Vampires abound with J.D. Brown. Let's see what she's sunk her teeth into ...

Welcome J.D.! Could you please start by telling us a little about yourself?

Absolutely. I’m J.D. Brown, the author of Dark Heirloom, a new urban fantasy vampire series published by Muse It Up Publishing Inc. I’m from Chicago but currently living in Wisconsin and have been trying to find my way back to the city ever since I left. I love paranormal characters and have made a living out of creating my own. Humans have no place in my stories. Instead, I let the dark creatures tell it like it is and take you along for the ride.

How much research do you do for your books? Have you found any cool tidbits in your research?

I research a lot before every new story and sometimes I end up doing a little research while I’m writing too. With urban fantasy, a lot is based on factual information, “what-if?” scenarios from history, real locations, etc. I need to know where things are and how they work. Seriously, if a cop ever searched my computer history, they’d have me committed. I have little notes like “Where is this old Nazi bunker located?” Haha.

I didn’t think I’d like researching because I never liked when I had to do it in collage or high school, but it turns out I can sink deep into weeks’ worth of facts when it comes to getting ideas for a plot and I love it! I get so engrossed in the possibilities and ideas just start snowballing in my head. I’ve learned a lot of cool tidbits along the way. I think my favorite of all are the old original vampire folk tales I read while getting ideas for the vampire world in Dark Heirloom. They old myths are so completely different from how vampires are portrayed today or even how they were portrayed twenty years ago.

What main genre do you write in?

I write urban fantasy with a little romance woven into the mix.

How does your family feel about having a writer in the family? Do they read your books?

My family actually shocked me a bit. I knew they would be very supportive, they’re always behind me no matter what crazy thing I do, but I wasn’t expecting them to read my work at all. I’m the only one in my family that reads for fun, so when my mom, sister, and uncle read Dark Heirloom cover to cover, I was so touched I didn’t know how to react. They’re all waiting for me to get a phone call from a big-time Hollywood producer. I don’t have the heart to tell them it will be many years before that happens.

What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

I do a little bit of everything. I plot, research, and outline like fiend, but when it comes time to write all my planning seems to fly out the window and the characters take over. I feel like the mom, trying to keep them in line, but it’s pointless and truth be told, they know the story better than I do.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I think I definitely have my own style. I like to write in deep first-person point of view, allowing the reader to experience everything as it happens to the main character. That’s my goal for every book I write; to give the reader an experience. I also love to inject humor and exaggeration in high-tension areas, but this is also kind of my main character’s doing. Ema can’t stay serious for more than five minutes without injecting some sort of witty remark into the scene.

Current Release Details:

Dark Heirloom is the first book in the Ema Marx series and is now available on Amazon.com and MuseItUpPublishing.com. I’ll leave you with the blurb:

“You’re a vampire” is so not what Ema Marx wants to hear when she wakes from a two-day coma in a cryptic yet exquisite castle in northern Finland. Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like why she’s able to see in the dark and walk through solid objects. What she doesn’t understand is why the other vampires expect her to have all the answers. It’s their fault she turned into one of them…right?

Jalmari’s hatred for his old-man intensifies when he’s ordered to bring that troublesome girl to their castle. He has a clan to run, there’s no time for babysitting newborn vampires no matter how they were converted to their culture. But when a two-thousand-year-old premonition threatens to take the crown and his life, Jalmari sees no other choice than to take out the catalyst. Ema Marx. Fortunately for Ema, she could also be the clan’s only savior.

The race to figure out her vampiric origins is on. And maybe she’ll get the hang of the blood-drinking gig along the way…

Who is your perfect hero? And why?

If I could take Jalmari and Jesu (two of my characters from Dark Heirloom) , melt them down, and mix them together, that would be my perfect hero. I absolutely love a strong tempered alpha male that’s going to take charge and challenge my world every day (Jalmari), but he also needs to know how to be a sweet gentlemen that can treat a lady like a lady (Jesu). But in my opinion, perfect is boring so I made them two separate men.

How can readers find out more about you and your books?

I’m all over the web but the best place learn more about me and my books is at my website http://authorjdbrown.com

And the best way to chat with me or stay up to date with my happenings is by liking my Facebook fan page at http://facebook.com/authorjdbrown

Is there anyone who really mentored or inspired you to keep writing until you were finally published?

My mom has always been the backbone of my life, always supporting me and encouraging me to dream big and make those dreams come true. But I also owe a huge thank you to my author friends, Charlene Wilson and Anastasia Pergakis. Those ladies believed in my writing even back in the very early days of conception. They held my hand through the good times and the bad times and they refused to let me give up. We’ve grown incredibly close through those shared experiences and I’m forever grateful for getting to know them.

Author’s Links: ·       Facebook Fan Page ·       Twitter Profile ·       J.D.’s Blog ·       J.D.’s Book Club

Buy Links: ·       Amazon Kindle ·       MuseItUp Publishing Inc.