Karen Mahoney Interview |

1. What drew you to YA fantasy writing?

The thing I love most about YA fantasy is the possibilities when it comes to writing. Teenagers/young adults are such a great audience to write for – they embrace the wild and imaginative, and they are just the coolest readership. It’s no coincidence that YA fantasy is so popular right now: the genre is filled with incredibly good books, and I’m proud (and a little intimidated) that my book is out there on shelves alongside them. Also, I must point out that I’m a total geek and have been a lifelong fan of fantasy, science fiction and horror. Add to that the fact that every character I write turns out to be 17, it was an obvious fit for me.

2. Can you tell me what inspired The Iron Witch?

Lots of things combined for the ‘making of’ The Iron Witch; the inspiration came from a combination of folklore, alchemy, and a couple of really powerful dreams that gave me images for Xan, and also the dream scene where 7-year-old Donna is running from the wood elves. The folklore that inspired me is ‘The Handless Maiden’ or ‘The Armless Maiden’ folktales. It’s not so well known as some, and trust me. some of the versions out there are so far away from Disney that they might as well be from another planet. But I’ve become fascinated with that particular tale, and I think The Iron Witch is a big part of my attempt to work out what it means to me.

3. How would you describe Donna Underwood?

Oooh. That’s a good question. I’d have to describe her as strong, and yet vulnerable; loyal; compassionate; probably a little too serious at times (which is why she needs a best friend like Navin, to help her to lighten up); and also rebellious – although she doesn’t yet realize just how rebellious she’s going to get!

4. Can you give us a peek into The Wood Queen?

I love giving spoilers! Heh. No, I’m kidding. No spoilers, I promise. But I can tell you a few things. 1) You’ll get to see Donna face the consequences of her actions at the end of The Iron Witch. 2) You’ll meet more alchemists from other Orders (there’s an important new character from the London-based Order of the Crow introduced). 3) You’ll find out a lot more about what happened to Donna and her parents in the Ironwood when she was a child. 4) There are journal entries included in this book, too. but they’re not all Donna’s! (I think I’d better stop there; I might get into trouble if my editor sees this. Lol)

5. Where can readers find you on the internet?

I love the internet! Come and visit me at my website/blog: www.kazmahoney.com All my other links are there, but I’m very active on twitter, so please feel free to follow me if you want to hear me ramble on about books, Wonder Woman, TV, the English weather (kidding!), and all sorts of other geeky nonsense: @kazmahoney

6. What advice would you offer aspiring YA fantasy writers?

This is probably going to sound boring, because you’ve no doubt heard it all before, but you must read widely and write as much as possible. When I say read widely, I mean don’t just read YA fantasy (or any other type of fantasy, for that matter). Read other genres; read literary fiction; read stuff marketed for all ages; read non-fiction; read mythology and folklore. Never give up on your writing! Or, if you do give up (as I did for 5 years in my late 20s and early 30s), know that it’s never too late to go back to writing and sort of re-commit yourself to it. The last piece of advice I’ll give might be a bit different: trust yourself. Trust your own instincts for telling a good story. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t listen to criticism – especially early on – but you’ll never develop your own ability to know whether or not you’re doing a good job if you always need others to tell you. Your inner editor needs to be developed, just as much as your ability to take advice and criticism from outside.

Karen Mahoney is the author of The Iron Witch, the first book in a trilogy that continues in 2012 with The Wood Queen. She has also published stories about a kick-ass teen vampire called Moth in various anthologies, and there is a Moth novel coming in September 2012 called Falling to Ash. Karen is British and currently lives near London with way too many books and comics, though she dreams of one day living in Boston. She doesn’t mind if you call her Kaz.

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