Interview: Julie Kagawa - The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)

I am so excited to have had the opportunity to interview one of my most favorite authors, Julie Kagawa through Morey Media.

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Blood of Eden

Pages: 504

Genre: Young Adult – Paranormal

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Australian Release Date: 1st May 2012

Source: Morey Media

www.harlequinbooks.com.au and in book stores nationally for

RRP AU$19.99/NZ$22.99

My Review

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Interview:

I have just read and loved The Immortal Rules - was it difficult starting this series after the success you have had with your amazing Iron Fey series?

Not too difficult. I always knew that I would write something else after The Iron Fey, and I'm interested in all the paranormal and mythological creatures. I'll admit, I never really thought I'd write a vampire series, but when I started thinking about the potential of combining everyone's favorite fanged monsters with a dystopic, post-apocalyptic world, I started getting ideas. And The Immortal Rules was born.

Do you mind telling us how long it took to write The Immortal Rules?

I'm not sure if I remember exactly, but it was somewhere around 6 months. I was going to go into more detail on why, but then I read the next question, so I'll finish this answer there. :)

Were there any parts of the story or characters you found particularly difficult to write?

The world of the Immortal Rules is a little more mundane than Iron Fey. Sure, there's vampires, but there's no trods or mystical ways to zip from point a to point b. There's also familiar cities and landmarks and scenarios that I had to research. Can a gun fire after being dropped into the water? Had to research that... and modern cartridges can, indeed, be fired after being submerged. What would a city look like after 60 years of neglect, or if people suddenly disappeared? How far can a group of people, traveling on foot over rough roads, travel in a day? Lots of questions that I never had to answer for the Iron Fey. So, the research aspect was a little more tedious. Hopefully, I didn't make too many mistakes. :)

Is there anything about you that would surprise your readers? Any quirks, habits, routines etc.

I don't know if it's a surprise to anyone who follows me on Twitter, but I'm an avid martial artist. I'm a practitioner of kung-fu and Kali, and have a smattering of karate and tae-kwan-do in my background. What else? I have chickens... six hens that should be laying any day now. My husband and I are trying to make a small, somewhat self-sufficient homestead. We're learning a lot in the process... but it is definitely a learning experience. We're making lots of mistakes, but having lots of fun.

How do you approach writing a new novel?

I start at the end. Not actually writing the end first, but with knowing how the book is going to end. From there, I figure out what I want the beginning to be, and what the characters were like before they became who they became by the end of the book. Filling in the middle is about deciding what “high points” would have to happen to get the story and the characters both from where they started to where they ended. Once I have a firm grasp on those things, I start writing. The details kind of fill themselves in as I go.

Is there a book you are reading at the moment? And do you tend to favor a particular genre?

I'm reading a couple of arcs that I've been asked to blurb. I probably shouldn't go into any details yet, though. As for genre, my favorite is young adult (no surprise there, right?), and mostly of the paranormal variety. The late-teen years are such a tumultuous time, full of so many firsts, that I think adults and teens alike can relate to (though from very different perspectives).

What is up next for you? Are you currently working on the sequel to The Immortal Rules?

Right now, I'm working on the sequel to Immortal Rules. Since I've got both Immortal Rules and the next Iron Fey series going at the same time, I'm pretty booked (no pun intended) for the next few years.

Is there any advice you would give to an aspiring author?

Persevere. The publishing industry is one where you might get rejected by 20 people and then find the one agent or editor that loves your work. The manuscript that got me my agent still hasn't sold, and probably never will. Also, always keep writing. Not only is it a habit you have to develop, but it's a skill you have to hone. The only way to get better at it is to keep doing it... no one is born with an innate ability to write well.

Julie Kagawa - Website - Facebook - Twitter - Harlequin The Iron Fey - Harlequin Blood of Eden

About Julie Kagawa:

Julie Kagawa was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn't getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel. 

 
When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon puppy.