A Long Crazy Trip: Talking Magic with Ilona Andrews

One thing that’s so remarkable about Kate Daniels is how exciting it continues to be, even eight books in, and how much more material that’s still out there to explore. When you started writing the series, did you have any idea it would be so long-running? How much of the plot of the later books did you have in mind starting out?
It really started as just the one book. The original manuscript was much closer to the “Lost Dog” story that appeared in the Must Love Hellhounds anthology. We really never dreamed that there would be a book two, let alone eight. Even after Magic Burns [Kate Daniels #2], we didn’t have much planned out. I think we were as surprised as anyone when the Kate books became a series. Honestly, the credit belongs to our fans who stuck by and supported us through this long crazy trip.
I’m always fascinated by your description of post-Shift Atlanta. How do you both approach your worldbuilding? How much of it is pulled from real life Atlanta (for example, do you guys take trips to Atlanta and look at skyscrapers and think, “Huh, that would be fun to destroy in our next book”?)
I guess we try to make it interesting and original, but still believable. We lived for several years in Georgia and we both traveled frequently to Atlanta for our jobs. I feel like we knew the city well enough to realistically turn it into a post-apocalyptic landscape. Yes, Ilona did turn the building she went to for corporate training into one the skyscrapers we…mutated, I guess would be the word. We also use Google Maps to make sure we’re putting stuff where it’s supposed to be, or where it was before we wrecked it.
World mythology is such a frequent thread in your books. If you could each pick one mythological figure/deity/whatever to have dinner with, who would it be?
For Ilona it would be Loki; she says he would have the best stories. Along the same vein, for me it would be Odin, the All Father. I really like the fact that from time to time, he would put on a disguise and wander the worlds in search of knowledge. He would stop being the king of Asgard and become a vagabond. That’s how I picture him, not as Anthony Hopkins in gold armor, but more as Odin the Wanderer from the Georg van Rosen painting.

The relationship between Kate and Curran is so central to the series. How do you keep their romance vibrant and interesting after so many thousands of pages?
We try to write them as a real couple. They have fights, they disagree on things but they still love each other and really, they haven’t been together that long. They’ve moved past the courtship stage and this book finds them moving into a new place and starting, at least for Curran, a new job. Kate has always been a loner, but Curran has been a king or sorts since he was 15, and now he’s just normal guy living in the suburbs with his partner and their adopted teenage daughter. I guess it helps that as the series goes along they both change and grow as characters.
You have so many great supporting characters in this series. Are there any you’re especially fond of?
For Ilona it was Aunt B for sure. She says that she was just a lot of fun to write. For me, it’s probably Saiman. He is just such an amoral, selfish, greedy bastard. Can I say that? With him there’s no pressure to make him heroic or likeable in any way. I guess it’s a kick to write a character with absolutely no redeeming qualities.
If you were fantasy casting a Kate Daniels television show, who would play Kate? What about Curran?
This is a tough question because how we picture them may not at all be the same as how our readers imagine them. That’s the great thing about books—the characters can look like anything you want, different for each person, and nobody’s wrong because that’s how they see them when they read the book. Personally, I picture Kate and Curran looking much like the lead couple in one of my favorite movies, Casino Royale with Daniel Craig and Eva Green. If you google their names together a pic comes up of them laying on a blanket with a small dog. To me that’s Kate, Curran, and Grendel (except that the dog looks very much like Benji). Ilona will, if pressed, admit that in her head Curran looks a lot like Chris Hemsworth. Even as her husband I have to just give her that one; he is ridiculously good looking. She also likes the actress Gina Carano as Kate.

What other projects are you working on?
Mainly right now we’re desperately trying to finish White Hot, the second book in the Hidden Legacy series. Picking up a couple of months after the events of Burn for Me, this new story begins with Nevada taking a case against her better judgment, the investigation once again puts her on a collision course with Mad Rogan and the shadow conspiracy which threatened Houston in the last book. Also, we’re preparing for the independent release of Sweep in Peace.
What books are you reading and loving right now? What about television?
We’re both reading The Sten Chronicles, an excellent sci-fi series by Chris Bunch and Allan Cole. These books are really, really good. I know she’s also reading Old Man’s War by the very talented John Scalzi. I am myself deeply into Phillip Jose Farmer’s Wold Newton family/Universe. The Doc Savage book [Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life] was great, and now I’m onto Tarzan Alive. As far as shows we binged on: Bosh, which we loved. At night before bed we like to watch the true crime show Vanity Fair Confidential. It’s smart and not too dark. According to my youngest, Bob’s Burgers is the best show on tv but to me it’s not as good as Archer. The crossover episode was epic though.
Magic Shifts is available tomorrow.