Marty Braun had an enjoyably spooky time being involved in the launch of "Mercy, The Last New England Vampire," a Young Adult novel by Sarah Thomson. The book launch was planned by Curious City (Portland, ME) who commissioned Marty to design a temporary tattoo, a flaming heart, as a take-away promotional piece.

The event was held among the headstones in one of the oldest cemeteries in Portland and featured a young woman dressed in 1850's dress made up as the deceased Mercy, and a "Dead Girls" tour of the cemetery, as well as a reading and book signing by the author.

The day was grey and drizzling, setting the perfect somber mood. Why a flaming heart? “Based on an actual event in Rhode Island, 19 year old Mercy Brown was suspected of being a vampire because of a number of deaths in her family,” explains Marty. “When she died, her recently buried corpse was dug up, her heart was cut out, and then it was burned: A sure cure for a case of vampires. Creepy…”