Brynn Barineau

Category: Book News

  • Enter the Giveaway! Win a Free Signed Copy of Jaguars and Other Game!

    Enter the Giveaway! Win a Free Signed Copy of Jaguars and Other Game!

    It’s giveaway time! Jaguars and Other Game comes out two weeks from today, and to celebrate the launch, my publisher is giving away five signed copies to US residents on Goodreads. The giveaway runs until debut day, November 22, so don’t miss your chance to win a free copy. You can cross-off a book lover from your Christmas shopping or keep it for yourself and escape the winter chills with an armchair trip to Rio de Janeiro.

    On Goodreads, you can also check out the fabulous, early reviews for Jaguars! Only a couple are from people who’ll see me at Thanksgiving dinner.

    “Five swashbuckling stars for this action-packed (and I don’t use that lightly) adventure! As a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, The Princess Bride, and using historical fiction as a jumping-off point to learn about people and places, Jaguars and Other Game was right up my alley–and just a TON of fun! ” -Sarah

    “What a fun read! Action-packed, lots of twists and turns, and badass females! This read like one of those action-packed movies, think Pirates of the Caribbean but in Rio and with female leads – I loved it!” -Catherine

    “This book kept me wanting more. I did not want to put the book down. It has action, passion, and drama. The author describes each scene so well that you can feel like you are in each of those scenes.” -Jeanette

    “Bad ass female characters that actually come across like real women, not just sex-symbol super-hero style caricatures. Laugh-out loud funny (the bakery scene! My favorite!)…But also really thoughtful (but not pretentious) commentary on social constructs. Plus a healthy dose of villains you love to hate getting their comeuppance.” -Melissa

    “Brynn Barineau was able to combine grit, awesome adventure fight scenes, suspense at every turn and genuine heart all into one story inspired by the beautiful background of Brazil in the 1800s.” -Allie

    “Despite being about characters in the early 19th century, the dialogue feels fresh and the tone is upbeat and fun! This book is packed with action and energy with a mystery at its heart, and it always left me wanting to read one more chapter before bed.” -Kelli Marie

    …and so much more. I’m blown away by the support and enthusiasm for Jaguars and Other Game! For so long these characters existed only in my head, and it is absolutely wild that other people are professing their love for these figments of my imagination.

    Thank you to everyone who has reviewed Jaguars! Don’t miss your chance to get in on the action. Enter the Goodreads Giveaway and win your free copy!

  • You’re Invited to the Debut Launch Party! (Also my 40th birthday)

    You’re Invited to the Debut Launch Party! (Also my 40th birthday)

    Mark you calendars. Hire a babysitter. Schedule your Uber. It’s time to celebrate the launch of Jaguars and Other Game! November 22 at 6pm at Buteco Bar in Grant Park!

    This is not your typical book launch. My debut novel comes out four days before my 40th birthday. When your dream comes true, you’re turning 40 and your book is set in Rio de Janeiro, you celebrate! Buteco at the Beacon in Grant park is a Brazilian bar owned by São Paulo native and fixture in the Atlanta live music scene, Rafael Pereira. His team is going to be serving Brazilians salgados (heavy appetizers) such as pão de queijo, coxinhas and quibes. He’s fixing a Bossa Nova playlist for the night, and there’ll be a cash bar with a bar tender who knows how to make a good caipirinha.

    We’re going to have raffles drawn throughout the night with goodies my husband is bringing back from Brazil especially for the party. I’ll do a short Q&A but mostly we’re going to be eating and mingling. Oh, and there will be cake. It’s a birthday too.

    Anyone who pre-ordered a copy for pick-up will be able to get their books at the party. I’ll have some copies available for sale at the event.

    You can also pre-order from any of the many indie bookstores across Atlanta. Want to pop in and say hi to Kendra at Bookish? Want to pick-up your copy at Charis Books? Want to support Virginia Highland Books? Would you prefer to buy from Little Shop of Stories? You can order your copy of Jaguars and Other Game from any of these stores.

    Of course, eBooks are available from Amazon or Barnes&Noble. Thank you so much to my friends and family in Brazil, France, Croatia and around the world who have already ordered their eBooks. I know there are purists who only want print books, but eBooks make stories accessible on a global scale. When I lived in Brazil, I got all my books through Kindle, so I don’t throw shade on eBooks.

    I’m so excited for people to finally hold a copy of Jaguars and Other Game. I hope to see lots of you on November 22 at Buteco. Come support debut author and a neighborhood bar. It’s going to be a lot of the Brazilian salgados will be delicious!

    See you on the 22nd!

  • Pre-Order Jaguars and Other Game! A Rousing Historical Adventure!

    Pre-Order Jaguars and Other Game! A Rousing Historical Adventure!

    It’s finally happening! After more than a decade of writing, I can finally answer the dreaded “Oh, you write novels? Where can I buy your book?”

    At your local bookstore! That’s where! Jaguars and Other Game, my gender-flipped, Three-Musketeers-style adventure set in 1809 Rio de Janeiro, is available for pre-order from any local bookstore. (Shout out to my indie, Charis Books!) Or if you prefer, buy digital copies from Amazon or Barnes&Noble! Grab a signed first edition directly from Orange Blossom Publishing!

    I have inwardly cringed at the “Can I buy your book?” for years. Writers constantly share memes “If you write, you’re a writer,” but let’s be honest. If you constantly talk aloud to yourself without an audience, you’re not an actor. You’re the person at the coffee shop no one sits near. And a writer without readers is a prolific diary keeper with delusions of grandeur. An author requires an audience.

    Of course, we’re always warned to be careful what you wish for. Once your book is out in the world, it’s fair game for readers to interpret, critique, review and judge. Despite desperately wanting people to read my book, I was also terrified of people reading my book. I carried around a knot in my stomach from the moment my publisher uploaded Jaguars for early reviews on NetGalley until the first review came in 48 hours later. 5 stars. From a stranger. This person was under no familial obligation or threat of causing a super awkward PTA meeting. They could trash my book without consequence to themselves, and they gave my book 5 stars.

    I know you’re not supposed to read reviews. It’s the one piece of advice all authors give to debuts. Don’t read your reviews. But…who actually does that? Who possesses the stone-cold, borderline sociopathic indifference to others’ opinions required to avoid reviews? When you take your kid to a doctor, you don’t leave the check-up without hearing some feedback. This is my book baby. I love it, but maybe I’m delusional. Honestly, after line edits I have no perspective whatsoever where Jaguars is concerned. I need a second opinion. I want to know what readers think.

    Currently, they think it’s a 4.9 out of 5 stars!

    I even got 5 stars from a librarian! *screaming* Take that agent lady who read an early query and said for Americans to read a book set in Portugal it would “have to be exceptional, and this is not it.” (Also, Rio de Janeiro is not in Portugal.)

    This is very stream of consciousness post is to say, I’m an author. My debut novel, Jaguars and Other Game, is available for pre-order through your local indie bookstore, Amazon, Barnes&Noble and directly from Orange Blossom Publishing. You can get signed first editions from Orange Blossom. Check-out early reviews on Goodreads then order your own copy and see for yourself. Jaguars and Other Game comes out on November 22! I hope you love it!

  • My First Author Event!

    My First Author Event!

    After more than a decade of writing with the intention of building a career, I’m participating in my first author event! Corner Cup on Mainstreet in Tucker, GA from 10am-2pm Sunday, February 27. I’m going to show up in public as a writer. Not just a writer but An Author. With a novel coming out. I really want to be the cool, chill writer, rocking a blazer and sneakers. But I’ll probably be crying through the event. Or talking way too loudly at a million words a minutes. I have trouble using my indoor voice when I’m excited, and I will be very excited this Sunday.

    So if you’re willing to hear me shout about my book, come out to the Corner Cup this Sunday. I’ll be selling copies of two amazing anthologies about living abroad that I contributed to and handing out my very first book swag! A little teaser for Jaguars & Other Game coming out in November 2022.

    Before I began writing fiction, I wrote creative non-fiction about my experiences living in Brazil and I’m looking forward to sharing these anthologies and talking to people about how I used writing, specifically humor, to process and adapt to life abroad. In Once Upon an Expat, I talk about gym culture in Vitoria, Espirito Santo and the importance of rock-solid quads and a fabulous unitard. Giving birth prematurely in a foreign country wouldn’t seem fodder for comedy, but I’m believer in laughter as  a painkiller. My essay in Knocked Up Abroad Again takes readers through my emergency c-section at 33 weeks and the 28 days my daughter spent in the NICU. Both anthologies are filled with heartfelt and humorous accounts of women from all over the world with the common experience of building a life and family in a new country and culture.

    I’m also happy to talk about my experience with traditional publishing, finding an agent then going on submission (for a painfully long 28 months) and ultimately signing with a small indie press. I’ve hired editors and sensitivity readers and networked to find beta readers. I have an extensive collection of rejections from agents and editors and am always up for a good gripe session about how absurdly slow the publishing industry is. A global pandemic was able to play out in the time it took to go on submission. So if you’re looking for a fellow author to talk shop or are thinking about writing your first book, come stop by Corner Cup! I’d love to chat and make more local writer connections.

    Also by buying a coffee and bagel, you’ll be supporting local businesses. Corner Cup is locally owned and operated and they give a ton of support to the community by selling the work of local artists. Their baked goods are also locally produced and delicious, (Shout out to Emerald City’s everything bagel!) so you can feel good about buying that chocolate croissant.

    If you’re around Tucker this Sunday, I hope to see you. We can talk writing, swap book and pastry recommendations, and I promise to try and use my indoor voice.

  • My First Book Deal!

    My First Book Deal!

    It finally happened!

     

    Seven years after I finished the first draft of my first novel, I signed with a publisher. I have dreamed of holding a copy of a book I wrote and seeing my name on the cover. My debut novel, Jaguars and Other Game, comes out November 22, 2022 with Orange Blossom Publishing!

    Assuming my small publisher stays on track with the other books coming out earlier in the year. And assuming the supply chain is mostly back together. And let’s hope for an in-person launch event but who knows when the next Covid variant will hit. But I live in Georgia so I’m probably on for an in-person event. Florida would be more of guarantee but even then, bookstores are getting good at hosting virtual book launches. But if all stars align, there will be a launch party in-person with physical copies of my book in November.

    No matter what happens, I am NOT going to worry about the nature of my book launch. I am going to be happy and celebrate for all of 2022. A professional book person who is a complete stranger to me read my words and said “Yes, this should be printed. It is worth people’s time and money.” So I’m just basking in the glow of a dream achieved.

    Ha. I wish. It’s my nature to plan things out thoroughly in advance then lay in bed sick with anxiety when those plans have to change. It’s one of my adorable personality quirks being unable to chill and go with the flow.

    Over the years, I’ve heard several published authors say that getting your first book doesn’t lessen the stress. It just replaces the fear of never being published with a hundred other fears. And that’s been true, especially with a small publisher. All the early marketing is on me. There’s no marketing intern in New York making my promotional graphics for social media. I have a hundred more professional to-dos than before the book deal.

    2015! My first Decatur Book Festival as an aspiring author. DBF 2023! I’m coming for a local author spot.

    But…BUT all the new worries rest on a foundation of “I did it.” I feel as though an enormous weight has been lifted off my soul that not even signing with my agent relieved. I don’t dread the extra work. Even while the stress knot between shoulder blades grows tighter every minute I spend integrating Mailchimp with my webpage, I’m happy to do the work. I’m absolutely thrilled that I NEED to do the work. Because it’s “for my book”! I will make the damn subscription button work no matter how long it take because I have proof that working hard will pay off. The workshops and contests and style books and years of writing will not all be in vain as I dreaded they would for so many years.

    No matter what happens. In-person or virtual launch. Five attendees or a hundred. 3 Goodreads reviews from my writing group or dozens of four star reviews from strangers. Ten copies sold or five hundred. No matter what happens, by the end of 2022 I will be a published author. When people ask my daughter “What does your mommy do?” She can say  “She’s an author. You can buy her book.”

    And I am damn proud of the book I wrote.

    Jaguars and Other Game is a historical adventure in the spirit of The Three Musketeers that follows three women as they work together to track down a murderer to save a friend wrongly imprisoned for the crime. There’s romance, diamond smugglers, corrupt officials and a mad queen. It’s a story about found family and the lengths we’ll go to save those we love from injustice. And it will be available through your local bookstore, Amazon or Target on November 22, 2022.