Jennifer Estep Guest Post and Giveaway!

Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to say thanks to Angela for having me on the blog again today. Thanks so much, Angela!

So today Angela asked me to write about elementals and why I decided to feature them in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. The series focuses 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.

So elementals are a big part of the magic and world building in the books. In addition to the four main elements listed above, some folks are also gifted in offshoots of those elements, like water is an offshoot of Ice and electricity is one of Air.

So why did I decide to focus on elementals? I just thought they would be cool to write about and that I could use some interesting magic/powers for Gin, my villains, and the secondary characters. For example, Gin can make shapes with her Ice magic, like cubes, knives, and more, while her Stone power lets her make her own skin as hard as marble so that nothing can hurt her.

Jo-Jo Deveraux, another character in the series, has Air magic, which she uses to heal Gin and others. Sophia, Jo-Jo’s sister, has Air magic as well, but Sophia uses it to sandblast away blood and more. And of course, Gin’s nemesis, Mab Monroe, has deadly Fire magic that she uses to burn people to a crisp.

One of my favorite things as a writer is thinking about my villains, the powers they have, and how my heroine can use her own magic and wits to defeat them. I’ve had a lot of fun coming up with the various villains in the series and seeing how Gin manages to overcome them in the end.

But there are more than just elemental bad guys in the books. Gin has also tangled with giants and dwarves, both of whom are incredibly strong. As far as vampires go, they can have elemental magic as well, and they can also absorb powers/abilities from the blood that they drink. So a vampire who drinks a giant’s blood could be as strong as that giant is.

I thought that having four main elements as well as a mix of people with other powers/abilities would give me plenty of different bad guys and magic for Gin to battle.

So there you have it – a little bit about the elementals and the other creatures in my books.

What about you guys? What magic, powers, or creatures do you like reading about? What are some of your favorite fantasy books and characters?

USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. Books in the series are Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, Venom, and Tangled Threads. Spider’s Revenge, the fifth book in the series, was released on Sept. 27.

Jennifer also writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington. Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, was released in August. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, is available as a 99-cent download. Kiss of Frost, the second book, will be released Nov. 29.

For more information, excerpts, and more, visit Jennifer’s website at www.jenniferestep.com.

Jennifer was also kind enough to offer a copy of her latest Spider’s Revenge for one (1) lucky winner!

Contest is open to US residents only. To enter, just fill out the form below. Contest ends October 21. I’ll draw a name on October 22, and notify winner via email.

Good luck!