Dark Companion Book Trailer & Audiobooks!

One of my recent projects was creating a trailer for Dark Companion. Although no one knows if trailers help promote a book at all, they can be fun to watch, and I wanted one that reflected the theme and mood of my book.  I love the quick thumbnail sketches that illustrator, Christian Nacorda sends me for other projects (see above), so I thought, "I'll ask Christian to illustrate my trailer!"

I'm so glad I did! Talented actress Patricia Fructuoso provides the narration and also edited. The music is by 700P3D and sets the right tense mood. I hope you like it and will share it with others!



Next week I'll post more about the audiobooks of the Casa Dracula series, which are now available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It's so exciting for me to hear my stories read aloud by Patricia, who can bring the funny, sexy, quirky characters to life. You can listen to samples of the books at Audible.

It's always wonderful to see that readers are enjoying my coloring-outside-the-lines writing, and here are a few new reviews of Dark Companion:

Kimberly at Sliced Open Reviews says, "Dark Companion does bloom into the promised Gothic Paranormal, there is also quite a bit of social issues brought up. Social and economic issues in inner cities, the effects of foster care on children and teens, constant changes in foster and group homes, women’s rights, abusive and potentially abusive relationships…I can keep going, but you can see, like WOW? (more)"

Becky at Stories & Sweeties says, "Dark Companion is such a unique, dark, and mesmerizing story with lots of twists and plot surprises, some really hilarious quick-witted dialogue and fantastic characters, but also some really frustrating moments where I absolutely loathed what was happening. I think my opinion of this book changed a million times while reading, but looking back on the story as a whole after I'd turned the last page---all I could think was... 'Wow'. (more)"

Becky LeJeune at No More Grumpy Bookseller says, "Marta Acosta has built a wonderful homage to Bronte in this unique and twisted version of Jane Eyre. Laced with quotes from classic gothic literature and filled with chilling atmosphere, Dark Companion is an all new and original tale contains just enough of the classic for fans to recognize. (more)."

Lydia at The Lost Entwife says, "I think Dark Companion is a book that will appeal to those lovers of gothic and boarding school novels out there, and may just do a little bit to redeem the vampire craze by providing us with a book that was intelligent, interesting, intriguing, and even funny when it needed to be. (more)"

Mary at Forever Young Adult says, "ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT... There are going to be the obvious comparisons to Jane Eyre and the story does follow it a bit with the characters and plot, but this dark Gothic with paranormal twists is updated and modern. (more)"

Enjoy your weekend!

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Q&As and Giveaways, Inc. Audiobooks

I'm a guest at Suzanne Johnson's Preternatura blog - woohoo! Suzanne is a fellow Tor writer and her wonderful debut urban fantasy, Royal Street, was released earlier in the year and River Road, Sentinels of New Orleans #2, comes out in November.  Sometimes I grind my teeth in jealousy over the amazing book giveaways she has, but her niceness makes me forgive her every time.

Suzanne asks me questions and I answer all fancy like because that's how I roll, and she's got a contest for Dark Companion.

Michelle of Much Loved Books says my book has "a mixture of secrets, mysteries, friendships and romance and of course hot boys" and also interviews me:

Perfection doesn’t interest me though. People who don’t make mistakes never take chances either. I’m fascinated by our errors in judgment, by ambiguity, by emotional conflict, by opposing motives.

Alice Marvels, a teen fiction book site, has a contest for Dark Companion and a review:

A powerful and darkly entrancing gothic novel that, like its diamond-in-the-rough heroine, takes commonplace elements and turns them into something dazzling.

Lea at YA Book Queen has something wonderful! She's got links for two free audiobooks: the very ghostly Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, another Tor author, and, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins! Kendare and I will be on Tor Teen's Girls Night(mare) Out tour, and I'll post about that when the schedule is finalized. I've always wanted to read Collins's classic Gothic, but I thought it would be too spooky. I'm going to listen to it though!

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Context is All & New Reviews

When I recently commented that Anne Bronte doesn't get much attention, author and blogger KT Grant aka KatieBabs shared this delightful cartoon by Kate Beaton.

KT/KatieBabs writes erotica and I think that will be the next hot (hawt?) genre with the success of 50 Shades of Grey. Sex comes out of the closet, or dungeon, or whatever. Of course, what makes 50 Shades so insanely popular is the action within the context of the passionate emotional relationship, because context is all.

I've tried to make actions true to characters within the context of Dark Companion. A few early reviewers don't agree that my protagonist would make the decisions she does, but perhaps they have rosier views of the lives of most foster children than I do. Susanne Babbel, Ph.D., references a former foster child in a series she wrote on the foster care system:

Amy (name altered)...told me that roughly nine out of ten fellow foster children she crossed paths with claimed that they had been abused by their foster parents.She also expressed that foster children are often taught by their circumstances not to speak up and are conditioned to think abuse is "normal.".

I tried to address the questions of context in my Behind-the-Scenes with Dark Companion Q&A.

I realized last week that my book is being released on Tuesday! All this time and it's finally coming out. Here are a few nice early reviews:

 "Simply put, Dark Companion is an enchanting Gothic read, deliciously reminiscent of Jane Eyre...a complex and beautiful read full of shades of gray and uneasy moral choices, charming and haunting."
.........................................Kara-Karina, Nocturnal Book Reviews

"I absolutely loved it. I found the gothic nature of the book quite reminiscent of Jane Eyre, but with a fairy tale spin. I loved the mythological aspect of the trees in the book, and how much this subtly played into various plot points...I found the book to be lovely. I thought the writing was lush, and often haunting."
..........................................Tiffany, Tiffany's Book Shelf

"I think readers who love the paranormal and romance with enjoy getting to know the smart and feisty Jane Williams and will empathize with her. The story has wonderful gothic overtones that are highlighted by the quotations from gothic novels of the past that begin each of the chapters."
.........................................Kathy Martin, Ms. Martin Teaches Media

"I am happy to tell you that this creepy, dark and unique novel delivered. It has mystery, romance, interesting characters and a plot filled with twists...The tale Acosta has spun is unique and at times very dark. The whole tale is shrouded in mystery and we learn things as Jane does. This added to the whole creepy factor and I loved every minute of it!"
.........................................Kimba, Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer


"While containing aspects of stories that I love, this is not a cookie cutter tale that falls into one category or another...I'd say this is definitely a book to read. I think Marta Acosta is a genius because anyone who can combine the feel of Dangerous Minds, Jane Eyre, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants all into one smorgasbord of awesomeness is full of win!"
.........................................Jessie, The Elliot Review


 

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