Jessica Andersen and The Final Prohecy

Hi Jessica. Thank you for joining us today!

Hi Lillie, and thanks so much for having me!

Can you tell everyone a little bit about the Final Prophecy series?

Love to!  The Nightkeeper books are sexy paranormal thrillers about the magic-wielding men and women sworn to protect us from the 2012 doomsday predicted by the Mayan calendar.

As the end date approaches and the barrier between the earth and underworld thins, the Nightkeepers must unravel ancient legends, find lost artifacts, and win their destined mates in order to prevent terrible Mayan demons from coming to earth and enslaving mankind.

However, these magi are the last dozen survivors of their kind, and lots of their spells and prophecies have been lost over time. In addition, they were raised as humans like you and me, which means they’re struggling to update the ancient magic and figure out what comes next!

My latest release is the fourth book in the series (though they can be read by themselves). DEMONKEEPERS is my ‘nerds that roared’ book: It’s the story of Lucius, an Indiana Jones wannabe who never quite measures up until a twist of magic gives him powers beyond belief and reunites him with Jade, the one-night stand he never forgot.

What made you decide to write a series about Mayan legend?

Well, I guess my best answer is that I’m a huge fan of books and movies that have lots of action and romance in them, but are spiced up with interesting factoids that I didn’t already know (National Treasure, DaVinci Code, etc.).

So when I came across a reference to the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, I immediately saw the potential for a high-action, high-intensity series based on a mythology that hasn’t been done to death in the paranormal romance and urban fantasy markets.

Part of my fascination comes from having spent time down in the Yucatan as a kid. My parents would pull me out of school for a few weeks every spring (much to my teachers’ relief, I suspect) and we would go investigate the ruins, which were in the process of being restored at the time.

They’re far more regulated and tourist-ified now, but back then, ruin ratting was a total Indiana Jones, creep-through-the-collapsing-tunnel experience. I try to bring that to the books.

Which is easier to do, writing a story-line based on a known legend or writing straight from the imagination, where the only rules you have to follow are your own?

I think it probably would have been easier in a sense to make up everything from scratch, because then you can let your imagination run wild. Personally, though, I love having the framework of an existing mythology to work with.

I think it gives the stories a real-world authenticity that they might lack otherwise. The Nightkeepers are real people living in the real world, but their reality has been shifted by the fact that they’re now being asked to believe in—and learn how to use—the magic of an ancient culture.

Will we be getting another Final Prophecy book this year?

Absolutely!  BLOOD SPELLS: A NIGHTKEEPER NOVEL will be released on November 2. Even better, it’ll be followed pretty quickly in Feb 2011 by the first Nightkeeper novella, CRYSTAL SKULL, which will be part of IN THE HUNT, an anthology with Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, and Deidre Knight.

If you could switch lives with one of your characters, who would it be & why?

Hmmmm… I really relate to Jade, the heroine of DEMONKEEPERS. She’s a bookworm who is working hard to break out of her current role as support staff, and become a warrior in her own right. I can relate to the feeling of wanting to be bigger, tougher and more capable than my fallback mode, and love it when she starts really growing into herself.

But at the same time, she and Lucius are racing to uncover the Nightkeepers’ ancient library, which contains many of the spells and prophecies they need. That totally appeals to my inner Lara Croft. And so does Lucius. 😀

If you could ask readers any question, what would it be?

Who do you prefer, the Bad Boy or the Good Guy? Why?

I ask because the heroes of DEMONKEEPERS and BLOOD SPELLS are both good guys at their core. Yeah, they’ve got issues, but they’re loyal, centered, honest and have huge hearts. The hero I’m writing now (for next June’s book), though, is a MAJOR bad boy. And I’m so digging him!

Which is making me wonder whether I’ve got a thing for the hardcore alpha, borderline butthead types, or if it’s the variety that’s turning me on. I’m not sure yet, but I’m sure having fun trying to figure it out!

Where can readers find you on the internet?

For more on the Nightkeepers, check out www.jessicaandersen.com. There, you can subscribe to my quarterly newsletter, email me, and find me on Facebook (via the Contacts page, or search for ‘Doc Jess’ or ‘Jessica Andersen’ on FB).

***To be entered in Jessica’s giveaway, just leave a comment answering her question. The winner will be drawn on Sunday afternoon. Good luck! 😀