Jennifer Rardin | Biting the Bullet

Hello! (hello…hello) Yes, I am providing my own echo. This is what happens when you’ve been stuck inside waaaaay to long! (Come on, spring!) On the up-side, you tend to get tons of writing done. I’ve finished book four in the Jaz Parks series and am over a third of the way done with the fifth. But what I really want to talk about is the novel that just came out on February 11.

The third of Jaz Parks’ adventures, Biting the Bullet shoves the CIA assassin and her vampire boss, Vayl, into the center of Tehran. Their mission is to partner with an elite team of soldiers to take down a terrorist mastermind called the Wizard. None of their assignments is easy, but this one could break them. Because not only do they have to unearth the mole in the soldiers’ unit, they’re under attack from demonic monsters, a manipulative Seer, and their own unresolved feelings toward each other. And you thought your job was stressful!

I think you’ll like Jaz’s voice. Wise-cracking, smart-aleck, but always with a depth and vulnerability that lets you know she’s seen more at twenty-five than most people manage in a lifetime. Here’s a little sample from Biting the Bullet:

"I gave you this information as a courtesy,” I told her, “because I believe you’ll function more effectively if you understand what’s happening and why. But here’s the deal, Grace. My boss and I have been assigned to kill a man and that’s what we’re going to do. You can be part of our team, or you can be a tool we use to get our job done. Either way we have success. You just have to decide if you want to be happy or miserable."

It was a joy talking to you again! When you have a minute, feel free to stop by my website. I always enjoy chatting with Jaz fans!

Jennifer Rardin
http://www.jenniferrardin.com/

Jennifer Rardin | What A Day

What a fabulous day! I’ve got Christmas tunes on surround sound. The house smells like praline caramel sticky buns. And my second book, Another One Bites the Dust, officially releases in the States TODAY. I haven’t felt this fab since I spied a whole stack of Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstoppers on the shelf at my grocery and realized that I might actually live long enough to meet an oompa loompa. I’ll have to clean up my act first though. Far too much swearing for their taste, I’m pretty sure.

Should we talk about the book a sec? About the fact that Jaz has to belly dance as part of her cover? About how she’d much rather crawl through the mud while being fired upon by a long line of tanks manned by vicious, American-hating devil-worshipers? Never fear, our girl is up to the task. Gotta impress the boss-man, right? Plus, when Vayl looks at her that way…she may just learn to like the skimpy costumes.

It’s not all fun and games though. Jaz and Vayl have been assigned to take down a slippery old vamp named Chien-Lung who’s gotten away with far too much for way too long. Hindering their progress—a new kind of nightmare creature with ties that seem to stretch all the way to hell. If they don’t kill Jaz, her dreams just might.

When you finish this read, you can look forward to Biting the Bullet, which comes out in just a couple of months. February 11, 2008 if we want to be anal about it. Which I do. Sorry, one of my multiple shortcomings, along with a weakness for chocolate and a tendency to freeze like a Popsicle if I sit in one place for more than fifteen minutes at a time. I’d be a horrible mountaineer, wouldn’t I? I can just see me trying to scale Everest. If I even made it to base camp, all I’d do is walk around all day slapping my arms against my chest saying, “Damn, it’s cold! Why are we here again? And sleeping in tents? Seriously, somebody should build a hotel!”

I used to be into the whole camping scenario. When I was younger, and springier. But now, like Vayl, I kinda like my perks. Get a little grumpy, for instance, without the daily shower. Whenever I watch the survivalists on TV doing their seven-day treks all I can think is, How bad are you itching right now, not to mention the stench? Jaz could pull that off, no problem. But she’s tough, right? She’s been through it, almost from birth. And though you really have to appreciate her grit, you’ll see in later books how it’s becoming something of a detriment. After all, surviving is one thing. Learning to become a social, friendly, even loving human being post-tragedy is quite another. That’s where she’s going now as I edit the fourth book in the series, Bitten to Death and write the fifth, One More Bite. It’s been interesting watching her progress. When she falls. Whew! Spectacular. But she always gets up again. And that’s why we love her.

Jennifer Rardin, Author

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Another One Bites the Dust
http://www.jenniferrardin.com/