About Books

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    Widow’s Web cover art revealed …

    36 Comments
    Widow’s Web outer cover Widow’s Web inner cover

     So I can finally share the cover art for Widow’s Web, the seventh book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that will be out on Aug. 21. Huzzah!

    Although, this time, there’s a twist.

    The paperback copies will actually have two covers — an outer white cover (above left) and an inner blue cover (above right). Basically, the white cover is a flap that you open up to see the inner cover. This is called a step-back cover. Pretty cool, huh?

    So when you go to your local bookstore or want to order the paperback version online, be on the lookout for the white cover.


    Widow’s Web e-book cover

    However, if you plan on getting the e-book, be on the lookout for the blue cover, since that’s what will be used for the e-book versions. The e-book cover (above) is basically the same art as the inner cover, but with my name and the title of the book on it. And once again, the art by Tony Mauro on the blue cover is just fantastic.

    Here’s a little more info about the book. Please note that there are a few mild spoilers here, if you haven’t read By a Thread yet:

    My name is Gin, and I kill people. It’s something I’ve been doing for years as the assassin called Spider, but now, it’s turned into a necessity on my part just to survive all the lowlifes in Ashland who are gunning for me. The underworld is still in turmoil, and I seem to be on everyone’s hit list these days.

    To add to Gin’s problems, her lover Owen’s ex is in town. Salina is back in Ashland to reclaim an old family legacy — and she thinks that Owen is hers for the taking. Also in the mix is Phillip Kincaid, a casino owner and all-around shady character who has a mysterious connection to both Owen and Salina.

    Salina might seem like a sweet Southern belle, but there’s more to her than meets the eye. Her water elemental magic makes her a dangerous enemy — and someone who can go toe-to-toe with Gin’s Ice and Stone power. But Gin is determined to get to the bottom of Salina’s deadly scheme, even though it just might cost her everything … including Owen.

    Basically, this book delves into Owen’s past. Readers will find out how Owen survived when he was living on the streets with his younger sister, Eva, as well as more about his relationships with Salina and Kincaid.

    Widow’s Web is up for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and other booksellers. Hope everyone enjoys the book when it comes out.

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    RITA nominations …

    6 Comments

    I posted this on my Facebook and Twitter pages, but I’ve been nominated for two RITA awards, which are given out by Romance Writers of America. Huzzah! Huzzah!

    Every year, RWA gives out two different awards — the RITAs for published books/authors and the Golden Hearts for unpublished books/authors. Both the RITAs and the Golden Hearts have a variety of categories, like contemporary romance and paranormal romance. The nominations were announced on March 26. You can see all the nominees here, and the winners will be announced on July 28 during an awards ceremony at the annual RWA conference. Basically, the awards are like the Oscars of the romance writing community. The awards ceremony is really nice, and everyone gets dressed up for it.

    Spider’s Revenge was nominated in the strong romantic elements category, and Touch of Frost was nominated in the young adult category.

    I’m still in smiling, happy shock. 🙂

    I had marked on my calendar that the nominations were being announced that morning (nominees are called), but when the phone rang at about 9:15 a.m., I figured it was just my mom calling. But I was very happy to be wrong about that (sorry, Mom). The call went something like this:

    “Hi, is this Jennifer?” the woman asked.

    Hmm, I thought. This is probably a telemarketer. Or someone wanting me to take a survey. No way this is a RITA call.

    “Yes,” I said.

    “Hi, I’m with RWA, and I happy to tell you …”

    And then my brain froze for a minute. Several minutes actually.

    And then she said I was nominated in two categories.

    Total … brain … meltdown!

    I asked her if she was kidding — at least I think I did. She assured me that she was not kidding. She probably thinks I am a total space cadet nut. Ah, well. At least I didn’t scream in her ear. I waited until after I hung up the phone before I did that. LOL.

    I never, ever thought I would get nominated for a RITA. I’ve entered my books every year, and I always hoped one of them might get nominated, but I never really expected it. Like I said before, I’m still in shock — but it’s a good kind of shock.

    And I’m so happy that these two books got nominated. With Spider’s Revenge, I really wanted to deliver on the Gin-Mab and Gin-Owen story arcs for readers. With Touch of Frost, I branched out and wrote a young adult book, which was a new genre for me. So it’s just a little extra special to me that these books were nominated.

    Anyway, that’s my RITA call story. I just want to say thanks to RWA for sponsoring the contest and to all the folks who donate their time to judge the RITAs and the Golden Hearts. I also want to say congrats to all the nominees. It’s a great group of books and authors to be included with, and it truly is an honor to be nominated.

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    Reading e-books on your computer …

    2 Comments

    I’ve gotten several e-mails recently asking if there will ever be any print versions of any of my e-books or stories.

    The answer? Not at this time. Right now, there are no plans to produce print versions of any of my e-books or e-stories. This includes Thread of Death, First Frost, and the Bigtime e-books (although you can still find used copies of the mass market versions of those books on various bookseller websites).

    Another comment I’ve gotten a lot recently is that folks can’t read my e-books since they don’t have an e-reader. So today, I thought I would mention that you don’t have to have an e-reader to read e-books. I believe that Amazon and Barnes & Noble both offer free apps that you can download onto your computer so you can read Kindle and Nook books on your computer. I believe there are also apps that you can download so you can read e-books on your phone too.

    So if you want to read e-books but don’t want to buy an e-reader, I would search and see what apps are available. You should be able to find some free ones that might help. Happy reading!

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    You say potato, I say potato …

    18 Comments

    A while back, I wrote a post about some regional words that I use in my books. Today, I thought I would talk a little about pronunciation.

    Just like words, pronunciation varies widely from region to region (not to mention accents). Simple words always seem to trip me up the most. For caramel, do you say car-mel or car-a-mel? I usually say car-mel.

    I like The Weather Channel, but my ears perk up every time one of the forecasters talks about the Appalachian Mountains. The forecasters almost always pronounce it as App-uh-lay-chan. But I’ve always heard and said it as App-uh-latch-in.

    Another word that I’ve heard pronounced two ways is pecan. I’ve heard it as peh-cahn and pea-can. I usually say peh-cahn. And as long as we’re talking about food, there is bruschetta, which is bru-sket-a to some and bru-sche-tah to others (including me).

    One thing that always surprises me is when people mispronounce Estep, my last name. Many folks say it as Es-tep, but I’ve always heard and said it as E-step. That’s how I would say it, no matter how it’s spelled — Estep, Eastep, Estepp, Eastepp, etc.

    In the end, I guess it’s just like regional words — you say them the way you hear them growing up.

    What about you guys? What words have you heard pronounced different ways?