Silver Dagger Book Tours
  • Welcome!
  • Current Tours
    • Book Tours
  • Book a Tour
  • Open Sign Ups
  • Contact
  • About
  • Win a Book Tour!
  • Welcome!
  • Current Tours
    • Book Tours
  • Book a Tour
  • Open Sign Ups
  • Contact
  • About
  • Win a Book Tour!

The Island Mother - Book Tour and Giveaway

7/21/2022

57 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

The Island Mother
by Jon Cohn
Genre: Supernatural Thriller, Horror 

Picture
White Lotus meets Midsommar in this supernatural thriller centered around an emotionally codependent woman on the run from her own life. She finds paradise, but it may come at a cost that she's unable to pay...

After barely escaping from a toxic relationship with a drug dealer, emotionally codependent Leigh decides to start her life over somewhere far from the hills of Kentucky. She feels inexplicably drawn to Hawaii, where she manages to land a job in an exclusive resort.

At first, it almost seems too good to be true, and of course, it is. Supernatural horrors start manifesting all around Leigh and her new co-workers, and soon she starts having disturbing nightmares of impossible creatures calling out to her. To make matters worse, Leigh’s violent ex-boyfriend is close on her tail, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.


"An edge of your seat page-turner."
"An intriguing supernatural thriller with lots of horror elements, keeping THIS reader flipping pages till the very end."


Now trapped in the midst of all these dangers, Leigh can't help but fall back on old habits. She finds comfort in the arms of her new boss, an upbeat hospitality manager who seems almost too perfect. In order to survive paradise, Leigh will need to learn from her past mistakes or she will be doomed to repeat them.

From author Jon Cohn, comes the next great horror book that blends danger, supernatural creatures, and the unknown into an unforgettable read.


​**Get it FREE July 21st – 25th, then Only .99cents for a limited time!!**
Goodreads * Amazon * Bookbub

​
​
Picture
Picture
​I’m starting to get the itch. It’s a feeling I get when I’ve been in a situation long enough to know that things are falling apart. It’s a crawling, prickling sensation just under the skin, constantly drawing my attention. It’s an itch that’s next to impossible to satisfy. The longer I spend scratching at it, the more damage I end up doing to myself. I know this pattern well, yet I keep standing there silently screaming to myself as I dig deeper and deeper until it becomes this infection in my heart that has to be cut out entirely before I rip myself apart.

I guess I didn’t know what to expect coming here. At the very least, I thought I would spend a few weeks begging for jobs while living out of my van, subsiding entirely on Cup Noodles and Spam. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Over the years, I had learned how to make every little bit last; I don’t need a house if I can park a van overnight where no cops or vagrants will hassle me. By my luck, I managed to find a huge beachside parking lot just on the other side of the property, where several other cars and vans had been left overnight, too. All I do when I wake up is hop over a couple rocks at the end of the beach, and then I’m in the Mahalo Club, ready for work.

To think, two days ago I was nearly murdered by a couple of toothless freaks. It feels like a bad dream. Much like the single leaf I watch float around the pool, I drift along to the next thought, wondering what Jesse could be up to right now. I imagine him waiting for me to come home, getting worried, and kicking himself for being such a heartless fool to send me out on that delivery alone…

​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Jon Cohn has been giving himself nightmares reading horror books ever since he was a small child, and he revels in the opportunity to do the same to others. When he is not busy writing spooky stories, Jon is a professional board game designer and publisher. He specializes in games that-- you guessed it-- focus on horror, and hopefully a few laughs. He lives in San Diego, CA with his wife and two little monsters, Luna and Gizmo.

​
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads


Picture

Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I’ve been writing ever since I was a kid, in some form or another. I think storytelling is probably the most appropriate word for what it is I do overall. As a kid I used to make short films for as many school projects as my teachers would allow, which was surprisingly often. I then went to film school where I basically continued to do the same thing, but with infinitely better equipment and a lot more competition.

I ended up leaving the film industry after a few years, then moved into professional board game design, which I consider to be another form of storytelling. I specialize in making narratively focused games, and even have a horror game called Grind House which is basically a choose your adventure story with something like 150 short stories to experience. There’s even a new version of the game coming to Kickstarter this fall with four new expansions, so keep an eye out for that!


What is something unique/quirky about you?
Every year I spend months planning a huge murder mystery party, and its just about my favorite thing in life. I started out running them at halloween about seven years ago, and it quickly became an annual event that pulls me into an obsessive hole for a solid portion of each year.

The first time I hosted one was a pre-bought 80’s prom theme, and aside from some photoshopped posters and confetti streamers, there wasn’t much to it. Fast forward to last year, I spent seven months writing and planning my own Batman villain themed murder mystery that had video invitations, themed rooms, even bat shaped ice cubes. It may or may not be turning into a problem.

What do you do to unwind and relax?
Aside from reading, I like to paint, watch tv, work on jigsaw puzzles with my wife, play board games. I do all of these things while endlessly throwing a toy for my dog Gizmo, who spends every waking moment of his life trying to get me to play with him.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
I saw a video of a squirrel the other day cramming like fifteen peanuts into its mouth at once. I feel like that's the way I write, I’ve always got a dozen tabs open with all sorts of world building, character, and plot notes documents, and I’m just constantly bouncing back and forth trying to squeeze everything I have into the story.

What inspired you to write this book?
My wife and I had a long belated honeymoon in Hawaii due to covid. We spent two weeks at a resort in Kona and there were just so many larger than life characters there. I started out just writing a short story about resort employees dealing with horribly behaved guests, but by the time I was finished I realized that there was so much more room for a larger story. In the end I used that short story as a basic outline to build what ended up being The Island Mother.

What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m currently writing a new horror novel that's a ghost story. The basic idea of it is, what if you were doing an escape room in HH Holmes murder hotel, and also that hotel was super haunted? I’m having a lot of fun writing it and can't wait to share more of it in the future.

What is your favorite part of this book and why?
The epilogue! I swear I’m not just being cheeky. I’m just saying, if you stick to the end you’ll find there's some pretty fun surprises that I’m pretty proud of.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reins of the story?
I like to do a light outline, detailing a few major points, and then go full ham on creating a dozen world building documents that make the setting as rich as I possibly can. I feel like if I have a really solid understanding of every element of the characters and the world they're operating in, I can give them the freedom to guide the story in their own way toward the next milestone in the story.
That said, I’ve definitely changed some things in the plot before because a character has led me to a new avenue that I hadn’t previously considered. The outline is there, but it’s generally not set in stone on a first draft.

Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yes! I spent four years writing a horror urban fantasy novel that's the intended first in a series. I learned so much from working on that book, and had such a great time writing and revising it over and over. At one point I was like eleven drafts in, and I read this article online about why your first published novel should never be the first in a series. It made some really good arguments that made me decide to put that book away for a while and work on something else. I still look forward to releasing that story some day, though it probably won’t be for a while.

If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?
It would be something like Tropical Ocean Breeze, except two thirds of the way down it turns into blood and starts whispering your name over and over, and no matter what you do you can’t blow it out.

What did you edit out of this book?
Initially I had the idea that this was about resort employees dealing with nasty tourists, but it evolved into this story about a girl fighting for survival against man, nature, and something else entirely. At a certain point I realized the story isn't about this family of privileged jerks, and cut nearly a quarter of the total word count to focus on what mattered.
I think the old adage of “kill your darlings” is true. If it’s slowing down the pacing, or not actively making the story more compelling, it needs to go. Even if it does contain my manifesto on why waffles are objectively better than pancakes.

Is there a writer whose brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?
100% Grady Hendrix. He is the absolute master of taking a horror story you think you know, and completely turning it on its head. I’ve found in both writing and board games it's the simplest ideas that always turn out to be the best, and also the hardest to execute. I would love to talk to him about how he takes tropes we’ve all seen a million times and somehow makes it feel compelling and new.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
So much research! The Island Mother is mostly set in Hawaii, and while I wish I lived there, I’ve only been able to visit a handful of times. I did a ton of research on folklore, culture, history, dialect and slang to make the characters feel as authentic as possible.

I was lucky enough fairly early in my rewriting process to get a Hawaiian sensitivity beta reader who was absolutely incredible to work with. She taught me so much, and helped me convey the horror story I wanted to tell while making sure I didn’t accidentally create something disrespectful or dismissive of Hawaiian culture.

At the end of the day this is a horror story, and good horror stories are supposed to occasionally make the reader feel uncomfortable. I just want to make sure I’m making people uncomfortable in the right way, and not offending anyone through malice or ignorance. In my mind, the best way to do that is to be as informed as possible, and that takes a lot of research.

Do you see writing as a career?
Absolutely! To broaden it slightly, I would say storytelling is my career. Between writing novels, designing board games, and creating tabletop RPG campaigns for publishers, all I do is storytelling in one form or another.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I write in silence, but I brainstorm with noise. When I’m not actively writing I’ll take my dogs for long walks and listen to music that feels like it belongs in the story I’m writing to help me get into the right headspace. That's how I generally come up with the major beats that I need to hit, and then in the quiet of my office is where I have to do the hard work of figuring out how to get the characters to that point in an interesting way.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I mostly try to write the things that I would enjoy reading, which I guess means a little bit of both. I think to a degree I try to write what readers want in that I strive to come up with a compelling story with believable characters that hits all the beats of a conventionally structured narrative.

Originality is great, but only if it comes organically from a place where it makes sense in a story. Tropes exist for a reason, and they can be valuable tools in creating an original story. What’s important is taking the elements of those tropes that work, and using them as a springboard for something new and different. At the end of the day, I’m trying to come up with something that's greater than the sum of its parts, so if I have to use a few well-worn beats to get there, I’m not above it.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Ages! I don’t know how some people are able to knock out like 3 to 5 books a year. Those people are rockstars. From first writing the short story to finishing the final draft, Island Mother took me just over a year. My current goal for the book I’m currently writing is to be able to finish it in just under a year. I’m trying to set realistic goals!

​

Picture
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
​

July 21
kickoff at Silver Dagger Book Tours
The Bookshelf Fairy

July 22
Lady Hawkeye
4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼
Twisted Book Ramblings

July 23
A Wonderful World of Words – GUEST POST
Books a Plenty Book Reviews

July 24
Bedazzled By Books
Midnight Book Reader

July 25
#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog
Naughty Nightie Book Blog

July 26
@NatilliePainter
❧Defining Ways❧

July 27
Plain Talk Book Marketing
The Sexy Nerd 'Revue'

July 28
Tina Donahue - Heat with Heart
ⒾⓃⓉⓇⓄⓈⓅⒺⒸⓉⒾⓋⒺ ⓅⓇⒺⓈⓈ

July 29
Books all things paranormal and romance
eBook Addicts

July 30
FUONLYKNEW - GUEST POST
Girl with Pen

July 31
Craving Lovely Books
Insane Books

Aug 1
Inside the Insanity
Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
The Scratching Post

Aug 2
Scrupulous Dreams
Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'

Aug 3
Sylv.net
The Book Dragon

Aug 4
Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author
Teatime and Books


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Picture
57 Comments
Beyond Comps
7/21/2022 04:36:29 am

Great cover!

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:18:40 pm

Thanks so much. I like it! :)

Reply
Bernie Wallace
7/21/2022 05:17:34 am

How long did it take you to write your book?

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:19:45 pm

I don't remember keeping track of the hours. It's a long process and I thoroughly enjoyed it, though. I am looking forward to tackling a number of other novel ideas in my head!

Reply
Marcy Meyer
7/21/2022 06:53:20 am

I think the cover looks great. The story sounds really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:20:16 pm

Thanks a lot! I hope you enjoy reading it.

Reply
Bea LaRocca
7/21/2022 08:24:32 am

I love the cover art and the synopsis and excerpt have intrigued me, The Island Mother sounds like a thrilling read. Thank you for sharing your guest post, bio and book details and for offering a giveaway, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and I am looking forward to reading your story

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:21:23 pm

I really enjoyed getting all of that information together and sharing it with all of you.
I hope you enjoy the book and I would love to hear your feedback on Amazon and GoodReads. :)

Reply
Jen L
7/21/2022 09:41:07 am

Enjoyed the excerpt

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:21:38 pm

Thanks a bunch.

Reply
Rita Wray
7/21/2022 10:38:24 am

The book sounds very intriguing.

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:22:07 pm

I mean, I think so. :)
Hope you enjoy it!

Reply
Wendy Jensen
7/21/2022 11:10:55 am

The book details sound like quite a story.

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:22:40 pm

It really is. I love it, but I am biased. LOL
Hope you enjoy reading it.

Reply
xjanelx78
7/21/2022 11:22:46 am

Really nice cover and excerpt, looking forward to reading this!

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:23:05 pm

I can't wait to hear from you when you finish it. Happy reading!

Reply
Susan Smith
7/21/2022 01:51:41 pm

Sounds like a great book. I like the cover and excerpt.

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:23:29 pm

Happy reading! Thanks a bunch.

Reply
wendy hutton
7/21/2022 02:40:30 pm

love the cover, this sounds like a great read

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:23:52 pm

Thanks a lot! I love it too. Happy reading!

Reply
Sherry
7/21/2022 04:07:26 pm

I like the cover and excerpt.

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:24:19 pm

Cover art is such a fan process to go through. Thank you. :)

Reply
Kim Kern
7/21/2022 04:46:29 pm

Very nice cover! Nice art work!

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:24:38 pm

Thanks a lot. My artist was amazing to work with.

Reply
Terri Quick
7/21/2022 05:44:06 pm

Loving the cover

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:24:59 pm

Thank you. Me cover artist is super talented. :)

Reply
Debbie P
7/21/2022 06:24:50 pm

I love a good thriller and this sounds really good. Cool cover.

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:25:24 pm

Thanks a lot! I had a blast working with the cover artist. Happy reading!

Reply
bn100
7/21/2022 09:28:43 pm

nice interview

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:25:40 pm

Thank you so much.

Reply
Cathy French
7/22/2022 10:22:25 am

Awesome cover! Well, Hawaii is the opposite of Kentucky lol. Sounds like a great thriller read

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:26:07 pm

Thanks a ton! It really is, right?
Happy reading!

Reply
Tracy Fritts
7/23/2022 09:48:20 pm

I love the cover and the blurb

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:26:29 pm

Thank you so much. Hope you enjoy my book.

Reply
Barbara Montag
7/24/2022 01:32:39 pm

Supernatural Thriller, Horror - oh boy this sure grabs my attention!
Thank you for sharing this.

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:26:45 pm

You're very welcome. Happy reading!

Reply
Allison Swain
7/24/2022 03:42:04 pm

I have to be honest, this is one of the most prettiest covers I have ever seen for a book. Definitely gives off suspensful island vibes!
After reading the excerpt, I am hooked and would love to know what happens!
Thank you for sharing and for the chance to win :)

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:27:11 pm

That's very kind, thank you. Good luck! Happy reading.

Reply
Francine A
7/25/2022 01:23:19 pm

I love this cover really eye catching and it makes me want to read it

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:27:31 pm

That's the goal, amirite? Happy reading!

Reply
Valerie Seal
7/25/2022 01:45:14 pm

Looks good!

Reply
Jon Cohn link
7/25/2022 03:27:44 pm

Thanks

Reply
Cindy Merrill
7/30/2022 10:58:56 am

The plot hits very close to home, I was homeless at the age of 19. I can really relate to it.

Reply
wen budro
7/31/2022 11:39:01 am

This looks like a great read. The book excerpt is intriguing. Have you ever actually subsisted on Cup Noodles and Spam?

Reply
David Basile
7/31/2022 07:15:37 pm

Looks like a good supernatural thriller

Reply
Stephanie Liske
7/31/2022 08:46:09 pm

I like the book details.

Reply
Angela Heerde
7/31/2022 10:50:51 pm

I like book details

Reply
Debbi Wellenstein
8/1/2022 10:39:44 pm

i enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you for the giveaway!

Reply
Daniel M
8/3/2022 12:38:35 pm

like the cover

Reply
Christy R.
8/3/2022 01:47:46 pm

Such an eye catching cover. I hope you have great success with the book.

Reply
Danielle Day
8/3/2022 04:39:19 pm

It sounds good.

Reply
Ann Fantom
8/3/2022 08:36:28 pm

This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.

Reply
Renata
8/3/2022 11:41:39 pm

Sounds good!

Reply
Christina Gail Pearce
8/4/2022 11:28:15 am

Very cool! Good luck!

Reply
beth shepherd
8/4/2022 03:03:14 pm

This looks like a great read

Reply
joyce wilson
8/4/2022 05:11:45 pm

Very interesting!

Reply
Sand
8/4/2022 10:12:58 pm

Sounds like a great book!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Win a FREE tour here!
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Sign up for tour updates!

    New tours. All genres. All ages. All the time.

    Thank you!

    You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Activity Book
    Adventure
    African American
    Alt History
    Anthology
    Apocalyptic
    Audiobook
    Australian
    Bdsm
    Billionaire Romance
    Biography
    Chick Lit
    Childrens
    Christian
    Coloring Book
    Comedy
    Coming Of Age
    Contemporary Fiction
    Contemporaryromance
    Contemporary Romance
    Cookbook
    Cozymystery
    Cozy Mystery
    Crime
    Cyberpunk
    Dark
    Dark Romance
    Drama
    Dystopian
    Educational
    Epic Fantasy
    Eroticromance
    Erotic Romance
    Fairytale
    Fantasy
    Fantasy Romance
    Financial
    Giveaway-hop
    Gothic
    Graphic-novel
    Health And Wellness
    Historical
    Historicalromance
    Historical Romance
    Holiday
    Horror
    Humorous
    Inspirational
    Legal Thriller
    Lgbtq
    Literaryfiction
    Mafiaromance
    Mafia Romance
    Magicrealism
    Magic Realism
    Mcromance
    Mc Romance
    Memoir
    Menage
    Middlegrade
    Middle Grade
    Military
    Mystery
    Mythology
    Native American
    Newadult
    New Adult
    Nonfiction
    Paranormal
    Paranormalromance
    Paranormal Romance
    Parenting
    Pets
    Poetry
    Politics
    Postapocalyptic
    Pulp-fiction
    Reverseharemromance
    Reverse Harem Romance
    Rockstarromance
    Rockstar-romance
    Romance
    Romantasy
    Romanticcomedy
    Romantic Comedy
    Romanticsuspense
    Romantic Suspense
    Satirical
    Sciencefiction
    Science Fiction
    Scifi
    Scifiromance
    Scifi Romance
    Selfhelp
    Shortstories
    Short Stories
    Special Needs
    Special-Needs
    Speculativefiction
    Speculative Fiction
    Sportsromance
    Steampunk
    Supernatural
    Suspense
    Sweetromance
    Thriller
    Timetravel
    Time Travel
    Travel
    Urban
    Urbanfantasy
    Urban Fantasy
    Western
    Womensfiction
    Womens Fiction
    Youngadult
    Young-adult
    Youngadultya
    Young Adult Ya

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016