• · ·

    And the title is …

    9 Comments

    Today, I’m pleased to share the title and release date for Elemental Assassin #11.

    And the title is … drumroll please … Poison Promise.

    Huzzah! I really like this title, which my editor, agent, and I all brainstormed together to come up with (although I think my agent is the one who actually suggested it in the end). I think Poison Promise fits in nicely with the plot, some of the themes in the book, and some of Gin’s feelings/attitudes as a character. Plus, the alliteration reminds me of Tangled Threads.

    As of right now, Poison Promise is tentatively set to be published in July 2014, which means that the release date would be June 24, 2014.

    I can’t say too much about the plot yet, just that the M.M. Monroe plot thread and story arc will continue in this book.

    I will be sharing the cover art, excerpt, etc. as they become available. Anyway, hope everyone likes the title and is looking forward to the book.

    THE SPIDER AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

    Book #10I also wanted to let folks know that The Spider, Elemental Assassin #10, Dec. 24, is up for pre-order at a number of sites, including the following:

    Amazon

    Barnes & Noble

    Books-A-Million

    iTunes

    It looks like Amazon is offering the print copy of The Spider for $4.79, which is a pretty good price for a paperback. I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I believe this is an Amazon-only promotion, as I don’t see the same price listed at Barnes & Noble. So if you want a print copy of the book, you may want to go ahead and pre-order it from Amazon so you can get the pre-order price.

    Also, The Spider should be up for pre-order at other sites soon, including Kobo and Audible.

  • Hello, fall …

    8 Comments

    Fall is finally here. Huzzah!

    Fall is definitely my favorite season for so many reasons. Cool nights make for great sleeping weather, but the days are still pleasantly warm. The TV season is under way with new and old shows alike, and I look forward to curling up with some good books during the gray, rainy days.

    I love watching the leaves change colors, and fall means that Thanksgiving (and turkey and cranberry sauce, yum!) is right around the corner.

    And then of course, there is football. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I love me some football, especially the NFL and AFC teams.

    Ah, fall. How I’ve missed you, and I’m glad that you’ve come back around for another year.

    What about you guys? Are you ready for fall?

  • · ·

    More Elemental Assassin books on the way …

    28 Comments

    I’m pleased to announce that I will be writing more books in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. Woot! Woot!

    I will be writing at least two more books in the series, books #11 and #12. I’m pleased because these books will let me address the on-going story arc with the mysterious M.M. Monroe.

    The Spider, book #10, will be out on Dec. 24, 2013. I’m hoping that book #11 will be out sometime in the summer of 2014, but that has not been decided yet. I’ll let everyone know when I get a tentative release date and more info, like the cover art, back cover blurb, etc.

    I’m also hoping to do another e-novella or two in the series, but that depends on my writing schedule and how the books unfold as I am writing them. So we’ll see what happens there.

    In the meantime, I’m doing the happy dance that there will be more adventures with Gin and the gang. Hope you are all as excited about this as I am. Happy reading, everyone!

  • · ·

    The Spider is coming …

    14 Comments
    Book #10
    Book #10

    Now that Heart of Venom has been released, I’m already getting questions about my next Elemental Assassin book.

    The Spider, book #10, will be released on Dec. 24. Here is the book page that features all the information that I have about the book so far, including the first chapter excerpt. And here is the book description. As always, please be mindful of spoilers:

    For the first time, the full origin story of Gin Blanco’s transformation into the fearsome assassin known as the Spider—book ten in the red-hot Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series.

    How did I end up in a career where I always have blood on my hands?

    Well, let me tell you a story about an assassin who thought she could do no wrong …

    Ten years ago. A blistering hot August night. I remember like it was yesterday. The night I, Gin Blanco, truly became the Spider. Killing people is what I do best, especially now that I’ve honed my Ice and Stone magic. But back then, I had yet to learn one very important rule: arrogance will get you, every single time.

    This particular job seemed simple: murder a crooked building contractor with ties to ruthless Fire elemental Mab Monroe. My mentor, Fletcher Lane, had some misgivings, but I was certain that I had the situation under control … right up until I exposed my weaknesses to a merciless opponent who exploited every single one of them. There’s a reason assassins aren’t supposed to feel anything. Luckily, a knife to the heart can fix that problem, especially when I’m the one wielding it …

    This book is a little different from the others in the series in that it is an origin story of how Gin truly became the Spider. So this book is set 10 years before the events of the first book in the series, Spider’s Bite. The book will feature a look at Gin’s relationship with Fletcher, and readers will get to see how she first met some of the other characters in the series.

    The Spider will be available in print, e-book, and audio book formats. It is up for pre-order at the following sites:

    Amazon

    Barnes & Noble

    Books-A-Million

    iTunes

    The book should be up for pre-order at other sites, including Audible and Kobo, soon.

    I had a lot of fun writing this book, and I hope that everyone enjoys this look back at Gin’s past.

  • Website updates …

    8 Comments

    As you can see, there have been some changes here at Casa Estep over the last few days.

    First of all, a big thanks goes out to the awesome John of Atomic Cherry Design Studio for updating my website. Thanks so much, John!

    So what’s changed? Well, I have so many books/short stories/e-novellas out now that the old site was getting a bit crowded. So John went through and made everything much more streamlined and easier to find.

    The best place to start is with the Book Gallery, which features my book covers arranged by series. Click on any cover, and you can go to a page that features all the info about that particular book – genre, release date, cover, description, number in the series, etc. Scroll down the page and click on the tabs, and you can see extra features. For example, if you go to the Spider’s Bite page and scroll down, you can read an excerpt from the book. Information on my 2014 and other upcoming books will be added as it becomes available.

    Purchase links specific to each book are also on the right sidebars on each book page. A Buy My Books box with even more links/places to get my books is on the right sidebar of the main pages of the site, like the Home page, Bio page, etc.

    And something really cool and new is that there are audio clip excerpts for the books in my Elemental Assassin and Mythos Academy series, which are available as audio books. A big thanks to Jessica and the folks at Audible for providing the excerpts. For example, if you go back to the Spider’s Bite page, scroll down, and click where it says Audio Clip, a widget will pop up that will let you listen to Lauren Fortgang, the excellent narrator for the Elemental Assassin series.

    I’m hoping that I will be able to add audio clips for new and upcoming books in both series (like Heart of Venom, The Spider, and Killer Frost), as they become available.

    I am still going through and making sure that all the links work, etc., so please be patient with me. In the meantime, I hope that everyone enjoys the new look for the site. Happy reading, everyone!