I can’t take all the credit for my new series, The Grym Brothers. Well, I mean, I could, but that wouldn’t be very nice and I’d have to give back my Husband of the Year Award.
You see, The Grym Brothers originated with my wife. Prior to the Gryms, my main series were the Alex Cheradon books. They were an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink selection of all my favorite things: humor, sci-fi, fantasy, action, adventure, time travel, and exploding cars. I loved the books. Alex Cheradon was my “firstborn” so to speak. The rest of the world, however, they were taking some time to warm up to the concept.
My wife suggested that we start a new series. Something between the genre-bending of Alex Cheradon and the mundane lives of my more character-based novels.
As we were drifting off to sleep one night, she mumbled out: grim reapers who hunt down dead souls on the run.
I was awake instantly.
It was a simple, but brilliant concept: Grim reapers as bounty hunters.
The pieces started to fall into place pretty quickly.
I made my lead characters brothers, Thane and Mort. They were complete opposites. Thane was the older, mature, responsible brother. Mort was the family screw up. I placed them at the bottom of the grim reaper totem pole, never missing an opportunity to dump more grief and aggravation on them. I gave them a missing father, who was also a grim reaper, to add some legacy and mystery to their lives.
Whereas some of my other books solved problems by going through elaborate action set pieces, I wanted the Grym brothers to be different. Yes, there would be action, but mostly it would be of the Grym-brothers-get-their-butts-often-and-repeatedly-kicked-beaten-and-bruised variety. I don’t even have my characters carry a gun. Instead, Thane carries only a taser.
As I started writing the series I realized that it wasn’t the mythology of the grim reapers that I found so interesting. In fact, as I started to hear back from readers, they agreed: It was Thane and Mort that were lynchpins of the entire series. It was their relationship with each other that drew the readers and me in.
Yes, they’re grim reapers. Yes, there’s a fascinating mythology surrounding the grim reapers(The Council of Reapers, Alpha Reapers, Stick Magic). But at the end of the day, they’re just two brothers who kind of can’t stand each other, but have to work together anyway. And, I think we all know a little something about dealing with family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Jason Krumbine is the author behind the pulse pounding, wisecracking Alex Cheradon Series, the dead soul hunting Grym Brothers Series (including Two and a Half Dead Men, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead), and the tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance “A Graveyard Romance.”
You can visit his website at www.jasonkrumbine.com or visit him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasonkrumbine and Facebook at www.facebook.com/jmkwriter.
You can also email him at onestrayword@gmail.com.
The Grym Brothers Series (image links go to Amazon.com)
THE DEAD COUPLE
Jack and Cindy were a happily married couple. She was an elementary school teacher. He was an aspiring children’s book author. They had the perfect life together, until the day they decided to kill themselves.
Suicides, by their very nature, tend to head directly into the afterlife.
Jack and Cindy’s souls never arrived.
Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.
Thane and Mort Grym are two such reapers.
TWO AND A HALF DEAD MEN
People die every day.
But not all of the souls can or want to move onto the afterlife.
That’s where the brothers Thane and Mort Grym come in.
Thane and Mort are bounty hunters for dead souls. They inherited the job from their father and they’re two of the best in town.
But when there’s a double homicide at the Kirkland Motel the Grym brothers end up with more than they bargained for. In a world without vampires, zombies or the undead, one of their bounties might not be as dead as he’s supposed to be.
BETTER OFF DEAD
They say dead men tell no tales, but that’s just because they’ve never worked as a Grim Reaper.
Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.
Lori Standford’s mother died six months ago. Now she’s back, haunting Lori out of her home. Lori turns to her close friend, Emma Grym, mother of Thane and Mort Grym, for help.
Now Thane and Mort find themselves embroiled in a mystery of dead men that stretches all the way to the top.
Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!
Join Jason Krumbine at the Pump Up Your Book Live! November Author Chat / Book Giveaway Party on Friday, November 18 starting at8 p.m. eastern!
Jason will be giving away three e-copies of his books in The Grym Brothers Series! You could win a copy of Two and a Half Dead, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead simply by attending the chat and asking Jason a question. All there is to it!
For details on chat, visit the official chat page for the November authors at Pump Up Your Book Live!
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