Tuesday, May 28, 2019

New Orleans recap and a chance to get a free copy of His Final Girl!

So I've been back from New Orleans for almost a week and just now getting to my recap.  The convention was a lot of fun, and I did indeed fulfill my goal to EAT ALL THE DELICIOUS NOLA FOOD. Below are pics of Shrimp and Grits, (Which is my fave and I ate 3 times), Deep Fried crawfish, shrimp, and crab, and some poutine. 
And that's only a sample of the goodness I devoured, lol.
I got to do a lot of touristy stuff that I didn't get to enjoy last time, like visit the St. Louis Cemetery. Our guide was awesome, and Kent and I got to see all the above ground crypts and Marie Laveau's tomb, Nicholas Cage's tomb (Women kiss it, apparently, even though he's still alive and obviously not in there, lol).
I fulfilled my dream of seeing the Garden District, including the house from Anne Rice's The Witching Hour!  Other touristy visits included The French Market (OMG, I got so many cute dresses!), the aquarium, (Not worth the 30 bucks per ticket, I recommend the Seattle Aquarium instead) and the Jazz Museum for the sake of my son.
Sometimes, I beat myself up a bit over not spending as much time at the convention networking and promoting myself, but not much. For one thing, my social anxiety was crazy-high that week. I blame the move and having writer's block. So I wouldn't have been very effective forcing myself.
For another, it made the connections I DID make more memorable. I did feel bad about the last few conventions when I'd come home exhausted and overwhelmed with a handful of business cards of people I couldn't remember meeting.
Instead, I met some awesome librarians, book club members, bloggers, and of course, AWESOME READERS! 
The book signing was my most successful so far. I sold over half my copies ofHis Final Girl, half my stock of Melding Souls, and half of Heart Throb.
Most of all, I'm trying not to beat myself up about not being in author mode for most of this convention because this was probably my last chance to visit New Orleans for at least a few years, and possibly ever. 
It was wonderful to see the sights, eat the food, and have a bit of a romantic vacation with Kent. I was pleasantly surprised at how much he loved the place too. He's traveled a lot, so he's not as easy to impress as I am, lol.
I also indulged myself and got souveniers. These were a couple oddball things I purchased. I ADORE my little cast iron crawfish!!! I also bought some gorgeous dresses, but can't find a way to get them to photograph well.
Anyway, it's good to be back home and writing again even though next week I have to leave town again to once more go to The Gorge to see Dead and Company. At least that's only for a weekend. :)
BOOK NEWS!
I FINALLY managed to pull myself out of another bad bout of writer's block. My second horror romance, HER HAUNTED HEART, is beginning to take shape! I also got to work with my publisher to find the perfect images for the cover, so there might be a reveal sooner than usual!
And speaking of the B Mine series, I want to thank everyone who's given HIS FINAL GIRL a chance. Yes, it was ricky for me to combine horror and romance, but it's also been a lot of fun.
FREE BOOK OPPORTUNITY
Want to read HIS FINAL GIRL, but don't have $3.99? I partnered with Reading Deals and they're giving away a limited amount of copies if you're willing to review the book. And like I often say, reviews help me A TON! 
You can sign up HERE.
You'll also get to check out other fun books. My publisher did just submit it to NetGalley and Booksprout, so hopefully it will be available there in the next couple weeks.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

His Final Girl is on paperback!

My horror romance, HIS FINAL GIRL is available on paperback on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! Another way to get it is to ask your local bookstore or your library to order it.
Also, the book got its first review and it's amazeballs! 
"Do you enjoy fun cheesy 80s movies with summer camps, teens, and something in the woods? Do you like it when the heroes are a little more real and the sparks of romance and love can be felt? Oh, and do you love winks and nods to 80s horror films? HIS FINAL GIRL is a super-fun, romantic, horror-filled romp set in the early 80s at a summer camp. This tale drips with nostalgia for summer campers, movie watchers, and the children of the 80s. It is unique, familiar, risky, and a must read.

I bought this book with some trepidation because I don’t normally read romance books, but I love horror novels and movies. I don’t mind romance and a good love story is always welcome, but in a horror film or book this doesn’t always end well. In horror movies (like slashers) there’s usually just a final person (most often a woman) who survives (at least until the last-second jump-scare in some cases). In this case, well, it’s a steamy romance book too. How do 99% of romance books end?

Also, the romantic male-lead isn’t a roguish rake, he’s an every-man with flaws and even kind of nerdy. There’s nothing to hate about him. In fact, both leads are extremely likable. Easy to love and root for.

Now, about the horror references. Some are obvious. The main male character Wes Carpenter is an obvious nod to Wes Craven and John Carpenter (amazing horror directors). Linnea Langenkamp is a mashup of Linnea Quigley and Heather Langenkamp (an awesome Scream Queen and a great final girl). The references don’t stop there. You’ll see jocks in half-shirts and short shorts. You’ll see pulled up striped tube socks. Let’s just say you’ll see a lot. I often found myself wondering “I wonder if this is a reference to...” when I started out, but then I got into the story more and ignored the references.

I keep saying “you’ll see” because this book feels like a great popcorn-and-soda film. After everyone got to camp, I was lost in it. It felt like I was sitting on my couch, munching popcorn, and enjoying the show. This doesn’t happen often with books for me, but when it does, it’s a bit of a mind twist. Effortless reading with moving brain pictures. This NEEDS to be an an audiobook. Hell, it eventually needs to be a great throwback movie.

Yes, this would make an “Unrated” or XXX movie (for hot sex and bloody, Tom Savini-esque violence) as written, but it could work as an R or even a—with crafty editing—PG-13 film...but if a PG-13 cut was made, I’m sure the author would want an over-the-top director’s unrated splatterific cut too. It’s interesting to read well-written romantic and hot sex-scenes in a horror book. It isn’t unheard of, but they’re often not this well done (even Stephen King’s make me cringe a little). These felt almost as if Stephanie Laurens decided to write a horror novel.

And the best part, this is going to be part of a series of horror romance books that Brooklyn Ann is calling “B Mine.” I don’t know what her plans are exactly, but I’m excited about this. This book deserves to be a number-one best seller, but I’ll be happy if it become the cult classic that it is."
SQUEEEEEE! 
Now that the move is done, I'm going back to watching haunted house movies because that's the subject of B Mine, Book 2!
But I also need to focus on unpacking, preparing for Book Lover's Con in TWELVE DAYS, writing my next book, and doing my best to make my work known to readers. You all help me with that soooo much when you add my books to your TBR lists and those of you who share my releases on social media. I say this a lot, but I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH! 

((Hugs))
Brooklyn Ann
Series by Brooklyn Ann
B Mine
(Horror Romance)
Scandals With Bite
(Regency paranormal romance)
Books do not need to be read in order
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brides of Prophecy
(Paranormal Romance/ Urban Fantasy) 
Also don't need to be read in order until book 5...kinda
Prequel: Tesemini (Free)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hearts of Metal
(Contemporary Romance)
Standalones that intertwine
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For excerpts and special content, visit BrooklynAnnAuthor.com

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