Jennifer Estep has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her writing plucks me out of my soft lazy boy and takes me for one hell of a ride. When I got the chance to ask Jennifer to guest post on a topic I wanted to learn more about Gin and the words she uses. The phrases Gin uses, I believe, bring the character to life and gives her personality.
So w/o further ramblings from me, here is Jennifer:
Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to say thanks to Chasity for having me on the blog today. Thanks, Chasity!
Some of you might know me as the author of the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assassin codenamed the Spider who can control the elements of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing people and righting wrongs, Gin runs a barbecue restaurant called the Pork Pit in the fictional southern metropolis of Ashland. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vampires, and elementals - Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.
(Linked to LLL Reviews)
The first two books in the series are Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies. Venom, the third book, will hit shelves on Sept. 28. Tangled Threads, the fourth book, will be published in May 2011, while the fifth book (untitled) will be released in October 2011.
I’ve also sold a young adult urban fantasy series called Mythos Academy. The first book is called Touch of Frost and will be out in August 2011. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a Gypsy girl who has the gift of psychometry, or the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. After a serious freak-out with her magic, Gwen finds herself shipped off to Mythos Academy, a school for the descendents of ancient warriors like Spartans, Valkyries, and more.
So Chasity asked me to talk a little about some of the words that Gin uses in the Elemental Assassin books. Gin definitely has her own way of speaking, using words and phrases like “po-po” and “sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.” There are others that she says, but these seem to be the two most popular - or most annoying, depending on your point of view. LOL.
So why do I use these words? Well, I think that it’s one way to distinguish Gin as a character. Think how boring it would be if all the characters in all the books talked exactly the same. Not every character has had the same experiences or lives in the same place, so I think their speech patterns should be different. Giving Gin her own unique vocabulary or having her describe things a certain way makes her seem a little more real and lifelike to me, and I hope it does to readers too.
Besides, we don’t all talk the same way in real life so why should books be any different? Personally, I love traveling to other places and hearing other people’s accents, especially since I have such a hillbilly accent of my own. LOL.
Plus, there’s a personal connection too. A lot of these words are little in-jokes between me and my friends and family - things that we’ve somehow thought up over the years that have become part of our everyday conversations. They’re just natural words to me, ones that have crept into my writing in various ways.
For example, every time we’re out driving around and we pass a police car, my significant other will say “Be cool! It’s the po-po!” So instead of saying “police” all the time in the books, Gin will often shorten it to “po-po” instead in honor of my significant other.
As for “sloppy, sloppy, sloppy,” that’s another little in-joke. Sometimes, when my friends and I get together, we’ll sit around and play cards. Whenever someone drops a card or rolls a pair of dice off the table, we’ll all chime in and say “sloppy play.” I just thought that a variation of that - “sloppy, sloppy, sloppy” - would be something interesting for Gin to say whenever one of her enemies makes a mistake and would be in keeping with her assassin character.
My friends, family, and I have all kinds of slang words that we use. Sandwich is “sammich” to us (although I don’t use that in the books). Anytime someone yawns, we all say “Wakey, wakey, kitty-cat,” thanks to my significant other, who has three cats. And whenever my mom or I bring the other one bread, milk, or whatever from the store, we always say that our carrying charge is $40 (no matter what the actual cost of the bread is). I don’t really know why we decided on $40, but it’s a number that’s stuck.
Yeah, my friends, family, and I are all a little crazy. But that’s what makes life fun, right? ;-)
What about you guys? Do you have your own slang words? What are they and what do they mean?
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Thank you Jennifer. Be sure to read my Venom review. I devoured Venom quickly- Yes, it is THAT great!! I am eagerly awaiting the Mythos Academy series and reading her Big Time series right now. I just finished Karma Girl and now want an alter ego superhero name. LOL!!
I will answer Jennifer's question in the comments and you can to, in order, to be entered for a chance to win a copy of Venom.
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1. Answer Jennifer's Question
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Extra Entires:
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*ENDS Oct 5th- Midnight Hawaii time*
Btw, if you own a copy by the contest ending then send this one to a friend of yours who just might like it. Basically, the giveaways (personally sponsored ones) I hold can be sent to any address of the winner's choice- This may or may not include outside sponsored giveaways. So go ahead and enter regardless.
