The Iron Witch - Interview with Karen Mahoney

You used to work in an occult bookstore in London, how in the word did that come to be, and how did that influence your writing?

Well, I guess I just got lucky! ;) I actually saw the shop advertising for a staff member in the window, and was interview for the job in the normal way. They particularly wanted someone with knowledge of Tarot, which is something I've been interested in since I was about 16. I've read the cards for years, and it was that background that probably helped me to get the job. As well as buying for the Tarot and Divination section of the bookstore, I eventually ended up reading Tarot for clients while sitting in the shop window. Pretty surreal...

Working in that kind of environment gives you such great access to all kinds of cool and interesting books. It's like a goldmine of research and reference material! Mythology, folklore, magick, astrology, world religions, psychology, philosophy, healing, UFOs, etc. The list is seriously endless.

Watkins Book Store - Cecil Court, London

You created 4 Orders of alchemy; Dragon, Crow, Lion, and Rose for THE IRON WITCH. Donna is in the Order of the Dragon - will we learn more about the other Orders?
Nobody has asked me that, so thank you! I loved creating those Orders and YES, you will totally learn more in future books. It should be a trilogy, and in Book 2 (THE WOOD QUEEN) you'll see representatives from all the Orders coming to Ironbridge for Donna's trial. There is a young alchemist from the Order of the Crow in London who becomes quite important (though not romantically), and in Book 3 (THE STONE DEMON), we may even see Donna travel to London... ;)

*Wow, so glad I asked! 

Where did you find the names for your characters?
Donna's name is an homage to one of my favourite characters in literature, in Daphne du Maurier's FRENCHMAN'S CREEK - the main character is the Lady Dona St. Columb, and my Donna Underwood originally had her name spelled the same way. We changed it to the more familiar spelling during edits, though. Her surname is a nod to the 'woodland' nature of the Ironwood where the elves live, and I also like that it sounds like "underworld" - there's something quite shamanic about the journey Donna goes through in her life, what with the way she's injured and then remade with magic.

Xan... I don't know, to be honest. He was always Alexander/Xan, though his surname is taken from one of my favourite comicbook characters, Dick Grayson (who used to be Robin when he was a boy, but is Nightwing now that he's all grown up).

Navin is a variant of Naveen, and Naveen Andrews (from LOST) is one of my favourite actors. :)

Donna has a great best friend, Nav, did you have a male best friend that served as a model?
Ha! Yes, absolutely. My best friend, Vijay (or Veej, as he likes to be called), is the model for Nav. They are very different, of course - and not just because my friend is a lot older! - but the humour and loyalty is DEFINITELY there. I know that a lot of authors say they don't base their characters on real people, and I suppose that's true... But with Navin, it just happened and I couldn't help myself. My friend loves it and thinks he should come to booksignings with me. ;)

*Um, he totally should!

Something has to be said about the book cover - gorgeous! How did the cover art process go?
The cover art process was honestly awesome - I couldn't ask for a better cover, and I'm just incredibly grateful to Lisa Novak at Flux for working so hard on it. Everything about it is brilliant, right down to the Elixir bottle that Donna is holding (the liquid inside is even red, which is perfect!). If you want to know more about the cover, I did an interview for Melissa Walker's "Cover Stories" feature - including feedback from Lisa on how she approached designing the cover to The Iron Witch HERE.

Australian cover

Any plans to come to the USA?
Sadly, not at the moment. I was going to try to attend BEA, but that's unlikely now. However, 2012 is a big possibility - I hope to do something then. :)

Thank you, Karen!!
Thank you so much for having me and for such great questions!

You can find Karen on her site HERE or on Twitter HERE

Check out my review of The Iron Witch HERE

Review - The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
February 8th 2011 by Flux

From the Publisher:
Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Review:

As a little girl, Donna was rescued from a dark and twisted forest from a group of wood elves. This event cost her father's life and left her mother in a magical vegetative state. That night caused Donna to undergo a round of surgeries - magical surgeries. The Maker fixed Donna by branding magical wardings on Donna's arms and also on her bones. As a result, Donna has more than average human strength and she has been labeled a freak at school. The events of that night are somewhat of a blur, but they come back to Donna in her nightmares. To the chagrin of her best friend Navin, Donna meets a boy, Xan, that has secrets of his own. After the fey kidnap Navin, Xan and Donna bargain and steal to get him out of the Elflands. 

The mystery of Donna's tattooed arms are what set this book into motion. In the beginning, we keep getting little snippets of an "incident" about Donna getting kicked out of school. Did she harm someone? Did someone discover her magical secret? As the story begins to unfold, we learn about the incident and find out that Navin is a true blue best friend. He (yes, he) stands up to the superficial and shallow kids who throw insults at Donna about her gloved arms. Navin is steadfast in his loyalty to Donna. This relationship is a little shining star in the novel. Is there something more than friendship there? I think Donna wonders a time or two, but when Xan (Alexander) enters the picture, Donna begins to put Navin on the back burner. Not intentional, but the lies she feeds Navin about where she is and who she is with make her feel guilty - for a good reason I might add! This happens often with young people. A new boy or girl enters the picture and everything else gets pushed aside.

*minor spoilers*

Xan and Donna have instant chemistry. In a nutshell, they are both loners and their peers have preconceived  opinions about them. Their romantic relationship is slow and steady. It's nice, not too rushed and not hot and heavy. When Nav is kidnapped by the fey, Xan proves he is worthy of Donna. (She has 2 great guys in her life!) He drops everything and risks his well-being to help her find and rescue Navin. His own secretive past plays a vital role in the rescue attempt. I wasn't expecting the adventure that ensues. The rest of the book builds in to a few climatic points with Donna using her wits and strength to retrieve Navin. 

The Iron Witch has several fantasy elements, but the story isn't bogged down with new vocabulary (Eragon anyone?) or a zillion historical references. That's a good thing! Having said that, I would have liked to see a few more explanations of events (Xav and his mystery, the one thing that swirls when Xan touches it, and the very very end) and a bit more information about the Orders spread across the chapters. But, I am sure all of these will be addressed in the next book, The Wood Queen. Tiny complaints - the wood queen didn't seem menacing or evil enough for me. I was expecting something along the same lines of a queen of a faerie court. Sly, manipulative, and unforgiving. For me, the wood queen was a little safe. On the other hand, the wood elves and Skriker's were described as absolutely terrifying. The wood elves and their long twig like fingers, hair like moss, and skin that looked like the bark of an old tree. Ew! The Iron Witch is a great start to a saga that young fantasy lovers will love. 

Sidenote: that cover is gorgeous!! I am very excited to learn what The Wood Queen will look like. 

4 Stars