Q & A with Julie Kagawa, Author of Iron King

We had the great pleasure of interviewing Julie Kagawa, author of the newly released Iron King, book 1 of the Iron Fae Series.  It has been a TON of fun chatting with Julie over twitter and in the impromptu chats.  I hope you guys enjoy this small glimpse of Julie and her debut book!


1. Where did the idea for the Iron Fae come from?

When I started writing a book about faeries, I wanted to create something a little different then what was already out there. I thought about what faeries were afraid of, and the answer in most mythology was iron, and sometimes science/disbelief in magic. So what if there was a new type of faery that had evolved with progress and technology, that was immune to iron, and how would that affect the more traditional fey? Then I remembered we already have “monsters” lurking in machines: gremlins and bugs and viruses, ect. And from that thought, the Iron Fey were born.

2. What are five things about Ash, Meghan, Puck and Grim that we don't learn from the book?

• Meghan is a Libra.
  
  
• Puck can play the panpipes really well.
  
  
• Ash enjoys reading when he can; his favorite book is The Art of War by Sun Tsu.
  
  
• No one knows how old Grimalkin really is.
  
  
• Meghan's favorite subject in school is Math.

3. What is your favorite movie quote?

There are so many! Here are some of my faves, see if you can guess where they're from:

“Of course you don't have wings. You're a boy.”

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” 

“Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?”

“Wuv, Twoo Wuv.”

“Guessing? I … guess … no one's coming?”

“You remind me of the babe.”

4. Can you give us the first line of Iron Daughter, book 2 in the series?

Oh, I suppose. J Though it might be spoilery, so those who don't want spoilers should look away now.

The Iron King stood before me, magnificent in his beauty, silver hair whipping about like an unruly waterfall.


5. If you could collaborate with any other author(s) who would it be?

Neil Gaiman. He's my hero. I love all his books.


6. What kind of research did you do for the book?

Online research, mostly, looking up old myths, different types of faeries. There are so many stories out there, it was all very interesting. I tried to stay away from reading YA faery books, like those by Holly Black and Leslie Livingston, until my own story was complete. I didn't want to subconsciously copy them in any way. After I finished The Iron King, however, the first thing I did was to read Tithe, and it was awesome.


7. Meghan is a very strong female character, how important was it to you to have her be a true heroine and will we see her grow more in books 2 and 3?

Thank you! I'm so glad you think so! It was a bit difficult, in the first book, to find the right balance of strength and vulnerability. On the one hand, I wanted a strong female character who had a spine, and who wouldn't scream and cringe and have to be constantly rescued by the male leads. On the other hand, she's a normal sixteen year old girl who has been thrown into some very dangerous, frightening situations. She isn't going to be able to grab a sword and kick butt on her first try with no training whatsoever. However, she will continue to grow and change throughout the series, and by book 3, who knows how strong she'll have become?


8. When you're done with the Iron Fae series, what's next for you?

Writing, always writing. I do have a couple ideas for a new series, but I can't share them just yet.


9. Do we learn more about Meghan's Father in book 2? Will Meghan remember him?

Meghan's father does make an appearance, though that's all I can say about it without giving too much away. You'll have to read the second book and see. ;-)


10. What are the behind the scenes stuff that goes on for authors that we wouldn't guess would be part of the process?

Waiting, the endless waiting. You wait for your agent to call to say your book has been accepted. You wait for your contract to arrive so you can sign it. You send off your manuscript and wait for your editor to read it. You wait for the copyeditor to send you his changes to the story. You wait for your arcs. You wait for the reviews to start trickling in. You wait for your book to finally make it onto the shelves. If you want to be an author, you have to get used to waiting for just about everything. But the end result is always worth it. J


11. Who is your favorite character to write and why?

I'd have to say Ash is my favorite. I've always had a soft spot for Bad Boys with tortured pasts who can wield sharp pointy objects. But of course, Grimalkin runs a very, very close second.


12. Are there any deleted scenes or characters from Iron King?

There was a “dream sequence” that was cut from the first draft because it was thought that Meghan had too many dreams. In this deleted scene, Meghan was in her room, and dreamed that she heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, Ash was standing there, with Puck's disembodied head in one hand. He smiles and whispers: “finally found you,” and she wakes up.


13. Its obvious Shakespeare was a huge influence in your writing, were you also influenced by movies/stories like The Labyrinth, Alice in Wonderland and The Never Ending Story?

Perhaps subconsciously. I love fantasy, and I love all three of those movies, as well as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Dark Crystal, ect. I would never deliberately copy scenes or characters from a book or movie, but certain similar elements inevitably find their way into any work. I will say that The Iron King does not have THE PANTS of The Goblin King, nor does he dance around in them. :D


14.We noticed, you have a soundtrack for The Iron King, were these songs that helped inspire your writing, or just ones that fit with the “theme” of the book?

A little of both. Some songs I listened to while writing, just to get me in the mood. SecondHand Serenade's Fall for You, for example, is Ash and Meghan's song. Others I had to search for, like Grimalkin's theme, Stray Cat Strut. I do have a separate “writing playlist” that has all my favorites, and I listen to it pretty frequently.