Author Interview + Giveaway: Jennifer Estep

I'd like to welcome back urban fantasy author Jennifer Estep! She's the author of two wonderful series, the urban fantasy Elemental Assassins series and the young adult Mythos Academy series. Today, we're celebrating the recent release of her fifth Elemental Assassins book, Spider's Revenge.

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Sara: How would you describe Spider’s Revenge, for readers who haven’t heard of it before?

Jennifer: Spider’s Revenge in the fifth book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that was released on Sept. 27. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin codenamed the Spider who can cotrol 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. Other books in the series are Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, Venom, and Tangled Threads.

In Spider’s Revenge, Gin is gearing up to finally go toe-to-toe with Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered Gin’s family when Gin was a kid. Also, Gin has to deal with the bounty hunters that Mab has hired to come to Ashland to track down the Spider –- and there’s a bounty on the head of Gin’s sister, Bria, as well. So there’s a lot of action in the book, which I hope will appeal to readers.

Sara: Do you have a favorite character to write? Is there a character that’s a bit harder than the rest to write?

Jennifer: Finnegan Lane, Gin’s foster brother, is a lot of fun for me to write. Finn is a shameless, greedy womanizer who says exactly what he wants to whenever he wants to –- no matter who’s listening or what the consequences might be. Finn usually gets the best and funniest lines.

Bria is a bit difficult to write at times, mainly because her character is in between two worlds. On one hand, Bria is a good, honest cop. On the other, she has Gin, an assassin, as her sister. So it’s sometimes challenging to have Bria straddle those two worlds and have her struggle with where her heart and loyalties lie versus her job.

Sara: How many more novels set in Gin’s world can we look forward to?

Jennifer: I am currently under contract for two more Elemental Assassin books. By a Thread, the sixth book, will be released in March 2012, while the seventh book (untitled) is scheduled for an August 2012 release.

I’d love to write even more books in the series beyond these. I think there are a lot of Gin stories left to tell.

Sara: If Gin could work together with any Urban Fantasy hero or heroine, who would you want her to work with?

Jennifer: Good question! Hmm. There are a lot of great heroes and heroines in urban fantasy, but I would say Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. I think Gin and Harry would make a pretty formidable team, with her deadly skills and his magic. Plus, I think it would just be fun to have Gin hang out with Bob the skull, Murphy, and the other characters in the series.

Sara: If you could have an elemental power, which element would you choose?

Jennifer: Well, my hands are almost always cold, so I would have to go with Ice magic. LOL. Plus, it would be handy for cooling down on a hot summer day, and we’ve had plenty of those this year.

Really, though, I think all the elemental powers in my books would be cool to have. It would be interesting (and dangerous!) to be able to create fire with your bare hands or turn your skin into the equivalent of human marble so that nothing could hurt you. I always have a lot of fun thinking about the elemental magic and how Gin and all the other characters can use it and what they might do with it.

Sara: Do you have any other projects in the works? Are there any genres you’d like to branch out to in the future?

Jennifer: I also write the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series. 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.

Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, was released in August. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, is available as a 99-cent download. Kiss of Frost, the second book, will be released Nov. 29. Dark Frost, the third book, will be out in June 2012.

Also, Halloween Frost, a Mythos Academy e-story, can be found in the Entangled e-anthology that I am participating in with several other authors. The e-anthology is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers. All proceeds from Entangled will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. For more information about all my books, folks can visit my website at www.jenniferestep.com.

I’d love to branch out into even more genres. I’d love to write a western someday, along with a romantic suspense book and a heist book.

Sara: I saw that your Bigtime novels are being released in e-book format with new covers. Can you tell us a bit more about them?

Jennifer: Of course. The Bigtime paranormal romance series features sexy superheroes, evil ubervillains, and smart, sassy gals looking for love. The books are set in Bigtime, a fictional city where everything is bright, colorful, fun, and larger-than-life, including the zany characters.

Books in the series are Karma Girl, Hot Mama, and Jinx, and they are available as $2.99 e-books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks, and Smashwords.

Sara: What are you currently reading?

Jennifer: I’m in between books right now, but some of the titles in my TBR pile are Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver; Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick; Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter; Last Chance by Christy Reece; and Kissing Comfort by Jo Goodman -– along with about twenty other books. I always wish I had more time to read. Happy reading, everyone!

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Thanks again for stopping by, Jennifer! Thanks to Jennifer, I have one (1) copy of Spider's Revenge to giveaway to a lucky person! To enter, just leave a valid e-mail address.

Giveaway Rules:
1. US only
2. Must leave a valid e-mail address
3. Giveaway will be open until midnight October 9th
4. Winner will be chosen using random.org October 10th

Title: Spider's Revenge
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Elemental Assassins #5
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 09/27/11
Summary:

Old habits die hard for assassins.
And I plan on murdering someone before the night is through.

Killing used to be my regular gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, assassin-for-hire. And I was very, very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly matters: Mab Monroe, the dangerous Fire elemental who murdered my family when I was thirteen. Oh, I don’t think the mission will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more problematic than expected. The bitch knows I’m coming for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters Mab hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keeping Bria safe is my first priority. Taking Mab out is a close second. Good thing I’ve got my powerful Ice and Stone magic—and my irresistible lover, Owen Grayson -- to watch my back. This battle has been years in the making, and there’s a good chance I won’t survive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s coming with me... no matter what I have to do to make that happen.