Guest Blog & Contest with Jennifer Estep

The Elemental Assassin Series by Jennifer Estep has been in my top ten best reads since I read the first book, Spider's Bite, last year. Now book four, Tangled Threads, is due out for release and I know a lot of my book friends can't wait to read it.

I already interviewed Jennifer last year but of course I couldn't resist asking Jennifer to stop by Amberkatze's Book Blog again!

So I hope you enjoy this guest blog and will enter the contest for your chance to win a copy of the new release!

On a side note : Huge apologies to Jennifer and anyone else waiting for this post. It was supposed to be posted on Wednesday but I was too pre-occupied with preparing for my Easter trip!

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Greetings and salutations! I want to say thanks to Amber for having me on the blog today. Thanks, Amber!

So today, Amber suggested that I talk a little bit about writing adult urban fantasy versus young adult urban fantasy.

Now, if you’ve read any of the books in my Elemental Assassin series, you know that semi-retired assassin Gin Blanco inhabits a very dark and gritty world and that she’s not shy about doing what needs to be done to protect the people that she cares about. Basically, Gin kills first and asks questions later, and she never, ever takes prisoners. LOL.

I know most folks would think that it’s pretty jarring to go from writing such a dark, violent character to penning a young adult series, but really, I don’t approach writing my Mythos Academy series any differently than I do the Elemental Assassin series. I’m a total punster when it comes to writing, so for whatever series I’m working on, I think of an idea, come up with the major plot points, then sit down and start writing it.

Now, I do a few things different when it comes to my young adult series – especially when it comes to the big three, as I like to think of them – sex, language, and violence. I do tone down those things for my young adult books. The Mythos Academy series doesn’t have nearly the amount of bad language that the Elemental Assassin books do, the fight scenes aren’t quite as bloody and visceral, and there are no detailed sex scenes.

But my young adult books aren’t completely vanilla. I do mention things like drinking, drugs, and sex, along with having my heroine fight for her life against the various bad guys. I think teens are smarter and have to deal with a lot more issues than people realize, and I also think they want to be entertained when they read, just like the rest of us. So that’s what I try to do – just tell a good, fun, action-packed story.

That’s why both of my series feature so many of the same elements – a strong, sassy heroine, a magical world, lots of fight scenes, vicious bad guys, and a hunky hero. Those are the things I like reading about, and those are the things I like writing about – no matter what genre I’m tackling.

Hopefully, readers will like my Mythos Academy series just as much as they do the Elemental Assassin books. Fingers crossed, anyway.

What about you guys? What are some of your favorite adult and young adult urban fantasy books right now?

Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin codenamed the Spider who can con¬trol 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 freakout 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.





My Reviews for the Elemental Assassin Series

#4 - Tangled Threads
#3 - Venom
#2 - Web of Lies
#1 - Spider's Bite

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Contest Time

Jennifer is very kindly giving away a copy of TANGLED THREADS to one lucky person! This giveaway is open to US/Canada only and all you have to do is answer the question below to be entered!

How To Enter

I am extremely scared of spiders! What are you scared of?


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.

Advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog on your site and get an extra entry for this and every other contest!

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You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

Make sure you post your links here so I can confirm your entries.

Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site!





The contest will stay open until Friday 29th of April 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.