Friday, February 24, 2012

Author Interview: Julie Kagawa previews The Immortal Rules

For my spotlight on upcoming dystopian/post apocalyptic fiction series, I interview authors with novels coming out in the genre in 2012/13. These are exclusive first looks at exciting new works. Enjoy!



Julie Kagawa has a series starting with THE IMMORTAL RULES. It apocalyptic with vampires and it's out April 24, 2012 with HarlequinTEEN.


Here's the teaser summary:

My vampire creator told me this:
"Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?"
I didn't then. Not really.
I do now.

The cover:



And the interview:

Why do you think people are drawn to "dark" stories?
I think morbid curiousity plays a big part; we want to see what could happen if the world suddenly ended or if there was a masive, worldwide catastrophy. And let's face it; humans are drawn to catastrophy. But I think we also like to imagine ourselves in those situations, to see if we could survive the end of the world. How many people have Zombie Survival Plans, just in case the apocalypse happens tomrrow? More then you would expect. ;-)

If THE IMMORTAL RULES had a theme song, what would it be and why?
I like "Forsaken" by Within Temptation because of its dark, haunting atmosphere, but also "Awake and Alive" by Skillet, because I think it captures the struggles of the characters perfectly.

What fictional character from another book would your main character chose as his/her best friend and why?
Allie is a fierce, wary loner, so she would probably be drawn to someone who is pragmatic but can also hold their own, like Katniss from The Hunger Games.

What are your top 5 Dystopian lit recs and why?
I actually haven't read many dystopians, but I'm sure that will change with all the awesome looking dystopian and post-apocalyptic novels coming out this year. The very first dystopian I read, which continues to give me shivers, is Animal Farm by George Orwell.

What's on the top of your to-do list before the world ends?
Visit Japan. I've always wanted to go, and it would be much easier to see Kyoto when it isn't underwater or swarming with zombies.

How does your novel stand out from others in the genre?
Unlike many post-apocalyptic novels, THE IMMORTAL RULES is more then a survival story. Allison, the protaganist of the novel, starts out human but becomes a vampire early in the novel. Not only must she learn to survive a hostile, dangerous world, she has to fight to hold onto her humanity and not become like the deranged, zombie-like vampires that infest the ruins and the wilderness. Trying to fight the monster within and retain what makes her human is her greatest struggle throughout the novel.

Thanks Julie!



Visit Julie's website: http://www.juliekagawa.com
Visit the iron fey website (Julie's first series): http://www.theironfey.com
Follow Julie on twitter: @jkagawa

7 comments:

P.E. said...

I can't wait to read The Immortal Rules and I love that teaser.

Great interview! I agree with the idea that humans love reading about catastrophes. I think we all want to see that in the end, there is still hope and we'll be fine.

Unknown said...

Wow, I can't wait to see how Julie Kagawa approaches vampires because I have really enjoyed her take on Faeries. Enjoyed the interview:)

Natalie Aguirre said...

Ooh, I can't wait to read Julie's new book. Thanks for the great interview.

Evie said...

I've never read any of her books. It's crazy, right? I think I'll start with the Iron Fey series and then I'll read this one.

Melissas Eclectic Bookshelf said...

I think she'd nailed it right on the head about why we read dystopia!

Zibilee said...

I actually do have a zombie survival plan, which is partially a joking kind of game that I play with my husband, but I think about it a lot! This was a great interview!

roro said...

I can't wait to read The Immortal Rules