About Books

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    Audiobook pre-order links for Snared online …

    Book #16 Snared, book #16 in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, will be released on April 25, 2017. Woot!

    The pre-order links for the audiobook version are finally online. The audiobook will be available through Audible and Amazon, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again be the narrator. You can pre-order the audiobook here:

    Audible / Amazon audiobook

    You can pre-order print and e-book versions of Snared at all the usual book retailers:

    Amazon Kindle / Amazon paperback / Barnes & Noble e-book / Barnes & Noble print book / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / IndieBound / Kobo

    Here is the description for Snared. Note: This contains some spoilers from previous books in the series, starting with Bitter Bite, book #14. So if you haven’t read that far in the series yet, you may want to avoid reading the description below:

    The sixteenth book in the New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that RT Book Reviews calls, “An extraordinary series…[containing] one of the most intriguing heroines in the genre.”

    If you don’t know Gin “the Spider” Blanco, you don’t know dangerous female heroines.

    Irony 101—The Spider herself snared in someone else’s web …

    Another week, another few clues trickling in about the Circle, the mysterious group that supposedly runs the city’s underworld. Gathering intel on my hidden enemies is a painstaking process, but a more immediate mystery has popped up on my radar: a missing girl.

    My search for the girl begins on the mean streets of Ashland, but with all the killers and crooks in this city, I’m not holding out much hope that she’s still alive.

    A series of clues leads me down an increasingly dark, dangerous path, and I realize that the missing girl is really just the first thread in this web of evil. As an assassin, I’m used to facing down the worst of the worst, but nothing prepares me for this new, terrifying enemy—one who strikes from the shadows and is determined to make me the next victim.

    You can read the first chapter of Snared by going here. Scroll down, and click on the Read Excerpt tab.

    I hope that everyone enjoys Snared when it is released.

    Note: Some folks have been asking about future books in the series. As of right now, I’m planning to write three more books after Snared. I’m hoping to publish book #17 in the series in the fall of 2017. So stay tuned for more information.

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    Snared, Elemental Assassin #16, April 25, up for pre-order …

    Book #16 Snared, book #16 in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, will be released on April 25, 2017. Woot!

    As always, the cover was created by Tony Mauro, and the cover model is Alexa Martino. I love all the little details on this one, like the bloody spider runes on Gin’s hands and the spider rune in the title.

    You can pre-order Snared at all the usual book retailers:

    Amazon Kindle / Amazon paperback / Barnes & Noble e-book / Barnes & Noble print book / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / IndieBound / Kobo

    The audiobook will be available through Audible and Amazon, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again be the narrator. The pre-order links for the audiobooks should be online sometime in March. I’ll share those links here on my blog and on my social media sites when they go online.

    Here is the description for Snared. Note: This contains some spoilers from previous books in the series, starting with Bitter Bite, book #14. So if you haven’t read that far in the series yet, you may want to avoid reading the description below:

    The sixteenth book in the New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that RT Book Reviews calls, “An extraordinary series…[containing] one of the most intriguing heroines in the genre.”

    If you don’t know Gin “the Spider” Blanco, you don’t know dangerous female heroines.

    Irony 101—The Spider herself snared in someone else’s web …

    Another week, another few clues trickling in about the Circle, the mysterious group that supposedly runs the city’s underworld. Gathering intel on my hidden enemies is a painstaking process, but a more immediate mystery has popped up on my radar: a missing girl.

    My search for the girl begins on the mean streets of Ashland, but with all the killers and crooks in this city, I’m not holding out much hope that she’s still alive.

    A series of clues leads me down an increasingly dark, dangerous path, and I realize that the missing girl is really just the first thread in this web of evil. As an assassin, I’m used to facing down the worst of the worst, but nothing prepares me for this new, terrifying enemy—one who strikes from the shadows and is determined to make me the next victim.

    You can read the first chapter of Snared by going here. Scroll down, and click on the Read Excerpt tab.

    I hope that everyone enjoys Snared when it is released.

    Note: Some folks have been asking about future books in the series. As of right now, I’m planning to write three more books after Snared. I’m hoping to publish book #17 in the series in the fall of 2017. So stay tuned for more information.

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    Newsletter sign-up form on the contact page of my website …

    2 Comments

    I’ve had a few questions recently about whether or not I send out an e-newsletter. I do have an e-newsletter, which I try to send out every month or so.

    To sign up, go to the Contact page of my website and enter your name and email address in the appropriate boxes under the Newsletter heading in the right-hand sidebar.

    My e-newsletter features all the latest news about my books, including release dates, cover art, and pre-order links. I also include a recipe and reading recommendations.

    I hope that everyone gets a chance to check out the e-newsletter. Thanks!

  • Spring reads in my TBR pile …

    6 Comments

    Well, it’s March now, which means that spring is right around the corner. Here are some of the books in my TBR pile. Note that the descriptions are from Amazon.

    The Last of AugustThe Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

    In the second brilliant, action-packed book in the Charlotte Holmes trilogy, Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are in a chase across Europe to untangle a web of shocking truths about the Holmes and Moriarty families.

    Jamie and Charlotte are looking for a winter break reprieve in Sussex after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But nothing about their time off is proving simple, including Holmes and Watson’s growing feelings for each other. When Charlotte’s beloved Uncle Leander goes missing from the Holmes estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring—the game is afoot once again, and Charlotte throws herself into a search for answers.

    So begins a dangerous race through the gritty underground scene in Berlin and glittering art houses in Prague, where Holmes and Watson discover that this complicated case might change everything they know about their families, themselves, and each other.

    My thoughts: I like Sherlock Holmes stories, and I enjoyed the first book in this series, A Study in Charlotte. If you’re looking for a different or YA take on the Holmes mythology, you might want to check out this series.

    Royally MatchedRoyally Matched by Emma Chase

    Some men are born responsible, some men have responsibility thrust upon them. Henry John Edgar Thomas Pembrook, Prince of Wessco, just got the motherlode of all responsibility dumped in his regal lap.

    He’s not handling it well.

    Hoping to help her grandson to rise to the occasion, Queen Lenora agrees to give him “space”—but while the Queen’s away, the Prince will play. After a chance meeting with an American television producer, Henry finally makes a decision all on his own:

    Welcome to Matched: Royal Edition.

    A reality TV dating game show featuring twenty of the world’s most beautiful blue bloods gathered in the same castle. Only one will win the diamond tiara, only one will capture the handsome prince’s heart.

    While Henry revels in the sexy, raunchy antics of the contestants as they fight, literally, for his affection, it’s the quiet, bespectacled girl in the corner—with the voice of an angel and a body that would tempt a saint—who catches his eye.

    The more Henry gets to know Sarah Mirabelle Zinnia Von Titebottum, the more enamored he becomes of her simple beauty, her strength, her kind spirit… and her naughty sense of humor.

    But Rome wasn’t built in a day—and irresponsible royals aren’t reformed overnight.

    As he endeavors to right his wrongs, old words take on whole new meanings for the dashing Prince. Words like, Duty, Honor and most of all—Love.

    My thoughts: I’m a sucker for royalty-themed stories, and I really enjoyed Royally Screwed, the first book in this series. I’m looking forward to reading this one.

    You Don't Know My NameYou Don’t Know My Name by Kristen Orlando

    Fighter, Faker, Student, Spy.

    Seventeen-year-old Reagan Elizabeth Hillis is used to changing identities overnight, lying to every friend she’s ever had, and pushing away anyone who gets too close. Trained in mortal combat and weaponry her entire life, Reagan is expected to follow in her parents’ footsteps and join the ranks of the most powerful top-secret agency in the world, the Black Angels. Falling in love with the boy next door was never part of the plan.

    Now Reagan must decide: Will she use her incredible talents and lead the dangerous life she was born into, or throw it all away to follow her heart and embrace the normal life she’s always wanted? And does she even have a choice?

    Find out if you are ready to join the Black Angels in the captivating and emotional page-turner, You Don’t Know My Name, from debut novelist Kristen Orlando!

    My thoughts: I’m also a sucker for spy books. Undercover teenage spy with romantic woes? Yes, please.

    What books are you guys reading this spring?

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    Frequently asked questions page …

    Back in December, I started a new feature called Monday Morning Mailbag that I post on my Facebook page every Monday morning. The feature is just a way for me to answer frequently asked questions that I get from readers.

    I have compiled some of the questions/answers here on my website on the Frequently Asked Questions page. So if you’ve missed some of the questions on my Facebook page, or just want to see what questions I’ve answered so far, you can check out the page here on my website. Here are a couple of sample questions:

    Question: How do you pronounce your last name?

    Answer: It is pronounced Eee-step — not Essstep.

    Question: Why do you use the word “toboggan” in your books to refer to a winter hat? Isn’t a “toboggan” supposed to be a sled?

    Answer: I get this question a lot — probably more than any other question, which I think is a bit strange. Who knew folks were so interested in regional word choices? ?

    In the South, where I am from and where many of my books are set, a “toboggan” refers to a winter hat — not a sled. A sled is just a sled in the South. We do not call those “toboggans”.

    Many folks have also asked why I don’t use the word “toque” when talking about a winter hat. That’s a Northern/Canadian word. The Southern characters in my books would never use that word, so it’s just a difference in regional word choices. Here’s a blog post that I did about the subject several years ago: https://www.jenniferestep.com/you-say-tomato/#.V-h9AySpn2A

    To see more, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page. I’ll try to update it with new questions/answers every few months or so.