Guest: Jennifer Rardin

Welcome Jennifer Rardin to VampChix today!  She's the author of the wildly popular Jaz Parks series.  Who is Jaz Parks?  Here's the special skills she possesses:  Fifth degree black belt in taekwondo. Advanced training in aikido, southern Shaolin style kung fu, ju-jitsu and mystic fong chen. Expert sharpshooter. Ability to detect vampires without first seeing them. Cannot be hyponotized by same. Also somewhat immune to vampiric powers in general, making me an ideal candidate to assassinate the undead. Ability to react quickly in fluid situations where flexibility and clear thinking under pressure are required.  [Taken from the Top Secret file of Jasmine Elaine Parks at JR's website.]


Jennifer is giving away a copy of one book from her Jaz Parks series!  One lucky winner (just leave a comment today or tomorrow) will be drawn (tomorrow evening; announced Wednesday) and winner gets to pick any book from the series!


So let's learn a little more from Jennifer...

Q:  Bite Marks was just released last week and is the 6th book in the Jaz Parks series.  Do you have more planned in the series?  How many?  And can you give us some sneak clues for future books?

JR:  Yeah, we have at least two more books planned.  Book seven, Bitten in Two, takes place in Marrakesh, Morocco.  I had a blast with the story, which is packed with intense action.  It also introduces new characters you'll both love and hate!

I'll be starting book eight soon.  I know the general plot, which will be highly exciting from Vayl's perspective.  And I'm also pretty sure both he and Jaz will be traveling to Romania at some point in the story.

Q:  After an author writes a series for a while, they tend to get to know their characters VERY well.  Every talk to Jaz or Vayl when you’re just sitting around not writing?  Do they talk back?  What’s that conversation like?

JR:  We seem to have agreed to take complete breaks from each other when we're away from the novel.  Although I do occasionally find myself snapping out a comment that's so quintessentially Jaz that I know I've been spending a little too much time with my head in the laptop.  At which point I generally take the next morning off and clean the house!

Q: Any creatures Jaz and Vayl haven’t yet fought but you’re dying to unleash on them?

JR:  I'm pretty happy with the creatures they've grappled with so far, so unless I discover some amazing monster from folklore that I've either forgotten about or never heard of but fall madly in love with, I think I'll be creating the next nasty they meet from my own deranged imagination!

Q:  When creating your world what are some myths you’ve incorporated in the series?  What are some of the myths/monsters you’ve completely made up?  Which is more fun/interesting; working with established myth or making your own?

JR:  I've used a lot of the traditional myths that I've come to treasure, like vamps burning in the sun, zombies bowing to another's will, and werewolves dying from silver bullets.  I like preserving many of the time-honored traits I grew up associating with my favorite monsters, because they legitimize our worlds at the same time that they honor the artists who've built the foundation of our industry. 

As far as original mythology is concerned, in my world the government regulates the release of blood to vampires who've chosen to "blend" into mainstream society.  Creatures with supernatural powers, or others, are governed by their own council.  Which means they live their lives more in parallel with humans than in concert with them.  And I have tried to create at least one new scary for each of my books.  (Please don't read on if you're new to the series and wish to avoid spoilers here.)  In Once Bitten, Twice Shy, the first book in the Jaz Parks series, I introduced a chaos beast called a Kyron that was capable of ripping through the walls that divided worlds.  In the second book, Another One Bites the Dust, it was a demonic creature called a Reaver that stole souls and stored them in its third eye.  Biting the Bullet featured the mahghul, cat-sized monsters that flocked to scenes of potential violence to feed on that emotion and then instigate even more.  For me, one of the best characteristics of urban fantasy is the ability to mix old traditions and new ideas to create unique societies.  I get huge kicks from watching conflicts unfold in that kind of atmosphere.

Q:  Do you write to music?  Create soundtracks for your stories?  What are some of the songs your characters would listen?

JR: Yes, I write to music almost every day.  Generally I've got my IPod on shuffle and the tunes keep me company.  I don't really create soundtracks for my stories, but songs will occur to me in the middle of scenes, and if they influence me strongly enough I'll include them in the action.

Vayl is definitely a classical music buff, but he hasn't broken the news to Jaz yet, because he hates it when she makes those gagging noises like she's about to puke.  For her part, Jaz prefers hard rock and some of the better quality heavy metal.  Her most recent discovery:  Rammstein.

Q:  You have the best covers EVER.  Do you know the cover fairy personally?  How much do you have to tip that chick?  :-)

JR:  I completely agree with you, and yes, I do know the cover fairy!  She is a brilliant artist with gossamer wings and thigh-high leather boots, the better to kick cover ass with!  My sense is that, when we finally meet in person, I may have to buy her a set of her very own Jaz Parks poker chips!  (Because, perhaps predictably, she plays a mean hand of Texas Hold'Em.)

Q: Do you foresee writing urban fantasy for quite a while, or do you feel you’d like to try another genre?

JR:  I do feel like urban fantasy is an ideal fit for me.  But if I wander away from the genre, I think it's likely I'll change forms as well.  I've been thinking of writing a musical comedy for a while now, and I've just begun developing an idea for a straight comedy that I believe would work best on the big screen.

Here’s the same 5 questions we ask every guest:
Dark or Light?
 Light.

Historical or Modern?
 Historical.

Fav Movie or TV vamp?
 Angel.

Bagged or from the Neck?
 From the Neck.

Dead or Undead?
 Undead.


Thanks, Jennifer!


Please visit Jennifer at her website and become a fan on FaceBook!


{Michele's note: I tried to get more pics of Jennifer's covers in today's post but Blogger was not playing nice with me!  So please visit her site to view all the awesome covers.}