You’ve written in both young adult and adult fantasy, do you have a favorite?

Not really. They both feel pretty much the same to me. The only thing that’s different is the age of the main character.

What drew you to writing about faeries?

I’ve always loved faerie stories, so it was only natural that I’d want to write one some day. I always enjoyed learning about mythology, and some of my favorite books of all time (like Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks ) are about faeries interacting with the modern world.

What inspired the Faeriewalker trilogy?

Two things, really. One was the idea for the world, which had been percolating in the back of my brain for years. I’d come up with the idea of a city that was the single place two worlds intersected, but despite numerous efforts, hadn’t managed to come up with an idea for a plot I wanted to set in said city. Then, when I thought about making my protagonist a teenage girl, the idea for the story finally popped into my head. What made the idea of writing the series even more compelling, for someone who’d never written YA before, was the idea of making Dana the daughter of an alcoholic single mother. Having lived that situation myself, I could really connect to Dana, and the story became very personal to me.

How would you describe Dana Hathaway?

She’s strong and mature well beyond her years, except where relationships are concerned. She’s spent so much of her life trying to cover up her mother’s “shameful” secret that she’s never allowed herself to get close to people, and she doesn’t quite know what to do with people who want to get close to her. Life with her mother has taught her to be cautious and self-sufficient, and she harbors a lot of anger she’s never allowed herself to express.

As far as I know, Sirensong is the last book of the Faeriewalker series, any chance you might continue the series in the future?

Sirensong is indeed the final book of the series. It’s always possible I could continue the series-or perhaps start a spinoff series-in the future, but as of now there are no plans for any future books.

Do you have any other young adult fantasy projects you’re working on?

I do have a couple of proposals for YA fantasy projects making the rounds at the publishers. One is a dystopian, and one is an urban fantasy. I am really excited about both of these projects and hope I will be able to find a home for at least one of them.

Your website is full of free reads, why did you decide not to publish those fantastic stories?

The novels I have posted as free reads are both novels I was unable to sell. I wrote 18 novels before I was finally able to sell my “first” book, and though the two on my website came very close to being bought, they were ultimately rejected by the major publishing houses. I am considering the possibility of joining the ebook revolution and self-publishing them, but I haven’t started that ball rolling yet.

Can you talk about some of the games on your website? 

I tend to like playing games (and doing jigsaw puzzles). Plus, early in my career, I was very gung-ho about doing promotion, because it gave me the illusion that I was taking an active role in helping to sell my books. I still love games, but I’ve backed way off on the self-promotion. I don’t particularly enjoy doing it, and I’ve seen no sign that it helps my books sales. However, I’m not going to take down the games and puzzles I put up previously.

Do you have any upcoming tours/signings planned?

No. I’m not a “big” enough author to do tours (yet?), and I generally only do the occasional local signing. I was planning to participate in a group signing next month, but it was at a Borders store, so that is now off.

Many of our readers are aspiring fantasy writers, what advice would you offer someone who’s just starting out?

Write a lot. Every day, if you can. The more you write, the better you get at it. Don’t spend years working on one book trying to get it perfect, because it will never be perfect. I know a lot of writers who are so busy trying to make their first manuscript perfect that they never get around to writing another one, and the fact is that very few of us manage to sell our first book. I’m a prime example. The “first” book I had published was actually the 18th book I’d written over a 16-year period. Which leads to my most important piece of advice of all: DON’T GIVE UP. It can be a frustrating and disheartening business, and it’s easy to let criticism and rejection get you down. Believe that if you keep writing and keep getting better, you will eventually succeed, because you probably will. And you can be quite sure you won’t succeed if you quit.

Jenna Black is your typical writer. Which means she’s an “experience junkie.” She got her BA in physical anthropology and French from Duke University.

Once upon a time, she dreamed she would be the next Jane Goodall, camping in the bush making fabulous discoveries about primate behavior. Then, during her senior year at Duke, she did some actual research in the field and made this shocking discovery: primates spend something like 80% of their time doing such exciting things as sleeping and eating.

Concluding that this discovery was her life’s work in the field of primatology, she then moved on to such varied pastimes as grooming dogs and writing technical documentation. Among her other experiences. . .

• Ballroom dancing.
• Traveling all seven continents. Yes, even Antarctica.
• Becoming a Life Master in Bridge.
• Singing in a barbershop chorus.