Blood Fugue
by
E.J. Wesley
44 pages
I won this ebook novelette
4 STARS
Jenny does her best to be your typical hostile gaming hermit. Then she opens a seemingly innocuous email. Suddenly she has a living grandfather she believed long dead, commits to doing a favor that involves bullets, and discovers a destiny that will test her tendency to push people away.
I'm so happy I won this novelette! E.J. Wesley created the best protagonist in Jenny. She's rude, she's nearly six feet tall, and she sports a purple Mohawk. I did not fall in love with Jenny from the start, yet I loved reading from her perspective. Through her interactions with Marshal, her pushy best friend, and her mysterious resurrected grandfather, I discovered a girl I wish I knew in real life. She'd be the coolest friend. I can't forget to mention the setting. I've read books set in Texas before and yet I never felt like my car broke down there and forced me to spend my entire vacation waiting for it to be fixed. Between Jenny's rudeness and the Texas backdrop, I fell into this story with zeal. If you're in the mood for an edgy paranormal read or love a strong female protagonist who knows how to handle guns get this book!
My new thing has been requesting mini-interviews from the authors of books I've fallen in love with. Thank you, E.J. Wesley, for taking the time to answer my questions.
You created the toughest chick ever in
Jenny. I half expected her to grab herself and spit. How did you come
up with a main character like her? I mean, we're talking purple
Mohawk.
I think Jenny might view herself as
just a TOUCH more ladylike than that—but probably just by a little.
Lol She’s had a lot of heartache in her young life. She has lost
both parents, and all of her grandparents by her early 20s. As they
probably would anyone, these experiences have left her feeling
isolated and alone. Rather than having that manifest in her character
as vulnerability—which unfortunately isn’t all that uncommon with
many of the female protagonists I’ve read—I wanted her to take
it the other direction. She has certainly built walls to protect
herself from more hurt, and her walls are more brick than glass.
I love the best friend. Will there be a
solo story from Marshal's POV?
Marshal gets a lot of love from
readers! I think that’s because I never really wrote him with the
intention of him being a sidekick. I’ve always viewed him as
Jenny’s other half, and I think she is probably his. Together they
make a whole person/character. Basically, it’s hard for me to even
imagine what Jenny would be like without him, and I think readers
feel the same. While I haven’t really considered giving him his own
adventure up to this point, I can definitely say he will continue to
be a very important part of the series. We’ll learn lots more about
him in coming ‘episodes’ and maybe even explore the limits of he
and Jenny’s friendship a little.
Texas serves as the backdrop in your
novelettes. What other settings are you dying to create for your main
characters?
Everything (through book 3) has taken
place in a very rural Texas setting. I don’t have immediate plans
to take the series out of Texas, but you never know. (The idea of
Jenny and Marshal traipsing around Manhattan IS pretty hilarious.
) However, we’re definitely going to explore some other locations
within the state. Living here, I can tell you that Texas is like its
own country—it’s that large, and there’s that much diversity in
terms of culture and landscape. In the short term, I’ll just say
that Jenny is going to be making a trip to a very large Texas city,
very soon.
I can't wait to
read Dark Prelude (Moonsongs book 3), but I want more. Will we get a
novel?
I’ve definitely considered it. I love
the characters so much already, and I think there’s plenty to
explore in the Moonsongs universe. However, I also feel like part of
the fun with these stories is letting them unfold in bite-sized
portions. Realizing that readers are anxious for the next episode,
I’m working hard toward decreasing the time between publication for
the next batch (books 4, 5, and 6) and beyond. I’ll probably kick
that new publishing cycle off early this Fall.
If I’m being completely honest, these
books were something of an experiment. I wasn’t 100% certain people
would enjoy them, or ‘get’ the format. As a result, I think I’m
still feeling out how to best implement them. That being said, I
suppose if there were enough reader enthusiasm behind creating a
full-length novel, I’d certainly give it some serious thought.
You have a wonderful blog, especially
for anyone interested in creative ventures. Has your writer identity
evolved into a blogger identity?
Thank you! You know, I’ve probably
identified myself more as a blogger than a writer up until recently.
That was never the intention, but it just kind of worked out that
way. But that’s definitely changing some—it might take a while to
get going, but once the publishing wheel gets to spinning, it’s
hard to stop. That cuts into my blogging time for sure. So I’m
trying to learn how to evolve my blog into this new phase of things,
yet also still be a resource for the creative community you
mentioned. I draw so much energy and knowledge from my fellow
bloggers, artists, etc., and hope I can give a little of that back to
them in the ways I know how.
I read and loved Witch's Nocturne (Moonsongs book 2). I will be posting that review soon.
Meanwhile, I already hurried over to Amazon and bought a copy of Dark Prelude (Moonsongs book 3). Can't beat the price. Can't wait for another Jenny and Marshal adventure!
