Hey everyone, I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Today, I have something special for you: A Short-Interview (Q&A) with the amazing Jennifer Estep.
She agreed to answer some of my questions to celebrate her latest release 'Spartan Heart' - book #1 in the spin-off series to 'Mythos Academy'.
I had a great time thinking about the questions I would like to ask her and have to say, she is not just a great author but also has a wonderful personality! When I asked her to do this, I thought she might decline so I think you all can imagine how happy I was - and still am - that she agreed!
As you can imagine, I have been totally nervous, especially because this was my first interview with such a well-known author as she is. And not just that, no. I think you all know that I'm a huge fan of her books and that she is one of my favourite authors.
Well, I guess I'm starting to babble a bit so I'd say let's get started :)
~~~ INTERVIEW ~~~
Me: Who is your most favourite character out of all your books? Mine is Gin for sure ;)
JE: I don’t think that I could pick just one character. I love writing my main heroines (including Gin Blanco), but sometimes, the secondary characters are just more fun to write, like Finnegan Lane from my Elemental Assassin series, or Vic, the talking sword from my original Mythos Academy series.
The secondary characters always seem to have more fun and to get all the best lines in my books, so those are a few of the reasons why I enjoy writing them.
Me: What are the most difficult scenes to write for you and why?
JE: I tend to write fairly long book series. My Elemental Assassin series is 16 books and counting, and Spartan Heart is the seventh book (overall) in my Mythos Academy world. So for me, one of the challenges is keeping the series, characters, and stories fresh for longtime readers, but still including everything that folks love about the books in the first place. So that’s definitely something that I think about whenever I’m writing a new book in one of my long-running series.
Me: How much of yourself can your readers find in your characters?
JE: There’s a little bit of me in the characters. I like to write and talk about food, so that’s why food is such a big part of my characters’ lives, whether they are running a restaurant like Gin does in my Elemental Assassin series, or they are just talking about food, like when Rory Forseti describes all the delicious meals that her Aunt Rachel makes for her in Spartan Heart.
Me: What is your favourite scene in 'Spartan Heart'?
JE: I always love writing the fight scenes in my books, and I really like the big fight scene at the end of Spartan Heart. There is a lot of action, but it is also really emotional for the characters as well, especially Rory. So that’s probably my favorite scene in the book.
Me: What do you like most about Rory Forseti and why did you decide to give her her own story?
JE: I like that Rory is this fierce Spartan warrior on the outside, but that she is still really vulnerable on the inside. I think no matter how strong someone appears, that we all have our insecurities, so I enjoyed exploring those two sides of Rory’s character.
Me: How long did it take you from the idea to the finished book?
JE: On average, it usually takes me about 6-9 months to go from the idea and the first draft to completely finish all of my work on a book, including copyedits and page proofs. So I think that it was about that long on Spartan Heart as well.
Happy reading, everyone! ☺
At this point I would like to massively thank Jennifer Estep for all the time she took for me!
And here are some details about 'Spartan Heart' and the author for you:
Title: Spartan Heart
Series: Mythos Academy spinoff #1
Release date: Dec. 5, 2017 – self-published
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9861885-3-4
Print book ISBN: 978-0-9861885-4-1
Page count: About 325 pages or around 95,000 words
Genre: Young adult urban fantasy – mythology
Available in: E-book and print book
Price: The e-book will be $4.99 and available at all the usual e-book retailers.
The print book price will be $14.99, and the print book will be available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Audiobook: I should have more news to share on the audiobook soon. But as of right now, the audiobook will NOT be released on Dec. 5.
Book description: And here is the book description:
New school year, same old problems . . .
At Mythos Academy, everyone knows exactly who I am: Rory Forseti, Spartan girl and the daughter of Reapers.
Even though I fought alongside my cousin Gwen Frost to save the mythological world from Loki and his evil Reapers of Chaos, I’m still the most hated girl at the academy because of all the horrible things my parents did. I had hoped that this school year would be different, but the other kids just won’t let me forget about my parents.
But something strange is going on at the Colorado academy. First, I run into a Viking guy who dislikes me more than most. Then I notice some odd artifacts in the Library of Antiquities. And worst of all, I start hearing rumors about a new group of Reapers who can summon mythological monsters.
I might be the most hated girl at Mythos Academy, but I’m also the only one who can save it . . .
Excerpt: Read the first chapter online here – http://www.jenniferestep.com/books/spartanheart/
Scroll down, and click on the Read Excerpt tab.
BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2yJSI9W
Amazon print: http://amzn.to/2AMTvLm
B&N Nook: http://tinyurl.com/y8b9c2o5
iBooks: http://tinyurl.com/ya84jd4d
Google Play: http://tinyurl.com/y9ydqvf8
Smashwords: http://tinyurl.com/ybb6fqke
JENNIFER’S BIO AND SOCIAL MEDIA
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 Mythos Academy spinoff series. Spartan Heart, book #1, will be released on Dec. 5.
Jennifer is also the author of the Elemental Assassin, Kill the Queen, Bigtime, and Black Blade series.
For more information on Jennifer and her books, visit www.jenniferestep.com or follow Jennifer on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter. You can also sign up for her newsletter.
Website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Jennifer_Estep (@Jennifer_Estep)
Newsletter signup: http://www.jenniferestep.com/contact-jennifer/newsletter/