Interview with NA fantasy author J.M. Bray

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The second in the fresh, exciting romantic fantasy Shroud trilogy takes up where Tearing the Shroud leaves off – with the lives, the loves, and the mythical world beyond our own. 


After accepting bodily possession and saving the world, Vincent thought his life would get easier. He thought wrong.

The Shroud may not have torn wide open, but it did tear a little, and the retribution for the failure is coming hard, fast, and directly at Vincent and the people he loves.

His only hope is to once again accept possession from Coleman and do battle with the deformed, terrifying Kafla. But this time, he's not alone. Jule, the woman he loves and hopes to marry, is possessed as well, and together the four of them become a formidable team.

Together they hope to stave off the invasion and take the fight to the Realm, but only a supreme sacrifice can mend the Shroud and save both their lives and their worlds.

Mending the Shroud Links

Goodreads - Amazon - AmazonAU - iBooks - B&N (coming soon!)


Interview with the amazing author of the Shroud Trilogy, J.M. Bray!

You write NA fantasy romances, what’s it like being a male author in such a female crowded genre?

I love being one of the only guys in the crowd, especially when they forget I’m there. Lol Emails about what to wear at conferences, or the parties planned during them, can take some interesting and revealing turns. On the serious side, it also gives me insight into aspects of what women face. It’s valuable information and I don’t take it lightly. As to my sales, hopefully it will help me stand out.

What made you decide to write this genre? What were your very first inspirations?

Romance comes naturally to me. I mean that in a literal way. I write Fantasy novels. They happen to be romantic because I can’t seem to help myself. It just comes out. Once I realized that, I started adjusting scenes to dovetail with the genre.

Inspirations. That’s a great question. Please don’t think I’m dodging it. As far as people, other authors, I don’t have any. No one I’ve read made me aspire to become a writer. There are writers I admire, and I’d love to be as talented, but reading them doesn’t spur me to write. For me, inspiration comes from the ideas sloshing around my (mostly empty) skull. Taking a thought, or something I see and pushing it to the extreme or beyond, that gets me going.

How has this genre changed since Tearing The Shroud was first published?

It may seem like I’m mincing words, but hey, authors do that. When speaking of genre, I’m referring to fantasy romance. NA is an age bracket.

As far as the genre, I think it’s becoming more open. The expectations for hitting all the romantic tropes aren’t as hardline. I think that’s a good thing. It opens stories up, lets them breathe. NA is changing too. I think people are looking for more than YA with sex, a tattooed bad boy and a girl recovering from abuse, who hates her parents.

If there was ONE book you wish someone would compare your series to, what would it be?

Wow, you are rocking the questions! I’m totally stumped. I mean, everyone would love to be the next big thing. Besides that, I’d like the series to draw people in, make them want more of the world I’ve developed. Raymond Feist’s Magician Apprentice and the rest of the series, did that for me. It’s a huge epic fantasy with a bagillion books. My little ramblings would never compare in scope or depth (or talent) but I’d like to have even a tiny bit of the ‘want more’ it produced.

You have a very hunky main character, Vincent. Before you published and got that amazing cover, who did you imagine as your character? Aka, who would you cast in the movie? 

Robbie Amell is the personification of Vincent. But he’s 26 now, so I may need to start looking again. You think he could play 21?

Tell me about the sequel you have coming out, what can readers expect? Anything surprisingly different from Tearing The Shroud? 

Readers can expect more of the gang and the answers to subplots! In Tearing the Shroud, I was careful to bring things to a solid conclusion regarding the immediate threat, but left…not cliffhangers…but possibilities to follow. Mending the Shroud picks up a month after the climactic end of book one. While there are big surprises, and they are different, I don’t think they’re surprisingly different. There’s that mincing words thing again. Book three, Shrouded, has the surprisingly different going on in spades.

Anything else you’re dying to tell potential readers?

Yes, a few of things. The first is for authors everywhere. Leave reviews, especially if you liked the book. In this day and age, Amazon rankings and what shows up in Amazon emails is determined by your reviews. Take five minutes and help other readers find the author you enjoyed.

From the standpoint of my novels, you get to see romance from a guy’s perspective, what we really think. It’s more than pizza and boobs…not that those aren’t important. Also, this series takes nearly every NA cliché and turns them on their heads. If you’re looking for something refreshingly different, buy and follow the Shroud Trilogy: Tearing the Shroud and Mending the Shroud.

About the Author

J.M. Bray lives in Southern California with his college sweetheart and their two dogs. After a lifetime together, they are happier than the moment they met. When not writing or working his "day job", he loves to cook, play the guitar, and travel with his wife. Every chance he gets, he races an old Porsche named "Tuffy" at tracks in the southwest.


Connect with JM
Twitter: @jmbraybooks
Email: jmbray@jmbray.com
Website: www.jmbray.com
Blog: http://blog.jmbray.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/JMBray.books
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jmbraybooks/


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