Guest Author: Jennifer Estep

I am excited to welcome back Jennifer Estep to Literary Escapism as we celebrate the release of her fifth Elemental Assassin novel,  Spider’s Revenge, with an exclusive excerpt.

Old habits die hard. And I plan on mur­der­ing some­one before the night is through.

Killing used to be my reg­u­lar gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spi­der, assassin-for-hire. And I was very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly mat­ters: Mab Mon­roe, the dan­ger­ous Fire ele­men­tal who mur­dered my fam­ily when I was thir­teen.

Oh, I don’t think the mis­sion will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more prob­lem­atic than expected. The bitch knows I’m com­ing for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters she hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keep­ing Bria safe is my first pri­or­ity. Tak­ing Mab out is a close sec­ond.

Good thing I’ve got my pow­er­ful Stone and Ice magic — and my irre­sistible lover Owen Grayson — to watch my back. This bat­tle has been years in the mak­ing, and there’s a chance I won’t sur­vive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s com­ing with me…no mat­ter what I have to do to make that happen.

Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away an ebook of an Elemental Assassin novel – winners choice.
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Excerpt from Spider’s Revenge

I ran through the forest, leaping over snow-covered logs, stumbling over icy rocks, and shoving through frozen thickets full of sharp, brittle briars. All the while, I held my breath, hoping that my next step wouldn’t be my last. That my boots wouldn’t slip too badly on the snow and ice, that I wouldn’t break my ankle, that I wouldn’t make the single misstep that would mean my death.

Making my way over the hidden, treacherous terrain wasn’t the only thing that I had to worry about. Man-made traps littered the woods as well as magical trip wires, elemental Fire bombs, and other nasty things just waiting for me to stumble into them so they could blast me off to hell. I moved as fast as I dared, keeping to the path that I’d scouted before and skirting around the traps I’d already found on my way in. I kept my pace quick and steady, but I didn’t run blindly, even though the back of my neck itched as though there was a gun pointed right there, right at the sweet spot that would end me.

Paranoia was never a good feeling, especially for an assassin on the run.

And then, there were all the giants in the woods, snarling and swarming over everything like wolves tearing into a fresh kill. This time, I didn’t bother skirting around them. If they were between me and my escape, then they got cut with my silverstone knives, as hard and deep as I could manage it and still keep moving.

A few of them blocked my path, putting up as much resistance as they could, but I was quicker and far more ruthless. A swipe or two of my knife, and it was over. By the time the giants realized what was happening, they were more concerned about their guts spilling out of their stomachs than trying to stop me. I moved on, another obstacle hurdled, my eyes fixed ahead once more, ready to take care of the next fool stupid enough to step in front of me. I didn’t bother checking to see if I’d hurt the guards enough to kill them. The giants didn’t matter—only my escape did.

Finally, I managed to put a little distance between myself and my pursuers. The giants’ hoarse shouts faded to eerie echoes that rattled through the trees. But just because they weren’t as close anymore didn’t mean that I was in the clear yet, so I kept moving. I didn’t stop, not even for a second. That would be stupid and sloppy, and I’d already been plenty of both tonight—

The click of the gun surprised me.
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Meet Jennifer Estep!

Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin code named the Spider who can control the elements of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing people and righting wrongs, Gin runs a bar be cue restaurant called the Pork Pit in the fictional Southern metropolis of Ash land. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vampires, and elementals – Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.

Jennifer also writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psychometry, or the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. After a serious freak-out with her magic, Gwen is shipped off to Mythos Academy, a school for the descendants of ancient warriors like Spartans, Valkyries, Amazons, and more.

Contact Info
Website: www.jenniferestep.com
Blog: www.jenniferestep.com/blog/
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Want to purchase Jennifer’s novel?
Bigtime

1. Karma Girl at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Hot Mama at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Jinx at Amazon or the Book Depository

Elemental Assassin

1. Spider’s Bite at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Web of Lies at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Venom at Amazon or the Book Depository
4. Tangled Threads at Amazon or the Book Depository
5. Spider’s Revenge at Amazon or the Book Depository
6. By a Thread at Amazon or the Book Depository (February 28, 2012)
7. Widows Web at Amazon or the Book Depository (August 21, 2012)

Mythos Academy

1. Touch of Frost at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. First Frost at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Kiss of Frost at Amazon or the Book Depository
4. Dark Frost at Amazon or the Book Depository (May 29, 2012)

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Contest Time!

Thank you Jennifer for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!

Contest Time! We are giving away an ebook of an Elemental Assassin novel – winners choice.. To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: Have you read the Elemental Assassin series yet? If so, what are you hoping to find out in Spider’s Revenge? If now, why not? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered.

Even though I’m not giving the additional entries any more, you can still help support the author by sharing their article, and this contest, on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere you can. After all, the more people who are aware of this fabulous author ensures we get more fabulous stories.

The winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until September 29th at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the snazzy new plug-in I have.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.