SPOTLIGHT w/INTERVIEW - EVIL'S UNLIKEKY ASSASSIN (Alexis Black, #1) by Jenn Windrow Narrator: Chelsea Stephens

EVIL'S UNLIKEKY ASSASSIN

Alexis Black, #1

by Jenn Windrow
Narrator: Chelsea Stephens
Length: 8 hours 49 minutes
Released: January 23rd 2019

Publisher: Irreverent Publishing
Genre: Urban Fantasy

By Author Jenn Windrow

• Alexis Black - Kate Bekinsale
• Reaper - Vin Diesel - with hair
• Nathan - Billy Idol
• Julian Monroe - Chris Pine
• Detective James Coleman - Donnie Wahlberg
• Caleb - Tom Ellis

If you’re interested in seeing where Alexis lives, some of her clothes, and her cat raja, check out my Pinterest page for the book.

"Evil's Unlikely Assassin is a promising urban fantasy debut that features all that's great about the genre--action, attitude, and ass-kicking." -Jaye Wells, USA Today bestselling author of The Sabina Kane and Prospero's War series

Vampire Alexis Black is on a mission - to rejoin the human race.

Coerced into signing an ironclad contract by an Angel-with-attitude, Alexis must hunt down and assassinate at least one vampire, werewolf, or creepy crawly every night for fifty years to become human again. Too bad the contract didn’t mention the badass vampire who now rides shotgun in her brain, insatiable bloodlust, or her new I-hate-everything-with-fangs sidekick. If she can fulfill her end of the bargain, her humanity is restored, if not she will be destroyed.

But when a revenge-seeking bloodsucker threatens her city, Alexis must risk everything to ensure there’s a humanity to return to. Since her vampire nature is her greatest weapon to defeat the monsters that threaten her friends and future, Alexis must choose to accept her inner beast or watch those she loves die.

 
 

Jenn Windrow is an award winning author of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Vampires, Greek gods, and a bit of Freak Show fun for everyone. She loves characters who have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you’ve got the ingredients for the kind of fast paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it’s-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that’s what she claims.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads

 

• Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook.
  • I really didn’t anticipate doing an audio book, not that I didn’t want to, I just didn’t realize that it was something Indie’s could do and when I was with my publisher it wasn’t an option. One day I volunteered to do a podcast, and next thing I knew he was convincing me that audio was the next big thing and I needed to get it done. Then I am being introduced to Chelsea and we are agreeing to work together. The moment I heard her, I knew she was Alexis, it all just seemed so perfect. She had to hold my hand and help this audiobook virgin through all the steps, I don’t think I annoyed her too much. So, far I love the whole process. It is strange not to have control over certain aspects of a product with your name on it, such as price and release date, but it’s worth it to hear my characters come to life.
• Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
  • NO. In fact it’s funny, I never really thought about what my characters sounded like. But I knew when I started listening to different narrators exactly what they DIDN’T sound like.
• How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
  • We did quite a bit of prep work to narrow down the accents for the all the characters. I never realized what a diverse cast I had until Chelsea had to figure out what they all sounded like. She did short clips before she even started recording to nail everyone before she even started recording, In fact, we just finished that process for book two. I keep a series bible, and in it, I have all the character details, so I copied everything I had and sent them to her. Plus, added in a link to my Pinterest page so she could see who I thought they looked like.
• How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
  • I write what I want to read. I will admit that when I was working with a publisher to drive had disappeared, but now that I am my own boss, I love creating new characters and stories again. I do take my weekends off though to recharge and let my mind rest.
• What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
  • I’d say that reading is reading, whether the book is paper, on a screen, or coming through a set of headphones.
  • Who cares how you are receiving the information, a a story is a story. You’re hopefully enjoying something someone has written. Just because I read on a kindle, it doesn't make me dislike paper books, I love them, I just ran out of room to store them years ago. Audio books give readers a chance to enjoy a story while they are doing everyday things like driving or doing the dishes.
• How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
  • I take a much needed nap and force my husband to take me out for Mexican food!
• What's your favorite:
  • Food - Anything mexican
  • Song - 21 Pilots - Run and Go
  • Book - Anne Bishop’s The Black Jewels Trilogy
  • Television show - Lucifer
  • Movie - Oh man this one is tough. Juno or 10 Things I Hate About You
  • Band - Panic at the Disco
  • Sports team - My husband would kill me if I didn’t say Seattle Seahawks.
  • City - San Diego
• Are any of those things referenced in appearance in your work?
  • San Diego is the main city for my Redeeming Cupid Series.
• Do you have any tips for authors going through the process of turning their books into audiobooks?
  • Take the time to find the narrator that fits the voice of your character. I think that really is the most important part of this whole process.
• What’s next for you?
  • I’m working on the third Alexis Black Novel, Evil’s Avenging Angel and starting the process of turing Evil’s Ultimate Huntress into an audiobook with Chelsea as the narrator again.

 

Chelsea Stephens has a long time love and appreciation for the performing arts, with experience in on-stage acting, singing and voice over. Her love for reading books and the pursuit of the story led her to narration. She enjoys unfolding characters and bringing listeners into new worlds. Chelsea is an experienced voice actor with a talent for mystery, fantasy and YA novels. She's a mom to a gaggle of young ones living in the Midwest with her lumbersexual husband. *One and the same as Avery Reid.

Website⎮Twitter

Prize: Amazon Echo Dot

Evil’s Unlikely Assassin Giveaway: Amazon Echo Dot

 

Feb. 26th: The Book Junkie Reads . . . 

Feb. 27th: Dab of Darkness Book Reviews 

Feb. 28th: T's Stuff Lynn's Romance Enthusiasm 

Mar. 1st: Turning Another Page 

Mar. 2nd: Lilly's Book World Ruby's Books 

Mar. 3rd: Jazzy Book Reviews The Book Addict's Reviews 

Mar. 4th: 2 Girls and A Book 

➜Sign up as a host here

Presented by

Haunted Halloween Spooktacular w/GIVEAWAY - Evil's Unlikely Assassin: An Alexis Black Novel by Jenn Windrow

Evil's Unlikely Assassin:

An Alexis Black Novel

by Jenn Windrow

Release: June 6^th 2017

Publisher: Muse It Up Publishing

Cover Artist: Erica Petlit Designs

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Tagline: Sometimes it takes evil to kill evil

 

BLURB

Vampire Alexis Black is on a mission - to rejoin the human race.

Coerced into signing an ironclad contract by an Angel-with-attitude, Alexis must hunt down and assassinate at least one vampire, werewolf, or creepy crawly every night for fifty years to become human again. Too bad the contract didn’t mention the badass vampire who now rides shotgun in her brain, insatiable bloodlust, or her new I-hate-everything-with-fangs sidekick. If she can fulfill her end of the bargain, her humanity is restored, if not she will be destroyed.

But when a revenge-seeking bloodsucker threatens her city, Alexis must risk everything to ensure there’s a humanity to return to. Since her vampire nature is her greatest weapon to defeat the monsters that threaten her friends and future, Alexis must choose to accept her inner beast or watch those she loves die.

Buy Links:

Amazon       B & N       iBooks       Kobo      MuseIt Up     Goodreads

"Evil's Unlikely Assassin is a promising urban fantasy debut that features all that's great about the genre--action, attitude, and ass-kicking." -Jaye Wells, USA Today bestselling author of The Sabina Kane and Prospero's War series

Blood and Orgasms – An Alexis Black Short Story

I needed blood and an orgasm.  Not necessarily in that order.  At least that’s what Nathan’s been telling me for weeks.  I guess even best friends can’t stand a moody bitch.

Good thing I’m a girl who likes to multi-task.

I allowed Nathan to tart me up in a black dress so low-cut, one wrong move would expose my not-very-abundant assets. We headed to a local human hot spot, and walked past a line of scantily clad woman and wanna-be Rico Sauvé’s.

Once inside, he sat me down at the bar and pointed his finger in my face.  “Alexis Black, you’re not getting off that stool until some unlucky sod agrees to take you home and shag you senseless.”

Sheesh.  “It’s not going to take all night.  We’ll be out of here before you know it.”  I waved him off. 

“Well, aim high, don’t hop on the first one that comes your way.”   He rubbed my shoulders. “Relax.  You’ll scare away all the good ones.”  He gave me a peck on my cheek and wandered off in search of his own pulsing vein.

Ten minutes.  Thirty minutes.  Fifty minutes.  Not one man approached me.  I pulled a compact out of my purse and checked my reflection. No food in my teeth. No objects in my nose.  No fangs.

My stomach rumbled at the smell of the blood pumping through the humans on the dance floor. So enticing I had to grab the bottom of my stool to keep from snatching someone for a quick bite.  Next time I shouldn’t wait to long to feed, but I liked drinking blood as much as I liked sitting in this club.

A tap on my shoulder, and my night was looking up. I tuned around to meet my lucky admirer.  The man behind me made my lips droop. Now I was really depressed.

Mr. Mustard Stained Tie and receding hairline pointed a ring-clad finger at my half empty glass.  “Can I get you another?”

I was about to tell him no, but then I saw Nathan’s desperate nod from across the room.  Damn.  I’ve officially reached a new low.  I pasted an overly enthusiastic smile on my face.  “I’d love that.”

He pulled out a stool and almost toppled over trying to climb on. I grabbed his arm and helped him into his seat. This evening was turning into a disaster.  I still needed blood, but I think the orgasm might be out of the question.  I looked at my only option for the night, a dead ringer for Joe Pesci in the Goodfellas.  The orgasm was definitely out of question.

For ten minutes I forced myself to listen to the overeager human try to impress me with his less than stellar achievements in life.  Bored.  Hungry.  Uninterested.  I’d had enough. “Want to go somewhere private?”

He opened his mouth to say yes, but before the word fled his lips Mr. tall-dark-and-oh-my-god walked up. He grabbed my hand, pulled me from my seat, and rescued me from what was sure to be a walk of shame.   We passed by Nathan, whose cheeks were nice and rosy from his liquid dinner.  He gave me a thumbs up.

I followed my last chance for the night like horny teenager to a two-story red brick walk up. After he opened the door, he gestured for me to go ahead of him. The room I entered was solid white.  White walls, white floors, white couch, white leather armchair.  And that was all.

The door slammed.  The lock clicked.  I turned and my mouth fell open.  Mr. tall-dark-and-oh-my-god was now sporting a pair of solid black wings and a mischievous smile.

Things were not going as planned.  "Who are you?  What are you?"

"Caleb.  Angel."

He gestured to the couch.  “Sit. Please. Alexis.”

The words weren’t a request, and I don’t like to be told what to do.  “Not gonna happen.”

“Fine.”  He walked over to the chair, pulled his wings in tight and took a seat.  “You may remain standing.”

I walked over to the couch and sat down.

He let out a small laugh like I amused him.  “What a predictable creature you are.”

“Since eating you and fucking you seem to be out of the question, what do you want?”

He adjusted the crease of his tailored black pants and the cuffs of his starched dress shirt.  “I have a offer for you.  An offer that will change your undead life.”

 

Author Info

Jenn Windrow loves characters that have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you've got the ingredients for the kind of fast paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it's-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that's what she claims.

Jenn's Urban Fantasy, EVIL’S UNLIKELY ASSASSIN won the RWA Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FF&P), “On The Far Side” writing contest in July 2014, top 5 in the RWA Desert Rose, “Realizing the Dream” writing contest, and finaled in the Houston Writers Guild annual writing contest in April 2014. It was also selected as first runner up in Writers Type’s First Chapter Contest in April 2013.

Her Paranormal Romance, STRUCK BY EROS placed first in the RWA’s Golden Pen Contest, third in the Ruby Slippered Sisterhoods Make it Golden contest, and fourth in the West Coast Romance Writers Beacon contest.

Author Links:

Website    Twitter   Facebook  Pinterest  Amazon   Goodreads

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Hosted by

Presented by

SPOTLIGHT w/GUEST POST - Evil's Unlikely Assassin (Alexis Black, #1) by Jenn Windrow

Evil's Unlikely Assassin

Alexis Black, #1

by Jenn Windrow

Release: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Muse It Up Publishing

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Vampire Alexis Black is on a mission - to rejoin the human race.

BLURB

Coerced into signing an ironclad contract by an Angel-with-attitude, Alexis must hunt down and assassinate at least one vampire, werewolf, or creepy crawly every night for fifty years to become human again. Too bad the contract didn’t mention the badass vampire who now rides shotgun in her brain, insatiable bloodlust, or her new I-hate-everything-with-fangs sidekick. If she can fulfill her end of the bargain, her humanity is restored, if not she will be destroyed.

But when a revenge-seeking bloodsucker threatens her city, Alexis must risk everything to ensure there’s a humanity to return to. Since her vampire nature is her greatest weapon to defeat the monsters that threaten her friends and future, Alexis must choose to accept her inner beast or watch those she loves die.

Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon    B & N   iBooks  Kobo  MuseIt Up

"Evil's Unlikely Assassin is a promising urban fantasy debut that features all that's great about the genre--action, attitude, and ass-kicking."

 -Jaye Wells, USA Today bestselling author of The Sabina Kane and Prospero's War series

 

Tonight’s job had me sitting in a shadowy corner of a dead-end dive watching the unfortunate, the hopeless, and the degenerate. Had I known this is how I’d be spending my one hundred and seventy-third birthday, I would have called in sick.

An aging cocktail waitress hustled to over-serve society’s misfits. An ex-con, a dealer, and an addict pissed their lives away at the far end of the bar. A trio of prostitutes circled the room, their knock-off stiletto’s clicking on the wooden floor. And a single cockroach scurried for cover before being squashed.

How would the humans feel about me, the vampire, hiding in their shadows?

One of the battered bar stools toppled, throwing its occupant to the filthy concrete. The man, in a faded red and black flannel shirt, picked himself up off the floor. Dingy jeans slid down his hips, revealing a pair of boxers far past the expiration date for a wash. He bumped and weaved his way through the crowd, ignoring the spilled drinks and curses he left in his wake, and cut a crooked but determined path right to my table.

He collapsed into the booth next to me, blocking my only chance at escape. “How’s ’bout a drink?”

I wrinkled my nose at what had to be three days’ worth of sweat and grime, raised my bottle and sloshed the liquid from side to side. “Still nursing this one.” I focused on a faded picture of the Blues Brothers nailed to the wall and hoped he’d take the hint. A sharp tap on my shoulder told me this guy was either clueless or didn’t give a shit. My money was on clueless.

“What’s your name, sexy?”

Oh how I wanted to ignore his question, but the last thing I needed was Mr. Drunk and Stupid to cause a scene and blow my cover. “Alexis.”

His grease-coated fingers played “Get the Buggy” up my arm. I slapped them away before they got past my elbow. “How’s ’bout we get to know each other better?” He gave me a lopsided wink and ogled my breasts.

When he looked at me, he saw what every other human did, a twenty-three year old, petite brunette with large, light blue eyes. But if he leaned in close, he would see what lurked below the exterior, something sinister and scary, with sharp fangs and a deadly personality.

Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon     B & N     iBooks     Kobo    MuseIt Up

Top 5 Favorite Urban Fantasy Novels of the 21^st Century

I love humor in my books, so my list of favorites includes books that have made me laugh and also includes characters that have stuck with me through the years (cough) Bones (cough).

1        Halfway to the grave – Jeaniene Frost

2        DarkFever – Karen Marie Moning

3        Bitten – Kelley Armstrong

4        Written in Red – Anne Bishop

5        Red –Headed Step Child – Jaye Wells

 

Author Info

Jenn Windrow loves characters that have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you've got the ingredients for the kind of fast paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it's-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that's what she claims.

Jenn's Urban Fantasy, EVIL’S UNLIKELY ASSASSIN won the RWA Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FF&P), “On The Far Side” writing contest in July 2014, top 5 in the RWA Desert Rose, “Realizing the Dream” writing contest, and finaled in the Houston Writers Guild annual writing contest in April 2014. It was also selected as first runner up in Writers Type’s First Chapter Contest in April 2013.

Her Paranormal Romance, STRUCK BY EROS placed first in the RWA’s Golden Pen Contest, third in the Ruby Slippered Sisterhoods Make it Golden contest, and fourth in the West Coast Romance Writers Beacon contest.

Author Links:

Website   Twitter   Facebook  Pinterest

Amazon   Goodreads

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Hosted by

Presented by