Our visitor to day is Jenna Fox the author of Conceiving Evil and Sealed In Blood and she is here today to tell us about both and her unusual way of adding twists that make you think one way only to find out it is actually something else. She is a wonderful story teller and I look forward to reading many more of her amazing stories.
(LL) Hello, Jenna, thank you for joining us, I have enjoyed reading your books and have been eager to ask you about both.
(JF) Thank you so much for having me, Laura! I’m honored you like my books.
(LL) Has your family read your books?
(JF) Only my husband has read Sealed in Blood. My parents and other immediate family members do not know I write erotica. I’m from a very religious upbringing, and I don’t feel comfortable sharing this detail. When I top a huge category in sales or get a good review, I can’t share it with my family. I rely heavily on other authors and bloggers for moral support. It’s a lonely place to be sometimes.
(LL) I can imagine how hard that must be to keep things from your parents especially something that you love about yourself. Do you think you will ever write a book that you will share with them?
(JF) Yes, it is very hard, Laura. At times I feel so conflicted and I ask myself if I should be up front with them, but I haven’t yet. At this time I don’t think my family will ever read any of my books, especially with my characters engaging in pre marital sex, a strong religious belief my mother has.
(LL)What was your husband’s reaction to Sealed In Blood and will he read Conceiving Evil?
(JF) My husband hasn’t read Conceiving Evil, but when he read Sealed in Blood, he didn’t tell me until after he was finished. He was really surprised at the ending, which is the thing he liked most about the story. He thought the sex scenes were well done and the ‘twist’ threw him for a loop. Very rarely am I able to shock my husband, so I was tickled.
(LL) Which of your books do you like best? And Why?
(JF) My favorite is Conceiving Evil because I was able to mix all of my favorite elements of story telling (horror, romance, suspense) into one tale. Yes, Conceiving Evil is a short piece of fiction, but I worked my butt off to pack a lot into the story. I feel the characters were well developed, and all of the scenes moved the story along at a fast pace without cheating the reader.
(LL) What was your inspiration when you wrote Conceiving Evil?
(JF) My heavy religious upbringing was the only inspiration. I spent years studying Biblical end times prophecy. With the knowledge I gathered, I created my version of a hopeless world in the same way the Book of Revelation describes. The mark of the beast (micro chipping), the crash of the world
economy, a one world government. The appearance of a man who will save the world.
(LL) When I reviewed Conceiving Evil, I couldn’t help thinking it reminded me of Rosemary’s Baby but with a definite difference, because Abby knows she is in bed with the Devil on some level throughout the entire story. Have you ever seen the movie?
(JF) No, I haven’t seen the movie, but my mother saw it many years ago and she claimed it freaked her out, so I decided not to indulge. Now I’ll have to make it a point to find the movie and watch.
(LL) I recommend not watching it alone. I did the first time and it gave me some scary dreams and I love horror movies.
(JF) I’ll definitely remember that, Laura! Recently I watched The Conjuring and Annabelle. I loved them both, but besides those two movies, I normally watch slasher horror like Jason and Freddy. Sometimes I check out The Walking Dead.
(LL) The Devil has always been depicted as acting behind the scenes doing his thing in secret but you have Dorian (The Devil) basically out there front and center openly controlling and manipulating events, did you consciously change his M.O. to suit the story line or did that just happen by accident?
(JF) It was no accident, I planned the story in that way. I want my readers to keep turning the pages, and it’s precisely why I hide the full truth until the very last scene. It’s a strategy I use in most of my suspense books.
(LL) In one scene Abby asks Dorian is he is going to sleep with a woman if she is offered to him while he is in the Middle East and he said he would do what was necessary, did he? And did he deliberately leave her behind for that reason?
(JF) I wanted the reader to use their own imagination about Dorian taking another woman to bed. Everything Dorian Lincoln does has a purpose, and he has no weaknesses. He isn’t temped by the flesh and he’s in frightening control of everything.
(LL) According to the story line it was implied that Dorian and Abby hadn’t had sex and that he wanted them to wait, but that there was a lot of foreplay, was it because he was married or had they slept together earlier on only to stop while they waited for the night he impregnates her?
(JF) No, they never slept together. Dorian had a very important reason for waiting. The timing and place of their union had full purpose.
(LL) What was your inspiration when you wrote Sealed in Blood? This by the way is my favorite so far.
(JF) Sealed in Blood was my first novella. The storyline sat inside my mind for a long time. After I wrote a first draft, my writing partner critiqued it. She pointed out some holes in plot and other issues, so I had to turn around and completely rewrite. The rough draft was absolutely nothing like the finished product, it was much longer. The initial plot was horribly complicated, and my talented writing partner helped me hash through the issues. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears in that book. If I hadn’t been so determined, it would never have made it past my hard drive.
(LL) When I got to the first bedroom scene and Hunt bit Charisma I was thinking he was a vampire or a werewolf since they are notorious for biting their mates so it was a surprise to find out that wasn’t it at all and then there was the whole room mate was the unknown sister thing that I didn’t see coming. You are very good at leading a person in one direction only to turn it around and make it something else, which shows how creative you are so how do you come up with these twist?
(JF) Thank you, Laura. As a reader, I love thrillers and suspense more than romance (I know, shame on me). I spent many months studying writing tactics for thriller and suspense. The whole premise behind Sealed in Blood was to take the reader on a ride, and actually I wanted Sealed to be a thriller instead of an erotic romance. I let every scene play out in my head for a long time, and I spent countless hours outlining, plotting and characterizing to purposefully plant misleading evidence. Lots of people tell me they were floored at the ending, so I guess I did my job. It’s nice to know all the nights I sat up at 3:00 AM working weren’t wasted.
(LL) I really like the new cover a lot, I think it represents the book more than the previous one did.
(JF) Yes, the new cover is hot and it is a better representation of the book. I specifically wanted the Las Vegas skyline included. Of course, the man’s torso is what I envisioned for Hunt Blackwater’s physique. Fit, cut and ‘gorgeous as a god’ the way Charisma described him.
(LL) Hunt is Native American and the curse pertains to the Trail of Tears did you do any research on the history for this book?
(JF) Yes I did. I researched the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which was put into action by President Andrew Jackson. The Trail of Tears shortly followed. A lot of innocents lost their lives on the trail. It was an utter tragedy. I don’t think any of us could fully understand the devastation those people endured.
(LL) There have been many tragic moments in Native American history that have had a lasting impacted on society. I am a big family history freak and have been doing a lot of research into Chief Joseph’s Band for some time. Do you have a favorite time period in history and do you think you will ever write and book based on that era?
(JF) I’m drawn to the Renaissance period, but the thought of writing something set in a different time intimates me because I’ve only lived in modern times. I won’t say I’ll never write something from another era, but at this time I don’t have plans to.
(LL) Which of your characters is your favorite? And do you think you will write more stories surrounding that character?
(JF) My favorite character is Hunt Blackwater. I’ve had readers tell me he was too much of an alpha, and too aloof. But I think a lot of dominating men are aloof, it’s just a personality trait. Although I feel I made up for Hunt’s bizarre personality at the end of the book. He loves his woman more than his own life, and I leave the reader with no doubts as to how he truly feels about Charisma. At this time I don’t have plans to write more about him.
(LL) Are you working on anything new?
(JF) I’ve signed a contract with a publisher on another story, Savannah Sins. A dark erotic romance with a horror theme. This week I began another rough draft on a military erotic romance, which I have no idea when I’ll be through it. At this point, the story and characters need to be more developed in my mind before I take it a step further.
(LL)I look forward to reading them when you are finished. Is there anything you would like to tell your fans that they don’t know about you?
(JF) Thank you, Laura, for having me. I’d just like to say that everybody who has read this interview already knows my only secret. I write erotica.
(LL) Your welcome and thank you for visiting with me I hope we have a few more chats in the future as I am always in search of a good conversation.
Laura's Book Binge 