The Broken Darkness by Theresa Braun (Spec Fiction/ Short Story Collection) + giveaway

The Broken Darkness
by Theresa Braun
January 26th, 2023
Genre: Dark Fiction/ Spec Fiction/ Short Story Collection
Publisher: Gorgon Blood Press
In her debut collection, Theresa Braun explores the inner workings of the human heart and what it is we most desire—forgiveness, acceptance, love, fame, or merely to escape who we really are. Whether we are battling ghosts, demons, mythical monsters, the past, or other dimensions, we are really facing the deepest parts of ourselves. These thirteen tales of horror and dark fantasy may appear to be a matter of good versus evil, but they are all a reflection of the hidden corners of the soul that are often shades of broken darkness. The characters in these stories must face their inner and outer terrors, or else suffer the consequences.

Amazon

About the Author
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Theresa Braun has a Master’s degree in English literature and lives in South Florida where she has taught literature and writing for over 20 years. Traveling, ghost hunting, and all things dark are her passions. In 2018 Unnerving released her horror novel Fountain Dead, a coming of age ghost story. Her short works have appeared in The Horror Zine, Sirens Call, Hardened Hearts, and Best Indie Speculative Fiction: November 2018, Double Barrel Horror (Volume 3) and Emporium of Superstition.

Twitter: @tbraun_author @RRBookTours1 #RRBookTours #TheBrokenDarkness

IG: @theresa.anne.braun @rrbooktours #rrbtthebrokendarkness #thebrokendarkness #shortstories #horrorbooks #darkfantasybooks #paranormalbooks

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US Giveaway: 

Paperback Edition of The Broken Darkness

TO ENTER: Go to 

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Audiobook Cover Reveal: Fountain Dead by Theresa Braun

I am thrilled to share this beautiful new cover of the upcoming audiobook edition of Fountain Dead by Theresa Braun!

Fountain Dead
by Theresa Braun
Expected Publication Date: Fall 2022
Genre: Mature YA/ Paranormal/ Ghost Story
Mark is uprooted from his home and high school in the Twin Cities and forced to move with his family into a Victorian in Nowhere-ville. Busy with the relocation and fitting in, Mark’s parents don’t see what’s unfolding around them—the way rooms and left behind objects seem alive with a haunted past. Of course, Mark keeps his ghostly encounters to himself, all the while sinking deeper into the house’s dark, alluring, and ultimately terrifying history. As romantic entanglements intensify, the paranormal activity escalates. Past and present come together. Everything is connected—from the bricks in the walls to the hearts beating in their chests, all the secrets of Fountain Dead are finally unearthed.

Coming Soon!

Kindle Unlimited

About the Author
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Theresa Braun has a Master’s degree in English literature and lives in South Florida where she has been teaching literature and writing for over 20 years. Traveling, ghost hunting, and all things dark are her passions (when she is not coming up with romantic subplots). She has presented at HWA conferences, as well as Utah Quills Conferences. Her published works include both novels and short stories that have appeared in various horror fiction publications. In 2018, she was included in a Best Speculative Fiction anthology.

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@tbraun_author @rrbooktours1 #rrbooktours #fountaindead #coverreveal

IG: 

@theresa.anne.braun @rrbooktours #rrbooktours #fountaindead #audiobooks #coverreveal #yabookstagram #yahorror #ghoststory

Cover Reveal Organized By:

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Double Book Review: Fountain Dead by Theresa Braun

Fountain Dead

by Theresa Braun
November 18, 2018
Genre: Mature YA/ Horror/ Paranormal

Publisher: Unnerving
Length: 68,000 words (187 Kindle pages)

ASIN: B07H9KBK2P 

ISBN: 9781989206058
Mark is uprooted from his home and high school in the Twin Cities and forced to move with his family into a Victorian in Nowhere-ville. Busy with the relocation and fitting in, Mark’s parents don’t see what’s unfolding around them—the way rooms and left behind objects seem alive with a haunted past.

Of course, Mark keeps his ghostly encounters to himself, all the while sinking deeper into the house's dark, alluring, and ultimately terrifying history. As romantic entanglements intensify, the paranormal activity escalates. Past and present come together. Everything is connected—from the bricks in the walls to the hearts beating in their chests, all the secrets of Fountain Dead are finally unearthed.

Reviewer: Pamela K. Kinney

I gave Fountain Dead 4 haunted sheep

Fountain of Dead is a coming-of-age story woven into a ghost story. Mark moves with his father, mother, and sister into a Victorian house in the Eighties. At first, only Mark seems to have encounters with ghostly apparitions, shadows, and other supernatural happenings in the house. 

Using alternating chapters, the story of a young woman in the 1800s is told.  Her mother was poisoned by an evil man. Her father and one of her brothers blames her for her mother’s death to distract from their own dark changes. Her father feels he can do anything in the basement of his house…the dungeon. But his mistreatment of the Indians in his mad experiments will bring the spirits down on him and his…but not all of them are bad.

If you enjoy YA stories, coming-of-age mixed with creepy haunted house tales, this novel will fit the bill for you. 

Reviewer: Jeanie G

Getting 3.75 (get out of the house) sheep!

I think this type of storyline is hard to pull off. Two time periods, and 2 (or more sometimes) POV’s make for a “PAY ATTENTION READER” format. Teresa Braun did a great job of trying to keep the reader engaged in the story without a lot of frustration.

Looking back, I think this might make for a good movie screenplay. A house haunted by ghosts of a tragic past (not an original theme) reenacting or influencing actions to try and save a tragic ending to a romance.

You must try to piece together the similarities to grasp the current objective of the haunting and I have to admit, in the beginning the connection is a little thin. But, hey, hang in there and I think everyone will get the clear picture by the end!

Some of the cultural biases may be disconcerting but was probably true to the time period. I was appalled and saddened. It definitely gave more horror to the story and made me root for the young main character to “solve” the mystery and save his family from a repeat tragedy. I enjoyed the read and applaud the author for navigating a complicated storyline with aplomb.

Excerpt
Emma sensed the shockwaves of the earthquake before it struck. The air fizzled with rage.

If Sasha hadn’t run off to get married while Emma was away, the maidservant might’ve proven a heroic buffer to what was to come. Emma missed working alongside her assistant. Now even more than ever.

Emma’s underarms dampened, despite the chill seeping in through the windows. Her trembling hands fiddled with the tray of bandages, ointments, and miscellaneous implements as she mimicked organizing them. When would she get Jonathan alone to update him on her trip? She wondered if having already spoken to him would’ve done any good at the moment.

The door thwacked open.

Riley stormed into the room and menaced beside her.

She straightened her spine to avoid cowering.

His gravelly voice indicated a control of his anger. “Remember what I told you?”

As he neared, Emma’s knees locked, her eyes closed. Where was Jonathan? The entire house had fallen eerily still. God, where was Hugh? Was he ever returning home?

“You’re coming with me.”

His directive left no room for resistance.

“This is as good a time as any to tell you your precious brother’s dead. So you can get it out of your head that he’ll come rescue you. He ain’t ever coming back. And, Pa, well—”

Emma still hadn’t turned to acknowledge him. Even if she did, he’d merely be a haze of color through her tears. The need to know what happened to Hugh attacked her like a swarm of bees. A desperate sadness was the brutal sting. Could the news be accurate? Or was it the cruelest invention meant to debilitate her? She shamefully wished Riley had been the one to die. Tempted to rectify that, she lamented her pistol lay back in her bedroom.

When she didn’t move, he seized her by the arm.

Noticing her attention on the dark object in his other hand, Riley raised it to her face and twirled it between his fingers.

It was Jonathan’s pipe. Had he not taken it with him that next morning? Did Riley discover it in her room? Is that what this was about?

When her brother jerked Emma away, the tray of medical supplies crashed to the floor. Her feet stumbled along through the dining room, into the kitchen, and then down the stairs into the basement. The Mason jars of blood, fluids, and organs stared at her from the shelves, in commiseration, or condemnation. She couldn’t fathom either.

The metal door to the safe gaped wide like a broken jaw.

Her arms and fingers numbed.

Riley shoved her sidelong through the open maw, into the remnant of daylight within.

Praying he’d have a last minute change of heart, Emma faced him, her eyes pleading.

“You better not be carrying that red-devil’s spawn—or I’ll do you like I did that squaw. Don’t think I won’t.”

What was he talking about? One of his war atrocities? Could she be pregnant—the thought hadn’t occurred to her.

“Please,” she begged as the door banged shut, the light snuffing out.

“Think about what you’ve done, you whore.”

He spun the combination lock. The clatter and clicks equaled the lit fuse on a stick of dynamite.

Emma battered the door. “Let me out.”

Riley’s stifled yelling thundered on the other side.

“Please.” Her cheek smashed against the frigid iron.

The tramping of his boots overwhelmed her sobs.

About the Author:
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Hmmm. What’s this? Looks like Ms. Braun left her computer on and her Goodreads bio open.

This should be fun.

What can we say about Theresa? I mean other than the fact that she’s weirdly obsessed with smiley faces :-). Like, seriously obsessed >:-*. It’s kinda scary :-O.

I think she thinks she’s from Renaissance England or Venice or something. I never could figure out which one it was. (She’s really bad at doing accents.)

She likes romance novels and crime TV, which are pretty much the same thing when you think about it. Ha! Am I right?

She has a hell of a singing voice. Seriously. It’s, like, seventh circle of hell bad.

She likes editing. A lot. Just wait till she gets a load a this.

Cats. Shoes. Chips and salsa. In that order.

Yeah, that last part didn’t make sense to me either.

Cover Reveal: The Celestial Assignment by Theresa Braun

Theresa Braun has a new short story coming out called, The Celestial Assignment. Here's a sneak peek at the cover, and an excerpt from the book! 

The Celestial Assignment

by Theresa Braun

Expected Pub. Date: February 14th, 2020 

Genre: Short Story/ Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal 

After a sudden death, Will, a misguided angel, is tasked with protecting a baby girl. Watching over her as she grows up and navigates the world appears a harsh punishment for his past failings. Can he redeem himself, or will he fall further from grace? 

“I devoured this phenomenal sorrow-filled piece in one sitting, but Braun left me with so many questions I had to think about. She creates a world that’s vivid, lush and visceral, while setting the reader up for heartbreak and despair. Amazing read, can’t recommend ‘The Celestial Assignment’ enough.” –Steve Stred, author of Ritual 

Add to Goodreads
Pre-order on Amazon!

Excerpt
You know that meme of the angel statue, its face in its hands, with the caption: “This is probably what my guardian angel looks like”? Well, that’s the only thing on the wall in this stark room meant for some 12-step spiritual garbage.

I was mystified as fuck the first time I sat here. The last thing I’d remembered was having a beer with one of my side pieces before witnessing her chuck my body into an unmarked grave. The bitch walked right through me as I grilled her about what she’d done.

Next thing I know, I transported into this very chair. Looking around the circle, I noted everyone’s arms tattooed with wings in shades matching their clothing.

“What am I doing here?” I asked, studying the new gray markings growing iridescent on my skin.

“You’re getting a new assignment,” said someone with platinum hair. His wings were the real deal, tucked at his back, and he wore a white T-shirt and white jeans.

“As opposed to what?”

“Going back to earth. That hasn’t been working.” He stared at me with his unnaturally light blue eyes. “Don’t worry, there’s a manual under your seat.”

That’s when I zoned out. The rest of them yammered on as I frantically retraced my memory for clues to why I was here. What kind of demented lunatic would make me an angel, if that’s what I was? I hadn’t even stepped one foot in a church, at least in my most recent life. That’s when it hit me I’d had more than one incarnation on earth. The mere vocabulary of it made me shiver.

***

With a jolt, my feet landed on slick linoleum, the burning odor of disinfectant and stale medicine in the air. A woman screamed in a hospital bed, her legs pried open with a sheet over them. Ugh. I’d never liked babies and had zero fatherly instincts. As the infant cried and was handed to the mother, the dad busy snapping Polaroids, I heard a whisper: “She’s your responsibility now.”

As my questions flooded in, that damned manual appeared in my hand. Annoyed the heavenly head honchos hadn’t downloaded the content into my brain, I held onto it, lest I be struck by lightning.

“Hello, Celeste,” the mother cooed to the baby.

I tapped my foot.

The irony of the name irked the shit out of me.

As a reluctant guardian angel, I figured my job involved keeping this pipsqueak’s hand off the hot stove, and her mouth away from poisons in the cabinets. Most of the time, I yawned in the periphery, especially since I was trapped in this fucking hick town somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin. Countless Crayon doodles and finger paintings were the extent of my excitement. Eventually, I rejoiced when of a few close calls at the wheel of her parents’ car gave me something to do. But then there was her painfully awkward discovery of boys. Once she inadvertently brushed this dude’s junk at a dance. Her first kiss was lame as shit. It was like being tuned into the Nickelodeon Channel. Her interactions with a new boy made me gag—they’d finish each other’s sentences and giggle like idiots. What did I do to deserve this?

  

About the Author:

website-FB-Twitter

Instagram

Hmmm. What’s this? Looks like Ms. Braun left her computer on and her Goodreads bio open. This should be fun. What can we say about Theresa? I mean other than the fact that she’s weirdly obsessed with smiley faces :-). Like, seriously obsessed >:-*. It’s kinda scary :-O. I think she thinks she’s from Renaissance England or Venice or something. I never could figure out which one it was. (She’s really bad at doing accents.) She likes romance novels and crime TV, which are pretty much the same thing when you think about it. Ha! Am I right? She has a hell of a singing voice. Seriously. It’s, like, seventh circle of hell bad. She likes editing. A lot. Just wait till she get’s a load a this. Cats. Shoes. Chips and salsa. In that order. Yeah, that last part didn’t make sense to me either.

Cover Reveal Organized By:

R&R Book Tours