Author Interview and Giveaway: The Hollow of Mont Noir by Jennifer Krey

In this post, you will find an interview with Jennifer Krey, a short excerpt from her novel:  The Hollow of Mont Noir, a coupon code for 50% off of her book, and a giveaway.

Interview with Jennifer Krey

Q:  Your book starts out with Allison moving across the country right before the start of her senior year.  Have you ever had to experience such a move while you were in school?

A:  When I was in the middle of third grade, my family moved from Florida to New York State. I tried to draw a little bit from my experience for the book - I remember some of the feelings I had, such as not wanting to stand out and worrying that it would be hard to make friends when the other kids had all been together since kindergarten. In the beginning, I kind of gave my mom a hard time about moving, but, like Allison, I warmed up pretty quickly.

Q:  Allison's paranormal ability is to sense animals and their mood.  If you could have a paranormal ability, what would you choose?

A:  Divination - if I could see the future, then I could always be one step ahead of everyone else!

Q:  Allison and Riordan only start talking to each other after they've been forced to work on an assignment together.  Is this because they're shy, avoidant, or just not looking for romance?

A:  You've pretty much hit the nail on the head right there. Allison is more shy than avoidant, and although she wants to talk to Riordan, she really doesn't know how. Also, even though she finds herself attracted to him, she keeps telling herself she's better off not getting involved. She plans on going off to college after high school and doesn't want a temporary relationship with anyone. Riordan is more avoidant than shy. He's actually quite bold in sharing his feelings with Allison after he finds that he can open up to her, but he's never been close to a human before and initially doesn't think Allison could possibly accept him the way he is.

Q:  Age-old paranormal question: vampires or werewolves?

A:  Well, werewolves are much nicer creatures - they're alive, they typically age, they don't drink human blood, and they have no problem going out in the sun. All perfectly good reasons why I should prefer werewolves, but... for some reason, I still find vampires irresistible.

Q:  If you had to pick an actor or a well-known star to model Riordan, who would you pick?

A:  River Phoenix! Picture the post-"Stand By Me" River Phoenix with a little longer, darker hair. I absolutely love him. Am I showing my age here? Please tell me people still know who he was.

Q:  What kind of research did you have to do while writing your book?

A:  I researched many different types of supernatural creatures when creating my characters. I gathered a lot of great information from books and online, but I also found inspiration in a cute little storybook that I bought for my two-year-old a while ago. It's about a magical creature, but I can't tell you what kind because it is what is in Allison's ancestry. (It will be revealed in Book #2, "Ochre Sky.") I also did a fair amount of research about the general area where the book is set, the history of wolves in Ireland, and werewolf/vampire folklore.

Q:  What is one book that everyone should read?

A:  "Horton Hears a Who" by Dr. Seuss

Q:  Who has been your biggest inspiration?

A:  This might sound corny, but my husband and my kids are my inspiration for everything I do. They have been so supportive of my writing, and they make me feel like I can accomplish anything. I was pregnant with my second son when I wrote "The Hollow of Mont Noir," and I think of him as my little tiny muse because he was with me the whole time. My husband always says my jokes are funnier when I'm pregnant, and I sometimes wonder if the pregnancy hormones did help me be more creative (or maybe they just made me crazy enough to believe that). We joke around a lot and whenever I get my husband with a good zinger, he'll retort, "What, are you pregnant?"

Q:  Favorite Quote?

A:  Clarence Oddbody to George Bailey in "It's A Wonderful Life": Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?

An excerpt from The Hollow of Mont Noir by Jennifer Krey

Click here to see the Goodreads description and my review.

I reached under the bed to grab some of the fallen articles, and my hand brushed something fuzzy. And warm. And possibly moving. My heart started pounding, and I told myself to calm down. My field hockey sticks were tucked away in my closet, so I grabbed one and began to gingerly poke at whatever was under my bed, fully expecting to get in a good laugh at myself when I found that I had been terrified of a menacing cashmere sweater or a ferocious fuzzy slipper.

I did not expect what came next.

Something large and furry shot out from under my bed with a growl, moving with such speed that I might never have known what it was had it not stopped just before the balcony door to turn and look me right in the face. In the space of a fraction of a second, I tried to convince myself that it was a German Shepherd, all the while knowing darn well that I was staring into the yellow eyes of a wolf. Then, just as suddenly as it had darted out from under my bed, it turned and ran out the balcony doors and jumped over the railing without hesitation. Without even consciously knowing that I was doing it, I let out an ear-piercing shriek that didn’t end until Mom and Dad came running into my room. 

     ~pp 33-34

Coupon Code for 50% off at Smashwords

Jennifer Krey is graciously offering all of my readers 50% off of her book from Smashwords.  To purchase her book, click here and enter "UR27Z" (previously "HH43E") at checkout.  This code is good through the end of May.

E-book Giveaway

Congratulations goes to Alinka!!!

Jennifer Krey is giving away an e-book to one of my lucky readers.  The winner will be emailed a coupon code that can be used to retrieve The Hollow of Mont Noir from Smashwords.

• This giveaway is open internationally (as long as you can access Smashwords).
• Giveaway ends on Sunday, May 13.
• You can enter via the Rafflecopter form below. You can enter by doing one of the following:
• Free entry.  Just click enter to enter.
• Leave a comment on this post.  Age-old paranormal question: vampires or werewolves?
• Tweet about the giveaway.  Leave a link to your tweet in the comments section.

The Hollow of Mont Noir by Jennifer Krey

Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance

Howl Series, Book 1

Jennifer Krey's website

Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads

Description (taken from Goodreads):

Allison Spencer was no stranger to the paranormal. An animal empath, she had the unique capacity to sense the feelings of animals around her - an ability she liked to call "Crittervision." She had never met anyone else with unusual powers and had gotten used to the fact that she was just an eccentric in a world full of normal people.

Allison lived an otherwise ordinary life and was looking forward to finishing high school along with her friends and her boyfriend in her hometown of Ocean City, Maryland. But when her older brother, Logan, suddenly disappeared from a small college town near the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, Allison's entire world was turned upside down.

Logan still hadn't been found after several months, so Allison's parents decided to move the family to the Hollow of Mont Noir, New York to look for him themselves. In addition to leaving behind her home and her friends and being dumped by her boyfriend, Allison suddenly had to deal with life in a small town, a strange creature that seemed to be stalking her, a new school full of cliques and cattiness, parents who were preoccupied with her missing brother, and an illogical fascination with an outcast boy who didn't talk to anyone at school.

As Allison settled into her new home, she began to realize that not everything - and everyone - was what they seemed. She soon learned of the existence of supernatural creatures living side-by-side with humans and was faced with a whole new set of questions - and some shocking answers - about herself and her family.

Oh the horrors of moving from one city to another right before starting your senior year in high school. Trust me when I say it isn't fun (because I've experienced it).  However, I've never experienced moving for the purpose of locating a missing brother.  Regardless, I thought this quirky tale was a great read!

The beginning starts out a little slow because we're receiving a lot of background knowledge that kind of explains what Allison's family believes happened to Logan and how it's caused them to end up in Mont Noir.  Allison's life is just like the average teenager's life, and I enjoyed reliving the new-girl-high-school experience (and I'm glad it wasn't me reliving it).  Allison meets some interesting characters, but there's one boy that pretty much draws Allison's (and therefore the reader's) attention.  I loved the mystery surrounding Riordan and the romance that sparks between the two.  And then we get the added bonus of paranormalness, and I really enjoyed how it played out.  The only question I was left with is what caused Riordan to be so attracted to Allison.  And maybe the beauty's in the mystery or maybe there's some underlying reason that we find out about later (or maybe I'm just a little too caught up in this tiny portion of the story).

If you liked Twilight, then you'll most definitely enjoy this read.  I imagine those that liked Shiver might like this as well (I wasn't a huge fan of Shiver, so I might be wrong).  It's a good paranormal romance with a happy ending.  And I'm glad there will be a second one coming.

Let me leave you with a quote from the book that I absolutely loved:

Hope is a vampire, relentless and evil.

It slowly sucks the life out of you while it lives on, 

lurking in the shadows, waiting to feast on your soul.  

     -Hollow of Mont Noir, p 3

Thanks goes to Jennifer Krey for providing me a review copy of this book.

Challenges:  Debut Author Challenge and Young Adult Reading Challenge