relationship started and how the seeds leading up to Ema formed. I’m also working on the third book in the series, Dark Becoming, which I can’t say much about at this time, but I’m having a lot of fun continuing Ema’s story.

Dark Heirloom links:

Dark Heirloom trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgVI60Z6FpE

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-heirloom-jd-brown/1111299333?ean=9780615623993
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Heirloom-Marx-Novel-ebook/dp/B007RS8M5I/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1365917153&sr=1-1&keywords=dark+heirloom
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/160667
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dark-heirloom/id528917638?mt=11

Dark Liaison links:

Dark Liaison trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqzDf5qid_w  

 Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-liaison-jd-brown/1115464079?ean=2940016764214
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Liaison-Marx-Novel-ebook/dp/B00D3T1ZI6/ref=sr_1_2_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1371107982&sr=8-2&keywords=dark+liaison
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Dark-Liaison-An-Ema-Marx/A5GU8i1GAUGcwHk2OjO3jA
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dark-liaison-ema-marx-novel/id656450962?mt=11 

Book Review: Undead and Underwater

                                         Today's review is on Undead and Underwater by MaryJanice Davidson

It isn't very often that I keep reading a book that I'm not really interested in beyond about 25% of the way through, but I kept looking for Betsy. I mean, the book has the classic Undead and .... blurp. I guess I should have looked at the cover a bit more closely.

Before even reaching my favorite vampire couple, I had to read through a less than perfect story about a new character to MJD's writing world. Super Girl features the unlikely hero Karen Kilher who works as the HR administrator for Ramouette, a company that makes iron silhouettes for shooters. She's pretty much always late for work, often has to leave for some reason and come back later, many times has to leave work early, and can eat anything and yes, I mean ANYTHING.

Poor Karen really doesn't have much of a personal life, what with HRing and Heroing, but that all changes when Jamie Linus walks into her office to fill out the new hire paperwork. And that my dear friends is where the story begins it's downward dive. About 12 pages in. What follows is nothing short of transparent. You know exactly what's coming and what's going. But besides that, it's totally rushed. Where is the character development? Where is the danger? Where is the couple's dynamic?

None the less, I kept reading. "Finally", I thought to myself when I came to Betsy and Sinclair's names. "Now this book will become interesting." But alas, it didn't. It was another let down. Yes, I loved being reminded of my hometown; Boston Rocks!, but there wasn't the usual banter, sex, banter again between Betsy and Sinclair. In fact, there was hardly any Sinclair!! It was more about Fred the mermaid and some crazy guy set out to destroy all of the undersea Folk. Even Betsy had a minimal part and that wasn't even interesting.

I guess I was just being a glutton for punishment because I continued reading. I was already more than halfway through the book after reading the actual Undead and Underwater section by then. It couldn't get worse, could it?

Thankfully Incomer; the final novella in this terrible book, was enjoyable. The plot was a bit weak, as was the danger and love/romance/sex aspects, but I could see how it could have been developed into a full length book of it's own. Except where MJD tried to connect the three stories with Laura Wyndham; the new pack Alpha of the Wyndham pack, calling both Betsy and Fred. That was simply unnecessary and didn't really fit in with the story at all. I did however enjoy the connection Laura and Jack had. Where is my wolf mate when I need him? Yes baby, lets make a mess in the kitchen!

I'm not sure if I want to read any more of MJD's Undead books. The 10th installment didn't really impress me much. I'm debating on whether I should even read number 11, but it does talk about poor Marc’s death and how it changed her future. Yeah, I guess I'll give it one more chance.

I don't know if it's just me, the number of books I read and their quality, or the diminishing quality of MJD's books; and other authors I have loved. However you look at it, I'm just not comfortable giving Undead and Underwater much praise.

2 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon



Book Description: via Amazon

Undead and Underwater
Betsy, queen of the undead, and Fred, the dour could’ve-been-a-princess mermaid, reluctantly team up to help a mutual friend in trouble. After all, a friend in need is a friend who, well, can really test your patience—because Betsy and Fred aren’t exactly BFFs. What they do have in common is the source of the problem: a man. And what’s more troubling than love?

Super, Girl!
Meet Karen Kilher, human resources representative and round-the-clock superhero. Born with the ability to convert anything she eats into crime-fighting energy, Karen is now faced with her toughest challenge: the sexy new hire who has a mad crush on her. But how does Karen break the news that she’s more of a Wonder Woman than he can imagine? She’d better think of something fast, because letting this guy go would be a crime.

Crying Wolf
As leader of the Pack, it’s Lara Wyndham’s job to usher her breed to safety after the cataclysmic Kardashian Riots of 2025—and fend off the advances of Jack Gardner, a sexy Packer with alpha urges and a knack for getting into trouble. No matter how bad Lara wants it, she doesn’t need it. Not that intoxicating scent of his, or his talented mouth, or that perfect ass. Then again…

Book Review: Bella Key

                                                            ***Intended for Adults Only***                                              

                                                Today's review is on Bella Key by Scarlet Chastain

Though I'm not really a girl on girl type of chick, the voyeur in me won out, and I have to say that I was a bit turned on by Bella Key.

I have always been a firm believer in the fact that the written word trumps TV, movies, and video's. For instance, watching porn may turn you on but it leaves nothing to the imagination.

When I read a book all of my senses come into play. I can smell the ocean, I can hear the rain, I can feel the caress, and I can picture everything playing out in my head. Now that; in the case of erotic books, leaves me hot and heavy.

I have read a lot of erotic pieces and had the opinion that all should have hot and descriptive sex. Now, with the help of this non de plume author, I have a better understanding between the erotic genre and erotica genre. As she said, "The beauty of erotic romance (versus erotica) is varying heat levels. Some stories warrant a fierce thunderstorm complete with lightning bolts, others require a rain shower." Bella Key is one that requires the rain shower.

Maddie Jacobs seems to have it all. She has a great job and the perfect boyfriend. But no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. Though she knows that her boyfriend totally adores her and he treats her like a princess, there's just no spark and she doesn't really know why.

Between her mother's constant reminders about her biological clock and the proposal of marriage from her boyfriend she realizes that it's just to much. Her fight or flight instincts kick in and she "runs away". On a whim, Maddie decides to head to Bella Key for the weekend. Little did she know that this spur of the moment decision would forever change her life.

Once she's at Bella Key, Maddie heads out in search of a place to stay. After a quick check on the internet she decides to stay at Sunny's Bed and Breakfast only to find that it's closed awaiting repairs to the A/C.(Living on an island myself I can relate to "everything being slow, including the workers.") All is not lost however, she is offered to stay free of charge by Sunny herself.

The two women become fast friends and Maddie is given the chance to explore and experience her attraction to other women.

Though I have never read anything written by this non de plume author, I'm heading over to Amazon to check out her other books in the erotica genre. If this tickled my fancy I can only imagine what the others will do to me.

Hot and Heavy here I come!

4 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon



Book Description: via Amazon

Maddie Jacobs must be crazy. At least that’s what her mother thinks. Professionally, she’s confident and secure; personally, she’s a hot mess. Not even a marriage proposal from a man who adores her can quell her search for something more.

In need of an escape, Maddie flees to Key West’s most southern island, Bella Key, to rest and recharge at Casa Bonita. She almost gives up on the weekend retreat when the Bed & Breakfast is closed for repairs until Sunny Rojas, the inn owner, extends an offer of friendship, sweet tea and a room. Still reeling from a breakup with her longtime partner, Sunny is thankful for the diversion from her own broken heart.

The arrival of a fierce storm forces the women’s emotional journey to a head and leads them into each other’s arms. But can Maddie throw her hangups to the wind and go with her heart? The magic of Bella Key teaches her that passion cannot be placed neatly into boxes labeled right and wrong, because love knows no boundaries.

Book Review: Circle of Lies

     Today's review is on circle of Lies by Sara Dailey & Staci Weber

I was hoping there would be some growth with this second installment of the Red Ridge Pack series, and while there were no inconsistencies like the first it still needs a little work. In fact, I feel that this one seriously lacked some originality.

In the first book we learn that Allison and Aiden's mother is a werewolf and that they are too. While book one focuses on Allison finding her true mate, this book focuses on Aiden doing the same. The only real difference between the two is that Aiden's true mate is a human. Sound like what happened with his mom and dad? Exactly!! Not to original.

We also learn that Marcus is actually Aiden's father, not the man who raised him. And as the eldest son of the Alpha, Aiden is expected to become the next in line. What does that mean for Cade? What happens now? Well we don't really find out until the very last sentence that pretty much tells you what is going to happen in book three. Talk about giving to much away.

The crisis of this story does have some merit but not very much. It lacks any real substance and falls apart to easily. Don't get me wrong, it did pique my interest if only for one chapter. Perhaps if the authors spent less time on copying almost the exact events from book one and more on the "bad guy reveals that werewolves are real" part, the overall book would have been better. I guess we'll never know.

2.5 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon


Book Description: via Amazon

Aiden Wright is trying to figure out who he really is, but the truth could cost him his true mate—or his life.

Life has always been easy for Aiden Wright. He’s smart, athletic, funny, and the ladies adore him. But when tragedy strikes, Aiden discovers the truth about who he really is and his whole world comes crashing down around him. Aiden thought that being a teenage werewolf was going to be awesome, but it might just cost him the one girl who could make him whole.

Since her mother’s disappearance, Teagan Rhodes’s life has been littered with her father’s empty beer cans and his hollow promises to change. Convinced that others would only let her down, she keeps everyone at arm’s length—but resisting Aiden’s charm is proving to be more difficult than she thought. Throw in a psychotic werewolf hunter out to terminate the species and one wrong move, one wrong decision could destroy everything.