Interview with Jenna Black…

…Author of the Guardians of the Night Series

Jenna Black Photo

Vicky: Hi Jenna, tell us about your latest book…

Jenna: Shadows on the Soul, the third book in my Guardians of the Night series, will be released on August 28th. (Coincidentally, that’s also my birthday. This is the best present ever!) SHADOWS is my darkest book yet, featuring Gabriel, a 500-year-old Killer who comes to Philadelphia in a quest for revenge. I introduced him in Secrets in the Shadows, and I suspect some of my readers are very curious how I can manage to redeem such a bad, bad boy. I hope I’ve done so successfully!

Vicky: Where do you get your ideas/inspiration for your books?

Jenna: I wish I knew! If I knew, then I could have some reliable way to trigger that inspiration and to come up with ideas. For me, almost all of it comes on a subconscious level, so it’s hard to pinpoint the inspiration. I can tell you what inspired my first book in the Guardians series, Watchers in the Night. I had just finished reading a reunion romance–the kind of romance where the hero and heroine knew each other in the past, then broke up for some reason and are now meeting again. I had noticed a pattern in many of them. All too often, the first relationship ended when the man disappeared from the woman’s life with no explanation or goodbye.

Every time I read one of those books, I had a hard time forgiving the hero for that past abandonment. No excuse ever seemed to be convincing enough for me–if I were the heroine, I’d never be able to trust the guy again. So when I closed that book, I thought to myself, “I’ll never write a reunion romance.” But I tend to react instinctively to challenges, so as soon as that thought hit me, I started wondering what explanation would satisfy me for a man totally disappearing from his true love’s life. I decided I might be able to accept his logic if he disappeared because he was turned into a vampire. And from that spark of an idea, the whole Guardians of the Night series was born.

Vicky: What do you love about vampires and what keeps you interested in writing about them?

Jenna: What most draws me into any story is a strong conflict. Vampires are conflict personified, particularly if you’re writing vampires who are trying to be good guys. There is always a powerful internal conflict between their primal, predatory instincts and their more sophisticated, civilized human beliefs. That fascinates me, both as a reader and as a writer. I also love the challenge of creating a new vampire mythology that is unique enough to be interesting while still staying true to some of the basic staples of the vampire legend.

Vicky: Who is your favorite author?

Jenna: This is always such a hard question to answer. There are so many fabulous authors out there! But if forced to pick, then today, at least, I’d pick Emma Holly. I’ve read her historicals, her paranormals, and her erotic romance, and I love them all. Her erotic romance, Strange Attractions, was a total eye-opener for me, showing me how an incredibly skilled writer can make characters who are totally alien to her reader in their beliefs and behavior totally sympathetic and understandable.

Vicky: What books are in your “to be read” pile?

Jenna: My “to be read” pile needs its own apartment and is far too large to be listed here! However, here are a few titles that are currently in the pile: Gideon, by Jacquelyn Frank; The Grail King, by Joy Nash; Killer in High Heels, by Gemma Halliday; Bite Me If You Can, by Lynsay Sands; Bitten & Smitten, by Michelle Rowan.

Vicky: Do you think vampire romance is a trend or something that will always be published?

Jenna: I definitely think it’s here to stay. However, I think there will be fewer of them. There’s only so long the market can sustain the huge number of titles that are released these days. But readers who are buying these books voraciously right now will still always want more, so the market will always be there. (At least, I hope it will be, both as a writer and a reader of vampire romances!)

Vicky:Where can our readers find you online?
www.JennaBlack.com
www.JennaBlack.Blogspot.com
www.MySpace.com/jennablackbooks

Thanks Jenna!

Popularity: 4% [?]