On Writing

  • Another rave review …

    2 Comments

    karma-girl-cover.jpgKarma Girl has gotten another awesome review, this time from Fresh Fiction. Here’s what the reviewer, Paula Myers, had to say:

    KARMA GIRL, by new author Jennifer Estep, is a laugh- out-loud roller coaster ride of pure escapist entertainment! Readers are drawn into an amazing world of good and evil and heroes and villains with over-the-top settings and characters. Ms. Estep has painstakingly created a comic book world and populated it with a collection of creatively believable people entwined in a basic battle of good vs. evil, with some romance thrown in on the side.

    When I started reading this story, I had no idea what to expect. And when I read the words “spandex” and “superheroes” in the same paragraph, I was concerned about getting through the next 300+ pages. Well, I was up until 3 a.m. (not good on a school night!) because I couldn’t put this book down! Ms. Estep has a gift for storytelling and showcases it beautifully in what I hope is the first of many adventures of Karma Girl and the Fearless Five. This one is going on my keeper shelf!

    Wow! I’m going on her keeper shelf! Yeah!

  • Off to guest blog …

    Tehcnically, this happened yseterday, but I did a guest blog for Louise Ahearn’s site, Boom! Explosive PR Solutions for Authors, where I talk about what some authors dread the most — being interviewed by a journalist. 

    I recently took Louise’s PR Bootcamp class through Author MBA, and I would highly recommend it. She really makes you work hard and think about branding, themes in your writing, and how you can make the most of them. 

    Enjoy the blog! 🙂

  • ·

    The blogs, they are a’changing …

    2 Comments

    I’ve realized something about my blog habits — they’ve changed in recent months.

    When I was first starting out as a writer, I surfed over to Miss Snark’s just about every day. I also checked out blogs by other agents, like Kristin Nelson. Now? Not so much. The truth is I just don’t need info anymore about what to put in a query letter or how to act if an agent calls with an offer of representation. And I find that I get tired of reading about people obsessing about what “not right for us at this time” really means. (It means no people, nothing more, nothing less.)

    Now, I’m into review sites, like Dear Author and The Good, The Bad, and the Unread, and All About Romance. I want to see what people are buzzing about, what’s getting read and what’s not, what’s getting great reviews, and how my own book fits into the scheme of things.

    My blog habits have changed because my writing’s changed. I’ve moved from the desperately-trying-to-get-an-agent phase to the almost-published phase. The wide-eyed newbie has morphed into a slightly savvier, tougher chick. At least, I hope she has. 😎

    What about you? Has your Web surfing changed as your writing career’s taken off? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • ·

    Shock value …

    NOTE FROM JEN: This post has some spoilers. Stop reading now if you don’t want to know what happens in this book. 

    I’m currently reading Demon Angel by Meljean Brook. I’ll post an official review when I finish it (hopefully sometime next week). It’s a paranormal romance that focuses on Hugh and Lilith. Hugh is a Guardian (an angel-like creature sworn to protect men), while Lilith is a halfling demon (sworn to tempt and punish men). So, you can see why they’re at odds.

    But Meljean does something in her book that I don’t recall any other romance author doing (SPOILER ALERT) — she has Hugh kill Lilith. He kills her! Dead. Shoves a long sword through her heart and buries her. And he thinks that she’s really dead. Not mostly dead. Really, truly, forever dead. Dead-dead.

    I can’t remember this ever happening in any other romance that I’ve read. Oh sure, the hero will off the heroine so he can turn her into a vampire/werewolf/goddess, and they can be together forever. But he only kills her with the intention of bringing her back. Not Hugh. He kills Lilith to set her free.

    And it shocked me. Especially since it was only around page 100. (Yeah, yeah, deep down, I figured that Lilith would get resurrected some way. But still, he killed her).

    This is the first time in a long time that a romance has shocked me. And I started to wonder … why? Why is it so shocking? Because heroes don’t do things like that? Please. People drop like flies in Lee Child’s books. I don’t have a problem with his hero killing people. Heck, I expect him to dispatch bad guys in interesting ways.

    I think it’s because the book is a romance, and I expect the hero to be, well, romantic. Shoving a sword through his beloved’s chest isn’t the typical definition of romantic. I wouldn’t be rushing to forgive a guy who killed me, no matter how much I loved him. But it made me want to read on to see how Meljean pulls off the rest of the book. And that’s what books should do — make you want to see how it all ends.

    More to come later.

    What about you? What’s the most shocking thing you’ve ever read in a romance (or any other book)? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • ·

    4 stars, baby!

    10 Comments

    karma-girl-cover.jpg

    Karma Girl just got reviewed in the May issue of Romantic Times … and got a 4-star rating! Who-hoo! (The highest rating the magazine gives is 4 1/2 stars).

    Here’s what Jill M. Smith, the reviewer, said:

    Secret identities and superpowers take on a delightful and humorous new twist in Estep’s exciting debut, written in the first person. Fun and sexy, Estep’s caper demonstrates how revenge can backfire. Here’s hoping for more Bigtime adventures from this impressive talent.

    Wow! She liked it! Three sentences’ worth of like!

    Needless to say, I’m having an excellent day. 😎