Review: Mouth Full of Ashes by Briana Morgan
Book Trailer: The Reyes Incident
I can’t believe the day is finally here. Happy book birthday to my eight published book The Reyes Incident! This adult horror novella features killer mermaids, a lesbian cop, found footage, and unreliable narrator, and so much more. I can’t wait for you to read it.
To celebrate, I’ve put together a little book trailer. Give it a watch!
RELATED LINKS:
Are you excited for The Reyes Incident?
Until next time,
Cover Reveal: THE REYES INCIDENT
I’ve had this cover design lined up for a while, and it’s been difficult not to share it with you. It all started with a little tweet by Donnie Goodman:
If you're a self publishing author with an upcoming project and you do not have the funds to pay for a cover image, reply with a synopsis and give this post a RT.
— Donnie Goodman (@DonnieGoodman_) December 23, 2021
I'll choose one and design it for no charge.
💀 pic.twitter.com/TVPV0F4IgA
Naturally, I responded:
A small-town cop. An impossible eyewitness testimony. Which is easier to believe, that killer mermaids exist or that one person is worth risking everything for?
— Briana Morgan (@brimorganbooks) December 23, 2021
And Donnie picked me! So, here we are. I sent him over some ideas I had for the aesthetic and overall vibe, and he nailed it right away. He did a great job designing an eye-catching color that not only encompasses the book but will also look phenomenal with all my other titles.
Are you ready to see it?
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Isn’t it remarkable? Thanks again, Donnie! I appreciate it so much.
The Reyes Incident releases on March 31, 2022. Here’s the back cover text:
A local legend gone haywire.
A small-town cop.
An impossible eyewitness testimony.
Which is easier to believe—that killer mermaids exist, or that one person is worth risking everything for?
For fans of THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO and INTO THE DROWNING DEEP comes a chilling horror story steeped in urban rumor.
Advance reading copies and preorder information will be coming soon. This book will be available everywhere, as well—not just Amazon. You can even order it from your local indie bookstore or request it at your library.
Thanks for your support!
About the TOUCH Opera
If you’ve been following me for a while, you may remember that my short play Touch was supposed to be adapted into a full-length opera. I had signed a contract and spoken with a lyricist and a composer. It would premier in London in 2020 or 2021.
Even if you didn’t know before, you can probably guess what happened next. The pandemic made international travel impossible. It also put live theater out of commission for the foreseeable future.
On top of the travel and theater issues, the play itself seemed ill-timed at best. Although I published it in 2016, Touch is a play that takes place in a world of enforced social distancing in the wake of… a virus.
Not super appealing to modern audiences living through eerily similar circumstances.
The composer apologized, and I understood. She expressed her desire to continue with the project, just not for a while. I was heartbroken, but I understood. I tried not to get my hopes up because hey, shit happens.
Fast forward to yesterday, January 24, 2022. The composer reached out to me not only to tell me that she plans to move forward with the opera, but that a) the full libretto/script is finished, b) she’s committing to produce it within the next year and a half to three years, and c) they still very much want me involved.
Y’all. I’m so happy I could cry. I wanted to let y’all know about this because I’ve looked forward to it for ages, and I hope you’ll share in my excitement.
Keep your eyes peeled for more updates on this one as soon as I receive them. Thanks for your support.
The Seers’ Table December 2021
This year is already off to a phenomenal start. Creatively, I feel like I’m working on projects I’m passionate about. I’m making professional headway. All those years of hard work feel like they’re starting to pay off.
What an honor and a privilege it is to be featured on the Horror Writers Association website. Tish Jackson wrote some incredibly kind and thoughtful words about me and my writing. She not only mentioned Mouth Full of Ashes (and included an excerpt), but went all the way to the beginning of my backlist and discussed Blood and Water.
You can read the post in full via the link below. I’m still pinching myself.
New Book Announcement!
Well, hello there. It’s been a while since we talked. If you follow me on social media (do it if you haven’t!), you’ve probably already seen my Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok posts about this, but if not, I have some news…
Does this format look familiar? If so, it’s because I formatted my announcement the same way as a traditionally published announcement. I got the idea from Cheyanne Young, one of my self-publishing mentors.
As a self-published author, I work hard. I’m in charge of writing, editing, publishing, and marketing all my books. I do the best I can to put out high-quality books that can stand up to traditionally published offerings. Why shouldn’t my publishing path receive the same praise? Why shouldn’t I celebrate like other authors?
This is the energy and power I’m claiming for myself this year. I’d love for you to do the same.
More information about The Reyes Incident, its cover, and preorder details will be here soon. If you want the most current news on releases, events, and other author things, sign up for my newsletter. Thanks for your support!
Weekly Goals + Updates (11/2/21 – 11/8/21)
It’s the first day of November! How are we feeling? For a lot of people, the end of October means the end of spooky season, but not for me. I know a lot of you feel the same.
October was weird for me. I released Mouth Full of Ashes and started working on the audiobook (I’m not narrating, but I still have to set everything up and organize it). I started seriously pursuing narrative design. And, I made some headway in my current work in progress. All good things!
At the same time, I didn’t decorate for Halloween. At all. I didn’t feel like it, and that upsets me. I still felt spooky on the inside (of course), but I didn’t carve a pumpkin or put up lights or anything like that. Hopefully, I’ll feel up to doing it next year.
Here are the goals I accomplished last week:
- Host Patreon movie night
- Write + schedule November newsletter
- Try on Halloween costumes
- Get my hair and nails done
- Study Unreal Engine lessons
- Look for narrative design jobs
And here are the goals I didn’t get to that I’m prioritizing this week:
- Make dentist appointment (I have to do it this week or I fail my weekly goals!)
Here are the rest I’m shooting for:
- Apply to narrative design jobs
- Study Unreal Engine lessons
- Pack for vacation
- Hit 20K in work in progress (join me for NaNoWriMo)
- Write Wicked Library review
What did you accomplish last week? What are your goals for this week? Let me know in the comments!
Weekly Goals + Updates (10/25/21 – 11/1/21)
Hello, friends.
I spent a restful, relaxing weekend at the lake with my friends, and now I’m back and raring to go. Before I dive in, I finally have some Amazon exclusivity news—I am opting for wide distribution for all my titles going forward.
What does this mean? Well, right now, my books are only available in ebook form on Amazon. Soon (and even now for two titles), you’ll be able to get them from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Indiebound, and other retailers. You’ll still be able to find them on Amazon, but now you have more options. Of course, you can also order any signed copies directly from me, too. As of now, only Blood and Water and The Tricker-Treater and Other Stories are wide, but more are coming once their KDP Select enrollment ends. Right now, all my paperbacks are wide already, which is exciting!
The best way you can keep up with my distribution news is to sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already.
Moving on! Here’s what I accomplished last week.
- Submit my Slash-Her story
- Write Wicked Library review
And here are the goals I didn’t hit that I’m still working on this week, as well as some new ones:
- Make dentist appointment
- Host Patreon movie night (Wednesday!)
- Write + schedule November newsletter
- Try on Halloween costumes
- Get my hair and nails done
- Study Unreal Engine lessons
- Look for narrative design jobs
I’ve axed the Patreon goal for now since it’s ultimately outside of my control, as well as the word count goal for my work in progress. I’m planning to finish the first draft for NaNoWriMo! Feel free to add me if you’re participating, too.
What are your goals for this week?
Weekly Goals + Updates (10/18/21 – 10/24/21)
Last week went by so fast! October is passing too quickly, and I’m not loving it. But I digress. You came here for updates, and so you shall have them.
I got a lot done last week despite having to battle with Amazon regarding my Kindle Unlimited exclusivity (which I still don’t have much of an update on). Here are the goals I accomplished:
- Edit my Slash-Her story
- Schedule October movie night
And here are the ones I didn’t hit, which will join the other goals listed for this week:
- Submit my Slash-Her story
- Hit $100/month in Patreon support so I can start making monthly vlogs
- Write at least 6K more words in my work in progress
- Write Wicked Library review
- Make dentist appointment
Although, I will say that hitting $100/month in Patreon support is beyond my control, since it relies on other people more so than me. I’m not keen on the idea of restructuring my tiers or rewards again, but it might be worth considering. If you think you have ideas for attracting more patrons, I’d love to hear them.
I’ve also switched up the format of my work in progress, which is highly unusual for me. It’s now more series of interviews than novel, and I’m not sure what to make of that yet. I’m having fun, though! My plan for this one is to query once it’s finished and polished. Having it written in an unconventional format could hurt my shot at getting agented, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Wish me luck.
What are your goals for this week?