Interview with Julie Kagawa, Author of The Iron Fey Series

The Iron King and its sequel The Iron Daughter are some of my favorites, so I'm absolutely thrilled to have the author of them, Julie Kagawa, stop by for an interview.

Where'd you come up with the original idea for the Iron Fey series?

I've always loved faeries, but when I started The Iron King, I wanted to write something that was a little different. So I started thinking, what are the fey afraid of? In myth and legends, the answer is iron. So, what if there were a type of faery that was immune to iron, and how would that affect the other fey? Then I remembered we already have 'monsters' in machines: gremlins and bugs and viruses and such. And from that thought, the Iron Fey were born


Was The Iron King your first completed novel?

No, I'd worked on and finished several other stories before The Iron King, the last one being a fantasy set in medieval Japan. The Iron King was just the first novel that was published.

What made you decide to write for young adults?

I've always enjoyed writing for and about teenagers. Guess that says something about my maturity level. :P

Out of nowhere, you've been teleported to an island. At first you freak out, but you then realize that 4 of your favorite books have come with you and this calms you down. Those 4 books are...?

Poison Study, The Fox Woman, Helm, and The Druid of Shannara.


What's your biggest guilty pleasure? (Anything. Movie, book, show, game, etc.)

Video games. Particularly The Sims 3. :D


How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

If a woodchuck could chuck wood, the amount of wood that a woodchuck could chuck depends on the amount of wood that a woodchuck chopped before he could chuck wood. :P

Can you give us any clue to what you're working on now?

At the moment, I'm working on a new YA series. Think vampires.

Thanks so much Julie!

The Iron Daughter Review

Synopsis includes spoilers for those who haven't read The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: August 1, 2010

Pages: 359 (Paperback)

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Most Appropriate For Ages: 12+
Where I Got It: Bought
Other titles in the series: The Iron King

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere.

Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron Fey, iron-bound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off.
She's alone in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

It was just. so. AWESOME. I mean, I'd heard fantastic things about it, but...so. AWESOME.

Now that Ethan's safely back at home, you'd think that Meghan would have less drive. Well, she didn't. She's still as driven and strong as she was in The Iron King. But she's not some lifeless warrior woman. (Even if she wants to be at times.) She has feelings, and they're strong and conflicted. Conflicted between Puck and Ash....

What "team" am I on? Well, if you'd asked me anytime I was reading The Iron Daughter I'd firmly say "Puck! Totally! Ash is a heartless, rude, arrogant, boring, too serious, no-good, orphan-eating, toad-licking, evil, narcissistic, sadistic, lame, heartless...."

Yeah, it'd go on.

BUT THEN the ending came. And something that Ash does just sort of changed everything I'd thought of him like that. I still love Puck...but now I love them both.

And we meet new people and old people with new attitudes! I swear none of them are similar at all, and I seriously don't know how Julie Kagawa does it.

And while we're talking about Julie Kagawa, she's created such an amazing world with her vivid description and excellent storytelling. She just plain ROCKS.

Only with a truly great series is the sequel as good as the first book, and The Iron Daughter was just as good as The Iron King...if not better. Which means potential blow-your-mind amazingness for The Iron Queen, which I want to be out, um, NOW please.

Book Report:

Plot: Full of action and romance.

Characters: LOVE 'EM.

Writing: Gorgeous.

Ending: MORE!

Kid friendly? Well, there's a little swearing and gore as well as mentions of sex.

Should I read it? LIKE, NOW. As long as you've read The Iron King first.

Overall:

And be sure to stop by and check out my interview with Julie Kagawa tomorrow!