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Post by marianne on May 27, 2008 22:51:57 GMT
Kate Daniels series:
Magic Bites - March 2007 Magic Burns - April1, 2008 Magic Strikes - April 2009 An untitled novella for Hellhounds anthology - publication date to be determined. Other authors are Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, and Meljean Brook.
BIO:
Ilona
I was born in Russia. English is my second language - I learned it when I was fifteen. I came to US on a scholarship (with a grand total of $60 to my name), graduated from Rabun Gap Nachoochee High School in Georgia, attended Western Carolina University, majoring in Biochemistry. I fell in love with an ex-sailor, fresh out of US Navy and majoring in history. Gordon I was raised in Smoky Mountains. Spent my senior year in Japan. Enlisted in U.S. Navy. came back to Smoky Mountains looking for a degree in history. Met Ilona in English 101. She got a better grade. Still sore about that. Both of us We've been now married for twelve years. We have two daughters, who are terribly cool, two dogs, and three cats. Between now and then, there was Army, and a few odd jobs. Now Ilona works as a legal secretary and Gordon works in human resources.
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Post by marianne on Jan 11, 2009 22:25:13 GMT
Ilona Andrews will be a guest at Parrish's Patch from 27th Feb - 1st of March 2009. Read all about this talented author and her upcoming releases here: www.ilonaland.com/press.html
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Post by marianne on Feb 24, 2009 21:03:07 GMT
Just a reminder that Ilona Andrews will be here in two days time! MDP
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Post by JM on Feb 26, 2009 6:42:44 GMT
I'm locked and loaded. Bring on the authors!
IM
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Post by marianne on Feb 26, 2009 21:09:22 GMT
Hi Ilona and welcome,
I'm going to kick the conversation off early.
I particularly love the gritty flavour of your Kate series. I find that sets it apart from (and above!) other types of urban fantasy - for my taste, at least. Was that a conscious decision for you? Or simply a product of the world in your mind.
And ... I know you write with your husband. Would you mind telling us how you work your division of labour. How do you share it?
MDP
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Post by lynnejamneck on Feb 26, 2009 22:50:49 GMT
Hi Ilona Just two questions for you - What parallels do you see between urban fantasy and the world we live in? Does the genre make room for addressing issues of our time within its fantastical framework? And characters - have you ever had a character that was a struggle for you to understand in terms of motivation, actions etc?
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Post by ilonaandrews on Feb 27, 2009 1:39:29 GMT
Hi guys! marianne: Thank you for having me over. I suppose Gordon and I do write a bit grittier than most. I think it's because we both have been in the situations with a bit of grit in them. Gordon served in Armed Forces, and I grew up in Russia, right in the middle of Communism collapse. Once you see a tank roll through the street, you never quite look at that street the same way. The division of labor is pretty simple: we collaborate on plot. I do most of the first draft, with input from him, and then he edits it and then I edit it and then he edits it and so on, until we finally have to give up and send it to the editor.
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Post by ilonaandrews on Feb 27, 2009 1:51:48 GMT
@ Lynne: "What parallels do you see between urban fantasy and the world we live in?" It depends heavily on the urban fantasy in question. The genre at the moment is very vast and diverse. We wrecked our world with magic waves, but other authors create a completely different alternative reality, and others operate strictly undercover, with supernatural forces functioning under surface trying to escape detection by "normal" people. It's a question that's specific to each particular series. "Does the genre make room for addressing issues of our time within its fantastical framework?" Yes. I often say that to me writing urban fantasy is exploring the question of what it means to be human. Is the shapeshifter who turns into a beast but saves a child more humane than a human burglar who murders an elderly man for money? The question of humanity carries with it many social undertones. UF, in essence, is modern folklore and like all folklore, it dives right into the uncomfortable territory. My characters are tortured with the questions of personal morality. Charlaine Harris's characters deal with prejudice in True Blood. Nalini Singh's characters are questioning emotions and personal freedom. So yes, I'd say that not only genre makes room for these issues, but really the issues are the entire point. "And characters - have you ever had a character that was a struggle for you to understand in terms of motivation, actions etc?" No. There are people who prefer to view their characters as separate entities who dictate to the author. I'm not one of those people. My characters are firmly a creation of my brain, and they usually pop up with their motivations clearly laid out.
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Post by JM on Feb 27, 2009 8:21:46 GMT
Hi Ilona, great to see talented guests on the board.
I've got a stack of questions, so I'll start with a couple of "easy ones" and work on to the tricky ones.
Firstly: How has your upbringing shaped the way you write? You speak of growing up in the communist collapse with tanks driving through the streets. Do you think that has influenced you to write in a certain direction or with a certain attitude you might not have otherwise?
That was an easy one, so you can tell this is going to be a fun Q&A set. I may have to apologise to Marianne for scaring away her guests, but she knows me well enough not to try and stop me.
Secondly: Every author wishes they could change the world in a certain way, sometimes just so that they gain that fragment of immortality that comes with having your book on the shelves of others, some who actually go on to shake the world of literature to its craggy, rusting core, and some who just started it as a laugh and it got out of control. What did you set out to do? And do you think you have achieved it?
IM
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Post by ilonaandrews on Feb 27, 2009 11:16:12 GMT
@im "Firstly: How has your upbringing shaped the way you write? You speak of growing up in the communist collapse with tanks driving through the streets. Do you think that has influenced you to write in a certain direction or with a certain attitude you might not have otherwise?" I think, life experiences always shape the writer. I've been poor before and it shows in my work. As to the upbringing, I was born into the family of two physicists and mostly my childhood consisted of entering scientific competitions and reading things my dad left on my desk. I lived in a southern city on the river, famous for its markets. If you really want a shot of my childhood, read this: www.ilonaland.com/pig.html Obviously, the magic was added in, but other than that, it's slightly autobiographical, meaning I did chase the pig. Gordon grew up shuttled between California and North Carolina, in Smoky Mountains. If you ever have seen the movie Deliverance, it was actually shot really close to where he used to live. To this day he can do a really good mountain accent. I'll have to ask him if it's colored our writing and in what way. "Every author wishes they could change the world in a certain way, sometimes just so that they gain that fragment of immortality that comes with having your book on the shelves of others, some who actually go on to shake the world of literature to its craggy, rusting core, and some who just started it as a laugh and it got out of control. What did you set out to do? And do you think you have achieved it?" That's an easier question. I never actually wanted to write a groundbreaking novel. I wanted to write a novel that was widely read. I wanted people to like it and tell me that I succeeded in stealing their problems away for a couple of hours. Not sure if I reached that goal yet. But once I started writing, I've learned that I wanted to write for a living, so that became a secondary goal. I wanted to write a novel that was successful enough to let me quit my day job. My first advance was $5,000 per book, heh. It took me a while to be able to write full time.
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Post by marianne on Feb 27, 2009 12:29:24 GMT
Hi Ilona,
Do you have any thoughts on the future of urban fantasy? Will its popularity endure? I asked Kelley Armstrong this a couple of years ago when she was out guest here. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
Your first book was recommended to me a while back by a bookseller in New Zealand (I was there for a convention). She said 'these books are the furture direction of UF.' I'm still not altogether sure I understand what she meant. But she was right. I loved it. MDP
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Post by nellie on Feb 27, 2009 13:43:29 GMT
Hi Ilona and Gordon! *waves* I follow your blog so it's always interesting to read your experiences. I can't wait for Magic Strikes to come out. I do have a non-writing question. You came here to study biochemistry and went into a completely different field and I did read on your blog that your father has a PhD in nuclear physics. Have they read your books? How did they feel when you changed your career to writing instead of science?
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Post by bluetyson on Feb 27, 2009 14:56:42 GMT
Speaking of gritty and magic coming and going, did you ever read Grimjack at all?
If you didn't, fair chance you'd like it.
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Post by ilonaandrews on Feb 27, 2009 16:20:11 GMT
@ Marianne
I wish I was the future, lol! I'd have it made.
I doubt UF will ever die out. People will always want scary stories about vampires and werewolves. But I'm not sure where the future is. I do know that UF is branching out in two directions: first, more people are incorporating non-European mythologies and second, a lot of people play with genre boundaries. UF started out as a hybrid of horror and mystery, but now there are all sorts of UF trends. UF/romance. UF/SF. UF/Sword and sorcery (which is I think where Kate books land.) It's an awesome time for the genre.
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Post by ilonaandrews on Feb 27, 2009 16:23:49 GMT
@ nellie
"You came here to study biochemistry and went into a completely different field and I did read on your blog that your father has a PhD in nuclear physics.
Have they read your books? How did they feel when you changed your career to writing instead of science?"
Well, my mother has passed away. My father has copies of my book, but I doubt he read them, as they are in English. I can tell you that every conversation with my dad ends with him asking me, "And when will you finish college?"
I swear, years from now, if I somehow got to be a successful novelist, I could call him and tell him, "Dad, they are making a movie of my work! We're rich!"
And he'd nod his head and say, "Yes, Ilona, but when are you getting your bachelors?"
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