Jennifer Estep Author Interview

Photo Content from Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin codenamed the Spider who can control 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.

      

Tell us your latest news.
DARK FROST, the third book in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series, will be released on May 29. I hope everyone has as much fun reading the book as I did writing it.

Where were you born and where do you call home?
I’m a Southern girl.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I don’t remember ever really saying I want to be this or that when I grew up, although I hoped that I would always have something to do with books and reading. Luckily, I’ve been able to achieve that dream.

What fiction most influenced your childhood, and what effect did those stories have on your writing?
I read just about everything I could get my hands on as a kid – the Baby-sitters Club books, the Sweet Valley High books, the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, the Encyclopedia Brown books, and too many others to name.

Reading so many books eventually made me want to write my own stories with my own characters and magic/world building. Every time I read a great book, I hope that I can write something as good someday and that folks will enjoy my books as much as I have books by other authors.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
For me, one of the biggest challenges is just finding time to write. Being an author means doing a lot things – answering e-mails, keeping up with social media, getting the word out about your books, guest blogging, etc. – so it can sometimes be hard for me to just make time to write.

For those who are unfamiliar with your Mythos Academy Series; Dark Frost, how would you introduce it?
The Mythos Academy series focuses 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. Basically, the series is about myths, magic, and monsters.

Which of your characters do you feel has grown the most since book one and in what way have they changed?
I think Gwen has grown the most. She started out sort of scoffing at the mythological world and not believing that she had any real connection to it. But as the books and series have gone along, Gwen has realized that she’s part of Mythos Academy and that it’s up to her to fight the good fight against Loki and his Reapers of Chaos. So I think she’s grown up quite a bit since the series started.

What part of Gwen did you enjoy writing the most?
I really like writing fight scenes, so I enjoy coming up with bad guys for Gwen to battle and figuring out ways for her to use her wits and magic to win the fight.

Where did you get your idea for Logan?
I like books with a little bit of everything in them – magic, action, danger, and romance. So I always knew that I wanted Gwen to have somebody in her life who’s not only a love interest but a friend and fellow warrior as well. That was sort of the beginning of Logan Quinn, a Spartan guy who is as cute as he is deadly.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
DARK FROST will be out on May 29. In this book, Gwen is searching for the Helheim Dagger, a powerful artifact that is the key to keeping the evil god Loki locked away where he belongs. Also searching for the dagger is the mysterious Reaper girl who is Loki’s Champion – the person who murdered Gwen’s mom. So there’s a lot of action in the book, and what happens will impact Gwen and the story arcs going forward in future books.

CRIMSON FROST, the fourth book in the series, is set to be published in January 2013, and there will be at least two more Mythos Academy books after that one.

If you could be any mythology creature, what would you be?
There are so many interesting mythological creatures out there. I think it would be fun to be a gryphon or maybe a Pegasus and just be able to soar through the sky.

Where can readers find you?
Folks can visit my website at www.jenniferestep.com for excerpts and more information about my books. Readers can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter (@Jennifer_Estep), and Goodreads. Happy reading, everyone!

An amazingly addictive new series." -Fresh Fiction

I've seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I'm supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I'm just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me—again.

Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I'm also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me? It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can't use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me—and I'm in for the fight of my life.

Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep brings back Gwen Frost in the third book of the Mythos Academy Series. Things get a little bit more powerful this time around inside the unique world of the Mythos Academy. Fully jam-packed from the very beginning, it entirely pulls the reader into a frenzied event that literally shakes the very core of the story. The danger and adventures that the adored characters go through is more intense and entirely different that of the first two books.
The Gwen Frost character has grown more as she learns more about herself. She is so different from the way when she was first introduced. I like that she is brave, not overly confident, and the fact that she has flaws makes her believable. Although she has learned to handle the steady emotional confusion with Logan really well, her strength is not enough for her heart from being stretched by him.

Jennifer is an amazing story-teller. Her writing style is unique and makes reading fun. Dark Frost is a thrilling, fast-paced read with adventure, romance, and mystery that will hook readers from the beginning. The third installment extensively advances the series plot. The action, adventure, and romance are magnified. Villains are more prominent and they are turning up to be very malevolent. Dark Frost is the perfect choice for anyone who loves Paranormal Young Adult flavored with Greek Mythology and of course, romance. 

You can purchase Dark Frost at the following Retailers:

    

And now, The Giveaways.

Thank you JENNIFER ESTEP for making this giveaway possible.

1 Winner will receive one Signed copy of Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep.

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