Shiirleyy's Bookshelf has migrated to Dear Shirley ! I will continue to post book reviews but there will also be a lot of personal and travel-related posts :)

Author Interview: Julie Kagawa

12 Jun 2012

HEY GUYS! I'm here today with an AWESOME interview with one of my favourite authors ever - Julie Kagawa! I actually received the answers to my questions a while ago(like a month ago!)- but either I was half-asleep and accidentally missed it, or I was checking my emails on my iPad and the attached file didn't show up OR...I don't know what happened- but basically, I only realised the answers had been sent back to me a few weeks after I should've received them :S So, my apologies to the lovely people at Morey Media who sent back the answers but never received a reply (I'M REALLY SORRY!!!) :/ ANYWAY, I hope you all enjoy the interview!


Julie Kagawa
April 24th 2012
Harlequin Teen

Many readers have commented on the vast difference between The Iron Fey series and
The Immortal Rules. Whether it be the characters, setting, or atmosphere, everything is so
different. How hard was the transition?

I think the most challenging thing about transitioning from fey to vampires was the world
that they lived in. In The Iron Fey, the Nevernever had this surreal, dreamlike quality to
it, and everything was magical. In The Immortal Rules, the world is bleak, stark, dismal,
corrupted, and extremely dangerous. Much like the vampires themselves. While it wasn't
terribly difficult creating a new setting, the challenge came from the fact that this was our
world, the "real world," and I couldn't simply "magic" something into making sense. A lot of
research went into making the setting as realistic as possible, because if the readers didn't
believe that this post-apocalyptic, vampire controlled world could exist, they'd lose all faith
in the story itself.

Now, I'm personally a huge fan of ALL your characters ( Ash, Allie and Kanin are definitely at
the top of the list!)! How did you go about writing the characters from The Immortal Rules?
Are they perhaps based on people you know? And who was the most difficult character to
write?

I do have fun creating my characters, though none of them are really based on actual people
(unless you count me, as all authors have a little bit of themselves in every character).
My characters are far more likely to be inspired by anime, manga, and video games. In
The Immortal Rules, the most difficult character to write was, shockingly, Zeke. Allie was
stubborn, snarky, and a wise-ass, which comes easily to me, and Kanin was dark, brooding,
stoic and mysterious, which is my favorite type of hero. Zeke, on the other hand, was (gasp)
good, kind, easy-going, and loyal. He didn't have a mean bone in his body, but he was also
a leader who could command respect and fight if he needed to. The challenge was finding
the balance between kindness and strength, because I did not want to make him weak or
a pushover. He has a strong moral compass, and his faith in mankind is unshakable, but he
will also stand between someone and a charging rabid without blinking an eye.

I've always been fascinated by the world you've created- I always imagine myself living in the
Nevernever, and as for The Immortal Rules, you've created such a dark and ruthless world.
How did you come up with these unique worlds?

For me, setting is probably the most important thing to consider when beginning a new
story. I think of setting as a character in itself, with the same quirks, flaws, and personality
of any protagonist. Or really, antagonist, because the world is usually trying to do the
characters harm in the story. In the Nevernever where the fey live, I wanted the world to be
beautiful and dreamlike, but also a little scary and surreal, much like the faeries themselves.
The Nevernever wore a pretty mask to hide its monstrous true nature, to lure mortals in. In
The Immortal Rules, there is no mask; this world is savage, bleak, desolate, and extremely
dangerous. Its everyone for themselves out here, survival of the fittest. They are very
different, and this is why setting is extremely important to me. Both worlds are used to set
the atmosphere and the tone of the whole book.

The Immortal Rules has been optioned for a film. Firstly, CONGRATZ! When I read the book,
it literally played like a movie in my head, so I personally cant wait for more news! Now, do
you have an ideal cast?

Thank you! Lol, I get this question more and more, and I'm so, so bad at it. Maybe Devon
Aoki, Jamie Chung, or Brenda Song for Allie? For Zeke, I might go with Zac Effron or Chase
Crawford. And Ian Somerhalder would make an awesome Kanin.

And finally; can you reveal ANYTHING at all about the next book? Anything at all?

Only that Allie runs into old friends and enemies, continues to fight her nature, and will
something that will change the entire world forever.

Find Julie on:


*SQUEALS* AMAZING answers, right?!  Between Zac Efron & Chase Crawford, I'd DEFINITELY choose Chase (Don't kill me!!)..but I can't imagine him playing Zeke; mainly because Chase will forever be 'Nate' in my mind :)Oh and IAN SOMERHALDER WILL BE AWESOME AS KANIN! Awwww...even though Zeke was the most difficult character to write about, I thought he was portrayed perfectly! :) 

I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to Morey Media & Harlequin Teen for organising this interview! Without you, I probably never would've been able to interview one of my favourite authors ever! <3 (hahaa I sound like a fan-girl now :D) And of course THANK YOU SO MUCH to the lovely Julie Kagawa herself for answering these questions!<3 


14 comments:

  1. Wow! Awesome!Julie Kagawa is so cool. I love how she takes the time to do these interviews. I especially enjoyed learning about how she creates her characters. Who knew that Zeke would be the hardest to write! I loved that she considers her settings to be a character, I love her world building it is exceptional. I had no idea this was being made into a movie! Cool!
    Can't wait for book 2 and the new Iron Fey book with Ethan!

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  2. "Something that will change the entire world forever." ??? WHAT KIND OF SOMETHING?! TEASE. TEASE. TEASE.

    Er... um.... but Ian.... he seems SUPER nice and all and there are times when he really comes off as attractive, but I have never really been all *drops to knees and begs him to take me* about him!

    Ha, and I'm surprised Zeke was the hardest to write! But hearing Julie explain it, it completely makes sense. And I think she did a fabulous job of balancing his qualitied.

    Love this interview, ladies!! One of my favourite authors and favourite fangirl-crazy bloggers sharing the same brainspace? Um, it's kind of a recipe for AWESOME.

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  3. Such a FANTASTIC interview... you ask the best questions ever, Shirley<3 !!!! I've heard so many good things about Julie Kagawa AND The Immortal Rules is in my TBR pile so I'm even more SUPER excited to read it now! I must read The Iron Fey series soon too :D Thanks so much for sharing <3

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  4. Not gorgeous but pretty in that delicate girly way LOL. My Allie's fierce <3 I love Kanin to death but I still want Zeke and Allie to have little babies together haha! Well not really, but you know :P

    I dunno about Nina and Ian....they really don't fit the image in my head. I know they can be badass but I'm thinking more.... I don't know. *brain short-circuits*

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  5. HAHAHA The girls are pretty? They seemed...alright? Although none of them were perfect to play Allie! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG YOU'RE TEAM KANINNNNNNN! :) I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T KNOW/FORGOT THAT! If Ian plays Kanin, then maybe Nina should play Allie..and they can run away together to some dark cave and you can continue imagining whatever you were imagining before :)

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  6. Fab interview Shirley! I honest can't wait for book two in the Immortal Rules series! Ian Somerhalder as Kanin? that would be awesome!!! :)

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  7. I WUV JULIE! :D

    The girls look a bit too girly and pretty, in my opinion, but HELLO DROOLING at the boys. As much as I love Chace, I really can't imagine him as Zeke O___O I had some hot dark-haired stud in mind haha. And even though he's not, I keep thinking that Kanin's a little old. So in that way, Ian as Kanin would be O___O as well. Besides, if that happened I'd want Allie to run away with Kanin to some dark cave. I mean, well, I would've been fine with that before anyway but erm.............. Ahem.

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  8. AMAZING interview Shirley! I'm freaking out fangirling googling images of the actresses for Allie and I LOVE THEM. Also, Ian Somerholder as Kanin? OK! I'M THERE! :D

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  9. Ian Somerhalder as Kanin?! Now why didn't I think of him?? I can completely see him fitting that role perfectly. :D Amazing interview, Shirley! I am a huge Julie Kagawa fan so it's always lovely to see her talking about her books. What she said about Zeke's character really made me smile. :)

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  10. Haha I totally mentioned the difference between TIM and TIF (Tim and Tiffany?) in my review too! x) But I LOVED it. I loved difference in the worlds, and like Julie mentioned, how one was super-magical and one was just bleak and dangerous! And oh my gosh, I had no idea that TIM was being optioned for film! And OH MY GOSHER, Zac Efron as Zeke would rule the world!!!! (The only reason I'm not squealing for Chase Crawford is because he's my Adrian. :P)

    Amazing interview, you two amazing girls! You asked such AWESOME questions, Shirley-birdie, and I love you impossibly more for it! :') <3

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  11. Great questions! I haven't read anything by Julie yet, but I've been hearing so many awesome things about The Immortal Rules, that I want to start with that. that's awesome about it being optioned for film...I didn't know that! Isn't it great to interview authors you LOVE? Makes me all giddy!!

    Lauren from www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com

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  12. Oooo yes, I can see Ian as Kanin! He would be a fantastic choice:) Thanks so much for this interview Shirley and Julie, I absolutely adored this book and its darkness and I can't wait to see what's in store for us in book 2. Also, the answer to the last question? *bites nails*

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  13. Thanks for an awesome interview with one of my favorite authors! Ian would be a great Zeke! I can how hard it can be to write a good, nice character that is also a brilliant leader. Love this interview! New follower! :) Can't wait for TIR #2!!!! Rachel @ Unforgettable Books

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  14. Thanks for sharing this AWESOME interview, Shirley! The Immortal Rules was a fantastic book and it's awesome to get some more insight! :D

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