There was no author interview & contest last week but I hope the guest this week and the prizes she is giving away will make up for it!

Author Jennifer Rardin has already been a guest on Amberkatze's Book Blog but she was happy to come back and visit again so we can get to know her Jaz Parks series. The latest book in the series is the sixth Jaz Parks book called 'Bite Marks'. If you haven't already had a chance to read Jen's books then you have been missing some great vampire reading!

Try your luck in the contest at the end of the interview and maybe you will win your very own Jaz Parks book!

Find out more about Jaz Parks in Jennifer's Guest Blog back in Summer.

Enjoy the interview!

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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here as a guest again! I think a lot of people already know about your Jaz Parks series but maybe you can tell us about the series in your own words?

Jennifer – Thanks so much, it’s great to be back! The series is about Jaz Parks, a twenty-something Marine’s daughter who finds herself paired up with the CIA’s finest assassin—who also happens to be a vampire. Together they travel the world eliminating the monsters who, for one reason or another, want to transform the USA into their litter box.

Amber - The sixth book in the series is out soon! Can you tell us a little bit about the story in Bite Marks?

Jennifer – Bite Marks, at its core, is about trust. I know that sounds kinda strange when the main plot revolves around Vayl and Jaz rescuing NASA from mega-disaster. But she finds herself in a unique and somewhat terrifying situation during the course of this story, one that the reader will hopefully experience almost the same way that she does as she lives through and describes it. So that, as Jaz wrestles with her fears and issues, you as a reader also have the opportunity to decide. Who can you trust?

Amber - How did you come up with the idea for the series? Was it a long process or did it just come to you?

Jennifer – The series started simply with the idea that I wanted to write about a vampire. Immediately I came up against my first dilemma, because if anybody was going to identify with my hero he couldn’t be evil. But I refused to take that sharp edge off him either. So I asked myself, “How do you make a natural-born killer into a good guy?” And my answer was that you guide that killing instinct into a direction that will save an entire country. Which is why Vayl, the vampire, and Jaz Parks (who started out as his assistant) eliminate evil dudes for a living.

Amber - What kind of research have you had to do for the books so far? Anything interesting or is research boring?

Jennnifer – I’ve done pretty much every kind of research you can imagine, from reading, to watching videos, to asking questions of experts . . . except for the form I’d most enjoy which is on-site inspection. I’m hoping to change that pattern for my next series and actually travel to the places in which my characters move, so that I can insert even more local flavor into my novels.

Most of the time research fascinates me, because I love learning about new places. For instance, while I was studying Australia (which is the location for Jaz and Vayl’s Bite Marks mission) I learned all kinds of interesting new phrases unique to the country. For instance, “bloody oath” means “that’s the truth.” I’d never have known that if Jaz and Vayl hadn’t taken this particular job. Nifty, eh?


Amber - How many more books will there be in the Jaz Parks series? Are you working on any other projects you would like to tell us about?

Jennifer – By the time you read this I’ll have begun writing book eight in the series. Wow. It’s going to be uberexciting too, because some of the action that will take place has been building throughout the entire series. And some of it is scheduled to take place in Romania, which should be fun.

After that I’ll be taking a break from Jaz and Vayl to begin a new urban fantasy series, the plot and characters of which are much different from those in my first books. But I still intend to insert a lot of thrills, humor, and of course, romance.

Amber - Have you always wanted to be an author? And why did you pick the paranormal genre?

Jennifer – I began to realize I was good at writing around the age of twelve. This is a pretty huge discovery for someone who can’t even get her hair to behave. The idea that I might have an actual talent sort of blew my mind. But I was still juggling dreams until I hit high school and realized I couldn’t be happy doing anything other than writing.

As for why I picked urban fantasy, would you believe I’m morbidly practical? I don’t buy most of what I write about. But I want to. I yearn for magic and mystery and the possibility that myths really do rise from reality. I want it so badly that I create it every day inside my laptop. It’s what keeps me dreaming. (P.S. What I do believe in? True love. Got it. Know I’m blessed to have it. Hope you get it too.)

Amber - Something I have always wondered about is how authors come up with the names for their characters. How do you pick the names you use in your books?

Jennifer – I take a while to pick out the names for my major characters. Naturally they have to reflect the personality they’re stuck to. But I also think about how readers will see them on the page and have to pronounce them inside their heads for years. So I try not to get too weird with the important folks. I mean, can you imagine trying to say a name like, “Fetheringlanckesher” in your head two hundred times per book for the decade it might take for a series to run its course? Mind-blowing!

My minor characters’ names aren’t as big a deal. But they have to reflect their country of origin, and sometimes the meanings of their names also comes into play. I usually choose them off lists I find online.

Amber - What is the easiest and hardest part about being an author? Do you have much say in the book publishing process? E.g. cover, layout?

Jennifer – The easiest part of being an author is opening up the box from Orbit and showing my family the new books I’ve received with eye-grabbing covers, awesome review quotes, and my name at the bottom. Spelled right and everything! (In case you were wondering? You pronounce my last name with a long “a”, as in, “I’d like my steak rare, please.”)

The hardest part is staying focused. I’m easily distracted. Just ask my husband. I’m constantly walking out of the room in the middle of conversations because I’ve just thought of something I need to do. And the only person who can make me sit at my desk day after day is myself. So I’ve made deadlines into huge, godlike creatures with the ability to smite me into a pile of pudding if I don’t reach them in time. So far it’s worked.

Orbit is an excellent publisher and they welcome feedback, so I appreciate that a great deal. Luckily they don’t need a whole lot. They know what’s beautiful, what catches the eye, and what sells. I’m lucky to be with them.

Amber - How do you relax? Do you have any hobbies?

Jennifer - I have so many hobbies I can’t even keep up anymore. But that’s okay. It gives me something to look forward to when I’m finally too old to make up stories.

My husband gave me a small greenhouse for my birthday, so that and my gardens take up a great deal of my down-time. My flowers are one of my major passions. They’re therapy. And I love sharing something extra beautiful with everyone who passes by my house.

I run a couple of miles nearly every weekday. Is that a hobby? Maybe more of a necessity since I can gain weight just looking at a plate of brownies. But some days I actually enjoy it, especially when my IPod decides to shuffle out some groovy tunes.

My husband and I enjoy open-wheel racing, specifically the series that races at the Indianapolis 500 every year. So we follow Indycar on TV and attend at least two races in person annually.

I’m big into musical theater, and always have my eyes open for a touring Broadway show nearby (for me that’s about a three-hour drive) that I haven’t seen yet. When we went to New York a few years back we saw three shows on Broadway (Phantom of the Opera, Avenue Q, and The Drowsy Chaperone), but missed one we really wanted to see called Curtains. So I have my fingers crossed that somebody decides to take it on the road soon.

I used to quilt all the time. In fact, the curtains in my living room are actually quilts that I custom-made, so that when they’re down it just looks like I have three cool quilts hanging on the walls. But when they’re up—presto—I have windows with nifty treatments complimenting them! Unfortunately this is one hobby that’s fallen away. So much so that lately the only sewing I do is buttons and minor repairs.

I also used to be a voracious reader. Not so much now. Because my writing schedule is so intense, I can only get about one book finished a month. I’m on a good one now, though. The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller. I highly recommend it.

Amber – A lot of authors have 'soundtracks' for their books. Is there any music influenced your books?

Jennifer – We’re a musical family. In fact, I began singing to my children before they were born and pretty much never stopped. One of my quirks (my kids have another name for it!) is that if somebody says something that reminds me of a certain tune, I will burst out singing it. That tendency has made its way into my books. And, I suppose, because my musical influences run more to classic rock than anything else, that’s mostly what you’ll hear in the background of the series.

Amber - What books do you enjoy reading? Do you have any favourite must read authors/series?

Jennifer – I used to adore urban fantasy, but since I’ve become a published author in the genre I’ve had to swear off, because I don’t want anyone else’s work influencing my own. Now my tastes take me more into the realm of high fantasy, science fiction, horror, and thriller. I personally enjoyed Stephen King’s Dark Tower series and highly recommend it. Great stuff.

Amber - If you could be any paranormal creature, what would you be and why?

Jennifer – I’d be a hobbit. Because they get to eat at least seven times a day, and it’s good to be round!

Amber - Thank you for visiting Amberkatze's Book Blog again! Keep coming back ;)



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Contest Time!

Jennifer is giving away not one book, not two books but five books!!! So that means five lucky people will win an autographed Jaz Parks book!

Here is what is on offer -

Two autographed copies of Bite Marks for hardcore Jazfans!
One autographed copy each of Once Bitten, Twice Shy (book #1), Another One Bites the Dust (book #2) and Biting the Bullet (book #3) for newcomers to the series!

How do you enter? Well it is New Moon week! Have you been to see it? What did you think? If you haven't been to see it then tell us about the last movie you went to see.

No New Moon or Movie = No entry!

The usual rules apply!

Earn another entry for each place you link this contest on the net. Make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries!

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

I will offer more prizes if my Amazon Associates account gets more money!! So please make sure you order at Amazon.com through the links around the site and help keep the contest coming!



The contest will stay open until Sunday 29th of November 2009 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

If you are claiming a prize, have emailed me and have not heard back before the 7 day limit is up then post a comment here on the blog. Your email may get sucked into my spam filter.