Book Lovers 4Ever: Q&A and giveaway with J.D. Brown

1. Tell us about Dark Heirloom.

Dark Heirloom follows the misadventure of a young woman named Ema Marx as she stumbles fangs-first into the world of vampyrism. She has no idea how she became a vampyre, but she’s convinced the guy who kidnapped her is to blame. Yet, he keeps asking her how it happened, as if she has any clue. Just yesterday she was happily living life not knowing they even existed.

Publication Date: April 5, 2012

The first book of the Ema Marx series.

"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...

Available at: Amazon B&N iBookstore Smashwords BAM

2. And the second installment, Dark Liaison, could you tell us a little bit about it also?

In Dark Liaison, Ema has to fight a major bad guy that she accidently unleashed in the first book.

The second book in the award-winning Ema Marx series.

Ema Marx wishes her life would go back to normal, but there's nothing normal about being a Romani-Vampyre with an ancestor who wants you dead. Apollyon is back, wreaking havoc on the lives of everyone she cares about while plotting her demise.
Ema thought she would find a new best friend in her trainer, Bridget, until the exotic vampire vies for Jesu's attention. Jesu can date who he wants, right? Ema has more important things to worry about, like honing her powers. When Apollyon's thugs appear out of the shadows to attack her, Ema knows it's time to take action. But everyone else has other plans in mind.
One thing is for certain, being under house arrest in the German vampyre king's castle was not part of her plan to save the day.

Available at: Amazon B&N Kobo iBookstore BAM

3. How many future installments do you have planned for The Ema Marx Series?

The third book, Dark Becoming, will release at the end of this summer. Right now the series is open ended, so I can continue it for as long as I want—but I do have a definite ending in mind.

4. Tell us a few things about Ema that aren’t in your books.

Before she became a vampyre, Ema was a coffee-holic like me. ;) She also worked in a library. Unfortunately, neither of those things made it into the final manuscript.

5. You has described yourself as an “socially awkward girl”, do you still feel that way as an adult? Why?

*Laughing* Oh yes, I am still awkward. The difference now is that I embrace it. I like my weirdness. It’s what makes me who I am and it’s what makes me creative.

6. Being a lover of fine cuisine, coffee, and shoes, give us two examples (each) of your all time favorites.

When I say “lover” I mean “addict”. I have to pick just two? Okay, I’ll try. Cuisine, I love Japanese and Thai dishes, but I’m really not picky. I’ll eat anything. Coffee, I frequent Starbucks and make use of my K-cup machine several times a day. I love Hazelnut and Pumpkinspice and Chai tea lattes (whoops, that’s three). Shoes…LOL. Okay…Coach and Vans. I know, polar opposites, right? But that’s me. I can be classy one day and skater the next. My mood is always changing.

7. Have you always lived in Wisconsin? Do you like to travel?

No, I was born in California, moved to Illinois when was four, then moved to Wisconsin after collage. I love to travel. I’ve been all across North America, from Niagara Falls to the Panama Canal. I love cities. Big crowds don’t bother me at all. In fact, I’m more uncomfortable at home in Wisconsin. Too much open country here.

8. What are you reading now and what are the next three books on your TBR list?

I’m currently reading The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank. I’m almost done with it and next up is The Vampires of Soldier Cove.

9. What is you favorite and least favorite part about writing?

I like the escape. I like getting to live in my make-believe fantasy world. (Doesn’t that sound creepy?) And I love it when a random stranger tells me that they love my books. I could be having the worse day of my life, but a single positive remark from a fan can turn my bad day around in an instant and make my week. My least favorite part of writing is when my Muse decides to take a vacation.

10 Do you have a future project in the works that you could tell us about?

Besides the Ema novels, I’m planning a YA paranormal romance series. My goal is to have the first book ready to go to the publisher by the end of the summer or fall. The Ema books are geared more toward adult readers and while I love them, I’m also really excited to break into the YA market. I love reading YA. I’m a big fan of Cassandra Clare and others and I always kind of assumed I would start out in the YA genre, but ended up writing characters that were my age first. So now I’m coming back around with younger paranormal characters that I think even my current adult fans will love.

J.D. Brown knows that vampires exist because she’s dating one and no, he doesn’t sparkle. Unfortunately, he’s not immortal either (or maybe her standards are too low). A magnet for subcultures and weirdness, J.D. was that

socially awkward girl with more fictional friends than real ones. As a child battling a hearing loss and a medical condition with no name, J.D. found comfort in books where strong women always saved the day and got the guy. An obsession with Charmed,Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Heroes lead J.D. to believe that her mutated chromosome made her something more, not something less. Thus her stubborn flare to persevere was born.
A lover of fine cuisine, coffee, and shoes, J.D. never understood why shoe stores don’t serve Starbucks and soufflé. She resides in Wisconsin were she writes urban fantasy—aka vampires for adults—and has political debates with her dogs.