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!

Winner of The Iron King

Thanks so much to everyone who entered! There were over 80 people entered, which I think is awesome! Sadly, I can only give one of you a copy of this amazing book, and that one person is.....

Sylvia

Congrats! I'm off to email you now. Thanks again to everyone else who entered, and be sure to check out my giveaway for Radiant Shadows!

Contest: The Iron King CLOSED

CLOSED

So, if you've read my review of The Iron King then you'll know how much I completely LOVED it. And I recently won a second copy, so...

I'm giving away a paperback copy of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa to one lucky resident of the USA or Canada. (Sorry to my international friends, but when you're 14 and living off of allowance, it's a miracle you can have contests at all!)

Here's what The Iron King is about:

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

To enter, go HERE. The end date for the contest is April 11th. Good luck!

The Iron King Review

Author: Julie Kagawa

Release Date: February 1, 2010

Pages: 363

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Most Appropriate For Ages: 13+
Where I Got It: Publisher in exchange for my honest review

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

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I'm just trying. Trying to coherently form words. Trying to take in everything that I've just read. But most of all, I'm trying how to write a review that's actually a review instead of "OMG THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! I NEEED THE NEXT ONE!!" which will be very difficult. But, I digress....

Sure, the dark faery realm has been done before. It reminded me a little of Tithe, but Julie Kagawa made it her own. She showed such imagination and creativity throughout the novel. Each chapter was filled with heart-pounding action that left me (quite literally) on the edge of my seat. Most of the romance doesn't come in until closer to the end of the book, but I liked that the action was highlighted more than the romance; it made it original, too. Plus I love me some good action.

Oh, the characters! Meghan is such a strong main character. She never overly freaks out, even when in impossible situations. Ash is my new imaginary boyfriend. And the romance between Meghan and Ash is awesome and very believable. But I love Puck- Meghan's faerie friend -too, and it's kind of obvious that he's pining for Megan as well. And Grimlakin, the sarcastic talking cat, was just hilarious. He provided a lot of comic relief when it was tense. The cast of characters overall was outstanding.

Julie Kagawa's writing was phenomenal. I could picture everything so vividly, could feel all of the characters emotions, could smell and taste everything. Her storytelling and writing just completely blew me away.

I didn't want the book to end, and am desperately awaiting for August to arrive, which is when the sequel will be released. The Iron King is my favorite faery book ever and one of my favorite books. So, if you're on the fence about reading The Iron King, I highly suggest you get off of that fence (it must be terribly uncomfortable) and grab yourself a copy immediately. I cannot find one negative thing to say about it. So, in conclusion: OMG THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! I NEEED THE NEXT ONE!!