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    More info about my Bigtime superhero paranormal romance series …

    2 Comments

    MONDAY MORNING MAILBAG

    Question: Question: I’ve never read your Bigtime series. What is it like/about?

    The Bigtime Series: Volume 1 — Purple city skyline with red banner and tiny superheroesAnswer: My Bigtime series is the first series I ever wrote/sold to a traditional publisher. Karma Girl, book #1, was my first published book, and it was first released in 2007 (!).

    Basically, the Bigtime books are my nod to — and spoof of — superheroes, villains, and comic books/graphic novels. The books are all told from the first-person point of view, and they all follow a different character.

    The books are set in the fictional metropolis of Bigtime, N.Y., a town that is full of superheroes and ubervillains. Karma Girl, book #1, is about Carmen Cole, an investigative reporter who exposes the secret identities of superheroes and ubervillains – until tragedy strikes (as it always does! LOL.)

    Basically, the Bigtime books feature all the things I love about superheroes/comic books – alliterative names (Carmen Cole, Fiona Fine, etc.), secret identities that are ridiculously easy to figure out, and “pow! bif! bam!” fight scenes.

    Each Bigtime book features a different couple, so they are more stand-alone adventures than my other series, and the books are definitely more zany and over-the-top than my other series.

    If you’ve never read my Bigtime series, I hope you get a chance to check out the books with the upcoming Bigtime bundles. Happy reading!

    PRE-ORDER THE BIGTIME SERIES: VOLUME 1:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo Smashwords

    THE BIGTIME SERIES: VOLUME 1 DESCRIPTION:

    New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep serves up action-packed, paranormal romance adventures with her Bigtime superhero series. Journey to a city that’s full of quirky, zany superheroes finding love while they battle over-the-top, evil ubervillains bent on world domination. Perfect for fantasy readers and comic book fans of Marvel Comics and DC Comics, along with the Wonder Woman show with Lynda Carter and the Batman show with Adam West.

    The Bigtime Series: Volume 1 includes the following:

    Karma Girl—Book 1

    After a surprising betrayal, investigative reporter Carmen Cole decides to devote her life to unmasking superheroes and ubervillains in Bigtime, N.Y. But her actions put her in the middle of a battle between the Fearless Five superhero team and the ubervillains of the Terrible Triad.

    Hot Mama—Book 2

    Fiona Fine is the hottest fashion designer in Bigtime—literally. That’s because she moonlights as Fiera, a superhero with superstrength and volatile, fire-based powers. And with two new ubervillains in town, Fiona will need all of her powers just to survive.

    A Karma Girl Christmas—Holiday novella

    On Christmas Eve, Carmen Cole is assigned to guard toys, clothes, food, and more that are intended for needy children and their families. An ubervillain plans to steal and then sell the toys to the highest bidder, but Carmen is determined to stop the villain—and make sure that this Christmas is a happy one for all the kids who are counting on her.

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    The Bigtime Series: Volume 1 set for May 7 …

    MONDAY MORNING MAILBAG

    Question: Why are you releasing bundles of your Bigtime books?

    The Bigtime Series: Volume 1 — Purple city skyline with red banner and tiny superheroesAnswer: I will be releasing two bundles of my Bigtime superhero paranormal romance books this year:

    I released a Bigtime bundle several years ago, but I feel like a lot of people just never saw it. I thought doing some bundles would be a less expensive way for readers to check out the Bigtime series.

    The Bigtime Series: Volume 1 — Pink city skyline with yellow banner and tiny superheroesI also wanted to change the bundle/book order to make it more cohesive. For example, I think it makes more sense to put Karma Girl and A Karma Girl Christmas together in one bundle since they both feature the same character in Carmen Cole, even though A Karma Girl Christmas — holiday novella #3.5 — takes place later in the series.

    And finally, I wanted to make the bundles shorter. I think a bundle that features a couple of books is much easier and a lot less daunting to read than a bundle that contains 10 or more books. But, as always, your mileage may vary.

    Both bundles are ebook only. There will not be print versions, although you can order print versions of each book separately.

    Also, there are no audiobooks for any of my Bigtime books, and no plans to produce audiobooks at this time. If that ever changes, I will post about it online.

    Thank you for reading! 😎 

    PRE-ORDER THE BIGTIME SERIES: VOLUNE 1:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo Smashwords

    THE BIGTIME SERIES: VOLUME 1 DESCRIPTION:

    New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep serves up action-packed, paranormal romance adventures with her Bigtime superhero series. Journey to a city that’s full of quirky, zany superheroes finding love while they battle over-the-top, evil ubervillains bent on world domination. Perfect for fantasy readers and comic book fans of Marvel Comics and DC Comics, along with the Wonder Woman show with Lynda Carter and the Batman show with Adam West.

    The Bigtime Series: Volume 1 includes the following:

    Karma Girl—Book 1

    After a surprising betrayal, investigative reporter Carmen Cole decides to devote her life to unmasking superheroes and ubervillains in Bigtime, N.Y. But her actions put her in the middle of a battle between the Fearless Five superhero team and the ubervillains of the Terrible Triad.

    Hot Mama—Book 2

    Fiona Fine is the hottest fashion designer in Bigtime—literally. That’s because she moonlights as Fiera, a superhero with superstrength and volatile, fire-based powers. And with two new ubervillains in town, Fiona will need all of her powers just to survive.

    A Karma Girl Christmas—Holiday novella

    On Christmas Eve, Carmen Cole is assigned to guard toys, clothes, food, and more that are intended for needy children and their families. An ubervillain plans to steal and then sell the toys to the highest bidder, but Carmen is determined to stop the villain—and make sure that this Christmas is a happy one for all the kids who are counting on her.

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    Karma Girl, Bigtime superheroes #1, on sale for 99 cents …

    Karma Girl, book #1 in my Bigtime paranormal romance series, is on sale for 99 cents. Woot!

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Nook Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    Karma Girl was my very first published book back in 2007. It’s a fun, zany, over-the-top superhero spoof, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

    KARMA GIRL DESCRIPTION:

    Investigative reporter Carmen Cole gets the surprise of her life on her wedding day when she discovers that her fiancé and best friend are sleeping together—and that the two of them are her town’s resident superhero and ubervillain. Shocked and hurt, Carmen reveals their secret identities and then decides to devote her life to unmasking every superhero and ubervillain who crosses her path.

    A series of successful unmaskings lands Carmen a job at The Exposé, one of the biggest newspapers in Bigtime, New York, a city that’s full of superheroes and ubervillains. Carmen is in her element—until she gets kidnapped by the Terrible Triad, Bigtime’s most dangerous ubervillain team.

    The Triad orders Carmen to uncover the secret identity of Striker, the leader of the Fearless Five, Bigtime’s most popular superhero team—or else they’ll drop her in a vat of radioactive goo. With that threat hanging over her, Carmen sets out to unmask Striker, but what she doesn’t count on is falling for the sexy superhero. But with the Terrible Triad lurking around, this is one story that just might be the death of her….

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    Book signing on Saturday, June 29, at Rob-Con …

    I will be one of dozens of authors, artists, and vendors participating in Rob-Con at MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn. Rob-Con will be held on June 29-30.

    I will be at Rob-Con on SATURDAY ONLY, June 29, from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m. (or maybe longer, depending on the crowd).

    I will have copies of Kill the Queen and Spartan Promise to sign. I will also have some of my other books at the event, but not all of my backlist books. If there is a specific book that you want signed, please email me and let me know so that I will have a copy of that book on hand.

    Hope to see you there!

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    Avengers: Endgame — An epic treat for Marvel fans …

    3 Comments
    Let’s talk about Avengers: Endgame.
     
    WARNING — ALL THE SPOILERS AHEAD. SERIOUSLY, IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, TURN BACK NOW!!!
     
    YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
     
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    WHAT I LOVED:
    1) The focus on the original six Avengers: I loved that we go to spend so much time with Steve, Tony, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and Thor. It was fitting that they were the focus since this was their mission and the finale for some of the characters.
     
    2) The Easter eggs: I love Easter eggs, and there were so many callbacks and nods to previous MCU films. Probably my favorite was the Cap elevator scene, which mirrored the one in Winter Soldier, only with Steve pretending to be Hydra Cap. Ha!
     
    I also loved hearing Sam say “On your left” when all the heroes start arriving for the final battle. And Tony saying “I am Iron Man” at the end. And the funeral wreath with Tony’s first arc reactor and proof that he has a heart.
     
    3) The cameos: This goes hand-in-hand with the Easter eggs. It was wonderful that so many actors came back to do cameos in the various time travel scenes — Robert Redford, Rene Russo, John Slattery, Frank Grillo, Tilda Swinton, etc.
     
    If you count all the cameos, Endgame probably has the greatest overall cast of any movie ever.
     
    4) Seeing previous MCU scenes from different angles: I loved the time travel scenes, and it was great seeing various classic MCU scenes from different angles, like the Battle of New York — and then getting to go even deeper into the scenes and get more information, like what the Avengers did after they defeated Loki in New York.
     
    5) Cap finally (!) wielding Mjolnir: Just like Thor, we all knew Steve was worthy. Several people in my theater cheered when this happened. This was one of my favorite moments in the whole movie. I also loved Steve getting back up to face Thanos and his army seemingly all by himself.
     
    WHAT I LIKED:
    1) Loki disappearing with the Tesseract: I like the idea that a version of Loki is out there in a timeline somewhere still making mischief.
     
    2) Old Man Steve: I was so happy that they didn’t kill off Steve, and I loved that he got to have a life with Peggy (in some world/timeline). I hope that Chris Evans will come back and do an Old Man Steve cameo in the Falcon/Winter Soldier series.
     
    3) Nebula and Scott: I feel like Scott and especially Nebula were the quiet MVPs of Endgame. Paul Rudd was great an injecting some humor into the movie, and “time heist” is my new favorite catchphrase. And Nebula was just a badass from start to finish, especially when she kills her younger self (!).
     
    4) Gamora: I thought it was really clever how the writers brought Gamora back from the dead, but didn’t make her have her emotional connection to the other Guardians. You have to believe that Guardians 3 will be “The Search for Gamora”.
     
    5) The game of keep-away with the gauntlet: Having Black Panther take the gauntlet from Clint and then give it to Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, etc. was a great way to showcase the future of the MCU. Nice passing of the torch, so to speak.
     
    WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
    1) Professor Hulk: I was really meh about Professor Hulk. I would have liked to have seen Banner/Hulk reach an understanding without necessarily merging into one person. And no Hulk rematch with Thanos was very disappointing. I didn’t think Professor Hulk really had much to do in the final battle, which was also disappointing.
     
    2) Killing off Natasha: I can see why the writers did this. Natasha finally got to wipe the red out of her ledger and redeem herself by helping Clint the way that he helped her years ago. But killing off another woman to get the Soul Stone seemed a little unnecessary.
     
    Plus, IMO, Natasha was a much more interesting character than, say, Banner, who I feel like they only kept around to be the “science guy” since they killed off Tony. With Tony and Steve gone, they should have made Natasha the leader of the Avengers. A missed opportunity.
     
    3) Making Sam the new Cap: I would have preferred that Bucky be the new Cap. Bucky dealing with his past as Winter Soldier while trying to be the new Cap would have been more interesting than Sam being Cap, IMO. Although you have to think that Sam being Cap will be the focus of the Falcon/Winter Soldier TV series.
     
    4) No Cap/Bucky resolution: So much of Winter Soldier and Civil War was about the Cap/Bucky relationship, but I feel like they never got to sit down for 5 minutes and hash things out in either Infinity War or Endgame. I would have loved a scene with Cap/Bucky at the very end. Another missed opportunity. This is one of my biggest disappointments in the whole MCU.
     
    5) Thanos: I still think Thanos is a weak villain. He wants to wipe out half the universe because … reasons? He likes balance? And who would want to save only half of everything in existence? His plan/logic/motivations still make no sense to me. Whatever, dude.
     
    WHAT MADE MY HEAD HURT:
    1) The time travel: I think time travel is always tricky to do. For the most part, the writers did a good job explaining it … but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.
     
    Even if Cap put all the stones back, I think you would still have a bunch of alternate timelines, just because the Avengers went back and changed things to get the stones in the first place.
     
    Also, I was disappointed that they didn’t go back and undo the snap around the time that it happened. By bringing everyone back 5 years later, you’ve basically given everyone PTSD (at the very least), both the people who lived through the snap and the people who lost five years of time. There are just so many logistical questions with that — rebuilding, people finding their families, etc. — that I wish the writers hadn’t gone that route.
     
    OVERALL:
    Endgame is not perfect. No movie can be perfect to everyone. But Endgame is just about as close as you can get, considering all the characters, Easter eggs, cameos, etc. It’s a fitting send-off for some of our heroes and a truly impressive film-making accomplishment. A big kudos to the Russo brothers and everyone involved.
     
    WHAT THE MCU MEANS TO ME:
    I’ve always loved superheroes, but the MCU really reignited my interest in superheroes, comics, etc., especially Winter Soldier and the rest of the Cap trilogy. Those will probably always be my favorite MCU movies, and I feel like I’ve grown up with the original Avengers characters, even though I wasn’t a kid when the movies came out.
     
    I kind of feel like the movies won’t be as good for me going forward just because I love Cap, etc. so much. I hope that’s not the case, but we’ll see. I also hope that Marvel doesn’t do one space/sci-fi movie after another. To me, some of the best MCU movies are the ones here on earth that are a little more grounded in reality (Winter Soldier) or with slightly smaller stakes (Ant-Man).
     
    But I’m looking forward to the future and to hopefully enjoying MCU films for many more years to come.
     
    What did you guys think about Endgame?