BLOG TOUR - GRAVE HUMOR - A MAGICAL ROMANTIC COMEDY BY R.J. BLAIN

Title: Grave Humor

Series: A Magical Romantic Comedy

Author: R. J. Blain

Genre: Adult, Comedy, Paranormal, Romance

Release Date: 12th May 2020

BLURB supplied by Xpresso Book Tours

Most days, Anwen regrets working at a funeral home despite the good pay. With the residents no longer inclined to stay in their coffins where they belong, she’s got her hands full making sure everyone follows the rules:

In the funeral home, there is no screaming, no murdering, no mutilation, no possessions, no kidnappings, no resurrections, and no cursing of any type. Be quiet and stay polite.

The day Old Man McGregor decides to take a walk and disturbs her peace, Anwen learns there’s a lot more to the basement in the funeral home than a vampire and a handsome gentleman on ice.

If she’s not careful, she’ll learn first-hand why ‘eternally yours’ is the most potent of threats.

Warning: this novel contains romance, humor, bodies, shenanigans, and mythological puppies. Proceed with caution.

Goodreads Link 

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon US 

Amazon UK

B&N 

Kobo 

Google play

 AUTHOR INTERVIEW

RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until satisfied.

Could you describe your latest book, Grave Humor in 20 words or less?

Hi! Thanks for having me over today. If I had to describe the book in twenty words, I’d use these ones:

Warning: this paranormal romantic comedy contains shenanigans, a splash of sin, grave humor, and bodies.

Grave Humor is book 14 in the Magical Romantic Comedies Series, How many books will there be in the series?

That’s a really good question! The series consists of loosely connected standalones, so I can write as many or as few as I want, although I have a minimum of at least four more I want to do (that aren’t currently up for preorder.)

I have two duologies that need to be finished, and I have a few other stories that were opened up and I’d like to write before I call it a day on the series. But honestly? As long as I’m having fun, the books can help pay the bills, and the piracy issues don’t continue to cause me a lot of problems, I’ll keep writing them. The piracy sucks, because there are a lot of people who seem to want to read the books… but aren’t helping with the bills being paid.

So, for now, I guess I’ll say there will be at least 25 in the series, which includes most of the books I have covers and concepts for and just need time to write. I hope I can take it further than that, but we’ll have to see!

How did you get your ideas for your book titles?

Usually, I have a theme or concept in mind for a story when I have the cover made, and I write the book after I get the cover. The cover is a strong motivating force for me to finish the book and keep on chugging. I usually pick my titles because they either fit the story really well, they make me laugh, or they have some quality that makes me want to write that specific book.

How did you choose the series title?

My editor told me a romance couldn’t have bodies. I was in a mood, my romance had bodies, and I decided I would embrace breaking the rules. Since the books were magical romantic comedies, and romances aren’t really supposed to have bodies… I tagged on (with a body count) to make it clear the series would be breaking the rules.

It was funny at the time. It still is, I think.

That editor is still a friend of mine, and we still laugh over how romances aren’t supposed to have bodies but mine do.

Could you describe your Magical Romantic Comedies Series in 30 words or less?

Warning: this series contains humor, action, excitement, adventure, magic, romance, and bodies. Proceed with caution.

Did you have to any specific research for your Magical Romantic Series? If so what/how did you do it?

Yes. I’ve tallied tens upon tens of hours researching this series. I use mythology of various cultures in high quantity, and every time I introduce a new mythos, I need to research it. For Grave Humor, I spent a lot of time delving into various subjects involving legends, myth, and lore about death and its various incarnations and representations across the world. I then bent and broke the rules.

For example, Xolotl is actually a god of lightning and misfortune mixed in with some other things, but he is often misrepresented as a black dog of death because he looks like a black dog and he is in charge of many different aspects of life (and death.) Most importantly, he protects the sun while it journeys through the underworld. So in a way, he is a black dog of death. It’s just not in the way most think of the black dog of death, as often seen in the British mythologies and legends.

For some reason, dogs have a very strong association with death across the world. Anubis is another great example of another dog of death.

Every time I write a Magical Romantic Comedy, I ultimately end up going down some new rabbit hole to be able to write the book.

Who designed the Cover of your book? Do you have a lot of input into the process?

Rebecca Frank of Bewitching Book Covers by Rebecca Frank did the design work for Grave Humor! Honestly, I don’t like having to give too much input into the cover. I told her what the book was about, I helped pick the model, and I let her do her job. I’ve found my best covers have been when I give a designer plenty of wiggle room to work their magic.

I really like this cover, because it does a great job of representing the book and series.

Do you, basic plot/plan for each individual book in the series, before you actually begin writing it all out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story? 

All of the above, honestly. I do whatever is needed to get the book written. Some books need an extensive plot/plan. Others just need a one line concept for me to toss together. There’s no one right answer to this question for me.

Whatever it takes to get the book done is what I do to get the book done.

What can we expect from you next and in the future?

In August, I’ll be releasing a first-in-series called Booked for Murder, in which a bunch of librarian’s gang together to solve a murder so one of their own isn’t implicated in the crime. The series is titled Vigilante Magical Librarians, and it will be one part murder mystery, one part paranormal romance, and one part hilarious action-adventurey romp.

It’ll be fun!

In September, the next Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) book will release. It’s called A Chip on Her Shoulder, and it tells the story of how the devil met his wife. (The devil is a rather hilarious character who keeps showing up in the series.)

In November, I’ll be launching the first of the Fox Witch world novels, which begins with Outfoxed. The Fox Witch world will have a bunch of trilogies or quartets with one main series. I’m starting with some of the trilogies before launching the main series, but they’re all urban fantasy / paranormal romances, with a slight leaning more towards the urban fantasy part of things.

Don’t ask me about December. There are three books coming out, and I might survive through the writing process.

But I think my favorite upcoming release will be in January 2021. I’ve joined forces with Faith Hunter, Diana Pharaoh Francis, and Devon Monk in an urban fantasy collection called Dirty Deeds, and the collection focuses on women who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to get the job done.

Where can your readers follow you?

Blog 

Facebook page 

Goodreads author page 

Twitter 

Instagram 

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway