#murder batman

[audasaurusart]

SAPPHICS

There's probably a lot of art I should share. I pretty much completely forget about tumblr. Anyways, here's an illustration of my girl, Cerise and her friend-with-benefits-who-she's-totally-not-falling-in-love-with Damara. When I started this, I was totally going to draw a spicy art but then it turned into Cerise laughing at the terrible name Damara has for one of their inventions. The book is Shadows Dark and Deadly by my pen name @authorandimarie

I also want to share this art which is wish fulfillment fanart of characters from the Golden Isles series by Gisele Briseia. It's Rose the MC and the siren goddess Tisa. I totally got bi vibes from Rose and there's definitely chemistry between these two ladies and hnnng I want them to be girlfriends. I kinda hate their hair and I wanna redraw that part at some point but I always kind of hate the hair. Why is hair so hard to draw?

[authorandimarie]

Thoughts on neurodivergence

When my editor finished reading SDaD, I asked him the same questions I'd asked my beta readers with an extra one about neurodiversity. Aside from the obvious mental health stuff, did any character seem neurodiverse?

Now I asked this because I'd noticed I'd subconsciously given Cerise some ADHD characteristics (fidgeting, inability to sit still, etc) and had played into them a little more but maybe not enough to say she was ADHD.

His response was "I kept wanting to scream to the heavens that Keir was autistic" which honestly surprised me because aside from the murder, he's just a regular dude.

Not long after I read a romantasy with an autistic FMC. And I knew that, but I guess I'd forgotten when reading and wasn't reminded until today. To which I went, "wait really? she's just a regular dudette." So now I really feel like I should do some introspection and research 😂

[authorandimarie]

Pre-order now!

Shadows Dark and Deadly is my dark and steamy queer gaslamp romantasy and it's coming out June 15th!

Pre-order here!

Add it on Goodreads!

Blurby blurb:

Slowly freezing in the snow and a knife to the gut are two awful ways to die. And Cerise would very much like to avoid both. A mysterious man steps from the shadows with an offer of food, a bed, and a roof over her head. The catch? She'll have to become his assassin apprentice. Her hands are already stained with the blood of five men. What's a little more? But training to be an assassin isn’t easy and learning to control her magic even less. To complicate things, Cerise can’t fight her attraction to her mentor, Keir, or his charming best friend, Damara. It wouldn't be a problem if she wasn't a dirty street rat. Well, that and society isn't ready for two women to be together. Everything heats up as an arsonist stalks the streets. His targets? Brothel owners and Cerise's aunt is at the top of his list. Can Cerise get strong enough to help Keir hunt him down or will her aunt become another tragic death that haunts her nightmares? Shadows Dark and Deadly is the first book in the dark and steamy Red Society series. It's perfect for fans who love character driven stories, rich world building, tortured shadow daddies, deadly assassins, angst and banter in equal measure, and sizzling why choose romances (MF and FF pairings). This book is for adults 18 and over. It features mature language, graphic violence, dark themes, and explicit content. Reader discretion is advised. For a complete list of content warnings, check here.

[authorandimarie]

RELEASE THE KRAKEN

Or at the very least, release the murder babies.

Shadows Dark and Deadly is officially out in the wild!

Buy it here: https://books2read.com/ShadowsDarkandDeadly

Slowly freezing in the snow and a knife to the gut are two awful ways to die. And Cerise would very much like to avoid both. A mysterious man steps from the shadows with an offer of food, a bed, and a roof over her head. The catch? She'll have to become his assassin apprentice. Her hands are already stained with the blood of five men. What's a little more? But training to be an assassin isn’t easy and learning to control her magic even less. To complicate things, Cerise can’t fight her attraction to her mentor, Keir, or his charming best friend, Damara. It wouldn't be a problem if she wasn't a dirty street rat. Well, that and society isn't ready for two women to be together. Everything heats up as an arsonist stalks the streets. His targets? Brothel owners and Cerise's aunt is at the top of his list. Can Cerise get strong enough to help Keir hunt him down or will her aunt become another tragic death that haunts her nightmares? Shadows Dark and Deadly is the first book in the dark and steamy Red Society series. It's perfect for fans who love character driven stories, rich world building, tortured shadow daddies, deadly assassins, angst and banter in equal measure, and sizzling why choose romances (MF and FF pairings). This book is for adults 18 and over. It features mature language, graphic violence, dark themes, and explicit content. Reader discretion is advised. For a complete list of content warnings, check the author’s website.

[audasaurusart]

Working on a new commission for @authorandreamariejohnson and I just love these characters of hers <3

[authorandimarie]

My Projects

Primary project: Murder batman

General notes:

Steamy gaslamp fantasy romance

First person present POV

MC is Cerise Doran, a serial killer with shadow magic

Unfinished but 5 books planned

Murder batman 1

The first book in the series

Draft 4 done

132,866

Homeless and freezing, Cerise goes to the home of a mysterious stranger named Keir. It turns out he works for an assassin guild called the Red Society and wants to recruit her because she's a shadow walker, a rare kind of mage who can use shadow magic. As she begins training under him, she works with him to find an arsonist threatening the brothels of Belldale.

Murder batman 2

Book 2

Draft 1 unfinished

71,869

Picks up after book 1 ends. Cerise continues her training with Keir. A stalker has been sending Cerise notes and gifts. His existance forces Cerise, Keir and the household to move in secret. Will they be able to find the stalker before he finds them?

Murder batman 3

Book 3

Draft 1 definitely not finished

18,823 words

Picks up where book 2 ends and Cerise has to deal with the aftermath of book 2's finale. As the year of training comes to an end she must prove herself worthy to the Elders of the Red Society and take on a deadly assassination job.

Next project (probably): Jane Austen Retellings

General notes:

Steamy future fantasy romance

First person present POV

MC is different for each duology. For the second duology (pride and prejudice) Anelisa (Annie) Walker is the MC

Unfinished, a series of duologies maybe

64,894 words

I've started on the 2nd duology in the series instead of the first. Annie Walker meets a hot stranger at a frat party and they drunkenly make out. The next day she learns he and his friend have moved into the penthouse of their highrise and will be going to her university to work on their masters degrees. There's a lot of drama and angst between Annie and her hot stranger, Dominik. Can they survive the semester?

Possible next project: modern fae

General notes:

Paranormal Romance

First person present POV

MC is Lyra Peterson

Unfinished, trilogy (hopefully (these things always expand))

24,839 words

Lyra Peterson and her best friend Sam Brewster join a crew to burgle some ditzy rich woman with lax security. The ditzy rich woman turns out to be Queen Mab of the Unseelie Court and she's very interested in Lyra. So interested she strikes a deal with her, help her steal the Crown of Spring from the Queen Titania of the Summer Court and she'll help her figure out who her mother is.

Some future date project: Operation Scarlet Letter

General notes:

Steamy future fantasy romance

Third person past POV (currently)

MC is Scarlet Letter (name will probably change), a journalist for a skeezy tabloid

Unfinished, nothing really planned

5,710 words

Scarlet sees a news interview of a CEO begging for his daughter to be found and her gut instinct tells her that this is her big breakout story that will get her a legit journalist job. Danger follows her as she gets deeper and deeper into this investigation.

[authorandimarie]

Sale!

I’m having a sale! Now through Monday the paperback for Shadows Dark and Deadly is $16.99! I don’t discount paperbacks often so now is the time to snatch it up ^_^

Get it here: https://books2read.com/ShadowsDarkandDeadly

Picture description: Ad for Black Friday, Cyber Monday Sale. Orange and red fall colors are the theme. Mockup of Shadows Dark and Deadly by Andrea Marie Johnson sits on a wooden table. Paperback*: was $19.99, now $16.99 *Paperback sale only for Amazon

[authorandimarie]

I commissioned @audasaurusrexcreates to make a portrait of Cerise and one of her LIs, Keir. Look at them, aren't they pretty?