Jennifer Estep

Introducing Jennifer Estep:

I’m a Southern gal through and through. Sassy, sarcastic, and just a tad crazy. I spent my formative years doing the usual kid things – playing, hanging out with my friends, and making up wild stories in my head. It’s the last one that’s gotten me into trouble. I don’t remember the first book I read. Or the second. Or even the third. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with books and reading. Fairy tales, fantasies, adventure stories, mysteries, romances, westerns. As a kid, I read every book that I could get my hands on.
My mom, bless her, encouraged this obsession by taking me to the library every week. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories. Most folks think penicillin, indoor plumbing, and the Internet are the world’s best inventions. Not me. The greatest thing ever created was a library. Indoor plumbing is a close second, though. The more I read, the more I thought about writing my own stories. I penned a few poems and short stories over the years, mainly for class assignments. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I wanted to write books for a living. In college, I majored in English because of my love of books. But what can you do with an English degree? I didn’t know. One semester, I got a job with the college newspaper and discovered you could write stories and make a respectable living. Since that light-bulb moment, I’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism, and a master’s degree in professional communications. Currently, I’m an award-winning features page designer for a daily newspaper. Now, after many, many years of toil and trouble, I’ve achieved my dream of being a bona fide, published, fiction author. I plan to keep on keeping on – writing, dreaming, making up wild stories in my head. And getting myself into trouble.
Jennifer has two books coming out soon...
Spartan Frost (Mythos Academy #4.5). An e-story from Logan Quinn’s point of view.
On sale 6/25/13.
Kiss of Venom (Elemental Assassin #8.5). An e-story from Owen Grayson’s point of view.
On sale 7/22/13.
See more at Jennifer Estep

13 Questions for YA Authors

      1)      Coke, Pepsi, Coffee, or Tea?

JE: Pepsi

2)      Do you prefer print books or an ereader? If ereader, what type?

JE: Print books

3)      PC or MAC?

JE: PC

4)      Plotter or Pantser?

JE: Panster

5)      What comes first- the character or the plot?

JE: It just depends. Sometimes, I’ll have an idea for a character that I think would be fun to write about, and I’ll build a story around that character. Other times, the idea for the plot comes to me first, and then I think about the characters that would fit well into the story.

6)      How much world building do you do?

JE: I write urban fantasy for adults and young adults, so I do world building in terms of coming up with a magic system, powers for my various characters, how those powers can be used in various situations, and the city/town/etc. where the characters live/work/etc., among other things.

7)      How do you come up with the names of your characters?

JE: If the name is for a major character in the book, like the heroine, then I will go online and do some research into various names and what they mean until I find one that I think will be a good fit for a particular character. But if it’s for a minor character, or a character that I know won’t be in the book for very long, then sometimes, I’ll just use the first name that pops into my head.

8)      Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what and who?

JE: I do not listen to music while I write. I find that I end up tuning out the music and that I can concentrate better if it’s not playing to start with.

9)      Where’s your favorite place to write? Do you need complete silence or can you work anywhere?

JE: I write in my office. I do prefer to write in complete silence.

10)   Who are your favorite authors?

JE: Some of my favorite authors include Ian Fleming, Robert Parker, Lisa Kleypas, Robin McKinley, and Donald Westlake/Richard Stark, among many, many others.

11)   Who was the biggest influence on your writing?

JE: I would say my mom. When I was a kid, she would take me to the library every single week, which is how I fell in love with books in the first place. So I think that her taking me to the library all those times is one of the main reasons that I eventually decided to write my own books and tell the stories that I wanted to tell.

12)   Why do you prefer to write for teens?

JE: I write urban fantasy for adults and young adults, and I enjoy writing for both audiences. One of the things that appeals to me about writing a young adult series with my Mythos Academy books is being able to tell more of a coming-of-age story with a heroine who’s trying to figure out who she wants to be and what she wants her place in the world to be. It’s been a fun challenge writing a young adult series and trying to capture that young adult voice.

13)   If you could go anywhere, and money was no object, where would you go?

     JE: I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska, so that would be my pick.