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Thursday, August 2, 2012

JD Brown's visiting...stop by for a chance to win a copy of her Urban Fantasy Dark Heirloom!


Welcome JD! Thank you for visiting my blog and introducing Dark Heirloom to us.
I'm excited to announce three lucky commenters will be picked at random to receive a copy of JD's urban fantasy Dark Heirloom so don't forget to include your email address along with your comment. 

Thanks again JD for visiting!
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Where’s the Romance?
Hello and thank you, Jenna, for having me on your blog today.

You know…vampires seem to have taken over Fabio’s roll as the expected romance hero in today’s media. I have no problem with that, I love vampires. I’m addicted to The Vampire Diaries and the Sookie Stackhouse series. But does it always have to be romance? Do they always have to be the sinner fallen in love with the virgin?

I hope not.

My debut novel, Dark Heirloom, is full of vampires, almost NO humans, and is an urban fantasy – not a paranormal romance. I know, what’s the difference, right? Sometimes my book is accidently miss-categorized by others as paranormal romance. Sometimes I correct the person and ask them to change it to urban fantasy, and sometimes I let it go because I also figure the similarities between the two genres are basically one in the same.

However, there is a key difference between urban fantasy and paranormal romance that could potentially piss-off a lot of readers, specifically readers looking for a romance story.

Before I continue, let me just say that Dark Heirloom does in fact have a romance thread, but that thread does not tie into a cute little happily-ever-after at the end of the book.

And that is where the major difference between the two genres lay.

Paranormal romance is and will always be a love story with a deep attraction that quickly explodes into a die-hard passion and ends with an unconditional perfect unity.

Urban fantasy, on the other hand, can have some or all or none of those things that paranormal romance has because the romance isn’t the main point of the book. So when a PR fan reads a vampire urban fantasy, they may be disappointed when the romance thread isn’t as heavily sated as they’d like.

But I’m not worried about it. After all, Dark Heirloom is only the first book of the series and Ema and Jesu’s relationship will develop at a natural pace – you know, after she’s beaten all the vampires and other things after her. A girl’s got to stay alive if she wants a relationship.

If you love vampires but are sick of the Bella’s, want to see a girl kick some ass instead of kiss it, and want a new twist on the lore and magic of vampirism, Dark Heirloom might just the choice for you. Try it before you buy it! Read the first ten chapters for FREE from the author’s website or download the first 10 chapters onto your e-reader for FREE from Smashwords.com

About Dark Heirloom:
“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…


Dark Heirloom is available in paperback and ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, and most other book retailers.


About the Author:
J.D. Brown graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her two Pomeranians. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, her writing is influenced by the multicultural urban society of her youth which she continues to visit each summer. J.D. loves paranormal characters; from vampires and werewolves, demons and angels, to witches and ghost. Her writings are often a combination of suspense and romance.

J.D.’s books are available in print and ebook formats from Muse It Up Publishing Inc. and major book retailers. She loves to hear from readers. You can reach her via email to DarkHeirloom@gmail.com or visit her website at http://authorjdbrown.com

You can also connect with J.D. and get all the lasted news about Dark Heirloom and her other books by joining her facebook fan page at http://facebook.com/authorjdbrown

15 comments:

  1. Hi Jenna, thanks for having me today I'm excited to be here. Questions are welcome! :)

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  2. J.D., readers certainly can feel cheated if they go into your book expecting one thing but get another. Still, each reader brings a bit of themselves to our book, making it theirs and focusing on elements they choose. All we can hope is that walk away liking our efforts, right? Great interview. I came from your twitter, so see? Sometimes twitter does garner attention, Roland

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  3. Thanks Roland. I have no doubt that Twitter helps. And yes, every reader will take away something different from the book - that is the beauty of reading and using our own imagination. :) Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Excellent interview--and a good reminder that it always helps to think about giving our readers every hint possible what the book is truly about, so that they know what kind of experience they are about to have. That having been said, I also believe that many readers love to read a wide variety (I've never met any who didn't) so as long as we do our best, it's fine. I've read books that I didn't believe fell into the genre they were advertised as--but still enjoyed the read.

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    1. Hi Conda! Even though readers usually do have a wide rage of interests, you'd be surprised how a customer will come down on you with a bad review just because they were expecting something else! LOL. I've had one such experience which is what prompted this topic in a way. Now I am more clear about the fact that it's urban fantasy and not romance.

      I've also read books that I felt were miss-categorized. You wouldn't believe how many times I've circled the Barnes & Nobel looking for something that I thought was one genre and turned out to be shelved in a totally different area of the store. The clerk probably thinks I'm a little crazy. Haha.

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  5. JD I love urban fantasies and I am a very big fan of The Dresden Files. Do you have any humans who remain human in this book? I'm hoping to win it so I can read it, of course.:) I like vampires who are not like those in Twilight and I am a big fan of the TV Vampire Diaries. I also grew up in an urban setting in the boroughs of New York City, Brooklyn and Queens. But I never thought of vampires.LOL! We were too busy worrying about the humans occupying the city.

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    1. Lionmother, to be honest there are exactly two humans in this first book that stay human, but their role is very minor. One you never really meet and the other you only see for one chapter. Here's a little secret though, the one you don't meet in this book comes back later in the series. ;)

      A couple more might come and go as the series progresses but I like keeping the focus on the vampire characters that flood Ema's new life.

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  7. Hi Jenna - Hey J.D. - big hugs:) I'm here in support (not to be included in drawing) - I've already read J.D.'s Dark Heirloom - and yes, she's got it right, Emma Marx is a real kick-ass kind of woman.
    Thanks for the clarification on the Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance - I've been stumbling over that one ever since Urban Fantasy became a hot genre:)
    Great to see two awesome authors on the same page:)

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    1. Hi Kay Dee, thanks for stopping in. I'm glad I was able to clarify the difference for you. :) There are actually more differences if you look at the dictionary meaning of the two genres, but paranormal characters are so not right now that they've taken over nearly every genre, making the lines blur! I remember a few months ago I was looking for a book that I thought was a paranormal romance - turns out it was classified as mystery! Not even mystery romance, just mystery! Fooled me, haha.

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  8. I have been enlightened by your article. Thank you. I really didn't know the difference. At times, since the two genres run so close together, I've always wondered. Yes, vamps and paranormal are hot topics the last few years. Keep it going.

    struiff@msn.com

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    1. Thanks, Lorrie. As I was telling Kay Dee, the paranormal have stretched across the broad to many genres these days, so yes, it's easy to feel like the differences are blurred. I'm enjoying the ride and will definitely keep going, thanks! :)

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  9. Hi, Jenna & JD:

    Don't put my name in the hat, because I've already read the book and it's great! And now that you've reminded me that paranormal romance needs the HEA but urban fantasy doesn't necessarily end that way, I see why you make that distinction. I apologize if I saw vampires and put you in the paranormal section of the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Inepta!

    Hugs, Rochelle.

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    1. Rochelle, no need to apologize, you left me a great review! And I'm glad Jesu has fans; everyone wants to see their relationship grow and that's a good thing because I plan on it developing as the series continues. In fact, I think the romance fans are going to be much more pleased with book 2. *wink* :)

      Hugs,
      J.D.

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  10. JD,

    I know the interviews are long over but I really appreciate your insight into your world of writing. I am a begining writer and will be in a totally different genra but they are all connected in some way. I appreciate the knowledge you have.

    I found you from the blog list on the alex cavanaugh site

    rob

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