CHARACTER INTERVIEW | Atticus from Kevin Hearne's Hounded

It isn't every day that a 2,000 year-old person consents to an interview. So when the opportunity arose to interview Atticus from Kevin Hearne's very well received Iron Druid series I couldn't pass it up. Hearne's series starts with Hounded, which is all kinds of pleasing with its snappy dialogue, lovable characters, and fun action. Already the sequels Hexed and Hammered are available with at least 3 more to come in the series over the next few years. I myself have read the first two volumes and it is one of the most enjoyable series to debut in quite a few years.  Think of it as a mix of Highlander with the humor of Christopher Moore and the god aspect from American Gods.  Now on to a few words from the star of the series Atticus.

MH: Thanks for taking the time to join us today. It isn't every day I get to interview a 2,000 year-old druid.

ATTICUS: Happy to do it. Used to be a hatter myself, once upon a time. I cheated, though, and bound everything using magic—none of those chemicals that make you go mad and gestate brain tumors. Just say no to mercury poisoning, dude.

MH: Ahh, a kindred spirit! Those chemicals are bad? Humph? Maybe I should learn your techniques...

Currently you're running a New Age store in Arizona. Are you tired of all those college kids coming in looking for special herbs?

ATTICUS: They can be annoying, but you have to take your yang along with the yin. I also get college kids who come in looking for books that will make them better human beings, and I'm glad I can give them a place to find such books, and show them that they don't have to consume something corporate every day. Running an indie store is my own small way of sticking it to the Man.


MH: From what I've heard you've been sticking it to the man for centuries. Most notably Aenghus Óg. What's the deal with you and him? Seems like he is hounding you wherever you go?

ATTICUS: Yes, I ruined a scheme of his back in the first century and he's held a grudge ever since. He tells everyone he's after me because I stole a sword of the Tuatha Dé Danann called Fragarach, but I think that's somewhat secondary; his true beef with me is that I made him look bad once, and then kept doing so as he failed to find me.

MH: Well a God doesn't like to be shown up. Who was the most interesting person you've met throughout your lifetime?

ATTICUS: One of the most entertaining people I've ever met who has grown to be more interesting with the passage of time is Benjamin Franklin. I met him while he was staying in France, and man, did he know how to party. His bad-boy image has been tamed quite a bit with plenty of coats of patriotism over the years, and that's one of the things I find interesting about him. But he also had ideas about sharing inventions for the benefit of mankind that some of today's politicians would view as suspiciously socialist. He was a staunch Deist when I knew him, but those views evolved as he got older. In short, he was an incredibly complex individual—as were all the Founding Fathers—but he's presented to young people today as this very simple, morally righteous man. I find that interesting.


MH: What is the most difficult part of being an immortal and what is the best besides the whole longevity thing?

ATTICUS: It's unspeakably difficult to watch your loved ones grow old and die. And you can't stop loving people, or else you become something other than human. There's no upside there. The best part is seeing first-hand the progress humanity has made in terms of Really Good Ideas. Chimneys were a good one, and toilet paper was brilliant, let me tell you. People take those things for granted now, but there was a time when neither one existed, and life was significantly rougher. Ahem.

MH: I can see how losing people all of the time can be hard. But it seems like you've made friends with some god-like beings. And that dog of yours, Oberon, looks to be spry.

ATTICUS: Oberon is about fifteen years old thanks to a regimen of Immortali-Tea, so he's already doubled the average wolfhound's lifespan. He's the best hound ever. Keeps me sane and grounded in many ways.

MH: How did you choose Kevin Hearne to chronicle you so late in life? One would think you'd have had a bard following you around long ago. Was it that his last name reminded you of Herne the Hunter?

ATTICUS: I thought, well, here's an Irish guy who can write, he appreciates good beer and fish and chips, so why not? And part of it was pride, or even base vanity; since I was going to take a stand and reveal myself after millennia of hiding, I wanted the world to know I was around. Herne the Hunter is a swell guy as far as ghosts go, by the way—no relation to Kevin.

MH: Besides being immortal what is one thing most people don't know about you?

ATTICUS: I am terrified of gummy worms. Bad experience in San Diego. Gah! *shudders*

MH: And now most importantly and to go along with my other main proclivity what is your favorite hat or type of hat?

ATTICUS: These days I like baseball caps. I wear a Diamondbacks one during the season. But you know how sometimes people buy those caps and then keep the little golden stickers on front bill? I've been trying to figure out why they do that. Can someone explain why they think that is a good idea?

MH: Thanks for your time. We'll all be sure to check out Hounded and Kevin's blog and twitter to see what he keeps saying about you.

ATTICUS: Appreciate you taking the time to natter a bit. Kevin's working on book four now, called Tricked, so there will be plenty more to come. Cheers!

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CHARACTER INTERVIEW | Eva Forge from The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers

Tim Akers has been doing some very interesting things with his style of Steampunk called Noird, a fusion of Noir and the New Weird. After I started The Horns of Ruin I knew I wanted to do something a little different and was immediately drawn to the star of the book Eva Forge. This interview acts as a nice vignette of what is to come and takes place before the events The Horns of Ruin.

***********

MH: Eva, thanks for joining us today. I know your duties with the Scions of Morgan keep you quite busy.

EVA: Of course. I'm always thrilled to play the part of Public Relations goon for the Cult. It's precisely the sort of thing my years of training in sword and pistol have prepared me for. Sitting. And talking. Just thrilled to be here.

MH: Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do for the Morganites?

EVA: What I do? (leans back in her chair, sighs, runs a finger across her temples and then to the revolver at her hip) What I do. The Cult is the earthly embodiment of Morgan, Brother Immortal, Champion of the Fraterdom and God of War. Our temples are battlefields, our liturgies are the clash of blade and bullet. For centuries we have stood between civilization and chaos, carrying the standard of battle against any who would oppose the Godking.

As Paladin of the Cult of Morgan, it is my holy and sworn duty to lead the charge against the darkness, to bear my sword and sight my iron against the enemies of the Fraterdom. In their blood I find redemption. In their bones I sanctify my soul.

(folds hands neatly across her knee)

This is what I do. What warriors do.

MH: Ummm, I mean no disrespect. Your skills are well known, if not quite understood. The people of Ash need to be educated about Morgan what with The Betrayer's lot still lurking around. Speaking of the Cult of Amon. Given their pedigree do you think it is fair that they are all imprisoned? None of the current followers were even alive during Amon's time.

EVA: It's an interesting question. Many ways to ask that question. Let's try this: Three hundred years ago, Amon the Scholar murdered his brother in cold blood. His brother, who had dedicated his life to defending the citizens of humanity from the darkest threats this fractured world could conjure. Murdered him as he slept.

I'm not saying that they're murderers. They aren't the Betrayer. But they worship him, do you see? They are dedicated the what he was before the Betrayal, to the Scholar and the Engineer and the Scientist. But there's the seed of murder there, somewhere. They worship who he was, but that Brother, that God, he was becoming a murderer.

I don't understand it. I don't understand giving yourself over to a God who became something so awful. But that's their choice, and the Godking allows it. Encourages it. And if there are going to be Amonites, then yes. They must be kept locked away. They must be kept from us. It's unfortunate that it has to be that way. But it is their choice, not mine.

MH: Devotees of the Fraterdom are often given by their parents at a young age to the Cults. What was your childhood like growing up in the Strength of Morgan?

EVA: Hard. Barnabas was good to me, always, but he was always honest with me, too. He never made it easy. The ones who let up on the training because I was a girl, because I was a child and an orphan (or as good as an orphan) did me no favors. Barnabas expected a lot of me. And he got it.

MH: Barnaba is still a bit of enigma to me given he hardly leaves the Strength, but he has always been known as honorable. Eva, there are some that are saying the Cult of Morgan is dying with no chance of a resurgence. How would you answers these detractors? Are they right?

EVA: The way things are going? Yes. Absolutely. Precious Alexander coddles the Scholars, bleeds them for the latest gadget, drains his damned war machines out of their corrupt brains... and Morgan is forgotten. Morgan, who stood on the walls of Eliathas and fought back the hordes of Malcontent King, who led the charge at the battle of Veri-dunne. Morgan, the God of War. And war has been taken from him, and entrusted to the machines of a murderer. So, yes, I think the Cult is dying. Because the Fraterdom is dying. Alexander has stopped caring about honor, or respect, or an honest fight. All he cares about is what he can get out of the servant of Amon, and that the servants of Morgan pay the proper respect.

(she waves her hand, clearly frustrated)

This is a matter for the Elders. It is not my place, and if Barnabas were here I would be scrubbing pots for the rest of my life. I am only the Paladin. My place is the battlefield. Not the Council Chamber, or the marketplace, or the newspapers. Or, for that matter, the interview room.

Morgan keep you. (She stands and leaves, muttering about words, words, words...)

MH: But...but...but...Hrrrmmm... (drops face into hands) I knew this wouldn't go well. Damn Alexander and his insipid request. Oh! I hope nobody heard that.

***************

Read more Eva Forge in The Horns of Ruin, which will be available November 22nd from Pyr Books.  Learn more about Tim Akers at his blog or check out his other book Heart of Veridon, the first in the Jacob Burn cycle.

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CHARACTER INTERVIEW | Alexis from Gail Carriger's Soulless

CHARACTER INTERVIEW | Lord Akeldama from Soulless by Gail Carriger

Whilst having tea with Alexia and Lord Maccon, where we were discussing Soulless by that "little strumpet" Gail Carriger (review here), I managed to nibble on Lord Akeldama's ear a bit.  I thought it was only fair after all the nibbling he has done to others over the centuries with him being a Vampire and all.  Lord Akeldama is probably the most colorful character in Soulless with his flowery yet sometimes incendiary dialogue.  Read my discussion with Alexia and Lord Maccon here.

MH: Thank you for gracing us with your presence. Do tell us, Lord Akeldama, what intrigues you about Alexia so much that it encourages you to invite her into your world? Also, where did you first meet?

LORD AKELDAMA: Well, my darling pumpkin seedling, it's not like me to gossip behind someone's back, but I will say this. She's such an adorably practical little thing, who wouldn't like her? All that common sense and assertive attitude is quite refreshing in a female of this day and age. Also, my little sprouted potato, it's been so very long since I have had any genuine social interaction with a preternatural, I find it enchanting. One might even be tempted to say: revitalizing. As to the location of our first meeting, I'm afraid I must demur and simply point out that that is not, entirely, the right question to ask.

MH: Do you think Alexia and Lord Maccon are a good pairing?

LORD AKELDAMA: Darling, I refuse to commit myself to the very idea of pairing, one wouldn't want to limit oneself like that, now would one? Thusly I feel entirely incapably of judging the matter. That said, they do seem to enjoy barking at one another, which, I'm under the impression, is the practice amongst werewolves.

MH: How do you view the Victorian era versus the other epoch’s you’ve lived through?

LORD AKELDAMA: Ah, sugar bell, I do find this era a little staid in the matter of color and shoe adornments, and of course I simply cannot and will not approve of the muttonchops. Not even slightly. But I shall admit that I do find some of the new brass accessories unexpectedly intriguing.

MH:  Thank you for your patronage.  I hope to read a bit more about your life with Gail Carriger's Changeless, Book the Second next year.

Alternatively: pick your poison: Friend or follow Gail on Twitter, Facebook, Livejournal, or Blogspot. Options options! Or join The Parasol Protectorate facebook group and take over the world one sip of tea at a time.

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