One question for Jenn Bennett.

As you perhaps already know, I am a big fan of Jenn Bennett’s Arcadia Bell series (reviews can be found on my blog), but when I was adding new books to my calendar, I saw that next year a new book in a new series will be published. And this blurb sure makes me curious about it:

Bitter Spirits, book one in the Roaring Twenties series, to be published January 7, 2014.



It's the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…

Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown's illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act.

Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who's more comfortable with guns than ghosts—unfortunately for him, he's the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida's supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her...

On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise…


Aurian: So Jenn, can you please tell me and my readers what your plans are for the future? I know you have already written the fourth full length Arcadia Bell book, when will that one be available to your avid fans? Will that be the last one? And what are you planning for his new series? Are you working on any more awesome books?

Jenn: Hello! Thanks so much for having me on your blog. So, yes, future plans: I have them! Yes, I’ve completed #4 in the Arcadia Bell series. As of now, my publisher has it scheduled to release in May 2014. Sounds so far away, doesn’t it? I think so, too. Unfortunately, I have zero control over this. If I did, I’d ask them to release it before the end of the year. I mean, that ending to #3 was pretty rough, right? It was the first (and last) cliffhanger I’ve ever written for Arcadia, but I think the payoff will be worth it.

Book four is very emotional. It’s a slow-burn story that mostly centers on Lon and Cady during a road trip. But there’s also an intertwining plot told from Jupe’s POV. If you love Jupe, you’re getting a peek inside his brain. Which could be frightening! (And sort of awesome.) During his part of the story, he meets a new character that changes his life.

So…yeah. The big question everyone is asking me: is book #4 the last book? And my answer is: maybe? It’s the end of this phase of Arcadia’s life. All major plot arcs will be tied up, and all major questions answered. You’ll get a peek into the future at the end. It will make you cry lots of happy tears. And you will want the story to keep going in the best way possible. And if I decide that maybe I do want to continue, I’ll be able to write Arcadia Phase Two. Which even might be better than Phase One, who knows?

BUT! Don’t despair, because I have an exciting new series coming out. It’s called the Roaring Twenties, and the first book, BITTER SPIRITS, goes on sales January 7th worldwide. It’s a 1920s paranormal romance between a hexed bootlegger and a spirit medium in foggy San Francisco. AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Can you feel my excitement? Do you see me clutching the series to my heart right now? Because I’m just so damned proud of it!

Even if you don’t normally read historical, you should give this a shot. The period is extraordinarily modern, and the pacing/story/dialogue is what you’ve come to expect from me: twisty plots, witty banter, a moody mystery, and a story that’s a little subversive and a lot of fun. Plus, in the first book here’s a swoon-worthy brick-wall of a hero (a Swedish immigrant) and a whipsmart heroine (she can talk to your dead great-grandfather) who isn’t naïve or virginal or innocent.

My agent said it was charming and sexy and ribald, and my editor at Penguin said it’s “f***ing delightful.” And, hey: these ladies are both kickass chicks, so you should probably listen to them. BONUS: the second book in the series, GRIM SHADOWS—a Mummy-esque romance between a dashing, slightly criminal archaeologist and an icy museum curator—comes out just a few months after the first book. No long wait!

What else do I have planned? A third book in the Roaring Twenties series, and this summer I’m writing a big, grand secret project. It’s so secret, I can’t tell you—and so grand, it might be epic. But it will definitely be mysterious and romantic and character-driven.

So how about all that? Will you stick around to see what happens?

Aurian: Yes, of course I will be reading all those books! And I hope you will tell us as soon as possible more about your big, grand secret project!


If you want to know more about Jenn and her books, you can find her here:
Twitter: @Jenn_Benn
Website: here
Facebook: here