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October's FEATURED AUTHOR: Meet Kevin Hearne!

October 5, 2011
It's October already! Time for pumpkins, Halloween, and our Featured Author for the month, Kevin Hearne!

Kevin is the author of the popular Iron Druid Chronicles, featuring two-thousand-year-old druid Atticus O'Sullivan, and his Irish Wolfhound Oberon.

drey: Hello Kevin! Welcome to drey’s library, and thank you for taking the time to visit us this month as our Author!

Kevin: 'Tis a pleasure.

drey: Please introduce yourself to our readers, in 10 sentences or thereabouts…

kevin hearne
Kevin: I'm a mild-mannered high school English teacher by day, and an even milder writer by night. I kind of wish I had a batcave or something to write in, because that would make my life sound exciting—especially if there was a secret entrance behind a bookcase—but the reality is I write at my kitchen table after dinner. I have a wife, a daughter who likes to draw, and two cute little dogs—a pug and a Boston terrier. In theory, there may be cats in the house, but as they completely ignore me, I'm going to ignore them right back. I imagine they will howl most piteously when they discover I have dissed them on your blog.

drey: Oooh, you are one brave soul, to put up with howling cats... 

How long have you been a writer? When did you realize that this is what you’re meant to do?

Kevin: I started writing in college, after reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ken Kesey was brilliant. My books aren't in his league, but hopefully people are entertained.

drey: Tell us a little bit about the Iron Druid Chronicles… Why a centuries-old druid (as opposed to anything/anyone else)?

Kevin: Part of it was simply because I'm Irish and interested in Celtic mythology. But another part of it was finding a magic user who could communicate with animals—not as a familiar, but as a true companion—because this was always going to be a series about a man and his dog. Making the man a Druid made more sense than making him a demon or a foul-tempered short-order cook.

drey: True, true... And I love the interactions between Atticus and Oberon--they make me laugh!

Can you share your road to publication? How did you celebrate getting published?

Kevin: It took me nineteen years, so my advice to any aspiring authors out there is to keep writing and don't give up. I wrote several books before I wrote HOUNDED. The story of Atticus and Oberon was actually something to keep me busy and entertained while I was waiting to hear back on another book. That book never got published, but once my agent submitted HOUNDED, four different publishers bid on it in just two weeks. After years of rejection, it was overwhelming to see a reaction like that from editors. But it came about partially through some market analysis: write what you want, by all means—I definitely wanted to write about an ancient Druid living in the modern world—but also keep an eye out for niches on the shelves that you can fill. I celebrated filling the Druid niche by drinking a lot with my friends and family at an Irish pub. :)

drey: Who are some of your favorite urban fantasy authors? What impact have they had on your own work?

Kevin: I like many of the same ones most folks do: Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs. Nicole Peeler is brilliant—she always makes me laugh. Every book of hers has a really loud "Bwah hah hah!" in there somewhere for me. Mostly the impact has been an attempt on my part to explore new territory. When you look at Carrie and Patricia's work, they've done werewolves so well that it's difficult to think of how to offer something fresh there. To be different, you almost have to go in the opposite direction, and for me that meant werewolves wouldn't be dominant in my series (heh!) and they'd be lawyers instead of blue-collar types.

drey: Oooh, a new author to stalk--I haven't read Nicole Peeler (yet!), and "bwah hah hah"s are a good thing!

We know that Atticus can slay gods… But let’s play Smackdown: The Urban Fantasy edition. Throw Atticus in the ring against the protagonist of another urban fantasy series. Who’s his opponent, who wins, and why?

Kevin: Regardless of the opponent, it depends on the setting. If you fight Atticus the city, where he's cut off from the power of the earth, you have a shot at winning. If you're outside, he's probably going to take you out, because he's a very skilled martial artist who will never tire so long as he can draw on the earth—and he's immune to most magic.

drey: Dang. I wouldn't want to be on his bad side... Or if I am, I'll have to make sure he's not anywhere near the earth...

What do you do to recharge your batteries?

Kevin: I hug trees. I get out of town and go walking in the forest, watching birds and squirrels and reminding myself that there is much more to life on this planet than whatever's trending on Twitter.

drey: Heh. I tweet when I'm not working, which means I have tweet-spurts followed by a whole lotta nothing...

I haven’t read Hexed or Hammered yet, so don’t know if Hammered is the end of the series. If it is, what’s up next for you? If it isn’t, what can we expect next for Atticus?

Kevin: The series will go on for a while, happily. I'm currently under contract for six books. Book four, TRICKED, will be out April 24, and you can expect some problems with trickster gods in that one. :)

drey: Six books? YAY!! I love it when I can get more of the characters I like... You'll have to visit us again in April!

And last but not least, the quickie-5 (Halloween edition):
  1. The Nightmare before Christmas or The Nightmare on Elm Street?
    Tim Burton for the win! 
  2. Trick or treat?
    Treats are cool. 
  3. Haunted houses or haunted hayrides?
    I prefer houses. 
  4. Costumes: Hand-made or Purchased?
    It's all good. It's just fun. 
  5. Pumpkin pie or pumpkin seeds?
    PIE!
Thanks for doing this Q&A, Kevin!

Everyone, you can find Kevin online at his website www.kevinhearne.com, on facebook and twitter. And check out his books--I'll have a showcase up next week, but feel free to pick 'em up anyway. *grin*

10 comments:

wheels209 said...

Hey drey and Mr. Hearne,
Great post. I think I just found my next series and author to enjoy. I am glad Oberon is not a familiar to Atticus. It will also be a nice change for me that Atticus gets his magic from the earth. Best of luck to you with your writing career. I am off to purchase the first book and start reading. May you both have a great day.
Steve

drey said...

Hi Steve! You really should pick this series up, you will love the chuckles. Just don't try to pronounce the tongue-twisting names... (I made up the pronunciation in my head as I read)

Nicole Peeler said...

Aw, Kevin, you big sweetie, you. *hugs* Thanks! I love your books right back.

wheels209 said...

Hey drey,
You are so right my friend. Those Irish names are not easy for me to deal with at all. However, I am enjoying the overall story very much. The chuckles make it all worthwhile.
Later, have a great week.
Steve

holdenj said...

Welcome Kevin! Will look forward to more info about your books this month! I thought the comments about the cats in your home were funny...something similar was said the other day at work, but I don't think they were dissed online yet!

drey said...

Steve - So you've started already? Is this another series I'm getting you hooked on? *grin*

Ok. So yesterday I was watching a bit of the Phillies/Cardinals game (waiting for the Brewers' spanking later--boooooo!), and a squirrel ran across home plate. Then I picked up Hammered and guess what? There's a (giant) squirrel in the first chapter...

Next, there was a commercial for the Big Bang Theory (or something like that), and the did Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock (you'll have to look up the YouTube, it's funny). Guess what? Star Trek makes an appearance in Hammered, too...

I think Kevin Hearne has spooky powers or something... o.O

wheels209 said...

Hey drey,
Oh yes I am happily hooked on this series,thank-you my friend. I just met Oberon a little while ago...fun stuff. Atticus gets in some hot water with the ladies but I like it...(grin). I think your right that Mr. Hearne may have spooky powers because he did mention the batcave in the post so I think that he may run in those circles.

Squirrels....Squirrels....Everywhere....So very much fun...If you see Secret Squirrel(60's cartoon geek here...)at home tonight then I would be very worried...LOL!!!

I hope the Brewers win for you because you are a big fan. They should win because they play well at home. In fact I think they are playing right now as I type this comment. Go Brewers!!! for you drey.

I will check out Rock,Paper,Scissors,Lizard,Spock on YouTube. I love Star Trek references in books.

Well my friend time to go watch the Brewers win...Have a Great Weekend.
Later,
Steve

drey said...

Yay!! The Brewers are going to the NLCS!! :) Holy cow are tickets expensive though! But I indulged... Who knows when the next championship series we'll play in is going to be...

I forgot about the batcave, lol! And that squirrel did tag along, but they squirrelled him outta there (ha ha!) before the game...

wheels209 said...

Hey drey,
Your going to NLCS....Woot,Woot!!! Good for you my friend. Have you been to Miller Park before??? I hope Prince hits a home run just for you...that would be something to see. Maybe you will catch a ball. Be ready for anything. Baseball is a magical game. Enjoy!!!

Take care my friend have a great day!!!
Steve

drey said...

Wheeeee! They won game 1! :) Hopefully tomorrow is just as good! And yes, I've been there, we take in about 3-4 games a year. We'd do more but our schedules get totally crazy! :)

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