From J.D. Brown: Before I was a writer, I was a reader. I've had my nose stuck in books for as long as I can remember; starting out with Dr. Seuss and The Berenstain Bears.

It didn't take long for me to turn to paranormal. Even at eight years old I had a soft spot in my heart for all things dark and misunderstood, magical and a little dangerous. I loved the night, the stars, and the moon. I knew in my heart my Prince Charming was a prince of darkness that would ride on a black nightmare instead of a white stallion. I dabbled in witch craft just to get closer to these elements. Oh yes, I was an odd child that danced to the beat of her own drum. I kept Mom on her toes and gave her plenty of gray hairs.

Combine this with my love for mythology and folklore and I guess it was only a matter of time before I wrote my own. There were several occasions during my life when I thought I could write a book. But I never gave it any serious consideration until one day a certain novel whose title I won't mention got me thinking.

This instance was about three years ago. By then I was a die-hard fan of paranormal. But I realized there was something I wanted to read about that I wasn't getting from other authors at the time - and that was a story told from the point of view of the heroine after she became a vampire and joined the undead ranks.

More often than not, the stories are told from the human hero or heroine's point of view. The paranormal characters are secondary and the plot often ends once the hero/heroine decides to join them.

This always left me frustrated. I wanted to know what happened after that. I wanted to experience life through the vampire/werewolf/witch's point of view. What was their culture like? Surely it couldn't be like ours when they often lived in secret and with such super-human abilities. The paranormal hardly ever follow human laws and customs, so they must have some of their own. They must have their own traditions and history and government. Otherwise what was stopping them from decorating their homes with human heads?

Those were things I wanted to read about and experience. But I wasn't getting it from authors of the time. So I took matters into my own hands and set out to write my own vampire novel.

In Dark Heirloom the readers live vivaciously through Ema Marx, a young woman who is turned into a vampire by Chapter Two. I can only think of one other character in the story that is human and that person plays a very minor role. The rest of the cast and the story itself are entirely of the paranormal caravan.

I knew right from the beginning that I wanted my readers to get up close and personal with my vampire characters and experience the culture of an underground society first hand - as if they were an exchange student in a foreign land.

Because Ema is newly turned, she still clings to human habits, keeping the reader comfortable with a relatable - and witty - main character.

I hope you enjoy reading Dark Heirloom as much as I enjoyed writing it.

xo ~ J.D.

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"What was your focused intention when you began writing this book?" - asked by T.C. Mckinney regarding Dark Heirloom

"Besides entertaining myself with a vampire story, I wanted to share the experience with everyone else too. There are so many elements wrapped up in Dark Heirloom, it's impossible to list them all in an interview. There are themes like family and loss and death and passion and growth. Things that we all can relate to that make the characters more human than they realize. I hope anyone who reads it experiences the emotions of the characters and the story. Any emotion at all, even if it's anger or hate. If I can make my readers feel something then I've done my job." - J.D. Brown in answer to T.C. Mckinney