‘Trapped’ Interview with Kevin Hearne

Dark elf clowns, Faerie assassins, a Draugar army with automatic weapons…your stories include some very wild ideas. Where do they come from?

Kevin Hearne: Usually I just start with what’s already in the mythology and give it a modern twist. We can’t expect the forces of Hel to content themselves with swords and shields now that there are so many more efficient ways to mow down the living. The dark elf clowns, though…I just thought that was scary. Like the clowns in Zombieland but so much worse.

I noticed in Trapped there weren’t as many Star Wars references as there were in your previous novels. Are you toning it down now that you have a Luke Skywalker book lined up?

KH: Oh, I didn’t realize! No, that was simply an accident. I finished Trapped in March and Del Rey didn’t approach me about the Star Wars book until the summer.

With Trapped, we are seeing Granuaile become more powerful and important to the story. Will we see that trend continue?

KH: Absolutely. I’ve always planned for her to grow quite a bit.

What was the most fun scene to come up with in Trapped?

KH: For me it was the scene where Oberon decides to start his own religion. It’s kind of brief but it still makes me laugh. I’m fairly certain another scene with Oberon will be readers’ favorite—I don’t wish to spoil it—and that one comes in a close second for me. I’ve already heard quite a bit about it from some early readers.

What was the hardest part of writing Trapped?

KH: It’s always battle scenes. I’m not a violent dude but like many people I enjoy watching or reading fictional violence. So I plot these action-packed books and then discover when I have to actually write them that it’s always tougher than I anticipated.

What are your feelings on Leif? He’s one of my favorite side characters in your stories, and I’d love to hear the backstory on him and what purpose you see him for him as a character in relation to Atticus.

KH: Holy bovine…you may have inadvertently asked a more serious question than you realized. Atticus by his nature is forced to care about something greater than himself—the earth. It’s the entire reason for his existence as a Druid. Leif is the foil to that—or rather, I should stress that I see him that way. Readers might not see that or even care and that’s completely cool. I’m utterly at ease with readers enjoying Leif as a vampire with stilted diction and nothing more. But since you asked, to me, Leif embodies Ayn Rand’s philosophy, this incredibly destructive idea that selfishness is good. People like him are often charming and charismatic and even seen as powerful leaders, but as Obi-Wan pointed out to Darth Vader, that kind of world view makes you “only a master of evil.” I tend to think we often judge good and evil by the degree to which someone is selfless or selfish. Thus Luke and Leia, who care about everyone in the galaxy, are good, while the Sith and their lust for personal gain are evil. Leif would make a great Sith lord.

In the endnotes for Tricked, you mentioned the greatest Metallica song ever recorded but you didn’t say what it was. Can you enlighten us?

KH: Well, first, I should reiterate that my editor rocks. Seriously. I mean, she wears black leather and edits with death metal blasting in her headphones. Her dream is to own a mead hall that serves libations in drinking horns and the entire menu is whatever they’re roasting on a spit. Entertainment would either be provided by genuine skalds or by Amon Amarth—there’s no in between. So one day we had a serious discussion about the importance of old-school Metallica in our lives, especially when we were younger. It was like sonic chocolate to us. And just as many young people across the world have done, we sat in front of very large speakers and let Lars, Kirk and James pound our brains. And we agreed that the best song they ever recorded—you know, if we had to pick, because we love it all—was “Master of Puppets.” This is why we work so well together.

Lastly, I know you’ve only recently begun work on your Luke Skywalker novel and you can’t share any of the details, but can readers expect to see the same humor in your Star Wars story as your Iron Druid Chronicles?

KH: Hmm. Maybe a little? To quote the Emperor, “It is unavoidable.” I tend to see the humor in life and something will probably sneak in there no matter what. I think they probably knew that when they asked me to write it.

We want to thank Kevin for answering our questions and we hope readers check out his series and new book, as they’re both great. If you’d like to find out more about Kevin, you can head on over to his official website which he keeps updated with news as well links to all sorts of extra goodies.