Author Interview & Contest with Jenna Black

Jenna Black's Guardians of the Night Series was one of the first vampire books that I started to read and enjoy when I got into the genre. Her Morgan Kingsley series got me hooked on her work and now her Young Adult series has me intrigued!

Her latest release, Dark Descendant, is pre-ordered and I can't wait to try it! You can find out more about Jenna and her books by reading the interview. Maybe you can even win a Jenna Black book if you enter the contest!

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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here as a guest! Could you start things off by telling us a little about your upcoming release, Dark Descendant?

Jenna - DARK DESCENDANT is about a private investigator who kills a demigod in a car accident and winds up inadvertently stealing his immortality.

Amber - Where did the idea for Dark Descendant come from? Was it a long process or did it just come to you?

Jenna -This one was a long time coming for me. I originally wrote a partial manuscript using the same core idea (although at the time, my mythology was entirely make-believe rather than being based on Greek and other “real” mythology) back in around 2003. I ended up abandoning that manuscript (the only book I ever started but didn’t finish), but I still liked the core idea of immortals whose immortality can be stolen, so when it came time to come up with a new urban fantasy concept, I decided to rework that premise.

Amber - Reading the blurb for Dark Descendant I can't help but think 'Dark-Hunters'. What is different about your paranormal Greek mythology mix?

Jenna - Pretty much everything. LOL The gods themselves are not characters (just people descended from gods), I have no vampires, and there’s a mixture of different mythologies, not just Greek. At the core of my story is the idea that the immortality can be stolen, which creates all kinds of fun conflicts. My immortals also have different abilities, based on the deity from whom they are descended, but those abilities don’t always manifest in the same way. Lastly, there isn’t any romance (at least not in the first book); only glimmers of potential romance to come.

Amber - Have you always been interested in Greek Mythology? Do you keep to the myths or did you twist things a little to fit in with your story?

Jenna -I’ve always been a Greek mythology fan, ever since I had to read Edith Hamilton’s MYTHOLOGY back in high school. I definitely twist the mythology, because I always have more fun working from my own imagination than working from “real” mythology. I’ve used the mythology only as a jumping off point, and to make the world more accessible to my readers. (As I mentioned, in the original partial manuscript, I made up a totally separate mythology, not linked to anything familiar.)

Amber - Is Dark Descendant the start of a new series or a one off? If it is a series when can we expect book #2?

Jenna - DARK DESCENDANT is the start of a series. I’m working on the second book in the series as we speak. I don’t know when you can expect to see book 2, however, because the release date hasn’t been determined yet. I’m guessing the plan will be to put them out at the rate of one per year, but that really is just me guessing.

Amber - I haven't managed to read (well I have the first in the series on audio) anything from your Faeriewalker series yet. Can you tell us a little about it?

Jenna -It’s about a sixteen-year-old girl who gets fed up with her alcoholic single mother and runs away to Avalon, the only place where the mortal world and Faerie intersect, to live with the Fae father she’s never met. Needless to say, the grass isn’t always greener . . .

Amber - What was it like changing to YA after writing so much adult action?

Jenna -I didn’t really make any big changes in my writing style when changing from adult to YA. I think of my YAs as adult books that happen to have a teenage protagonist. Obviously, with a teenage heroine, there are differences in language and in life experience, but even when I’m writing adult books, my characters all have very different backgrounds and life experiences, so this didn’t feel like much of a stretch.

Amber - I miss Morgan Kingsley and The Guardians of the Night. Is there any chance of seeing either of these series start up again or are they both done?

Jenna - At this point, it’s unlikely there will be more books in either of those series, although there is a Morgan Kingsley short story coming out in the CHICKS KICK BUTT anthology in June.

Amber - What is next? Are you working on any other projects you would like to tell us about?

Jenna - As I mentioned, I’m working on the sequel to DARK DESCENDANT right now. I’m also working on the proofs for SIRENSONG, the final book of the Faeriewalker series. I’m not sure where I’ll go from there. My agent is shopping a proposal for a new YA series, but we’ll have to wait and see if publishers are interested in it. (The better the Faeriewalker books do, the more likely I’ll be able to sell a second YA series, hint, hint . . .)

Amber - Why the Paranormal? Did you always want to write about the Supernatural?

Jenna - I’ve always loved the paranormal. I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy growing up, so that’s naturally what I started writing. Then when I started reading contemporary paranormal romances and urban fantasy, I fell completely in love with it. Creating completely make-believe worlds was fun, but I find it even more fun to work with the real world and add make-believe elements.

Amber - How do you pick the names for your characters? Do they have any special meanings?

Jenna - Usually, the names for my characters just come to me. I’ll think of names I like, or look through something like BehindTheName.com, and suddenly something will pop out at me and feel right. The only time I remember specifically going in search of names with special meanings were for the Morgan Kingsley books. I wanted Lugh and Dougal to have names with meaning, and it was lovely that I was able to find names that were in opposition. (According to my sources at the time, Lugh means “shining one” and Dougal means “dark stranger.”)

Amber - Alot of authors have 'soundtracks' for their books. Is there any music influenced your books?

Jenna - I’m afraid I’m not one of those authors. Books and music are totally separate for me.

Amber - What books do you enjoy reading? Do you have any favourite authors/series?

Jenna - I enjoy reading anything with paranormal/supernatural aspects, including but not limited to paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and young adult. I also occasionally enjoy thrillers and historical romances. As for favorite authors . . . I have a hard time answering that one, because I have too many author friends and I don’t want to insult anyone/leave anyone out. However, if I limit myself to only authors I don’t know so no one will be insulted, I’d say a couple of my favorite series are the Mercy Thomson series by Patricia Briggs, as well as her Alpha & Omega series; I’m also a big fan of the Hunger Games books.

Amber - If you could be any paranormal creature, what would you be and why?

Jenna -I’m not sure I’d really want to be a paranormal creature, especially not considering the hell we authors put our paranormal creatures through. There are just too many disadvantages for any creature I can think of. I think I’ll stick with being human.

Amber - Thanks for visiting Amberkatze's Book Blog again!



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Contest Time

Jenna is giving away a copy of her new book Dark Descendant!


How To Enter


What Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance heroine would you most like to hang out with?


(Thanks to Bethany C. for suggesting this question! You have an extra entry in this contest!)


No answer = No Entry


Earn more entries for each link you place about this contest on the net. You can post on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries! However please do not make individual postings for each entry. Please post all your entries in one post.

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The contest will stay open until Sunday 2nd of May 2011 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.