Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings

With pleasure today I have Jennifer Estep here guest posting. Jennifer’s debut Urban Fantasy novel Spider’s Bite just released on January 26, which I have read and reviewed. Folks, Spider’s Bite is truly Urban Fantasy at it’s best and I can’t wait for May to get here. On May 25th, Web of Lies, the second book in Jennifer’s Elemental Assassins series releases.

Good news! Jennifer is giving away a copy of Spider’s Bite to one lucky commentator. Details for the giveaway are at the end of this post.

Howdy Jennifer!

What's in a book title?

Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to say thanks to Donna for having me on the blog today. Thanks so much, Donna!

On to my topic of the day – book titles.

Ah, book titles. Coming up with a good one can be an author’s worst nightmare. Seriously, it’s tough to condense your book down to a few words and still capture the overall spirit of the story – not to mention make it interesting enough to catch a reader’s eye in the bookstore.

Spider’s Bite, the first book in my new Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, came out Jan. 26. I think Spider’s Bite is a pretty cool title, especially since it ties in with the titles of the other two books in the series that will be out this year – Web of Lies (June) and Venom (October). Yep, that’s right, all the books in the Elemental Assassin titles have something to do with spiders. That’s because the heroine of the series, Gin Blanco, moonlights as an assassin codenamed the Spider.

But Spider’s Bite was not my original title for the first book – it was Gin on the Rocks. I thought it would be cool to use the word “gin” in all the titles as a play on my heroine’s name – Gin with a Twist, Bitter Gin, Gin and Tonic, etc. I came up with a whole slew of gin-related titles, with the help of my critique group. We had quite a lot of fun dreaming up gin titles (and just dreaming about gin and tonics in general) one day.

But my editor and agent thought that the “gin” titles weren’t quite strong enough and didn’t really say “dark, fun, sexy urban fantasy,” which is what the Elemental Assassin books are all about. So, somewhere along the way, one of us had the idea to tie the books together using spider-related titles. And voila! We had Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, and Venom.

Of course, those weren’t the only spider-related titles that we came up with. We considered things like Black Widow, Death Weaver, Web of Death, The Deadly Web She Weaves, Revenge of the Spider, etc. We also came up with some real groaners. My personal favorite for sheer badness is Eight Legs of Justice. That one makes me snicker every time I think about it.

Right now, we’re getting ready to brainstorm titles for books 4 and 5 in the series. For book 4, I like The Silken Noose, which is a type of spider and ties in with a line in the book. We’ll see if my editor and agent go for that, or if we can come up with something even better. I have no clue what the title will be for book 5. At this point, everything that I think of just sounds cheesy and hokey to me.

Ah, book titles. They can be a pain to create, but once you’ve got a good one, you want to shout it from the rooftops – and hope that you can come up with something that’s just as cool and clever for the next book. 

What about you guys? Do you like the spider titles? Or think the gin ones were cooler? What are some of your favorite titles? Share in the comments.

Thank you Jennifer for the wonderful post and generous giveaway!

Places you can find Jennifer: Web Site | Blog | Facebook

Giveaway:

Thanks to Jennifer one lucky commentator will win a copy of Spider’s Bite. Here’s how to enter:

1. Answer one of Jennifer’s questions at the end of her post in the comments.
2. Leave your email with your comment ONLY IF it is NOT part of your profile.
3. Open to the US and Canada.
4. Deadline to enter this giveaway is Saturday, February 6th at Midnight CST.

Good Luck!

Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep
Elemental Assassin, Book 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback, 432pages
Published: January 26, 2010 by Pocket
ISBN: 978-1439147979
Received From: Purchased

Book Blurb:

"My name is Gin, and I kill people."

They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South -- when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way -- good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction...especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

My Ramblings:

Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep was one of my most anticipated books for 2010. So when the book finally arrived I dug into it right away, hoping I hadn't put too much anticipation into reading it. Well, I didn't because I ended up loving every bit of this book. I swear there isn't a lot things as satisfying as wanting a book and it turns out as good as you hoped.

Basically Spider's Bite had it all for me. The setting based in Ashland, a fictional city in the Appalachian Mountains was perfect. Ashland reminds me of a southern Sin City, full of corruption on every level of society. I liked that the humans are aware of the elementals, people who possess the ability to manipulate one or two (which is uncommon) of the four elements: Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone, along with vampires, giants, and dwarfs. So as you can see with the supernaturals there comes power and where is power there is bound to be corruption. Yeah, the bad guys here are very much worth fearing.

Gin was an imperfect heroine who blurred the lines between right and wrong. She never seems over the top but actually grounded to reality. And she likes to cook, loved that! But when it came to her job as an assassin, she's tough, efficient and good at it. And she knows she's the best. Gin's assets as an assassin is more then being an expert with knifes, she uses brains over brawn, in other words she fights smart. As for as the relationship between Donovan Caine and Gin went, I thought it was tense, full of want and need.

There are a few notable side characters as well. I enjoyed the teasing banter between Gin and Finn, who was Gin's handler's son. Jo-Jo and Sophia, dwarven sisters as different as night and day. One's a goth and the other is a true southern lady. These two were interesting additions to the story.

The mystery build up around the plot was superb, clues appearing in the right places, making me wish I could read faster. I know a lot of Urban Fantasy novels are described as dark, raw and gritty but I have to say that Spider's Bite is the epitome of that description. I can't recommend reading Spider's Bite enough.

My Rating:

Places you can find Jennifer: Web Site | Blog | Facebook

Elemental Assassin Series:

1. Spider’s Bite
2. Web of Lies – May 25, 2010
3. Venom – October 2010

Other Ramblings:

• Debuts & Reviews
• Fallen Angels Reviews
• Goodreads
• Library Thing
• Literary Escapism
• Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog
• SciFiChick.com
• Smexy Books
• The Romance Dish