Elemental Assassin series

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    Unwanted, Elemental Assassin #14.5 e-novella, up for pre-order …

    E-Novella #14.5Unwanted, e-novella #14.5 in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, will be released on July 18.

    And here is a look at the cover art.

    Unwanted is an e-novella that takes place after the events of Bitter Bite, book #14. It is told from the point of view of Finnegan Lane, Gin’s foster brother. If you’ve read Bitter Bite, then you know that Finn definitely needed his own story after everything that happened in that book. And a hug. 🙂

    Unwanted is about 20,000 words — around 75 pages — and will be available as an e-novella only. There will not be any print or audiobook versions at this time.

    Unwanted is priced at $1.99, and it is up for pre-order at the following sites:

    Amazon Kindle / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Google Play / iBooks / Kobo

    And here is the e-novella description. This contains major spoilers for Bitter Bite. So if you absolutely do not want to be spoiled, skip reading the e-novella description.

    The New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin series continues with a new e-novella—from the point of view of Finnegan Lane, the foster brother of Gin Blanco, and a fan favorite of readers of the series.

    The fallout from his disastrous “family reunion” in Bitter Bite has left Finn feeling hurt, angry, and depressed. He can barely stand to look at himself in the mirror, much less eat any of the delicious barbecue from Gin’s famed Pork Pit restaurant.

    But when the funeral for a slain security guard at his bank turns into a showdown with some nasty underworld giants, Finn knows that he must act in order to protect an innocent family.

    Finnegan Lane might be the most unwanted man in Ashland these days, but he’s determined to try to make amends for his past mistakes…

    You can read an excerpt from the e-novella here. Scroll down, and click on the Read Excerpt tab.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the e-novella when it is released. Happy reading!

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    Updated: Jennifer’s release schedule for 2016 …

    Today, I wanted to update my book release schedule for the rest of 2016 and into early 2017:

    Bitter Bite — Elemental Assassin #14 — out now.

    Bright Blaze of Magic — Black Blade #3 — out now. As of right now, this is the final book in the trilogy/series.

    Unwanted finalUnwanted — Elemental Assassin #14.5 — July 18. This is an e-novella from Finnegan Lane’s point of view that takes place after the events of Bitter Bite. If you’ve read that book, then you know that Finn really needed his own story after everything that happened. And a hug. 🙂

    Unwanted is about 20,000 words — around 75 pages — and will be priced at $1.99. It will be available as an e-novella only. There will not be any print or audiobook versions at this time.

    Unraveled — Elemental Assassin #15 — Aug. 30. This will be a full-length book.

    Nice Guys Bite — Elemental Assassin #15.5 — Dec. 12. This is an e-novella from Silvio Sanchez’s point of view that takes place after the events of Unraveled.

    It’s about 20,000 words — around 75 pages — and will be priced at $1.99. It will be available as an e-novella only. There will not be any print or audiobook versions at this time.

    Snared — Elemental Assassin #16 — Jan. 31, 2017. This will be a full-length book.

    So there is lots of good stuff ahead for the rest of 2016.

    As far as my young adult books go, I’m mulling over some ideas for a new series, including one for an epic fantasy young adult series. At some point, I will also probably be doing some Mythos Academy spinoff books (featuring Rory, Gwen’s cousin from Midnight Frost and Killer Frost), but we’ll see what happens.

    Unfortunately, I don’t have any plans to write any more Bigtime books or e-novellas at this time. As you guys can see, my writing schedule is already full going into 2017. I’d love to write more of those stories, but I self-publish that series, which is very time-consuming. It’s just hard to fit it in with the rest of my writing commitments. But I do hope to go back to the series someday.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the books and e-novellas as they are released. Happy reading!

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    Some of Jennifer’s favorite books and series …

    6 Comments

    Note: This post will also appear tomorrow at Magical Musings.

    Hey, everyone! I am continuing our April posts about some of our favorite books and series. Here are my picks in no particular order:

    Sugar DaddySugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas: I know that many folks love Kleypas’s historical romances, but to me, her contemporaries  really shine, especially Sugar Daddy, the first book in her Travis contemporary romance series.

    This book focuses on Liberty Jones, who is growing up in a trailer park in Texas. Really, it’s more of a coming-of-age story than a romance, since Liberty deals with everything from losing her first love, to her mother dying, to raising her little sister by herself, to growing up and becoming a successful businesswoman. The thing that I love about Liberty is that no matter what happens, she never gives up, and she always finds a way to take care of herself and her family.

    The Dortmunder series by Donald E. Westlake and the Parker series by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake): These series are both about thieves, and they are like the two sides of the same coin, since they are both written by Westlake.

    The Dortmunder series are comic crime capers, about a group of quirky, lovable (if sometimes inept) thieves who continually have the worst luck imaginable, but always manage to scrape by. Contrast that to the Parker series, which is about a loner, tough-as-nails thief named Parker, who usually shoots first and ask questions later. If you like crime fiction, check out Westlake’s books.

    Captain America Winter SoldierCaptain America: Winter Solider by Ed Brubaker, et. al.: Back in 2014, the Marvel movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out. I loved the movie so much that I got the comics collection that the movie was inspired by and read it.

    And it was fantastic.

    The basic story arc is that a deadly assassin called the Winter Soldier is on the loose, and it’s up to Captain America aka Steve Rogers to stop him. But surprise, surprise, the Winter Soldier turns out to be Steve’s old friend Bucky Barnes, who has been brainwashed into becoming the ultimate assassin. So it’s up to Steve to try to figure out if he can save his best friend — or if he’ll have to stop the Winter Soldier once and for all. This story has all the things that I love — action, adventure, superheroes, and a truly epic friendship between Steve and Bucky.

    The James Bond series by Ian Fleming: Just about everyone knows James Bond from the movies — a suave, supercool superspy who saves the world on a regular basis. But I discovered the James Bond books back when I was in high school. The books differ quite a bit from the movies, but I love the mixture of action, adventure, and spy shenanigans, in both the books and the movies.

    Where the Red Fern GrowsWhere the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls: If you’ve read my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, you know that Gin Blanco, my heroine, has a blood-spattered copy of this book hanging up on the wall of the Pork Pit, her barbecue restaurant. Why? Because it belonged to her murdered mentor, and because the book is about love and loss.

    In fact, this is the first book that I remember just absolutely breaking my heart. It’s about a young boy named Billy who gets two dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, and all the adventures that they have together. If you don’t know what happens at the end of the book, I won’t spoil it for you, but just be sure that you have some tissues handy. Because you will cry. A lot.

    So those are some of my favorite books and series. What about you guys? What are some of your favorite books?

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    Unraveled, Elemental Assassin #15, cover revealed …

    8 Comments

    UnraveldToday, I thought I would share the cover art for Unraveled, Elemental Assassin #15, Aug. 30.

    The cover was once again done by Tony Mauro, and the model for Gin is Alexa Martino. I really like the red tone to this one, and I love the spider rune branded on the saloon doors.

    Unraveled is up for pre-order at the following sites:

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

    It will be a while before the pre-order link for the audiobook goes online. That is usually posted about six weeks before the release date. The audiobook will be available through Amazon and Audible, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again be the narrator.

    Here’s the description. Beware of spoilers for previous books in the series, especially Bitter Bite, book #14:

    What could go wrong when you’re trying to unravel a decades-old conspiracy? 

    As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes. I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter.

    So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel. At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.

    Good thing this assassin brought plenty of knives to the gunfight …

    I love westerns, and I always thought about writing a western-type story. So this is sort of my version of that — Spider-style. 🙂

    You can read the first chapter of the book here. Scroll down and click on the Read Excerpt tab. Again, it does contain spoilers for previous books in the series.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the cover art.

  • Bitter Bite, Elemental Assassin #14, has been released …

    4 Comments

    Bitter Bite, the 14th book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, has been released today, Feb. 23. Woot! Woot!

    Bitter BiteBitter Bite is available in print, e-book, and audiobook formats from all the usual retailers:

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

    Audible / Amazon audiobook

    The audiobook is available through Audible and Amazon, and the awesome Lauren Fortgang is once again be the narrator.

    And here is the book description:

    Which is stronger: blood ties or a battle-tested friendship? That’s the question Gin Blanco is asking when a friend’s long-lost relative comes strolling back into Ashland under suspicious circumstances. 

    It’s not easy being queen bee of an underworld abuzz with crooks and killers. Wielding my potent Ice and Stone elemental magic will only get me so far—my real secret is my tight-knit makeshift family, a motley crew of cops and criminals, dwarves and playboys. My foster brother Finnegan Lane is my right-hand man, but when his suddenly not-dead relative comes back into the picture, I’m the one on the outside looking in.

    It’s funny how life works: one minute your best friend is rock-steady, and the next he’s doe-eyed and buying into this whole loving-relative routine to the point of ignoring you. I’d like to be happy for Finn, I really would. But all of my instincts are telling me that beneath the syrupy sweet demeanor and old-fashioned charm, this sudden interloper is planning something. The whole shtick leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This person might have avoided the grave once, but I’ll put anyone who hurts Finn in the ground—for good.

    In other words, this book is all about Finn. 🙂

    You can read the first chapter of the book here. Scroll down and click on the Read Excerpt tab.

    I had a lot of fun writing this book, and I hope that everyone enjoys Gin’s (and Finn’s) latest adventure. Happy reading!