Welcome!

Hi. I’m speculative fiction author Kristen Brand. If you’re looking for a good book in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, then you’re in the right place. My novels all have fast-paced action, witty banter, and at least a hint of romance. I’m a huge nerd, which comes through in my writing, and I love reading and talking about books, comics, and short stories.

Check out my books page for a full list of all my novels. Or look at my web fiction for links to free stories you can read online.

Thanks for stopping by!

New Superhero Fiction (June 2018)

This is a little late due to my vacation, but here are some of last month’s new superhero books. I’ve got short reads if you’re pressed for time, and the latest installments in multi-book series if you want something long and epic. As usual, I haven’t read all of these personally, so please check out the samples and reviews before buying. And if you’ve read any of these, let me know what you think in the comments!

Empowered: Rebel (The Empowered Book 4)

by Dale Ivan Smith

Empowered Rebel Cover

What do you do when a conspiracy suppresses super powers?

Mathilda Brandt fights to keep her fellow Empowered friends and the Imbued refugees from Sanctuary alive and safe. Environmental disasters are ravaging the world. Her former master, the secretive government agency known as Support, hunts her and the other rogue Empowered and Imbued across the world, seeking to capture or kill them. Only the strange Dark-Net, an extra-dimensional road, keeps Mat and her friends free.

Mat is also desperate to find her mother, who until a few months ago Mat thought was dead. Her mother’s fate is somehow intertwined with the people hunting her, and Mat wants to learn how. Continue reading New Superhero Fiction (June 2018)

Vacation in the Mountains

No new book stuff this week, because I spent the Fourth of July holiday in the Great Smoky Mountains. My phone had terrible service there, and the hotel WiFi was super slow, so I was forced to take a break from the internet.

It was nice. 🙂

I went hiking to cascades and waterfalls… Continue reading Vacation in the Mountains

Announcing the Heroes & Villains Boxed Set

Like reading about superheroes? Well, how about ten superheroes for the price of one?

I’m excited to announce that Hero Status is part of Heroes & Villains: A Superhero Collection. This boxed set contains ten full-length superhero novels. Ten! You’ll really get to see the full spectrum of what superhero prose fiction has to offer, from teenage heroes-in-training to retired ones, retro 60s vigilantes to super-powered teams in the near future. If you’re a fan of the genre, you need to check this out!
 Continue reading Announcing the Heroes & Villains Boxed Set

The Superhero Dating Reality Show You Need to Follow

I don’t watch reality TV. It’s just not my cup of tea, but I’m starting to think I’ll be interested in anything if you throw superheroes into the mix.

Case in point: The S Factor.

It’s essentially The Bachelor but for superheroes, which I think is the coolest concept ever. Superheroes have a notoriously tough time dating with that whole secret identity thing. They’re always having to run off with a weak excuse to stop a giant monster attack, abandoning their date at the restaurant table and generally ruining the evening. Continue reading The Superhero Dating Reality Show You Need to Follow

Cover Reveal: Kill Them All

Do you like morally gray female protagonists? Enjoy a good old-fashioned revenge story? Then get out your To-Read List and add Kill Them All to the bottom, because I’ve got the book for you.

The release date isn’t for a few more months, but I couldn’t keep the cover a secret any longer. It’s just too awesome. Look at it!

Kill Them All Cover

The Story

Valentina Belmonte walked away from her supervillain career years ago. Having peaked at the top of the national Most-Wanted List, she now lives a quiet life with her husband and daughter, enjoying the Florida sun. Sure, she has to curb her violent and illegal instincts to stay under the radar, but her family is worth it.

Until they’re attacked. With her husband—a retired superhero and the closest thing she has to a conscience—hospitalized and on the brink of death, she’s done playing nice. She doesn’t know who attacked them or why, but she’ll wreak bloody destruction until she finds out. Nobody does revenge like a supervillain, but as her single-minded pursuit grows more violent, it threatens the only family she has left… Continue reading Cover Reveal: Kill Them All

Turn Back the Pages: Spectacle by Megan Rose Gedris

Spectacle Cover

I love when stories have circuses. From the magic and mystery of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern to the weird and eerie Dead Moon Circus in Sailor Moon, the setting has so much to offer. I can even appreciate the creepy circus aesthetic in horror movies even if I’m way too much of a wimp to watch them.

So I was hooked when I first learned about Spectacle by Megan Rose Gedris. Here’s the blurb:

Pragmatic engineer Anna works as a psychic in the Samson Brothers Circus, but she doesn’t believe in anything supernatural—until her twin sister Kat is murdered and comes back as a very demanding ghost. Sharing a room with her sister was hard, but now they’re sharing a body while trying to identify the killer. With few leads, a troupe full of secretive folk, and strange paranormal occurrences popping up around the circus, solving the case seems near impossible. But the murderer in their midst may be the least of their problems… Continue reading Turn Back the Pages: Spectacle by Megan Rose Gedris

New Superhero Fiction Releases (May 2018)

Hi again, super readers. This post took forever to put together, because there are so many awesome-sounding superhero novels that came out this month. And we’ve got a little bit of everything, whether you’re looking for dark or comedic tones, teenage or adult protagonists, romance or pure action.

You know the drill by now: please read the samples and reviews before purchasing, because I haven’t personally read everything on this list. And if you’d like to share your own recommendations, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Happy reading!

Power: Arca Book 3

by Karen Diem

Power Cover

After successfully rescuing her brother from a serial killer and stopping a plot to use a magic butter knife to massacre thousands, Zita Garcia is ready for a return to her regular life: illegally climbing skyscrapers, hiding her superpowers, and grudgingly earning a paycheck to cover all those bills piling up.

Unfortunately, her least favorite supervillains are rampaging around in a bloody crime spree, outmaneuvering and outgunning the authorities. Enlisting her friends to help, even the one sulking in his dad’s basement, she’s got to stop the bad guys and their latest evil plan before anyone else dies. Even if Zita isn’t sure what they’re doing, other than it involves Brazil.

And maybe dinosaurs. Continue reading New Superhero Fiction Releases (May 2018)