Fangirl Fridays – Jeaniene Frost

Jeaniene Frost is a favorite here at the Saucy Wenches Book Club for many reasons. Her Night Huntress, Night Huntress World, and Night Prince series have introduced us to her beloved characters Cat and Bones, Spade and Denise, Vlad and Leila, Mencheres and Kira, and Ian. Some of us have even been lucky enough to meet her in person (read about it here), although I haven’t had the privilege. From following her blog posts, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, as well as reading all of her books, I admit I’ve become quite a fangirl.

Keep reading after the jump to find out why she is so wonderful...

I first heard about Cat and Bones on the Sookieverseblog forum. Quite a few forum members were singing the praises of these characters, and the Night Huntress series was highly recommended by all who had read it. Naturally, this piqued my curiosity. I do like to make up my own mind about things, and I often find so much doesn’t live up to the hype. This was not the case with Cat and Bones. I was hooked from the get-go. Jeaniene has created some of the best characters in the PNR category, in my opinion.

Jeaniene has said she has always been fascinated with paranormal mythology and watched lots of horror movies when she was growing up. Her interest in vampires, ghosts, and ghouls led her to wonder: what if they were real, why do ghouls always get such a bad rap, and couldn’t some of them just be nice people with a different diet?

In May 2003, she had a dream about a half-vampire woman arguing with a full-vampire man. The male vampire was mad that the female half-breed had left him years before. She still loved him, but never thought it could work between them. When she woke up, she kept wondering who those people were and what had brought them to that place. She started to write just to answer those questions for herself.

She finished her first draft a few months later, then immediately started working on the second and third books. By April 2004, she had completed the first three books and started to think about getting published while researching for the fourth book. Jeaniene faced a number of setbacks, including difficulty finding an agent, publishing scams, a slew of rejections, and many revision requests. Finally in August 2005, she received a publication offer from a small press, and within a few weeks a second offer from an agent for representation. Jeaniene was faced with a difficult choice. She could have the small press shop publish her original manuscript or sign with the agent who wanted more revisions. After a great deal of internal debate, she decided to say no to the small publisher and go with the agent. This was such a huge gamble – and it was the right choice! In May 2006, her agent emailed her that Avon/HarperCollins had offered a two-book deal — before the editor had even finished reading Halfway to the Grave. Finally, in October 2007, it was published.

In the six or so years since, she has produced an impressive body of work:

and that doesn't even include her amazing novellas!

Cat and Bones/Night Huntress #7, Up From the Grave, will be released January 28, 2014. Book #9 will be the final Cat and Bones book. I have a lump in my throat just typing that sentence. I expect there will be one more Night Huntress World book — Ian’s story. I’m not sure if she’s started it, but she did mention on her Facebook page the other day that Ian revealed to Cat that he’s a closet Trekkie. It’s already been announced there will be a third Night Prince book, which will conclude Vlad and Leila’s story.

In December 2012, she announced plans to write a new series, Realmwalker, in which a young woman discovers she’s the last member of an ancient line with an unwanted destiny, and that her only ally, a mysterious young man, is destined to betray her…and doom the world. Back in 2007, Jeaniene had a dream about these vivid characters, but put it aside while she was working on her other series. It’s expected that Realmwalker #1 will be released in the fall of 2014.

I don’t think it’s possible for all the Cat and Bones books (and spinoffs) to be finished by then, so she must be planning to release Realmwalker while still working on the Night Huntress series. That’s perfectly fine with me! I’m happy to read something new by her, especially if I have a little more time before I have to say goodbye to Cat and Bones.

Jeaniene: The Mentor

If you visit jeanienefrost.com, you can click on a link to her advice for writers. In it she shares everything she knows about getting published. Topics include:

• On how I got published
• Timeline of exactly how long it took
• My process when I write a book
• A writer’s Q&A on literary agents, querying, self publishing, and scams to avoid
• When to get a critique, and when not to
• More on why I think getting an agent is important
• On rejection
• What do authors get paid
• Examples of successful query letters

I found this very interesting and informative. Although I am not a writer, “only” a highly motivated reader, it gives me a deeper appreciation of everything that goes into getting a book published. I truly believe all the difficulties life presents you with are opportunities for learning and growth. Sometimes they can also be of benefit of others. Jeaniene cares enough to share her experiences, both good and bad, in case they will be helpful to someone else.

Jeaniene: The Fangirl

One of the other things I like about Jeaniene is her very excellent taste in books, television series, and movies. As I look on her website, I see quite a few of my favorite authors. Some of these authors I haven’t read yet – I’m always looking for something new to read, so I’ll be happy to give them a try.

Hemlock Grove is a Netflix-only TV series about werewolves and vampires that I watched this spring — it turns out she was hooked too! She recently posted YouTube trailers for some new TV shows coming out this fall. I already knew about some of these shows and was excited as well. She was fangirling about Keith Urban — oh yeah! Excellent taste in man candy, too! Here are the trailers for shows Ms. Frost is looking forward to:

I really like her taste in movies too – a blend of comedy, action, and adventure. The nerd girl in me loved to see Star Trek, Kick-Ass, and Underworld on her list, and I’m always a sucker for Groundhog Day.

Jeaniene: Superwoman

I have no idea how she does it, but Jeaniene can write a book in two to four months. I read somewhere that she writes approximately 30 hours per week. In addition, she is very active online, doing regular blog posts, appearances, interviews, and rewrites.

She is active on:

• Livejournal
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Goodreads
• YouTube
• Frost Fans chat forum
• HarperCollins micro-site
• Supernatural Underground

Jeaniene: PR Queen

The Internet is becoming more and more important in our daily lives. Many people read online or choose to download novels instead of going to a bookstore. This makes me kind of sad, since I really hope both continue to be a choice for many, many years to come. I admit to buying more books online than I used to, but I still love going to bookstores and libraries.

The Internet is also an opportunity for authors to engage with their fans, and Jeaniene is a wiz at this. She is always friendly, pleasant, and approachable. I can only imagine the thrill fans get when an author responds personally to a question or comment they made. In fact, the Wenches have been known to SQUEE excessively when an author retweets or comments on a post. *cough cough*

She also takes the time to reach out to her fellow man in difficult times. There have been some recent tragedies in the news, and Jeaniene is quick to respond with her sympathies or to draw attention to some way that people can help.

Check out her site for more details: http://frost-light.livejournal.com/

In summary, Jeaniene Frost is a worthy recipient of a place in the Wenches’ Fangirl Fridays. She is a prolific, gifted writer. She is a generous mentor to new writers. She is a fangirl with excellent taste in books, TV series, and movies — seriously, if she weren’t an author, she could have found us and become a Saucy Wench herself. She is a superwoman who finds time to write full time, plus juggle appearances, interviews, and blogs regularly. She is a public relations queen who is able to maintain an online presence that is warm, personable, and caring.

Ms. Frost – I’m DonnaWFS, and I’m a fan! Mwah!

Most of the Wenches are fans of Ms. Frost. What about you, Saucy Readers? Are you in awe of her awesomeness too? Which one of her books first got you hooked? Share with us in the comments below!

* pics from frostfans.com and jeanienefrost.com.