1.02.2008

An Interview with Jenna Black and A Giveaway!


Please welcome author of The Devil Inside, Jenna Black! After reviewing The Devil Inside for Night Owl Romance and here on my blog, I was so captivated by the story that I asked Jenna if I can interview her here. She graciously agreed and is even doing a book giveaway to one lucky reader! Here is her interview!



Rachael: How did you come up with the idea to write a book about an exorcist?

Jenna Black: I got totally hooked on the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton, and I noticed that for some reason, I wasn’t burning out on that series as I had on every other series I could remember reading in the past. (Generally, after a series hit five or six books, I’d find myself getting tired of it.) I tried to analyze what it was about the Anita Blake series that made it still hold my interest after so many books, and I decided it was the enormity and the intensity of Anita’s internal conflicts.

When I set about to come up with my own urban fantasy concept, I started with the desire to build a really strong internal conflict. And that’s how I ended up with a possessed exorcist.

Rachael: Do you know how many books will be in the Morgan Kingsley series?

Jenna Black: At least five, because that’s what I have under contract. After that, it will depend on a number of factors, such as whether I’m still enjoying the series, whether fans are still enjoying the series, and whether my publisher wants to continue publishing the series.

Rachael: Do you plot everything out or do you just sit down and write?

Jenna Black: It actually varies from book to book. Some I plot, some I write by the seat of my pants. So far, the books in the Morgan Kingsley series have fallen into the latter category.

Rachael: What genres and authors do you enjoy reading?

Jenna Black: I love urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Some of my favorite authors are Laurell K. Hamilton, J.R. Ward, Kelley Armstrong, and Rachel Caine. (There are a lot more, but if I listed them all, no one would want to read this blog because it would be too long!)

Rachael: What are you currently working on?

Jenna Black: I’m currently working on the third book in the Morgan Kingsley series, The Devil’s Due, which will be coming out in the fall. I’ve got a draft finished, and my husband is reading over it right now. (He serves as my first reader for practically all my books.)

Rachael: Can you tell us about your Guardians of the Night Series?

Jenna Black: The Guardians of the Night series are paranormal romances, set in a world where there are two kinds of vampires: Killers and Guardians. Killers, as you might have guessed by their name, feed by drinking human blood and killing their victims. Once they begin to kill, they become addicted to it and are unable to stop. Guardians are vampires who feed on animal blood. They are less powerful, both physically and psychically, than the Killers, but it is their mission to protect the human population from Killers. Their mission is complicated by the constant temptation to reach for greater power by making a kill.

Rachael: Do you know how many books will be in the Guardians of the Night Series?

Jenna Black: I’ve got three out right now, and a fourth coming out in May. After that, the fate of the series is unknown. I’d like to write at least a couple more, but that may or may not end up happening.


Burning Questions After Reading the Book - No Spoilers Here

Rachael: Why do humans offer their bodies as hosts for the demons? Can a demon live without a host body?

Jenna Black: Demons are usually incorporeal and live in a parallel world called the Demon Realm. Humans can summon them onto the Mortal Plain by giving up their bodies as hosts. Many people who volunteer to host demons do so because it gives them a chance to be heroes. A person possessed by a demon has superhuman strength and healing ability, and so they often take on very dangerous jobs—and can take risks in those jobs that would get a normal person killed. A demon can live without its host, but not on the Mortal Plain. If a demon’s host dies, the demon goes back to the Demon Realm.

Rachael: I mention in my review, some violence and S&M in The Devil Inside. What was the reason for including this in the story? Did you feel it added to the character's personality? Was it to show how scary demons can be?

Jenna Black: There are actually a couple of reasons I chose to do this. One is a straight-out story reason, which is that it heightened Morgan’s conflict. Her entire world view is shaken up when Lugh, the demon king, possesses her, and having her deal with people whose sexual practices are strange and even abhorrent to her, shakes her up even more. She’s got a very judgmental, black and white view of the world, and I wanted to confront her with as many shades of gray as possible. (Also, it just made sense to me that creatures who were incorporeal in their own world would have a very different way of viewing physical sensation than most humans would.)

The other reason is more of a “writer reason.” My latest book in the Guardians of the Night series, Shadows on the Soul, was a very, very difficult one for me to write. Gabriel, the hero, is a Killer, and in the previous book, he’d been one of the secondary villains. He is a darker character than most romance readers are used to seeing as heroes, and the whole time I wrote it, I worried. My inner critic kept protesting “you can’t do that!” But I was on a tight deadline, and I had to force myself not to listen to that inner critic when it insisted Gabriel was too dark to redeem.

I think that Shadows on the Soul was the best book I’d written up to that point, and judging by reviews, others agree. I think one of the reasons it turned out so well is that I took so many risks, and battling my inner critic perversely gave me extra energy and excitement. The Devil Inside was the very next book I wrote, and I wanted to keep pushing myself to take risks, to write about things that made me uncomfortable, and to do battle with my inner critic. Believe me, some of the scenes that were uncomfortable were read were a lot more uncomfortable to write. But I feel like the risk paid off, and that I grew as a writer by taking it.

Rachael: Will there be more back story on the characters in future books? I am curious about the night that everything happened to Morgan. Will readers find out more about how she became a host for a demon?

Jenna Black: There will definitely be more back story, especially about Morgan. You’ll learn a lot about her past in The Devil You Know. There’s also more to come about Raphael and his twisted, complicated relationship with Lugh.



Rachael: Is there anything else you would like to tell your readers?

Jenna Black: You can visit me on the web at http://www.jennablack.com/, where you’ll find excerpts from all my books, including the upcoming books in he Guardians of the Night series and the Morgan Kingsley series. And if you’re on MySpace, please drop by my page and send me a friend request: www.MySpace.com/jennablackbooks

Jenna Black: Thanks for letting me reach out to your readers!

Rachael: Thank you Jenna Black for this wonderful interview!


Jenna will be giving away a signed copy of The Devil Inside to a reader who comments and asks questions in the comments section of this post! Did you read The Devil Inside already and have questions about it for Jenna? Do you want to read The Devil Inside and want to know more about it? Comment away!

You can buy The Devil Inside here

or here

Edited to Add
Rachael : Because I am SO happy with all the people commenting, I am going to also giveaway books from my own shelf. These are Christmas Anthologies that are unread. I ended up with so many of them that I figured someone else would give them a better home and probably even read them! Check out the comments section here for the rest of the details.

50 comments:

  1. Hi, Jenna and Rachael!

    Great interview! The Devil Inside was the first book I've read by Jenna and it was fantastic! I'm going to check out her other series too - it sounds good!

    *sniff* I was kinda hoping it was Devil You Know giveaway, *studies nails nonchalantly* but you know.. I'll wait until it comes out. ;) (hehe)

    Rachael, don't count me for the contest! I already have a copy of TDI. :)

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  2. Hi Wendy! I can't wait for The Devil You Know either! I love the cover for it. Did you have any questions for Jenna about her books or writing?

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  3. Rachael, I pimped your interview on my blog. :)

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  5. So, Jenna - here's a very important question - Chocolate or vanilla? lol

    But seriously, where did you get your idea for writing Guardians of The Soul?

    And oh! what's your favorite JR Ward book? :)

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  6. Hello Jenna & Rachael,

    This was a wonderful interview. I enjoyed your questions Rachael and loved your answers Jenna.

    Jenna, I see you have some very nice covers I love them. My question is do you have a say on what you want on your covers?

    Hugssss
    LindaH

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  7. wow happy new year ladies awesome interview! i hope to get the series soon!


    linda B.

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  8. I've heard that a lot of authors don't have a lot of say on their books' covers. I honestly don't understand that, I mean, it's their they should definitely have a say on how they want to present it!

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  9. I haven't read any of these but after reading this interview I have them added on my must buy/read list. Great interview BTW.

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  10. Great interview Rachael! I'd definitely going to have to go check out Jenna's books. Off to see her website.

    Take Care

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  11. Wendy,

    I heard that also. I wish they did especially since they are writing the book. I do know a few authors though that do their own covers :-)

    Hugssss
    LindaH

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  12. Linda,

    Really? What authors? :)

    This whole cover issue also has to do with sales, if a book get a horrible cover, even thought it (the book, that is) might be absolutely fabulous, the cover is the first we reader see and it does enfluences us, it's whole judge a book by its covers thing.

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  13. Wendy: The Guardians of the Night idea came to me when I was reading a "reunion romance," the kind of romance where the hero and heroine were a couple once, broke up, and are now getting together in the current book. I've read quite a number of them, and a frequent theme is the hero having abandoned the heroine without a word in their first relationship.

    I'd seen all kinds of explanations for why the hero left like that, but I was always dissatisfied with them. I still thought the hero was a jerk for leaving, and I'd have trouble falling in love with him like I should.

    So I was reading this reunion romance by an author I really admire (no, I won't say who), and I found myself having the same reaction. The thought crossed my mind, "I'll never write a reunion romance, because they just don't work for me."

    Since I'm naturally contrary, the moment I thought the word "never," I started wondering what excuse a hero would give that would satisfy me. And I thought I'd probably forgive the guy for leaving without a word if he'd been turned into a vampire. And from that germ of an idea sprang Watchers in the Night, the first book of the series.

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  14. Linda H: According to my contract, I have a right to be "consulted" about my covers, but the final decision is the publisher's. What this means is, I can tell them I hate it, and if they still love it, that's the cover the book will have.

    I've been very happy with my covers (knock on wood) so far. They've always done a good job of capturing the mood/theme of the books, even if they don't exactly match my descriptions. (For instance, Morgan has short spiky hair in the books, but on the covers, she has long hair because it helps soften what could otherwise be a rather butch image. In another example, the hero of Shadows on the Soul has white-blond hair he spikes with gel, and on the cover he has long black hair--because pictures of dark-haired men apparently sell better than those of blonds.)

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  15. Hi Jenna and Rachael! Great interview! I have this series on my to buy list. It sounds so good. If you had one superpower, what would you want it to be? Have you ever modeled a character after a family member or friend? How do you choose your characters names?

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  16. Great answers Jenna!

    Because I am SO happy with all the people commenting, I am going to also giveaway books from my own shelf. These are Christmas Anthologies that are unread. I ended up with so many of them that I figured someone else would give them a better home and probably even read them!

    There are THREE books to go to THREE winners, plus the winner of The Devil Inside which Jenna Black is giving away. So all together we will have FOUR winners, one book each.

    The books I am giving away will go to the people who post the best questions to Jenna Black about her series, books, or writing. If you already posted, don't fret, you may still post additional questions for her! Here are the books I will be giving away:

    Sugar and Spice by Fern Michaels, Beverly Barton, Joanne Fluke, and Shirley Jump

    The Morgue the Merrier by Rosemary Laurey, Karen Kelley and Dianne Castell (this is a signed copy by Dianne Castell)

    A Very Merry Christmas by Lori Foster, Gemma Bruce, and Janice Maynard.

    So post away!

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  17. why did you choose this series jenna and after the 5 do you plan to do any more? do you dream about your characters? do they fight to be heard more than you want?

    linda B.

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  18. OH NOW I HAVE TO GET THIS SERIES! CAN THEY STAND ALONE OR DO YOU READ IN ORDER? WHICH HERO IS YOUR FAV AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE HIM? IHAVE NEVER READ YOU JENNAH BUT I HOPE TO REALLY SOON!\

    LINDA B

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  19. Jenna, I noticed the hair difference with Morgan in the book. When it said she had short hair, I looked at the cover and said to myself, huh? LOL But that's funny you say that about her hair being spikey, cause I dont remember that. I just pictured her like the girl on the cover.

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  20. Linda B: I hope I'll get to write more than five books in this series, but it's too early to know yet. A lot depends on how the first few books do. I've got to be able to impress my publisher so they'll buy more from me!

    I don't dream about my characters, but I do think about them a lot, even when I'm not actively writing.

    The books in the Morgan Kingsley series should be read in order. (Though, of course, there's only one out so far, so it's not too hard to read in order. LOL) The books in my Guardians of the Night series don't have to be read in order, although if you're going to read all of them anyway, you might as well read them in order so you can watch the characters grow.

    And my favorite hero is Gabriel, from Shadows on the Soul. He was so dark and so hard to write, but I just love him. I'm a sucker for the redeemed bad boy!

    Hope I got all your questions!

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  21. I wish they'd keep the covers with the same theme of the characters in the book! That's so weird that they change their hair because they think it will sell better like that!!

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  22. Wendy--I see I missed your question about my favorite JR Ward book. I'd have to say Dark Lover is my favorite. There's always something about the first book I read by a new-to-me author I fall in love with that always holds a special place in my heart. I guess I somehow credit that book with having led me to the author.

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  23. That's good to know about reading the books in order or not. I always end up reading series books out of order because of reviewing. I ordered books 2 and 3 in the Shadow Series from Amazon the MINUTE I finished The Devil Inside. I already have the first book in the Shadow series from you actually. I won it on Midnight Moon Cafe before I ever read Devil Inside! I can't wait to dig into all your other books. Fantastic!!

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  24. Amy S.--If I could have a superpower, I'd like to be able to fly.

    I've never actually modeled a character on anyone I know, at least not on any conscious level. Certainly my characters share characteristics with people I know, but only in the broadest sense.

    Names are kind of strange. They usually just come to me, but once they do, I can't get them out of my head. I'd have a lot of trouble changing a character's name after I got it in my head.

    The only exception I can think of is The Devil Inside. I came up with Lugh's name very deliberately. I wanted his name to mean something having to do with light, and his brother the usurper's name to mean something to do with dark. According to behindthename.com, the name Lugh means "the shining one," and the name Dougal means "dark stranger."

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  25. Wow very interesting! Jenna I know this is a dumb question but how do you pronounce Lugh? I said it like Lug boots in my head. LOL It's not supposed to be Looge right?

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  26. Jenna, Thank You for answering my question. I notice a few times where the cover doesn't fit the characters. I wish they would though because when I go looking at the cover I end up picturing the character that way until I read the book. I do love your covers though very nice :)

    Hugssss
    LindaH

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  27. Jenna thank you so much for answering everyone's questions and telling us about your books! It's been an absolute pleasure having you here! I will give everyone until tonight to ask their questions and comment here. I will draw a winner later on tonight for Jenna's book and three winners for my giveaway too. Thank you again Jenna!!

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  28. Jenna, If you can go away for a week with one of your hero's from your book who would you choose and why him?

    Jenna, As an author what was the most valuable advice giving to you?

    Hugssss
    LindaH

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  29. I'm all late doing this. I hope I can catch everyone.

    If you don't win Jenna's book which of my three giveaways is your next choice? So I know who wants which books..thanks.

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  30. Hi Jenna & Rachael - great interview. I was one of those lucky ones who had an opportunity to review The Devil Inside and loved it as well. It's very different from your 'The Guardians of the Night' series, which I do enjoy as well. :)

    Here's a question for Ms. Black - Has it been very difficult writing an installment for one series and then moving to the other?

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  31. Rachael: I honestly am not sure how the name is supposed to be pronounced. There was no pronunciation guide on the website I got it from. In my head, it sounds like "Lou." It's actually the name of a Celtic god, so I'm sure that's not the "real" pronunciation. However, it's how you pronounce *my* character's name.

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  32. Linda H: Honestly, I'm not sure I'd want to go away for a weekend with any of my heroes! I tend to like them dark and alpha-male in fiction, but that's not what I like in real life. (I know that if I met any number of romance heroes I really love--like, for example, Jamie from Outlander-- I'd probably want to kill them within minutes. LOL)

    The best writing advice I ever got was to write faster. I was unpublished when I got that advice, and at that point, writing more books meant having more stuff to submit and spending less time chewing my fingernails waiting to hear back from publishers. It also meant overriding my internal critic, because I just didn't have time to listen to her, and that was a real help to me.

    Now that I'm a published author, it's still helping me, because I can get more books out in a year and get my name out there more. (And the tight deadlines help me wrestle that internal critic, who is still a pain in the butt if I let myself slow down and listen to her!)

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  33. Kimberly--Actually, I've found switching back and forth hasn't been that hard. I think part of the reason is that the Morgan Kingsley books are in first person. Writing first person in her point of view seems to trigger my subconscious to go into demon-book mode, even if it's recently been in vampire-romance mode.

    I'm finding it much harder right now when I'm reading the proofs for The Devil You Know while writing the draft of The Devil's Due. I was actually finding myself getting confused about what happened in which book! But it does mean you'll all get the third installment of the series without that big 8-month wait!

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  34. Hi Jenna! Love The Guardians Of The Night series! I remember when I was so awaiting for the first one to come out and it was so worth the wait! I'm dearly enjoying this series and so look forward to your new one! I'd love to be in the contest!

    Jenna, with not being sure if The Guardian Of The Night will have more books after the next one, if there were to be no further books, is there a possiblity to have a conclusion to the series, like a short story at your site? Its so hard as a reader to let go of characters and series. Yours do feel real to me as I read them.

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  35. Hi Again! Wanted to say Hi to Rachael too. Its so great to e here!

    I have another question for you Jenna! Its a fun one. If you were to time travel back for one year, what time period would you go and where? Too you can only bring 3 things from the present with you, what 3 things would you want to bring? (For me, one thing, I must bring my glasses with me, LOL)

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  36. Absolutely awesome interview! Now with a few of those questions answered about The Devil Inside, I'm really interested in getting it for myself! :D Great job, Rachael! And thank you to Jenna for continuing to answer questions!

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  37. I have been lots of good things about The Devil Inside, but haven't read it yet. I appreciate all the scoop here, it's helped me to add this book to my wish list.

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  38. Caffey: I'm so glad to hear you've been enjoying the Guardians of the Night. As for what will happen if the series doesn't continue, it's hard for me to say. I do have three chapters and and outline for a fifth book, and it's possible that one day I could finish it and do something unconventional with it. (Like do it as a serialized novel on my website.) But, obviously, writing a whole novel takes a lot of time, so it would depend what else was on my plate and how passionate I felt about writing the book.

    As for traveling back in time, I'd probably want to see Regency England, just because I've read so many novels written in that period. It would be interesting to see what life was *really* like. As for what I'd take with me . . . hmm, that's hard. I think aspirin would be first on the list--one of those things we just take for granted. And I'd take a year's supply of the instant coffee I'm addicted to. (Cafe Vienna, which doesn't really taste like coffee that much, but which jump starts every morning for me.) And yeah, my glasses would probably be a good idea, although I can see all right without them. I'd probably need a lot more aspirin if I didn't have them.

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  39. Sorry it's so late everyone! I tried to go to this Christmas Light Show that is an hour away but it was closed now for the season so I made the whole trip for nothing. I'm here now reading the comments and picking winners..

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  40. Wow thank you so much Jenna! Your answers to everything were fantastic and I just love you even more now that I know you are so nice! I picked the winner for your book and that person is Caffey. I will email you with her name and addy as soon as she sends it to me. Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for answering everyone's questions and I wish you all the best in your career. :)

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  41. OOps sorry I wrote Caffey instead of Cathie.

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  42. Ok I made a mistake! I didn't realize Caffey and Cathy were two different people on here. Sorry, for the confusion. The winner of the Jenna Black book was supposed to be CAFFEY.

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  43. Wow! What an interview and introduction to a series I've never heard about. I love to read these blogs because it opens up new avenues for reading, you know?

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  44. Hi Laura! There will be more interviews coming very soon with more authors!

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  45. Thanks, Rachael. I bookmarked your site so I can go here at least once a day to see what's up. I love this way to keep in touch and learn about new authors/books.

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  46. Hi, What an interview. I love to read how different authors approach writing. Do you ever get "writer's block and if so, how do you deal with it? Thanks very much.....Cindi
    jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

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  47. Hi Cindy
    The Q&A with Jenna ended already. I don't think she will be checking back here. But if you want to email her to ask her the question, I am sure she wouldn't mind. Take care.

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