Q&A Interview and Giveaway with Jessica Andersen

Hey there Book Monsters and Literal Addicts! Book Monster Reviews and LITERAL ADDICTION are very pleased to welcome NY Times and national bestselling author Jessica Andersen to our sites today.

Jessica is the creator of THE FINAL PROPHECY series which currently has six (6) books in the series., "Nightkeepers", "Dawnkeepers, "Skykeepers", "Demonkeepers", "Blood Spells" and "Storm Kissed" as well as a novella that can be found in the book "On The Hunt".  The next book "Magic Unchained" is scheduled to be released in April of 2012, followed by the series conclusion in November 2012.

Jessica is also one of the four amazing authors that are part of the four book miniseries ROYAL HOUSE OF SHADOWS.  Jessica's book "Lord of the Wolfyn" is the third book in the series and is scheduled to be released on October 25.  Gena Showalter's "Lord of the Vampires" is the first book, "Lord of Rage" by Jill Monroe is the second book, and the fourth and final book "Lord of the Abyss" by Nalini Singh will be released November 27.

Now let's get to know more about Jessica from the amazing bio she wrote for her website.  We copied it here for everyone to read…..

"Hi all, and thanks for being interested in learning a bit about little old me.

Hm... where to start? Well, I've lived in New England all my life, growing up in Massachusetts and spending the past decade or so in eastern Connecticut. As a kid, I survived the 80s with no lasting scars aside from a few photos of me with spiked hair and a rat tail (and no, I’m so not posting those). During the 90s, I did a double stint at Tufts University for an undergraduate biology degree and a PhD in genetics, with a year-long break in between that can best be described as: “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up; I think I’ll do some landscaping”… followed by “um, okay; I think I’ll go back to school now.”

During grad school and for a year after, I worked at the New England Eye Center, helping search for the genetic mutations that cause glaucoma. It was very cool work, but I liked the scientific writing more than the labwork. It wasn’t until the committee head complimented my doctoral thesis by saying it “read like a mystery novel” that I admitted I was… um… writing a romantic suspense novel in my free time. A year later, I left the lab and spent the next while freelancing as a scientific editor and riding instructor while I worked on getting my writing career off the ground.

Released in October of ’03, my first Harlequin Intrigue, Dr. Bodyguard, was an RT Top Pick and kicked off a string of science-themed romantic intrigues that have hit the category bestseller lists and been nominated for Reviewers’ Choice and RITA awards. While writing the Intrigues, I kept honing my craft and submitting new ideas, hoping to make the jump from category to single title success.

I love learning about new things and rediscovering old interests- that’s the researcher in me, I suppose. So one day while I was working on a story idea, I came across a reference to Aztec serpent worship, had an ‘ooh, shiny!’ moment, and followed where the information flow led me… straight to a mention of how the Mayan calendar will end on December 21, 2012. Thus was born the Nightkeepers, and an exciting new direction in my writing!

The first of them, Nightkeepers, was a June 2008 release, and kicked off an eight-book (plus one novella) series about the modern-day magic wielders destined to save mankind from the 2012 doomsday. With appearances on various national bestseller lists, including the NY Times list, the Nightkeeper novels have been an awesome ride! Keep your eyes open for the last two of the Nightkeeper books, coming in April and November 2012.

In addition, later in 2011, I'll be venturing into the world of Harlequin Nocturne with Royal House of Shadows: Lord of the Wolfyn, which is part of a four-book miniseries with super-authors Nalini Singh, Gena Showalter and Jill Munroe ... and in 2013, be on the lookout for the start of an exciting new series!!"

Now that you've learned a little more about Jessica, let's take a look at a brief synopsis of her last few releases in the NIGHTKEEPERS series and her upcoming release "Lord of the Wolfyn" the third book in the ROYAL HOUSE OF SHADOWS series.

"Lord of the Wolfyn" ROYAL HOUSE OF SHADOWS - Book 3

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden.

To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance.

Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

For practical Reda Weston, nothing could explain how reading a sexy version of "Little Red Riding Hood" catapulted her into another realm—face-to-fang with the legendary wolf-creature who seduced women. A wolf who transformed into a dark, virile man….

Dayn cursed the Sorcerer that turned him wolfyn and damned him to a lonely fate. As a beast, he mated with women to gain strength.

Strength he needed to rescue his royal parents. But as a man, he craved Reda's heated, sizzling touch. With little time left, Dayn had to either embrace his wolf to save his kingdom…or fight it to save his woman.

"Demonkeepers" - THE FINAL PROPHECY - Book 4

According to Mayan doomsday prophecy, 12/21/12 marks the end of the world in a global cataclysm that can only be prevented by the Nightkeepers, magical warriors enlisted to fight the rise of the underworld demons. To fulfill the final prophecy the Nightkeepers must find their mates, but when Lucius and Jade are charged with rescuing the Mayan sun god, they try to ignore their growing attraction. Unless they can confront their own demons and accept that love isn't a weakness, even destiny might not be able to save them...

Lucius is an Indiana Jones wannabe who never quite measures up, until a twist of magic brings him powers beyond belief... and reunites him with Jade, the one-night stand he never forgot. But Jade is determined to prove that she’s more than a researcher … she can be a Nightkeeper warrior in her own right. As the two race to rescue the sun god from the underworld, they’ll need all their brains and skill—and the long-denied love that burns between them—to foil the dark lords’ plot.

"Blood Spells" - THE FINAL PROPHECY - Book 5

Patience and Brandt's marriage hasn't survived them becoming Nightkeepers, but when an ancient Aztec god-king arises, they must reunite as a mated warrior pair. As they race to prevent their enemies from enacting a terrible ritual that could tear apart humanity, the threat turns even more personal, becoming a deadly test of their powers … and their love.

"Storm Kissed"- THE FINAL PROPHECY - Book 6

When sexy Nightkeeper Dez goes rogue, the bounty hunter enlisted to catch him is Reese, his former lover. The sexual energy between them is hotter than ever-but the life-and-death stakes attached to the chase may pull them apart for good.

Sexy, kickass bounty hunter Reese Montana is reunited with her first love, Mendez, a lightning-wielding mage who could be the key to saving the Nightkeepers from their greatest enemy. Dez claims to be a new man, but is he the savior he seems, or a rogue bent on a vendetta that could endanger the Nightkeepers … and all of mankind?

Well, now that you guys are adding these amazing books to your TBR list, let's get to learn more about Jessica…..

Book Monster Reviews/LITERAL ADDICTION:  Hi Jessica!  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come by and chat with us!  We’re so happy to have you with us today!

 Jessica:  Thanks so much for having me! I'm hard at work on the last book in the Nightkeepers' series, but am delighted to take some time out today to hang out with you guys :)

        Book Monster Reviews/LITERAL ADDICTION:  We always like to start out by getting to know you a little bit better.

Q1):   Can you tell us 3 things about yourself that we can't find out on the internet, in your bio, etc?

 Jessica:  Well ... I'm a newlywed. Does that count? Better yet, I met the love of my life while I was writing Lord of the Wolfyn! We connected last winter through Match.com (yep, it really does happen), and emailed hot and heavy while I  was writing the book, but I refused to meet him in person until after I turned it in. We met for real in December, got engaged in March, married in July. Before him, I never believed in The One or things like 'I just knew right away ..' Now I do, though. And I think the excitement of me falling in love adds a real spark to this book :)

I'm sure there were three things in there, right? LOL.

 2)  What are some other hobbies and interests you like to do when you're not writing?

 Jessica: Well, that's a bit of a loaded question right now, as I'm currently recovering from a gnarly elbow injury sustained while mountain biking (note to self: when crashing at high speed on a downhill, don't stick out your hand to break the fall!!). So for the next six to twelve weeks, I guess my hobbies would be hiking with my arm in a sling and feeding myself right handed. After that, it'll be physical therapy. In general, I'm a fan of outdoor activities, horses, books, home projects and visiting friends and family. All done with the new hubby, of course!

3)  When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

 Jessica:  I wrote my first book as a sort of therapy while writing my PhD thesis ... and over time I realized that I  was having way more fun with the book than the thesis. A year or so later I left the lab and worked as a horseback riding instructor and freelance scientific editor while I tried to get myself off the ground as a romance writer. It took a few years and lots of trial and error, but in '02 I sold my first science-based romantic suspense to Harlequin Intrigue ... and now I've got more than thirty books in print and write full time. Yay!

4)  Do you have any interesting writing quirks or something you must have with you to start the writing process?

 Jessica: I can't think of anything I absolutely have to have in order to write—I actually like variety, and routinely schlep my netbook with me to write wherever. Quirk-wise, though, I  need to have the first third of the book working well before I can write the rest of it. It's important to me to have the characters and their own quirks and motivations pretty well nailed down before I can write through to the end. Which, for better or worse, means that I'm usually writing the end of the book in the last few weeks before my deadline. Which I hate ... but the process is the process!

5)  What are some of your favorite TV shows and movies?

 Jessica:  My top ten movie list varies with my mood, but FIFTH ELEMENT is always on there somewhere. I've been watching less TV of late, but I enjoy reality shows like CHOPPED  and PROJECT RUNWAY, dramas like RIZZOLI AND ISLES and CRIMINAL MINDS, and comedies like MIKE AND MOLLY. Oh, and shark week is a must. So I guess I'm all over the board!

6)  What are some of the books you have in your TBR pile right now?

Jessica: To be honest, I don't let myself have a TBR pile when I'm under deadline, because it's way too tempting to read instead of working. Once I've turned in the current book, though, I'm looking forward to the new Elizabeth Hoyt, and would like to catch up with Ann Aguire's books.

7)  Name one person that has always stood by you and supported you during your career?

Jessica:  My go-to girl is the incomparable JR Ward. We met way back when we were both getting started out as writers, and bonded immediately. We're very different people in some ways, very different in others, and have a level of trust that I value more than I can say. And I've recently added a go-to guy in the form of the new hubby, who reads my manuscripts and has some great input, as well as just being super proud of me for being an author and doing what I love.

8)  If you could have one super power, what would you want it to be and why that one?

 Jessica:  I love the idea of being able to teleport. It'd be good for the environment and save me lots of travel time!

        Book Monster Reviews/LITERAL ADDICTION:  Know we'd like to ask you some questions about your books.

 9)  For the readers out there that are new to your books, can you please give us some more detailed information about THE FINAL PROPHECY series and what the Nightkeepers are all about?

 Jessica:  The series follows the modern-day men and woman who are destined to fight the rise of powerful Mayan demons during the doomsday prophesized for 12/21/2012. Having just learned that they have magical demon-fighting powers handed down through the generations from their pyramid-building ancestors, they must now find their true mates, earn their full power and unravel the ancient mysteries that will tell them how to fight their enemies.

 These books are dark, sexy and smart, weaving together Mayan myths, modern battles, and the love stories of people like you and me ... with a few aftermarket additions ;) Each book follows a different hero and heroine pair and can be read alone, though there are overall story arcs that make more sense if you read the books in order.

9) What can we expect in the last two books of the series?

 Jessica:  Well, I'm not much for spoilers, but in a general sense, I can promise you lots of action, lots of sex and a few plot twists that even I didn't see coming. In April's MAGIC UNCHAINED, Sven and Cara must break the class lines of the Nightkeepers' society in order to reincarnate an ancient ally, while in the final book (title TBA, November 2012), Rabbit leads the ultimate showdown with the lover he badly betrayed, while Anna fights to regain her seer's talents in time to fight the final battle.

10)  Can you please tell us more about the ROYAL HOUSE OF SHADOWS project and some info about the "Lord of the Wolfyn" book?

 Jessica: The series teams up four authors—Gena Showalter (Lord of the Vampires), Jill Munroe (Lord of Rage), me (Lord of the Wolfyn) and Nalini Singh (Lord of the Abyss)—in a miniseries that retells favorite fairy tales in four dark, sexy stories of the magical realm of Elden, its vampire rulers, and the sorcerer who has taken it all away.

In LORD OF THE WOLFYN, Dayn—a hunter and werewolf prince—must fight his way back to his home realm in order to reunite with his three lost siblings and defeat the Blood Sorcerer, who killed their parents and took the throne, and is now destroying Elden. In order to do that, though, he needs the help of Reda Weston, a human cop who doesn't believe in magic or the reality of the wolfyn realm ... or her own blazing attraction to the man who claims she has the power to lead him home.

 11)  What do you have planned when THE FINAL PROPHECY series has ended next year?  Do you have any new projects you are working on that you can share with us?

 Jessica: Yes, I have a plan! No, I'm not ready to talk about it. LOL!  But rest assured that there are more smart, sexy paranormal romances in the works.

 12)  Having done some much research about the Mayans and the 2012 prophecy, what are your beliefs on the world ending December 21, 2012?

 Jessica: I don't think anything is going to really go “boom” on that exact date ... but I do think we'll look back twenty years from now and see that lots of things changed around that date, aiming humanity toward a larger, more collective consciousness.

13)  Is there a book you have written that you consider a personal favorite;  maybe one that has some sentimental value to you when it was written?

 Jessica: Lord of the Wolfyn will definitely have a huge place in my heart as being the book I wrote while falling in love. Of the Nightkeeper books, Demonkeepers is a personal favorite because I love the idea of a nerd growing into his own powers and turning into the 'cool kid' he always wanted to be ... but in time realizing that his real power was always inside him.

14)  What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview and never have been?  Can you answer that for us?

 Jessica: LOL! Okay, here goes. Q: What was the worst thing you ever cooked? A: Well, there was this one night I  was making pork chops. I breaded them, tossed them in the pan to cook with some sliced olives, and put a little wine in there for fun. But when it was time to thicken the juices into gravy, I grabbed the baking soda rather than the corn starch! You know when you were a kid in school and your science teacher did the whole 'fake volcano' experiment by mixing vinegar and baking soda and making it foam and erupt and stuff? Yeah, it was like  that. Add in the green dye from the cheap olives, and you get ... you guessed it. Slimy green pork chops. Not my finest moment.

 

15)  Is there anything specific you would like to say to your readers?

 Jessica: Thank you so much for taking a few minutes of your day to check out this interview, and I hope you'll check out one or more of the books. Also, please take a look at the other three books in the Royal House of Shadows series, as I think the four together make an awesome overall story arc :)

BOOK MONSTER REVIEWS/LITERAL ADDICTION:  Thank you so much Jessica for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit down and talk to us.  We would love to have you back in April 2012 to help you promote and celebrate the release of "Magic Unchained".

Jessica: Thanks so much for having me, and I hope to see you all again in the spring!!

If you would like to find out more about Jessica and her books, you can visit her at any of the sites below.

Jessica's Website:  http://www.jessicaandersen.com/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/DocJess

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/270312.Jessica_Andersen

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CONTEST:  Jessica is giving away a copy of "Lord of the Wolfyn" to one Book Monster and one Literal Addict (one winner per site).  So make sure you also drop by the LITERAL ADDICTION website (http://www.literaladdiction.com/) and follow the directions and links to enter their contest as well!!!

To Enter: Make sure you are a follower of the BMR Blog (by clicking on the "JOIN THIS SITE" button on the top left hand corner of blog page, then post a comment on the interview and make sure you leave a valid email address. 

*Any comments without an email address will NOT be entered into drawing.

GOOD LUCK!!!!