Hot Mama and interview w/ Jennifer Estep

She can melt steel – and men’s hearts …

By day, Fiona Fine is a successful couture designer, catering to the high society players of Bigtime, New York. By night, she’s Fiera, a superstrong superhero who can create and manipulate fire with her bare hands. Fiera, along with the other members of the heroic Fearless Five, make life miserable for the ubervillains who want to take over the city.

But Fiona’s personal life isn’t so fine. She still misses her fiancé, who was killed by ubervillains a year ago. But men admire Fiona’s smoking assets, and she decides to get back in the dating game – especially after she meets Johnny Bulluci. But this notorious playboy has plenty of secrets to go along with his sexy smile. And, with two new ubervillains in town who are intent on raising hell, Fiona’s love life might just crash and burn …

Hot Mama Details
Release date: Nov. 6, 2007
Pages: 356
Price: $14
Format: Trade paperback
Publisher: Berkley Books
ISBN-10: 0425217345
ISBN-13: 978-0425217344

To enter the Twelve Days of Bigtime contest, you can either post this info (including the cover) OR Fiona Fine’s letter to the media. The choice is yours.
http://www.jenniferestep.com/blog/index.php

Interview:

VS: Congratulations on the release of your new book, Jennifer! Your stories sound fascinating, unique and very different from most of what's out there. How do you come up with your highly original story ideas and characters--do they come to you in dreams and demand to be written or do you pull out your hair while brainstorming (or maybe something in between)?

JE: Thanks! I appreciate the congrats. I've always loved superheroes, but one thing always bothered me about them -- how come all the girlfriends/love interests like Lois Lane never seem to figure out that their boyfriends are really Superman? And I started thinking what would happen if a reporter did figure it out and went around exposing the secret identities of heroes and villains -- until she fell for one herself. That was the basis for my first book, Karma Girl, and the beginning of the zany world of Bigtime, N.Y. Basically, I'll hear a voice in my head. A character with her own point of view and story to tell. Or see a movie or TV show and think "What would happen if the character zigged instead of zagged?" Honestly, just about everything inspires me. I just wish I had time to write all the characters and stories in my head! :-)

VS: How wonderful to have so many ideas! What was the most important thing you learned (the thing that made all the difference) just before you made your first sale?

JE: To be patient. The publishing world moves at its own, slow, steady pace. Like all unpublished writers, I've spent months waiting on agents and editors to look at my work. As a published author, I've spent months waiting on contracts and cover art and reviews. None of these things are in my control, so I just have to be patient and realize things will happen when they happen, and not before. I still have trouble with it, though. I basically write to keep myself busy while waiting on other things!

VS: Oh but the waiting is the hardest part! Do you have any advice for those pursuing publication but not yet there?

JE: Keep on writing, keep on submitting, no matter how many rejections you get. It took me about seven years and seven manuscripts and hundreds of rejections before I sold my first book. But if you work hard and long enough, it will happen for you, too. To quote the movie Galaxy Quest -- "Never give up, never surrender!" :-) Thanks for having me!

VS: Thank you, Jennifer, for being a guest here! Everyone, please check out Jennifer's fun, entertaining website for more info about her books. www.jenniferestep.com

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