While We Wait ... A Q&A With Julie Kagawa

So, am I the only person left in the book blogosphere who hasn't read Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series? Yep, that's what I thought. I've been meaning to, of course, just haven't gotten around to it. But, now, thanks to Kagawa's publicist, I have a shiny new copy of The Iron Knight, the newest book in the series. Since - as you well know - my OCD does not allow me to start series in the middle, I put the first two books on reserve at the library. As soon as they come in, I'm going to dive right into this much-talked about series. I can't wait. Well, I have to wait, but in the mean time, let's enjoy this little Q&A with Julie Kagawa:

Q.) If you could pick one of the characters from The Iron Fey series to have dinner with, who would it be and why?

A.) I’m going to have to go with Ash, because I know he’d at least be polite. Unlike a certain faery prankster, who might put something in my food or turn the waiter into a hedgehog. Meghan would also be a good choice, we could catch a movie afterwards. Grim…not so much; he’d order the most expensive thing on the menu and then turn up his nose at it.

Q.) When you first started this series, with The Iron King, did you know then that there would be multiple books? And did you know you’d want to write them with a changing point of view?

A.) When I first began The Iron King, I knew I wanted to write at least a trilogy, but I left an open ending on the first book in case the publisher didn’t want to buy the whole series. Fortunately, they did, though I did intend the series just to be a trilogy. I didn’t think I would write a fourth book from Ash’s POV, but it made the most sense to continue the series with him.

Q.) Being that The Iron Knight is written from Ash’s point of view, was it easier or harder to switch over and tell his story?

A.) It was a little harder, initially. I knew Meghan; after three books I knew her voice and her personality and her quirks. It was difficult with Ash, because he was such a guarded character, and he never was really chatty. And because he’s lived such a long time, and is an Unseelie fey, he’s done some things in his life that might change how some people view him. It was actually kind of scary putting his story out there; what will people think now that they know the real Ash? But I wrote his story as honestly as I could, and I hope they will come to love the Winter Prince as much as I do.

Did that whet your appetite a little bit? Good. The Iron Knight can be picked up at your local bookstore (assuming, of course, that your community still has one) or your favorite online book retailer: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Harlequin Teen, etc.

If you've read the series, what do you think? Are you excited for the newest book?

(Images shamelessly stolen from Julie Kagawa's website)