Interview: Jenna Black

First of all, I want to thank Jenna for being here today. This interview mainly has questions about her latest released book, Glimmerglass and the next book of the series, Shadowspell.


A runaway girl discovers she has the unique power to enter the Land of Faerie and bring back magic in this fabulous start to a hot new young adult series.

Dana Hathaway doesn't know it yet, but she's in big trouble. When her mother, an alcoholic, shows up at her voice recital drunk, Dana decides she's had enough of playing the role of her mother's keeper, so she packs her bags and travels to see her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the magical world of Faerie intersect. Dana is a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds. She has always known that her father is a big-deal Fae, but what she doesn't realise is that she could be the key to his rise to power. When she arrives in Avalon, Dana finds herself a pawn in the game of magical politics. Avalon is a place where both magic and technology work, and humans and Fae coexist in something resembling peace. How can she change the winds of fate, find a boyfriend, and make new friends when she's not sure who, if anyone, can be trusted.

Read my review of the book HERE.

This interview contains a few Glimmerglass spoilers.


- Do you have a specific time & place for writing?

I have an office, which is where I do almost all my writing. My office is a converted bonus room over the garage, and it's decorated in a gothic/medieval theme that makes it a special place to be. I have a dedicated computer that I use just for writing--I've stripped off all the games and other software so there's nothing on it but Word and Wordperfect. The fewer temptations/distractions, the better.

Generally, I write in the morning and the early- to mid-afternoon. I tend to write in sixty-ninety minute bursts, fitting my promotional activities--such as wrangling my inbox, and Twitter, and Facebook, and my website--in between.

- What do you do when you need to disconnect?

That changes a lot over time. I've recently taken up knitting, which is becoming my favorite way to relax at the moment. However, I must admit that I don't "disconnect" as often as I ought to. When I worked a "normal" day job, I had hours when I was in the office at work, and hours when I wasn't, with a clear distinction between them. Now that I'm a full-time writer and work from home, anytime can be work time for me. For instance, I'm working on this interview while I'm sitting at the spa getting a pedicure. I'm pretty sure that defeats the purpose of coming to the spa in the first place, but a couple of delays have put me way behind on my work, so I had to lessen the guilt of taking the "time off" for a pedicure by getting some work done.

- Which have been your favourite books of this year?

I'm not fond of picking "favorites," especially since I'm bound to forget some of them, but a few of the ones I've really enjoyed this year are RADIANT SHADOWS by Melissa Marr, WHITE CAT by Holly Black, and LOVER MINE, by JR Ward.

- If you could hang out with one of your characters, which one would you pick?

I suppose the character from my YA books I'd most like to hang out with would be Finn. I like the strong, silent type--seeing as I'm on the quiet side myself--and I think he and I would get along well. Plus, he'd be easy on the eyes, and he has hidden depths.

- What are you working on right now?

Right now, I'm working on the third Faeriewalker book. But I rarely end up working on only one project at a time. I'm expecting to get an edit letter for DARK DESCENDANT, the first book of my new adult urban fantasy series (coming out in May of next year) any minute now. And knowing Murphy's Law, I'll probably get page proofs for SHADOWSPELL on the same day.

- Why did you decide to write a YA book?

I didn't exactly decide to write a YA book--it just sort of happened that way. I came up with the idea of the city of Avalon as the one place the mortal world and Faerie intersect. At first, my plan was to write a paranormal romance series set in this world, but when I sat down to brainstorm plot ideas, nothing really leapt out at me. I then decided the world might be better suited to an urban fantasy story, but again, when I was in the brainstorming phase, I couldn't come up with anything I was truly excited to write about. Then the idea of writing about a teen girl running away from her alcoholic mother came to me, and suddenly the plot ideas came fast and furious. Something about Dana's character really leapt out at me and made me excited to write her story. And that's how I ended up writing YA.

- When is going to be the release date of Shadowspell?

SHADOWSPELL goes on sale on January 4, 2011.

- What can you tell us about it?

Dana gets a new adversary in the Erlking, who is the leader of the Wild Hunt (at least, of my version of the Wild Hunt). There's a lot of different mythology surrounding the Wild Hunt, which is sometimes associated with Faerie and sometimes not, but as with most of the mythology I have used for this series, I have taken a lot of liberties. My Wild Hunt is a group of supernatural huntsmen who work as the Faerie Queens' assassins. The Erlking and his Hunt may have come to Avalon to kill Dana, but it seems he might want something else entirely from Dana. And Dana's father may know more about the Erlking's goals than he's telling.

- Is Dana going to warm up to her father?

Yes and no. Their relationship is never going to be an easy one, because they came from such different worlds and have such different world views. Add the fact that she now has to deal with a parent who actually wields his parental authority, and they're bound to butt heads.

- One of my favourite characters was Keane. Are we going to find out more about him in the future?

Keane plays an important role in SHADOWSPELL, so yes, you'll definitely learn more about him.

- Also, is there a possible love triangle between Dana, Ethan and Keane?

It's possible. You never know. ;-)

- Are Dana's powers going to be explored in the next book?

Dana's attempts to learn about and control her magic--while keeping her abilities secret from everyone--is one of the major plot elements in SHADOWSPELL.


You can learn more about the author in her website: http://www.jennablack.com