Jennifer L Armentrout is a publishing force. Boasting a total back catalogue of more than 50 written works, all published in the past 10 years, whether you are into action, adventure, or a heartthrob romance, she has probably published a novel to suit your tastes.
In 2019 alone, Armentrout has produced two major young adult releases. In May, the prolific writer released Storm and Fury, the first novel in the Harbingers series, a spin-off from her popular Dark Elements, to great enjoyment from her fans. In October, she follows up the release of last years, The Darkest Star with its sequel, The Burning Shadow, a continuation of the story of Evie and Luc.
Jennifer took some time to sit down again with Nerd Daily contributor, Tasha Leigh, and answer some of her burning questions
So last year you released The Darkest Star, a spin-off from your popular Lux novels. It follows on after the events of the rise and fall of the Luxen and their invasion of earth and features fan favourite Luc in the starring role. How have your fans reacted to this continuation of the tales of these handsome aliens?
They’ve been really excited to get back into the world that’s both familiar and new to them, since they’re seeing what it’s like after the invasion. For a lot of the readers, it’s like visiting old friends when they see certain characters from the Lux Series.
Now The Burning Shadow comes out in October this year and follows on almost immediately after the events of Darkest Star. Did you write them consecutively? Or did you have a break from the world in between?
I had close to a year in-between writing them. Whenever I finish a book that’s a part of a series, I need a break between them. I wish I could write them consecutively. Super jelly of anyone who can!
During the course of this latest instalment of the Origins series of novels, Evie and the band take on a strain of the flu which turns into something else entirely. Did you have to do any specific research into genetically modified disease processes in anticipation of this novel?
Actually, I did some research on how certain viruses, like the modified adenovirus have been engineered to attack cancer cells, along with gene therapy. I mean the science is KIND OF there, but I also fell down the rabbit hole of weaponized diseases and how a flu or other disease could potentially be modified to become a bioweapon. I’m sure I ended up on several watch lists along the way.
Throughout the novel, we continue to see old favourites such as Daemon & Katy and Dawson & Beth. Did you already know where they were headed in life when Opposition (the final Lux novel) was published in 2014?
I had a general idea, but a lot of the details weren’t fleshed out until I started thinking about the Origin Series, and OMG, that was in 2014? I feel old.
I have to ask about Luc’s various t-shirts, they are usually snarky but always amusing. Which t-shirt do you feel is his greatest hit and why?
Oh man, his shirts. LOL. Some of them I made up but some of them I found online. I think my favorite, which I haven’t seen as a shirt but as a poster (which is hanging up in one of my bathrooms), is the one with the UFO sucking up a person and it reads GET IT, LOSER.
So earlier this year, you published Storm and Fury, the first novel in the Harbingers series and also a spin-off from the Darkest Elements series of novels. This time we are following Trinity, an 18-year-old with a unique gift while she being protected by the Wardens. What prompted the decision to dive back into the world of gargoyles?
I always felt that world could be expanded in so many different ways and I also wanted to go back to Zayne.
In Storm & Fury, your audience are introduced to a new species and a terribly sad backstory for the protagonist. When writing your characters, do you hammer out the backstory or the main character arc first?
For me, it’s the backstory first and then the character ARC. There’s no way for me to figure out the journey until I know where the character is coming from.
Now Trinity has the condition Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative condition which causes the subject to slowly go blind, a condition you yourself were diagnosed with in recent years. Since its release, Storm & Fury has been praised by many a reviewer as being a breathe of fresh air in the Young Adult genre due to its focus on the protagonist being differently abled but still a strong and powerful character, while also bringing focus to a lesser known condition. How important do you feel it is for the publishing industry to provide a greater diversity of novels to such an impressionable audience?
I think it’s so important that books reflect the world around us. I firmly believe that books can not only enrich lives but often save them. They are a life jacket for someone drowning, and everyone should be able to see themselves in books. The world includes disabilities that are not always visible to others. Diseases like RP are not only rare but few people understand them or understand there is a whole world between the seeing and the blind. I wanted to write a character who is differently abled, but it’s not the sum of who she is. After all, it’s not the sum of who I am. It’s a part of me, of my story, but it’s not all that I am. I hope there are more fantasy, paranormal and contemporary books that feature differently abled people where the story is not about that, but about them living with it and kicking ass.
Has your diagnosis changed anything about the way you write?
At first, it motivated me to write, WRITE AND WRITE SOME MORE. There was this fear that one day I won’t be able to do it, so I had to get all these ideas out there. Common sense finally smacked me upside the head, along with failing eyesight. I can’t be on the computer as long as I used to be able to, so it has slowed me down.
So you are known for your signature brand of smoulder throughout all your novels with action taking the foreground but always having a shippable love interest. Do you follow a ‘formula’ or just go with wherever your characters take you?
I think books always have some formula whether we realize it or not, but I’m a reader who loves to ship characters, so when I go into writing a book, that’s always on my mind. I also love action intermingled throughout. And sometimes there’s more smoulder than action and action than smoulder. That’s where the characters take over.
All your YA novels are centred around protagonists with a difference, be it their special abilities or their supernatural race. If you could have a superpower or special ability, what would it be and how would you use it?
Oh man, that’s a hard one. Harnessing the Source would be pretty awesome. You can heal people with that! You could also become a weapon, so I have a feeling that would go south fast though.
Do you have anything currently in the works that you can tell us about?
I’m currently finishing up the 3rd Origin book and then I have a few new things coming down the pipeline. Cross your fingers for me!
Thank you so much for sitting down and answering my questions once again. I eagerly look forward to reading further instalments of both Trinity and Evie’s stories. Good luck with The Burning Shadow, I really loved it and cant wait to read how her story ends.
Thank you so much for supporting my books, sharing them with your readers and having me here today!
