My Writing

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    Nice Guys Bite, Silvio’s e-novella, to be released on Dec. 12 …

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    E-Novella #15.5Nice Guys Bite, Elemental Assassin #15.5, will be released on Dec. 12. Woot!

    This is an e-novella that takes place after the events of Unraveled, book #15. It is told from the point of view of Silvio Sanchez, Gin’s personal assistant. It is about 20,000 words — around 70 pages — and is available as an e-novella only. There will not be any print or audio versions at this time. The e-novella is priced at $1.99.

    Nice Guys Bite is up for pre-order at the following sites:

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

    Here is the description. As always, if you do not want to be spoiled, you might want to skip reading the description:

    New York Times bestseller Jennifer Estep (Mythos Academy) continues her Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series with an e-novella starring Silvio Sanchez, the vampire assistant of Gin Blanco, as he goes on a holiday date that turns out to be more deadly than romantic.

    Working for Gin Blanco (aka the Spider, the assassin who runs the Ashland underworld) doesn’t leave much time for romance, especially with Gin’s holiday party planning in full swing. But when he catches the eye of a charming gentleman, Silvio finds himself going out for coffee.

    All’s fair in love and war, though. Just as Silvio is starting to enjoy himself, he realizes he’s being watched. His nice-guy date doesn’t sense the danger, and Silvio wants to keep it that way (and, well, keep the guy alive) so Silvio ends the date early—only to be abducted by some villainous giants.

    Will Silvio survive the night and make it back to the Pork Pit in time for Gin’s holiday party? Only if he decks the hall with bodies …

    You can read a brief excerpt of the e-novella by going to this page. Scroll down, and click on the Read Excerpt tab. I had a lot of fun writing Silvio’s e-novella, and I hope that everyone enjoys Nice Guys Bite when it is released.

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    Novellas and short stories — Do you read them?

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    Note #1: This post will also appear on Tuesday, July 5 at Magical Musings.

    Note #2: I’m giving away 5 copies of Bitter Bite, Elemental Assassin #14, U.S. only. To enter, use the form at the bottom of this post.

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

    I’ve written several e-novellas for this series — Thread of Death, Kiss of Venom, and now Unwanted — along with short stories like Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks. There are also several free short stories for this series on the Free Reads page of my website.

    I enjoy writing the e-novellas and short stories — especially since many of them are from the secondary characters’ points of view.

    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. 🙂

    Finn is one of the most popular characters in my Elemental Assassin series, and I’ve had many requests from readers over the years to write something from his point of view. After everything that happens to him in Bitter Bite, it seemed like the right time to finally give him a story. (And I also had time in my writing schedule to do it as well.)

    Writing the e-novellas and short stories really lets me delve into my secondary characters and show their emotions and feelings about everything that’s going on around them. It also lets me expand my overall world building and show different parts of Ashland, my fictional city, that I might not get to visit in a regular Elemental Assassin book.

    But I know that not everyone will read all the e-novellas and short stories, so I try to make each one of them almost like mini adventures for the secondary characters. That way, if you want to read the e-novellas and short stories, you are getting a complete story. But if you don’t want to read them, then you’re not going to miss out on anything that ties in to a major storyline in the main books.

    To me, the e-novellas and short stories are just fun bonus material for fans of my series, like all those behind-the-scenes features that you see on so many movie and TV show DVDs these days. I hope to write more of e-novellas and short stories and explore some of my other secondary characters. Time and writing schedule permitting, of course.

    What about you guys? Did you read e-novellas and short stories that tie into book series? Why or why not? What are some of your favorite book series?

    UNWANTED INFO

    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!

    BITTER BITE GIVEAWAY

    To gear up for Unwanted, I’m giving away 5 copies of Bitter Bite, Elemental Assassin #14, U.S. only. To enter, use the form below.
    a Rafflecopter giveaway

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    Listening to and writing for audiobooks …

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    Note: This post first appeared last week at Magical Musings.

    Do you listen to audiobooks?

    It seems like audiobooks are becoming more and more popular these days. I’ve had folks tell me that they listen to audiobooks in a variety of places and ways — everything from while they are in the car or on the train commuting to work or even while they’re at home doing housework.

    Out of my various books, the audiobooks for my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series are the most popular. They are narrated by the awesome Lauren Fortgang, who does a great job of bringing my heroine Gin Blanco to life. Instead of getting e-mails asking when the next book will be out, now I get e-mails asking when the audiobook will be out. LOL.

    Spider's TrapThe audiobook for Spider’s Trap, Elemental Assassin #13, was released on July 28, the same day as the print and e-book versions. You can order the audiobook through Audible and Amazon.

    I don’t usually listen to audiobooks, but I’m interested in trying them. But what has really impacted me is that I find myself writing my books with the audiobook version in mind.

    When I’m writing a new character, I will ask myself questions like “What does this person’s voice sound like?” and “How can I make them sound different and distinctive from the other characters?” Then I’ll put in some tags for the audiobook narrator to pick up on and hopefully use. Here’s are some examples from Spider’s Trap:

    “Well, Blanco?” Dimitri demanded in a low, gravelly voice.

    “I can’t let you go anywhere, can I?” Owen murmured, a teasing note creeping into his deep, rumbling voice.

    “But what about you, sweetheart?” Mallory said in a twangy voice that was far more hillbilly than high society.

    I think adding the voice tags not only makes for a better audiobook, but that it is also a little bit of extra description for folks reading the print and e-book versions as well.

    What about you guys? Do you listen to audiobooks? And for all the writers out there — do you describe your characters’ voices with audiobooks in mind?

    GIVEAWAY TIME

    Thanks to the folks at Audible, I have 3 download codes for the Spider’s Trap audiobook to give away. To enter, use the form below. Open to those 18 and older, worldwide.
    a Rafflecopter giveaway

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    Spider’s Trap, Elemental Assassin #13, released …

    Book #13Spider’s Trap, the 13th book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, has been released. Woot! Woot! Woot!

    Spider’s Trap is available at all the usual retailers, including:

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

    The audiobook is available at Audible. You can also get the audiobook through Amazon. The awesome Lauren Fortgang is once again the narrator for the audiobook.

    Here is the description for Spider’s Trap:

    Keep your friends close but your enemies within stabbing distance.

    One important lesson I’ve learned in the assassination business is that to be the best you have to roll with the punches. Now that I’m queen of Ashland’s underworld—by default, not by choice—a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that’s the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld’s top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position. Just when I think things are finally settling down, someone tries to murder me during a hush-hush underworld meeting. But the real surprise is how strangely familiar my shadowy assailant seems to be.

    My job is to maintain order among killers, crooks, and thieves, and soon I’m embroiled in a bloody game where the ability to keep secrets could be the greatest superpower of all. My enemies have all sharpened their knives and laid their traps, waiting for me to fall. But this Spider weaves her own webs of death …

    You can read the first chapter of Spider’s Trap here. Scroll down and click on the Read Excerpt tab, although beware of spoilers for previous books in the series, especially Black Widow.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the book and Gin’s latest adventure. Happy reading, everyone!

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    Spider’s Trap, Elemental Assassin #13, available for pre-order …

    Book #13Spider’s Trap, the 13th book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, will be released on July 28. Only about a week to go now. Woot!

    Spider’s Trap is up for pre-order at all the usual retailers, including:

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

    The audiobook is up for pre-order at Audible. You can also pre-order the audiobook through Amazon. The awesome Lauren Fortgang will once again the narrator for the audiobook.

    Here is the description for Spider’s Trap:

    Keep your friends close but your enemies within stabbing distance.

    One important lesson I’ve learned in the assassination business is that to be the best you have to roll with the punches. Now that I’m queen of Ashland’s underworld—by default, not by choice—a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that’s the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld’s top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position. Just when I think things are finally settling down, someone tries to murder me during a hush-hush underworld meeting. But the real surprise is how strangely familiar my shadowy assailant seems to be.

    My job is to maintain order among killers, crooks, and thieves, and soon I’m embroiled in a bloody game where the ability to keep secrets could be the greatest superpower of all. My enemies have all sharpened their knives and laid their traps, waiting for me to fall. But this Spider weaves her own webs of death …

    You can read the first chapter of Spider’s Trap here. Scroll down and click on the Read Excerpt tab, although beware of spoilers for previous books in the series, especially Black Widow.

    I hope that everyone enjoys the book and Gin’s latest adventure. Happy reading, everyone!