Author Interview & Contest with Jana Oliver

To celebrate Easter I have a second author guest for you guys this week! Jana Oliver writes the amazing Demon Trapper series. The third book, Forgiven, is out now and I couldn't resist contacting her and asking her to be on the blog again.

I can only highly recommend the series. It is a wonderful concept with a brilliant leading girl. Despite being classed as Young Adult, this isn't one of those girly books. Riley is grown-up, mature and not your typical teenager.

Enjoy the interview and get to know the author and series. Also make sure you enter the contest! Jana is giving away some books and you know you want them ;)

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Amber - Welcome back to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here again as a guest! Could you start things off by telling us a little about your third book in the Demon Trappers series, Forgiven?

Jana - Thank you for having me back!

Over the past two books I’ve been building up the tensions between Heaven and Hell and ensuring that the Demon Trappers are right in the middle of that coming conflict. FORGIVEN is when it all hits the fan. The Vatican’s Demon Hunters have come to Atlanta to sort out the rampaging demons and Riley is on the run because of a little something she did in SOUL THIEF. It’s during this book that almost all of that is resolved in some way or another.

Amber - Was it hard coming up with the storyline for the third book or was it already planned out from the beginning?

Jana - I don’t plan my books out that far ahead. I knew certain events that would happen during the course of the story, but most certainly not all of them. In fact, there were a number of surprises as I penned the book. My characters love to do that to me.

Amber - How did you come up with the idea for the series?

Jana - I really GOOD OMENS by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It’s the story of an angel and a demon who join forces to prevent the end of the world. I had always wanted to get into the gray area of Heaven vs. Hell and in 2008 I found myself thinking about a story that had that theme, but told from the perspective of a teen.

Amber - How long on average does it take you to write a book? Do you have a process you follow? or do you just start at page one and see what happens?

Jana - It usually takes me about seven months or so to write a book. I have a rough beginning and end worked out in my head, then I start writing. I write a very rough (terrible) draft, then go back and begin to layer on all the missing bits. It usually takes me four more passes through the manuscript before I have it the way I want.

Amber - Will there be more books in the series? How long would you like to see things continue for The Demon Trappers?

Jana - Every series has a natural end point, so there will be a total of four books in the series. Most likely the fourth book will be in Fall 2012 so that’s really soon.

Amber - Are you working on any other projects?

Jana - I’m currently pondering/fiddling with a couple new ideas. One is a YA historical series set in Late Victorian London. The other is a standalone novel set in the South. Neither have been written. I’m still in the “gee, this is bright and shiny” stage. Should my publisher show interest in these new babies, they’ll eventually be in a bookstore.

Amber - Why Young Adult and why the paranormal? Will you stick with these two combinations or are you eager to try something different? and what?

Jana - I seem to always weave some form of the paranormal into my series. At present I’m having a lot of fun writing young adult stories so I believe I’d like to stay there for the time. I have a paranormal romance I wrote a few years back (not YA) that I’d like to see published down the line.

Amber - If the series was going to be made into a TV series or Film, who would you like to see playing the main characters?

Jana - Oh gads, this is hard for me because I see my characters differently than others do. Garrett Hedlund would be a mighty fine Beck and Daveigh Chase would do very well for Riley. Folks have suggested Ian Somerhalder or Jackson Rathbone for Ori.

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

Jana - The names do have meanings. Paul Blackthorne is an homage to the actor who played Harry Dresden in the Dresden Files (Jim Butcher is the author of the series). Riley Anora means “Valiant Light”. Denver Beck has no middle name because his mom didn’t bother to pick one out for him. His first name came from a travel magazine at the hospital. Just those two facts are a clue to his unstable childhood.

Amber - And how about the titles for your books? Do you always go with the first title or is it hard to come up with the right one?

Jana - Titles are tricky. I come up with something, then my editor and the marketing department weigh in on it. Lather, rinse, repeat. Finally we get a title we can all live with. Sometimes that happens quickly, other times not do much.

Amber - What kind of research have you done for your books? Anything interesting or is the research boring?

Jana - I am a research junkie. In the case of the Demon Trappers, I investigated how Hell is viewed by different cultures and how an unnamed angel who was originally God’s minion somehow became the Prince of Hell. I also researched spell casting and some of the history of Atlanta. For the final book in the series (yet untitled in the US) I took a private tour of Okefenokee Swamp. Yeah, I’m really into the researching bit.

Amber - Are you a full time writer or do you have a day job? If yes, How do you divide your time?

Jana - My job is my writing. Mostly I spend the first couple of hours of the day answering emails and doing that social media thing. Then I dig into the writing. Some days are longer than others, depending how soon a manuscript is due.

Amber - Who has been your biggest inspiration in life?

Jana - I don’t have really have just one person. There are SO many people/events that have been inspirations. Those range from Loreena McKennitt and her haunting music to authors like Jim Butcher, Ilona Andrews (and so many others).

The person who has been the most supportive (and I’m blessed awesome friends who are always there for me) would be my husband, Harold. He’s always said I could do anything I put my mind to. If I didn’t have that kind of “you go, girl!” support at home, this career would be a ton harder.

Amber - What are you listening and watching lately? Is there any music or other media that influences your writing?

Jana - I’ve been listening to quite a few bands/performers recently. Those include:

The Band Perry
Two Steps From Hell
Daughtry

To hear FORBIDDEN’s playlist, it’s available on Spotify now.

Demon Trappers Bk #3

Amber - Read anything good lately? What authors/series are your favourites?

Jana – I haven’t done much reading at all as of late since the fourth’s book was due the end of March. Now that’s turned in, I can start reading other peoples’ book again.

My favs include two of the authors I mentioned above: Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden Series) and Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels Series). I’m also fond of Andrew Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes Series and Maggie Stiefvater’s Scorpio Races.

Amber - What's your favorite paranormal movie of all time?

Jana - Depending on how you define paranormal, Lord of the Rings is my fav. It’s got all the good stuff: hunky heroines, kick butt heroines, small furry people and evil bad guys. And talking trees. How cool is that? Behind all that is the quintessential battle of good vs. evil and how ordinary folks (or in this case, hobbits) can make a difference. How courage is found in the most unlikely places. That’s why I really love those movies.

Amber - Thank you for visiting Amberkatze's! I hope you will come by again sometime!

Jana - Thanks, my dear!!!





The Demon Trappers Series

#0.5 - Retro Demonology
#1 - The Demon Trapper's Daughter a.k.a Forsaken
#2 - Soul Thief a.k.a Forbidden
#3 - Forgiven
#4 - Foretold (Due out later this year)

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Contest Time

Jana is giving away two prizes! One lucky winner will get a copy latest book,Forgiven. Another winner will get a set of all three books in the Demon Trapper Series!


How To Enter


Let's keep things simple...who is your favourite demon?


No Answer = No Entry


'Please enter me' posts will NOT be counted as an entry

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The contest will stay open until 4pm on Monday 16th April (Central European Time) 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.