Author Interview & Contest with Jennifer Estep

The Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series is one of my favourite series of all time! Jennifer Estep the writer of this spectacular series has also become one of my favourite authors.

The fifth part in the Elemental Assassin series, Spider's Revenge, releases this week and if you are a fan of the books your really don't want to miss it!

So I invited Jennifer over to Amberkatze's Book Blog to talk about her new release, her Young Adult series and the short story she contributed to the lovely Entangled anthology.

I hope you all enjoy the interview! Make sure you enter the contest for your chance to win a copy of Spider's Revenge!

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Amber - Hello Jennifer! Welcome back to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you back here again to talk about the fifth book in your Elemental Assassins series. Can you start things off by telling us a little about Spider's Revenge?

Jennifer – Hi, Amber! I’m glad to be here.

Of course. Spider’s Revenge is the fifth book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, and it will be published on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assas¬sin code-named the Spi¬der who can con¬trol the ele¬ments of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing peo¬ple and right¬ing wrongs, Gin runs a bar¬be¬cue restau¬rant called the Pork Pit in the fic¬tional South¬ern metrop¬o¬lis of Ash¬land. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vam¬pires, and ele¬men-tals – 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 has to deal with various bounty hunters who have come to Ashland to track down and kill the Spider on the orders of Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who killed Gin’s family when Gin was a kid. There’s a lot of action and magic in the book, along with some romance.

Amber - Spider's Revenge, as a title, already seems to be hinting at the contents of this fifth part in the series. So the big question is for the fans...Does Gin go after Mab? Will Mab finally get what she deserves?

Jennifer – Yes, the title is pretty accurate. Basically, Gin and Mab have their big showdown in this book, and a lot of the various story threads and questions are tied up and answered. As for Mab getting what she deserves, I think readers will be happy with how things turn out. Fingers crossed, anyway.

Amber - So is this the last book of Gin? Is Spider's Revenge the end of the series?

Jennifer – I’m happy to say that I’ll be writing at least two more books about Gin. By a Thread, the sixth book, will be out in March 2012, and the seventh book (untitled at this point) is tentatively set to be released in August 2012. I hope to write even more books about Gin beyond those two. I think there are still a lot of bad guys for her to take on.

Amber - When you started writing this series did you think it would keep going this long? Do you actually have an ending planned for Gin?

Jennifer – I thought the series had a lot of potential, but I’ve been really flattered by the reader response to Gin and all the interest in the books. I do have some ideas for where I want Gin to ultimately end up, but I hope to be writing about her for a long time to come.

Amber - While reading Spider's Revenge I wondered what it would be like to read about things from the other characters perspectives. Maybe even start a spin off or have some novellas using one of the other characters. Any plans to do something like that? I would love to see Finn's or Roslyn's side of things.

Jennifer – Actually, I’ve written several free short stories from the other characters’ points of view. There are stories from Finn, Jo-Jo, Sophia, Bria, and Fletcher’s points of view on the Excerpts page of my website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/excerpts-short-stories/

So far, folks seem to be enjoying the stories and seeing the world of Ashland through the other characters’ eyes and following their various adventures.

Amber - You also have a paranormal YA series out. What can you tell us about that?

Jennifer – I also write the Mythos Acad¬emy young adult urban fan¬tasy series. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psychom¬e¬try, or the abil¬ity to know an object’s his¬tory just by touch¬ing it. After a seri¬ous freak-out with her magic, Gwen is shipped off to Mythos Acad¬emy, a school for the descen¬dants of ancient war¬riors like Spar¬tans, Valkyries, Ama¬zons, and more.Basically, the series is about myths, magic, monsters, and mean girls.

Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, was published in August. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, is also available now as a 99-cent download.

Amber - How long does it take you to write a complete book? Is it harder to give your full attention to one story now that you are writing two different series?

Jennifer – I can usually write a book in three to four months. When you add in things like revisions, copy edits, and page proofs, it probably takes me about six to eight months to get everything done.

Not really. I only work on one book project at a time – that’s just the way that I like to work. So whatever book I’m working on at the moment has my full attention.Plus, I like switching back and forth between the two series. The Elemental Assassin books are really dark and gritty, and the Mythos Academy books are a little lighter, so it’s a good mix and a nice change of pace for me to go from one to the other and back again.

Amber - What is up next? Any new projects? Any release dates you can share with us?

Jennifer – Like I mentioned before, By a Thread will be out in March 2012, and the seventh Elemental Assassin book is tentatively scheduled for an August 2012 release.

Also, Kiss of Frost, the second book in my Mythos Academy series, will be out on Nov. 29, 2011, and Dark Frost, the third book, will be out in June 2012.

Folks can get more information about all my books on my website.

Amber - I heard you have a short story coming out in a new anthology called Entangled? What story have you contributed?

Jennifer – My story is called Halloween Frost, and it’s set in the world of my Mythos Academy series after the events of Touch of Frost, the first book in the series. In the story, it’s Halloween at Mythos Academy, but Gwen and her friends are in for more tricks than treats when they run into a mythological monster intent on killing them.

Amber - All the proceeds for Entangled is going to breast cancer research. Is this a cause that is close to your heart?

Jennifer – It is. My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor, and I wanted to write a story for this anthology to honor her strength and spirit, as well as everyone else who’s struggled with or been affected by the disease. Here’s hoping for a cure – the sooner, the better.

Amber - How did the anthology come about? Did you get to meet up with the other authors involved?

Jennifer – I’m friends with Edie Ramer, another author in the anthology. She asked me to participate, and I was happy to say yes. I’ve gotten to meet some of the other authors in the anthology, including Liz Kreger and Michelle Diener, and I’ve emailed with some of the other authors. They’re all lovely ladies, and it’s been a really fun project to work on.

Amber - How do you relax when you aren't writing?

Jennifer –I love to hang out with my family and friends, read, and watch TV and movies.

Amber - Have you read or watched anything great lately that you would like to recommend to us?

Jennifer – I watch way too much TV, so I’m excited about the start of the fall television season. Some of my favorite shows are NCIS, Hawaii Five-0, Burn Notice, Covert Affairs, The Good Wife, and How I Met Your Mother.

Amber - If you could spend a day with anyone famous, alive or dead, who would you spend your day with?

Jennifer – Hmm. That’s a tough one. I think it would be cool to hang out with someone like J.K. Rowling and just talk about writing.

Amber - Thank you for being a guest again!

Jennifer – Thanks for having me on the blog again. I appreciate it.







Elemental Assassin

#1 - Spider's Bite
#2 - Web of Lies
#3 - Venom
#4 - Tangled Threads
#5 - Spider's Revenge (releases this week!)
#6 - By A Thread (Due Feb 2012)

Mythos Academy

#0.5 - First Frost
#1 - Touch of Frost
#2 - Kiss of Frost (Due in Nov)

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Contest Time


Jennifer is giving away a copy of the new Elemental Assassin book, Spider's Revenge! (US Only)

I am also giving away a winner's choice! Any of Jennifer's books in the Elemental Assassin or Mythos Academy series! (Open to all)

PLEASE!!! Add if you are entering the US only, both or just the Winner's Choice!


How To Enter


The Elemental Assassin books all have titles that have to do with Spider's! Come up with a new one!


No Title = No Entry


'Please enter me' posts will not be counted as an 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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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.

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The contest will stay open until Sunday 2nd of October 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.