Interview and Giveaway with Jenn Bennett

Today, I have in store for you a very special guest! Jenn Bennett, author of Kindling the Moon and the newly released Summoning the Night will stop by today to answer some of my questions about herself and her really great series Arcadia Bell. I just have to say it, her series is the next hot thing in UF literature and I'm a huge fan of her work. You can check here my review of Kindling the Moon and Summoning the Night and understand why I love her work so much :)

But, let's leave Jenn talk about everything herself and don't forget to check at the end of the post for a giveaway :)

Anna:Hello and welcome at my place! 
Jenn: Thanks for having me on your blog, Anna! I'm excited to be here!

Anna: Can you tell us a few words about your newest release? 
Jenn: SUMMONING THE NIGHT is the second book in my Arcadia Bell series, which I suppose you could categorize as "romantic urban fantasy." SUMMONING takes place a few weeks after the events in the first book, KINDLING THE MOON, and centers on a mystery involving The Snatcher, a local legend who kidnapped teenagers 30 years ago and was never caught. When the teens of Hellfire Club members start disappearing, my lead characters, Cady and Lon, are called in to help track down the villain.

Anna: The world you describe in your books is detailed and quite intricate. What inspired you to create it?
Jenn: I like tweaking mythologies and creating unexpected twists, so I knew if I was going to write about demons, they had to be complex: not good, nor bad—neutral. And since demons in my world are Earthbound, which means they also LOOK like humans, I liked the idea of a girl who could identify them, when other humans couldn't. That's where the halos came in. And of course Cady couldn't be just another witch. I wanted her to be a little darker. I've always been fascinated with the occult and ceremonial magicians, so I guess it was easy for me to write Cady into role like this.

Anna: How many books will conclude Arcadia's storyline? 
Jenn: Right now, I'm contracted for three more releases: Arcadia 2.5, a novella that will release this Christmas, Arcadia 3 (Spring 2013) and Arcadia 4 (2014). Those books will close a major story arc. However, in my head, the complete Arcadia story will take 6 books to finish.

Anna: I just have to ask it! Do you ever plan on writing a book where Jupe will be the main hero? I just love this character to pieces and I'm way too intrigued by him to not ask this question :)
Jenn: Uh-oh, don't get me started about Jupe, because I could go on for hours! Jupe is one of my favorite characters to write. For those who haven't read my series, he's the teenage son of my hero. He's geeky and chatty and sometimes steals the show. Jupe plays a larger role in SUMMONING. And in book 4, readers will get some chapters from his point of view. But one day I'd absolutely LOVE to write a young adult book (or series) in which Jupe is the main hero. He's only 14 now, but I can picture him as 16 or 17, getting in lots of trouble. That would be a blast to write.

Anna: Do you have any plans for a new story apart from Cady's?
Jenn: I've just written a historical paranormal romance that I'm REALLY excited about, and I hope to share more information about it soon, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Anna: What is your favorite genre to read and could you share some of your favorite books? 
Jenn: I love speculative fiction. Neil Gaiman. Margaret Atwood. Historical fantasy like The Night Circus, which I thought was just fabulous. But the two genres I love the most are probably historical romance and young adult. Joanna Bourne is one of my favorite historical romance writers—I love everything she's written. In young adult, recent books I've loved are: Lola and the Boy Next Door, Anna Dressed in Blood, Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

 Anna: When not writing (or reading), how do you like spending your free time? 
Jenn: I'm an artist, so I like to paint. I also love cooking. Watching old movies from the 1930s and 40s. Shopping for vintage furniture. Traveling.

 Anna: Which place in the world are you dying to visit?
Jenn: I've traveled to the Far East a good bit: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong. But I've never been to Japan, and I'd love to visit. I was born in Germany and lived near Frankfurt the first few years of my life, so I'd like to go back and see how it's changed. I'd also love to travel to Sweden and France. And because I love both Greek mythology and Greek food, I certainly wouldn't mind visiting Greece—especially islands like Santorini and Crete! :)

 JENN BENNETT is an award-winning artist-turned-author. She believes rebellion is an under-appreciated art form, has conjured up more demons than you've had hot lunches, and likes her fairy tales like she likes her coffee: dark. She lives near Atlanta with her husband and two pugs.

 Visit her here:

Goodreads ~ Website ~ Twitter

~~~~~~~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MAGICAL TRICKS. DEMONIC TREATS.

After narrowly escaping her fate as a sacrificial scapegoat, Arcadia Bell is back to normal. Or at least as ordinary as life can be for a renegade magician and owner of a tiki bar that caters to Earthbound demons. She’s gearing up for the busiest day of the year—Halloween—when a vengeful kidnapper paralyzes the community.

The influential head of the local Hellfire Club taps Cady to track down the fiendish bogeyman, and now that she’s dating red-hot Lon Butler, the Club’s wayward son, she can hardly say no. Cady and Lon untangle a gruesome thirty-year trail of clues that points to danger for the club members’ children. But locating the person behind the terror will require some metaphysical help from Cady’s loyal bar patrons as well as her potent new Moonchild powers—and she’d better figure it out before the final victim disappears and her own darkest secret becomes her biggest enemy.

Jenn has generously offered a paperback copy of either Kindling the Moon or Summoning the Night to one lucky winner.

Guidelines

~ The contest is open internationally wherever Book Depository ships.

~ You must be 13 years old or over to participate.

~ The winner will be chosen via Random.org

~ The prize is submitted by the author and I have no responsibility whatsoever over it.

~ The contest will be open until May 16th

~ The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have 48 hours to confirm his/her e-mail address before a new winner is selected.

~Fill the form below to enter ~

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