Jennifer Armintrout is the USA Today bestselling author of the Blood Ties series and the Lightworld/Darkworld series. When not hard at work on another book, she’s slinging fries at her local McDonald’s to keep her family insured. A diehard supporter of national healthcare, she wants you to really think about how incongruous are the statements, “bestselling author” and “Would you like fries with that.” Jennifer lives in Michigan with her husband and two children.

We’re delighted to have Jennifer Armintrout as our guest today.

WiiC: What was the first video game that you played?

Jennifer: The first video game I ever played was Smurfs for Colecovision. It was one where you had the cartridge, and the graphics were like, four bit, and you put a little clear plastic slide into the controller so you know which button to push for what. Looking back, it’s… well, that game is still pretty bad ass.

WiiC: What system(s) do you play now?

Jennifer: I’ve got everything. PS3, XBox 360, Wii, DS, PSP…. it’s a bit embarrassing. I used to PC game, but now I’m a Mac user, so… yeah, I don’t care what anyone says. The ports are for crap.

WiiC: Do you have a favorite system and / or video game?

Jennifer: I haven’t found one system that is hands down my favorite. There are things I like about all of the systems. I like the PS3 because I’m more familiar with the controls, having come straight from the PS2, and the selection of games are right up my alley. The 360 has the awesome streaming Netflix, and some games I like. The Wii is something I can play and be ridiculously competitive in an almost mean-spirited way with my son, and the DS has a lot of fun, short-attention span games on it that you can play while pretending to be going to the bathroom, but really you’re escaping your children. The only one that I think I’m not sold on is the PSP, because I just haven’t found a game for it that I couldn’t live without.

As for games I’m into, I loved Fable II. Can’t wait for the next one. I’ve got Ninja Town on my DS right now, and even though it’s just this silly little castle defense thing, holy cow, the sense of humor and the story are keeping me entertained. Heavenly Sword was really good, so I’m looking forward to Enslaved from the same developer.

My all-time favorite video game, from now until forever, is Super Mario Bros. 3. Super Mario Bros. Adventures or whatever was a pale imitation of that. 3 is where it’s at!

WiiC: What is your favorite genre or genres of video game?

Jennifer: I like roleplaying games. I’m coming off a pretty heavy World of Warcraft dependency, but I filled the gap with Fable II for a little while. Weirdly, though, I’m not into Final Fantasy, which is becoming a genre all its own. I’ve tried them all on, and just kind of wandered away. I’m loving the return of the side scrolling platformer, too. Little Big Planet was amazing, and it had that same feeling of fun and discovery that Super Mario Bros. 3 had when it first came out.

WiiC: Is there a video game accomplishment that you would like to share?

Jennifer: 1st place. Rainbow Road. MarioKart Wii. Oh yes, I have conquered the road of heartache.

WiiC: Do any of the characters in your novels play video games? What do they play?

Jennifer: The characters in my books haven’t really had time to play video games. I assume that Ziggy, from Blood Ties, probably played video games, but I can’t imagine he had his own console at home, because Nathan doesn’t seem like the kind of dad who’d spend money on that. But I bet Ziggy would prefer first person shooters.

WiiC: Please tell us about your latest and upcoming book releases.

Jennifer: Right now I’ve got a back-to-back-to-back series coming out, called the Lightworld/Darkworld series. The first two books, Queene of Light and Child of Darkness, are already out, and the third, Veil of Shadows, will be out at the end of November. It’s a story about a war between humans and fantasy creatures, told from the point of view of the Fae. You’re not necessarily rooting for the humans to win this one.

WiiC: Thank you for being November’s author who games!

Read more about Jennifer Armintrout at www.JENNIFERARMINTROUT.com.