“When I’m not writing” with Kevin Hearne

I am beyond thrilled to welcome the talented Kevin Hearne to the blog today! Author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, Kevin is one of my favourite authors and I’m delighted to have him kicking off the return of “When I’m not writing…”! (I geeked out in a most unbecoming fashion when he agreed to participate.) In fact, I’m so excited about this, I’m posting it a week earlier than we planned!

I hope you’ll all enjoy getting to know Kevin a little bit better, as he talks about one of his current hobbies.

 

When I’m not writing The Iron Druid Chronicles, these days I’m into miniature painting with my friend, Alan. There’s a game that goes with it called HORDES that I’m fairly terrible at, but it’s fun too. What’s most fun for me is painting the army. It’s quite relaxing, and it’s enjoyable to see the figures of plastic or metal slowly come to life with every layer of paint. When you get to put them on the table and fight battles with them, you feel this bond that’s probably bordering on psychologically unstable for most people, but completely ordinary for nerds. You have your Mountain Dew. You have your heavy metal in the background. You have your dice and your warbeasts. LET’S DO THIS.

This is a Shadowhorn Satyr. I put him together a bit unconventionally and painted him a bit differently too from the example the company provides. Part of the fun is coming up with your own color scheme.

Here’s an unfinished model called a Tharn Ravager White Mane. You’ll see some white primer on the base and no grassy goodness or ornamental rock gardens. I also need to touch up some bits here and there.

My friend Alan is much better at this and gives me something to shoot for. I’ve only been doing this for a couple of years and he has a good ten years on me. He’s won a Golden Demon Award for his models—yes, there are competitions and awards for this kind of thing. He’s pretty amazing with the details he can work into things. This model he painted above is called Lord of the Feast, which seems counterintuitive since the dude’s ribs are showing. In the game he’s pretty hardcore.

This is Kaya, one of the warlocks in the game, also painted by Alan. You can see how incredibly detailed you can get; Alan painted the little curlicues on her cape by freehand. He’s always painting runes and things on swords. You should see the brushes he has: they’re like mosquito hairs.

So that’s what I do to unwind. We’ll put on a movie in the background and order a pizza and just nerd out. Good times.

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Thank you, Kevin, for visiting us and sharing about your hobby! I like the Shadowhorn Satyr’s flashy gear. =)

If this wasn’t enough Kevin for you (and I’m betting it wasn’t), you should check out his website (which includes his must-read blog) and his Facebook page.

Interested in reading the Iron Druid Chronicles? Here’s a list:

Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. As the centuries passed and Atticus remained an annoyingly long-lived fugitive, those who were furious only grew more so, while others began to aid him in secret.

Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World—from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German Blitzkrieg.

Unfortunately, the very angry Celtic god who wants that sword has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power, plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old-fashioned luck of the Irish to kick some arse and deliver himself from evil.

 Tynga’s review | My review

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

My review

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

My review

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Coming in April 2012….TRICKED!

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan hasn’t stayed alive for more than two millennia without a fair bit of Celtic cunning. So when vengeful thunder gods come Norse by Southwest looking for payback, Atticus, with a little help from the Navajo trickster god Coyote, lets them think that they’ve chopped up his body in the Arizona desert.
But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

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Do you guys have suggestions for who you’d like to see featured on the blog? If so, you can make your suggestions here. No guarantees that your favorite writers will be able to participate but do let us know!

And if there are authors out there who would like to join us, email me at jennblogs (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll set it up!

Posted by jenn at 03:15

 Kevin Hearne, Random House, When I'm not writing  6 People left their mark

Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.