Interview & Giveaway with Kevin Hearne

Posted July 19, 2011 by Carmel in / 59 Comments

Last but definitely not least in my interview line-up for the Midnight Summer Festival is Kevin Hearne! The third book in his Iron Druid Chronicles, Hammered, was just released earlier this month. Welcome!

What’s your favorite Norse myth?

I enjoyed the bit where Loki turned himself into a mare, got mounted by a stallion, and then gave birth to Sleipnir. That’s a pretty amusing story.

Atticus isn’t a very common name; why did you choose it for your main character?

To Kill A Mockingbird! I think Atticus Finch is one of the greatest heroes ever, and I was hoping some of that honor and dignity would rub off on my character. Not sure if it worked.

Why did you switch from Celtic to Norse mythology in Hammered?

It’s not a switch so much as a natural progression of the story that began in Hounded and Hexed. The Celtic gods are still there, but you also have gods from many other pantheons in Hammered. You can also look forward to seeing an even wider variety as the series continues, but the Celts will never go away.

What kind of wolfish goodness can werewolf fanatics like myself expect out of this series?

Hammered will most likely be your last hurrah in terms of werewolf shenanigans. Hal Hauk and his pack will make cameo appearances as lawyers but won’t be an integral part of the plot from here on out—sorry! Mostly that’s because Atticus can’t stay in Tempe after Hammered.

I hear that readers can expect at least three more books in the Iron Druid Chronicles; when you first set out to write Hounded did you ever expect to find yourself here?

No, when I first wrote Hounded I was thinking of it as a standalone, and then the series suggested itself to me as was going through the second draft.

I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never read One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, the book responsible for giving you the writing bug, blame it on my French education. Why did Ken Kesey’s book make such an impression on you?

It’s simply a spectacular use of voice and a testament to what can be accomplished with first-person point of view. Chief Bromden’s observations are brilliant and you don’t get that at all by watching the movie. It’s such a moving book to me, though I know it doesn’t speak the same way to everyone.

If you could be any Norse mythological character for a day; which one would you choose and why?

I’d like to be Bragi. He was quite a skald and I think you could go on worse ego trips than performing for the gods.

What made you think of giving Atticus the ability to mentally communicate with animals? Was it your inability to speak dog?

Precisely. I’ve always wanted to have conversations with my dogs. They’re so damn happy all the time and it has to be infectious. I think we’d all be happier if we could talk to our dogs. It would probably end all war, and we’d probably take more walks.

I can’t believe that 23 agents passed on Hounded before you were finally signed. What’s your secret to dealing with rejection without getting discouraged?

I’m not sure that it’s a secret; it’s just a frank admission to yourself that not everyone is going to love your work, and that’s okay. My experience is certainly not unique—with very few exceptions, every writer gets rejected multiple times, and I wanted other aspiring writers to know that so they wouldn’t give up after three or four.

What’s your favorite novel in the Iron Druid Chronicles and why?

Hammered is my favorite because I got to draw a map for it and I also got to play around with narrative voices. There’s a section in there where five different narrators take over for Atticus, similar to The Canterbury Tales. You get the Vampire’s Tale, the Werewolf’s Tale, etc. So that experience was challenging for me in an amusing, nerdy way and I appreciated the chance to live inside some other characters’ heads for a while.

  
Kevin is the author of The Iron Druid Chronicles, an urban fantasy series published by Del Rey Books. The first three books of the series will be released in May and June of 2011.

An Arizona native, Kevin got hooked on comic books at an early age and embraced his inner nerd. Later he got hooked on coffee, but that did nothing to ameliorate his nerdhood. He spent time as a singing waiter in college and also contributed to the college newspaper as an editorial cartoonist and feature columnist. It was during this time he got the writing bug, thanks to Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

He now teaches high school English, reads lots of fantasy, and paints miniature dwarfs because the redundancy amuses him. He’s currently working on the fourth book in The Iron Druid Chronicles

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Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
   
Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
   
Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

1 copy of Hammered

Giveaway Details:

Must be 13 years of age or older to enter. Open to CAN/USA residents only and closes on July 20th at 12:00 PM. Winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 48hrs to respond.

Mandatory Entry:

To enter this Giveaway please be a GFC follower and leave a comment with your e-mail address.

Additional Optional Entries:
*Please leave a separate comment per entry.

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+1 Like my Facebook Page.
+1 Tweet about Giveaway (use hashtag #midnightsummerfestival).
+1 Networked Blogs Follower.

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Tomorrow’s festivities: Wrap-up & winners!

About the Blogger
I review Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance books with a focus all things werewolf. Based out of Ottawa, Canada

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Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!

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59 responses to “Interview & Giveaway with Kevin Hearne”

  2. Sharon

    This is a series that is made for me!!! I can’t wait to start it. I don’t want my dog to talk cause all she would say is “feed me!”

    thanks!

    GCF, Networked blog, FB

  4. Darlene

    Please enter me in the draw!

    I’m following you on GFC (Darlene), and my email address is darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  7. Darlene

    +1 Like my Facebook Page.
    (Darlene’s Book Nook)

    My email address is darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  9. Darlene

    +1 Networked Blogs Follower.
    (Darlene’s Book Nook)

    My email address is darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  36. Christine

    Thank you for the giveaway! I really want to read these books…lots of good reviews of them out there. 🙂

    GFC-Christine Davis

    ceeenndee at gmail dot com

  47. Sherry

    I’ve seen your books on a couple different blogs and think they sound very good.
    GFC follower – Sherry Strode

    sstrode at scrtc dot com

  51. Maria Behar

    Hi, again!

    LOVED that interview!! Great, great stuff! You’ve really got your interview technique down pat, girl!

    Yup, I’m entering this giveaway, too! I’m a GFC follower, and my e-mail address is:

    twilightdreamlover@boxbe.com

    (BTW, my 7/19 post is on Celtic mythology, with a highlight of The Mabinogion. Come check it out!)

    You know, I’m so sad this festival is ending today…(it’s about 40 minutes past midnight, on 7/20, here in Miami, Florida, USA. Is there a chance it could be extended? Or maybe we could do this again in the future, and publicize it more? I don’t think we’ve exhausted the topic, by any means! Oh, I sure would LOVE to participate again!!!!!! : )