Author Interview: Jenna-Lynne Duncan (with Giveaway)

Author Bio:

Jenna-Lynne Duncan graduated from the University of St. Thomas with degrees in Political Science, International Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies. Hurricane is her debut novel and she is planning a series.

The Interview:

Can you tell us a little bit about your book, Hurricane?

Hurricane is a paranormal romance novel for young adults. It is the first book in a brand new YA series. It follows Adriana Alexander, a high school teen whose dreams predict the future. When her dream of two mysterious brothers attending her school comes true, she makes it her goal to figure out the brothers’ secret. What she didn’t predict was that the brothers would kidnap her on the eve of Hurricane Katrina. It has everything from ghosts and voodoo. Expect plenty of forbidden love!

A portion from the sale of the novel will go to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.

Why did you choose to write about ghost and voodoo and not any other creatures like vampire or wolves?

I can’t really say too much about this without giving away spoilers but I did say ghosts and voodoo are a part of the book maybe just not the only part. I did want to do something different than what is already out there and although I personally think there can never be too many vampire, werewolf, angel stories, this just felt right writing it and in the context of the setting.

What inspires you to write Hurricane?

The story is based on a short story I wrote when I was younger. My heart is in New Orleans so I knew it would be set there.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely imagination?

I tried to make the setting of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina as authentic as possible. Because I am from there, it came easy. The experiences involving Hurricane Katrina were real either experienced by myself or by my family and friends. A lot of the places in the novel are real places that you can go visit.

Do you have a favorite scene or character from your book?

The kidnapping scene is one of my favorites; it is also one of the first things I wrote when I started the novel.

If you could chat with any character from your book who would it be and what would a day be like?

I would probably chat with Luke, there has been a lot going on with him since the end of the novel. I just hope he’s staying out of trouble! He would probably also love the fact that so many readers on his side, if he read the reviews.

Luke seems the guy to watch out in Hurricane. For those of us who haven’t yet met him, can you tell us a little bit more about Luke?

Luke is the ultimate bad boy, he rips people’s hearts out (literally) and Adriana (our heroine) thinks he absolutely hates her. We don’t really know too much about him until some of his true colours come out at the end of the novel. A lot of people have been asking what exactly the brothers are and want to get to know them more, and I promise the next novel will reveal a lot more, as well as give a glimpse into their lives and ultimately test everyone.

Hurricane falls under YA paranormal, what made you decide to write in that genre?

I fell in love with young adult novels and knew it was a good fit for me. As for the paranormal aspects of the novel, a lot of people are fascinated with New Orleans and that’s a very big part of its mystery. I wanted to include that and put my own modern twist to it.

What are some of your favorite YA books?

I don’t like to pick favorites but I read a lot of romance and dystopian.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I like to write very early in the morning although I think is more out of convenience.

What are your plans for the future? Any other awesome ideas or projects that you can share with us?

I am currently writing the sequel to Hurricane (Book 2) and have plans for a third. I am also writing another YA series and have ideas/outlines in the works for several others.

To find out more about Jenna you may visit her web-page, follow her on Twitter, Goodreads and check her fansite on Facebook. You can also email her  at Jenna-Lynne@DivertirPublishing.com.

The Book: Hurricane

Hurricane – a young adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy

I anxiously looked around, my heart palpitating, just in time to see an alligator slink into the green algae covered water that was on either side of us. I swallowed hard, and my heart raced even faster. Alligators were a different type of predator—the one thing I was afraid of. Now I was on my own personal swamp tour. What if my kidnappers left me in the middle of a swamp with five of them creeping up on me? I’ve had that nightmare before and—oh no, if my dreams really are a sign of the future—I couldn’t breathe now.

Adriana couldn’t decide what was worse—that Hurricane Katrina was heading for New Orleans, or that she might not survive her kidnapping to see its potential effects. She had trusted Hayden, even fallen for him, and now he and his brother Luke were taking her deeper and deeper into the Bayou. Why had two of her classmates, the mysterious Boudreaux brothers, kidnapped her? Why had Adriana’s dreams started predicting the future? Most importantly, would she make it out of the Bayou alive…

You can purchase Hurricane from Divertir Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Book Depository. It is also available in selected stores in UK and AU.

The Giveaway:

What’s up for Grabs?

A signed book cover of Hurricane, one Hurricane bookmark and a pin.

The Rules:

• To enter the contest, leave a comment or question for Jenna on this interview post and fill out this FORM.

• Open to US residents ONLY.

• Prizes will be shipped directly by the author.

• Winner will be chosen using random.org and announce here.

• Winner will have 48 hours after notification to respond with their details.

• Contest ends Sunday, September 25,  2011.

The contest is now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who has entered. I will be running all the names through random.org shortly. Stay tuned for the winner announcement.

Good Luck!!!

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And the winners is….

Congratulations to Bella of Paranormal Book Club. Random has spoken. I will be contacting you momentarily to get your details so I can forward it to the author. You will have 48 hours to respond or I will be forced to choose another winner.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!