Jessica Shirvington is the author of THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS also known as THE EMBRACE SERIES, and stand alone novel, BETWEEN THE LIVES. An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual Fun, Fearless Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the love of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for FOXTEL and Sky News. Married for twleve years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels.

Welcome Jessica! Thank you so much for being apart of the Paranormal Ball, I am so happy to have you here today!

Thanks Haley!

Now, I have yet to meet Lincoln or Phoenix (although I plan on meeting them VERY soon), for those of us who have yet to meet them, how would you describe them?

Focused would be a word I would use for both of them but that is about where it stops. Lincoln is committed and often selfless and self sacrificing. His priorities are his duties and protecting his partner, Violet, to the point that he will often deny himself and Violet the very thing they both want the most. For Phoenix, who is a dark exiled angel, his priorities are often more self centred. He can be downright selfish at times, but underneath that is a heart that is do desperate to find and give love that it is heartbreaking.

What would you say you love most about your main character Violet?

She grows. She makes mistakes and some of them are pretty major, but she actually learns from the and moves ahead. She takes responsibility for her actions and is able to reflect and see where she has gone wrong. She becomes a warrior in the books, she does not begin as one.

If Sabine from your novel Between the Lives, were to meet Violet, how do you think they would react to each other?

Not too well I would guess. Their lives are so polar opposite. In some ways I think they would be sympathetic to each others problems but at the same time I think they would likely collide in the personality department.

Empower, the final book in your Violet Eden series release date is coming up, How do you hope your readers will feel with the ending of the series, and is their any lessons you hope they will take from the series?

I just have my fingers crossed that readers will feel it is the right place to end. It was really important to me not to drag the series out for the wrong reasons. I wanted to finish it when I felt Violet's story had come to the right end. As for lessons, I'm not teaching any. I just want people to enjoy the journey and felt satisfied that their time has been well spent when they reach the final page.

Last question, What are you currently working on, and can you tell us a bit about it?

I've been doing the final proofreads for EMPOWER and am in the early stages of an edit of a new two book series which is coming out early 2014 called DISRUPTION (which is a very different story again!). I'm really excited about that and once I have the edit completed on that, I will be working on its sequel.

On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It's a battle Violet doesn't want, but she lives her life by two rules: don't run and don't quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.

LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he's Grigori--part human, part angel--and that he was training her for an ancient battle between Angels and Exiles.

PHOENIX: No one knows where his loyalties lie, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's lies. In a world of dark and light, he is all shades of gray.

Two sides: Angel or Exile.
Two guys: Lincoln or Phoenix.
The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity...