PAF: Interview with Kevin Hearne + giveaway!

I’m thrilled to welcome Kevin Hearne back to the blog today for a chat about his upcoming release, TRICKED. He’s the brilliant mind behind the Iron Druid Chronicles and one of my favourite authors, as you probably know if you’ve read my posts about his books.

Read on to learn all about TRICKED, the upcoming fourth installment of the Iron Druid Chronicles, and have a chance to win a copy of your very own!

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Hi, Kevin, and welcome back to Tynga’s Reviews! Thanks very much for participating in Paranormal April Fools’. I can’t tell you how excited I am for TRICKED.

Much appreciated, Jenn! Kind of you to remember me.

If you had to list the top three reasons someone should pick up TRICKED, what would they be? (Woo, shameless self-promotion!)

First, fans of the series would want to find out what happened to Mrs. MacDonagh and Leif Helgarson—those answers will be coming. We meet “new” gods from about five or six different pantheons, and Atticus has to be especially clever since he runs into something his magic can’t handle very well.

What was the biggest challenge about writing TRICKED?

Whew. Tough question, because this was my toughest book to write on many levels. I thought I had plot issues, but once my editor took a look at it she said well, you have plot issues because you have character issues. Once I recast a couple of characters the plot issues worked themselves out. But there was much more revision required on this book than my first three.

Coyote has popped up in other urban fantasy or paranormal series, like C. E. Murphy’s Urban Shaman novels and Allyson James’ Stormwalker books. Why do you think Coyote (in all of his various incarnations) is so appealing to authors and readers alike?

His unpredictability is charming, and his tendency to do stunningly stupid things out of pride or a sense of braggadocio is amusing. Perhaps what makes him most endearing is that he manages not to come off as inherently mean, even when he hurts people. That might be because he hurts himself as often as not. I also think he has a bit of the outlaw’s mystique about him; many people are fascinated by those who simply don’t give a damn about rules.

Will we be seeing more Granuaile in TRICKED? I love her relationship with Atticus and I’d like to know more about her path to becoming a Druid.

Absolutely! Quite a bit of the book concerns her training and her relationship with Atticus, and the reason Atticus is exerting himself so hard to make everyone think he’s dead is that he wants the time and peace to train Granuaile properly. You’ll also learn about Atticus’s two-hundred-year marriage to Tahirah in Africa.

And now here are a couple of April Fools’-related questions:

Who’s your favourite trickster (fictional or otherwise)?

I actually prefer Coyote. He’s usually not driven by malice the way Loki is, for example, or some other tricksters.

Which of your characters would be the most difficult to prank?

I think it would be Granuaile. She earns the nickname “Clever Girl” from Oberon in TRICKED. All of the older characters are susceptible to modern trickery.

Thanks again for stopping by, Kevin! As always, it’s been an absolute delight.

Thanks, Jenn! Cheers to you and all your readers!

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Intrigued? Here’s more on TRICKED, which hits bookshelves on April 24:

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.

Jenn's thoughts

Read an excerpt

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

Click on the cover to read our thoughts on the first three books in the series:

**You can get the first three books in the Iron Druid Chronicles as an e-bundle for only $9.99**

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Random House is graciously offering one (1) copy of TRICKED to a lucky reader!

To enter the giveaway, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

US/Canada only

Ends Sunday, April 15, 2012
(like all of our Paranormal April Fools’ giveaways)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Kevin Hearne is a native of Arizona and really appreciates whoever invented air-conditioning. He graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and now teaches high school English. When he’s not grading essays or writing novels, he tends to his basil plants and paints landscapes with his daughter. He has been known to obsess over fonts, frolic unreservedly with dogs, and stop whatever he’s doing in the rare event of rain to commune with the precipitation. He enjoys hiking, the guilty pleasure of comic books, and living with his wife and daughter in a wee, snug cottage.

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Posted by jenn at 07:25

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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.