Character Interview + Giveaway: Jennifer Estep

First off, I'd like to thank Jennifer Estep for dropping by the blog again. Her latest Elemental Assassins book, Tangled Threads, comes out next Tuesday (04/26) and it was amazing. You can see my review here. Today, Jennifer will be interviewing her main character, Gin Blanco. Hope you all enjoy!

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Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to say thanks to Sara for having me on the blog. Thanks, Sara! ;-)

So today, Sara asked me to interview one of the characters from my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, and I decided to talk to Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider and the star of the series. Here’s what Gin had to say for herself:

JE: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Gin.

GB: My name is Gin, and I kill people. That’s all you need to know.

JE: Okay, someone’s a little touchy today. Can you at least tell us a little about your latest adventure in Tangled Threads?

GB: *Sighs.* If you insist. In Tangled Threads, I learn that my nemesis, Fire elemental Mab Monroe, has hired an assassin named Elektra LaFleur to come to Ashland to track down and kill the Spider, aka me. I’m not too worried about Elektra, though, even if she does have deadly electrical elemental magic. What I’m more concerned about is this little girl who’s been kidnapped –- a girl that I’ve vowed to find and bring home to her father. Too bad LaFleur and Mab want to keep that from happening.

JE: Sounds like there’s quite a showdown between you and LaFleur in the book.

GB: You could say that. Let’s just say that my silverstone knives get very bloody before it’s all said and done –- and so does LaFleur. *Chuckles at her own joke.*

JE: And what about Owen Grayson, the sexy businessman that you hooked up with in Venom? Is he still in the picture?

GB: Definitely. Owen’s back, as well as Finn and the Deveraux sisters. I’m not sure what to think about Owen, though. I’m starting to really like him, so much that it scares me a little, especially since my last relationship with Donovan Caine ended so badly... *Stares off into space.*

JE: *Clears throat.* Anyway, what happens with your sister Bria in the book? We all know that she’s back in Ashland and that she’s a police detective who’s hot on the trail of the elusive Spider.

GB: I’m not sure what to do about Bria either. On the one hand, I want to tell her that I’m really her long-lost big sister Genevieve Snow. On the other, I’m not sure that she’ll understand about me being a notorious assassin either. Decisions, decisions...

JE: Indeed. Well, besides going up against another assassin, can you tell us what else is in store for you?

GB: If things go the way that I want them to with LaFleur, I’ll be back in Spider’s Revenge, which will hit shelves in October. Until then, I’ll be doing the same old, same old. Running the Pork Pit, cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland, and facing down any trouble that comes my way.

Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin codenamed the Spider who can control the elements of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing people and righting wrongs, Gin runs a barbecue restaurant called the Pork Pit in the fictional Southern metropolis of Ashland. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vampires, and elementals -– Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.

Books in the series are Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, and Venom. Tangled Threads, the fourth book, will be published on April 26, while Spider’s Revenge, the fifth book, will be released in October.

Jennifer also writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psychometry, or the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. After a serious freak-out with her magic, Gwen is shipped off to Mythos Academy, a school for the descendants of ancient warriors like Spartans, Valkyries, Amazons, and more.

The first book, Touch of Frost, will be out in August, while the second book, Kiss of Frost, will hit shelves in December. First Frost, a prequel e-short story to the series, will be out in July. Visit www.jenniferestep.com for excerpts and more.

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Thanks again to Jennifer for stopping! She has also offered up a copy of Tangled Threads to a lucky reader! All you have to do is answer Jennifer's question: Who are some of your favorite Urban Fantasy authors?

Title: Tangled Threads
Author: Jennifer Estep
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 04/26/11
Summary:

I’d rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings.

But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson’s front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn’t shy away from my past -- or my present. And right now I have a bull’s-eye on my forehead. Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there’s a fifty-fifty chance one of us won’t survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur -- or die trying -- because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too. The only problem is, Bria has no idea I’m her long-lost sibling... or that I’m the murderer she’s been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn’t know just might get us both dead...

Giveaway Rules:
Open to US/Canada.
Must answer Jennifer's question.
Must leave a valid e-mail address.
Contest ends at midnight on Friday 29th.