Today we are so lucky to have one of the best urban fantasy writers here to talk about her newest project, a steampunk series. Devon Monk has been writing the Allie Beckstrom Series since 2008. The series is going strong with six books already out, another set to realease later this year, and two more before the series ends.
Tomorrow, Devon’s newest project Dead Iron, the first in the Age of Steam Series is set to hit the shelves nearest you. This new series is a mix of American olden days, monsters, machines and epic awesomesauce.
Thanks so much Devon for being here today!
Devon: Aw, thank you! I’m very excited for a little chat time!
Book Pushers: Tell us a little more about Dead Iron and the Age of Steam series.
Devon: Dead Iron is set in the steam age America, where man, magic, and machine are shaping the fate of the young country. Cedar Hunt is a bounty hunter cursed by lycanthropy who has left a life of sorrow behind him and has found no mercy on his horizon. Mae Lindson is a witch who left her sisterhood to follow the man she loved, a man killed by Shard LeFel, the madman railroad tycoon bent on finding his way back to a world from which he’s long been banished. Add in the Strange nightmare creatures from dark myths and legends, the uncommon Madder brothers miners, sweet Rose Small who can devise metal and matics as good as any man, a dash of love, a pinch of loneliness, revenge, guns, gears, hatred and hope, along with a hearty nod to seeing that justice is done, and you have Dead Iron.
Book Pushers: Where did you get the idea for the Age of Steam series?
Devon: Strangely enough, just like the Allie series, Dead Iron came out of a short story I wrote several years ago. But unlike the Allie books, the short story for Dead Iron only slightly resembles the book itself. The short story had some of the same characters: Cedar Hunt the cursed werewolf and bounty hunter, Shard LeFel the banished railroad tycoon, Mae Lindson the outcast witch, and Jeb Lindson, the lovelorn zombie, but the rest of the story is quite different.
Book Pushers: You’re only set to release two book in the Age of Steam series. Do you have the ideas for more, or is that it?
Devon: Great question! The Age of Steam series could be seven books. Right now I have the stories for the first two, and hints of what would come in the next five. But as with most series, whether or not I get to write the full seven comes down to how well the readers like the first two. I certainly hope people like the first one enough to give the second a try, because I’m telling ya, I have so many cool things planned for book two. Seriously fun stuff!
Book Pushers: According to many people who’ve gotten early copies, the world building is intense and unique. Did you have to keep some sort of bible to keep all your facts straight?
Devon: Um…I keep notes. That’s about it at this point. The world is complex, and for everything that did make it to the page, there’s heaps more that I haven’t mentioned. Plus, I’m mucking about with an alternate historical period, so I’m going to have to start a better filing system/bible for this series, especially if it stretches beyond two books. (note to self—start series bible) (note to note to self—don’t lose this note.)
Book Pushers: What did you have to do to change gears between the female based Allie Beckstrom series to the male based Dead Iron?
Devon: Dead Iron actually has three male lead point of view characters and two female lead point of view characters. So it involved a lot of switching, even in the novel itself. The best thing I found to slide the toggle between the Allie and the Dead Iron crew was music. I listen to alternative rock when I write Allie, I listen to Irish and Scottish folk music and certain soundtracks (Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Sherlock Holmes, etc.) when I write Dead Iron. Mostly, the music helps me switch out of the modern world (Allie’s world) to the historical world (Cedar’s world.) Once I switch, the characters are right there waiting for me.
Book Pushers: There are only three more books set in the Allie Beckstrom series. Do you have a definite ending point in mind, or are you open for extending the series?
Devon: I have a definite ending point for the plots that started in book one. I know exactly where book nine will end, and I hope by the time we get there, readers will be satisfied and excited, and pleased with what happens. Would I consider more books in Allie’s world? Oh heck, yes! I’ve had a few people ask me for a Shamus book and who knows? That could be fun….
Book Pushers: Have you ever considered writing in any other genres outside of the urban fantasy/steampunk/paranormal ones that you do so well?
Devon: I love trying new genres. That’s one of the things I love about writing short stories—they write so quickly, I can try a lot of styles and genres. I’ve considered YA, but haven’t come up with the perfect book I’d want to go out with yet. But I know that no matter what I do, it will always have a little bit of magic, paranormal, sense of wonder in it. I just love that stuff too much to write anything without it.
Book Pushers: As we all know, you are an extremely talented knitter. What got you into knitting and what’s the most difficult thing you’ve created?
Devon: Well, I’m an extremely determined knitter. I don’t know if that counts as talent. 🙂 My grandmothers taught me to knit when I was little. I picked it up again as an adult by knitting Alan Dart’s Yuletide Gnome (talk about diving right in! I’d never even heard of double pointed needles, or any of the other things involved with knitting toys). The most difficult thing I’ve ever created was anything with lace. I simply suck at lacework! But I love the look of it, so I keep picking up projects with a little lace in it hoping it will click some day. No click yet.
Book Pushers: If you could produce a super weapon that was powered by knitting, what would it the weapon do?
Devon: Oh, I kind of did this in a short story I wrote called, STITCHERY, originally published by Black Gate Magazine, and currently in my collection, A Cup of Normal. It wasn’t exactly a weapon, though it could be used as one I suppose. In STITCHERY, the grandmother character hangs out at DMV’s and other places with long waiting lines and knits up spare minutes that everyone is wasting. When she pulls out her knitting, she releases those caught moments and stretches time. Wish I could do that.
Book Pushers: If Cedar and Allie were dropped into each other’s world, what is the first thing they would do?
Devon: Cedar would hunt down a Hound, make him/her explain how magic works, then storm into the head of the Authority and hold a gun to his/her head (or hold their neck in his jaws, if it’s near the full moon) until they gave him the spell he needed to get home. Allie would join an airship crew, start a mutiny, steal some glim and find out if casting time travel and gate spells would get her home.
Book Pushers: If Allie wasn’t able to pay for her magic with head and muscle aches, what would be her second choice payment?
Devon: She’d go for fevers, then stomach aches, I think. The last thing she’d put on the list would be anything that made her super foggy-headed. She’s a little paranoid about losing her mental faculties.
Book Pushers: Will Allie and her father ever be able to resolve the issues between them? Will we be able to see that play out in the next book, or are you going to make us wait till the very end?
Devon: Yes, we will have a resolution between Allie and her father. We see a lot of big changes for Allie and in her relationship with her father in the next book, MAGIC ON THE LINE, and even bigger changes are afoot for them in MAGIC WITHOUT MERCY. But there’s still more to cover, and that will all fall in book nine.
Book Pushers: And finally if you had the opportunity, what kind of UF hero would you like to be and what would you do?
Devon: A smart one? No dark deserted places without backup or weapons, no letting one little misunderstanding kill my relationships, no beating someone down to prove I’m strong, or letting the bad guy free, “just this once.” And I’d save the world, of course.
Thanks so much to Devon for being here today! Devon has graciously offered to give away TWO copies of Dead Iron! Leave your question or comment for Devon to be entered for a chance to win. Open internationally and ends on July 11th. Good luck!
Cool!
The Age of Steam series looks amazing (and not just because of the hot cover). Dead Iron is already on my Amazon To-Buy list, but thanks for the chance of a freebie!
Shoot, I was going to add: Same here about the loving the paranormal too much to write anything without it. For me it just adds that certain spark to a story and world building is so much fun.
🙂
Great interview! Dead Iron is going straight to the top of my TBR pile. I’m so excited to see all the new Steampunk novels hitting the shelves lately…
I have been seeing alot of the steampunk themed books, I haven’t picked one up yet, I will be adding this to my TBR pile. This book sounds like a series I could really get lost in.
I really wanted to read this book since I saw this amazing cover at Ilona & Gordon’s blog :)) Who is the artist?
I love steampunk and looking forward to getting my hands on Dead Iron. Thank you for the giveaway!
I forgot to say, thank you for this interview! I had a lot of fun answering the questions.
Kara-karina–The artist is Cliff Nielsen. I think he did an amazing job! You can see his other stuff here:
http://www.directoryofillustration.com/ArtistPortfolioThumbs.aspx?AID=1064
I LOVE the Allie Beckstom series!! Stone and Shame are two of my most favorite secondary characters. I am SO THERE if there is a Shame spinoff!!
This is a fantastic interview!! I am so excited to read this book and thanks for the giveaway opportunity 🙂
What a great interview! I’m so excited about this book and can’t wait to read it! Thanks for the giveaway!
Very much looking forward to Dead Iron. I guess I hadn’t seen a close-up of the cover – I didn’t see the ‘blood, sweat and gears’ quote until today! Too funny. I also loved hearing about Devon’s musical choices while writing this book – the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack is AWESOME!
Thanks for offering this giveaway!
Hey Devon! I can’t wait to read your new series, I enjoyed the steampunk in “Castle” & have been curious about it ever since. I really do hope you decide to write something just for Shame because he’s always been one of my favorite characters. Keep up the excellent work & have a great 4th of July! Say hi to Stone for me too ;]
I hope you do make a series for Shame as He’s a great character. Can’t wait to read the new series!
I love steampunk books! And this look like awesome! I want it so much!
really looking forward to the new series
Devon Monk and stempunk? Dead Iron is going to be AWESOME.
After recently discovering the urban fantasy genre, I love it! Steampunk, though is completely new to me and I would love to discover it. Even without knowing the genre, the books sound great and yay, I found a new great author today 🙂
I love your style of writing and i ‘m waiting to be able to read Dead iron and discover a new universe.
thanks for the give away
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Sounds great. Really looking forward to picking it up. I have only recently discovered the Steampunk genre but so far really liking it.
I can’t wait to read the book! I’m getting it on my Kindle but it’d be great to have a print copy as well. Thanks for the great interview and the giveaway! 🙂 Congratulations on the new release
I love how steampunk’s suddenly sprung up on the uber popular list. I loved Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series and Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series and can’t wait to see how DEAD IRON stacks up!
And I positively LOVE Allie! Her series is so unique and yet comfortable at the same time, if that makes any sense. MAGIC ON THE LINE cannot be released too soon!
QUESTION:: Is Zayvion EVER going to pop the question to Allie? I mean, seriously, the woman Valkyrie’d him! What more is he waiting for?!
P.S. – A Shamus spin-off would be like a dream come true! Not only is the guy beyond awesome-squared, but I would KILL to see Allie from another POV. Get on that ASAP, plzkthx! LOL ^^
Which kind of stories do you like to write the most? Please keep writing love you books.
I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this book- Happy Early Release Day!!
Wow, the book sounds like it’s sure got a lot going on in it. Like the cover!
Devon, I love, love, love that you listen to Irish music to get you in the right frame of mind for your new series! I’m about half Irish and I could listen to Irish music all day long! I am also an avid knitter and crocheter! I wonder if you knit to relax from writing, or to assist with writing? I know there are times when my mind is just so full of “stuff” I have to take a break and knit, and other times, when I need to really think through a problem or such, I knit it out. I was just wondering if it was the same for you 🙂
I would love to win a copy of this book! It’s at the very top of my wishlist at the moment!
I just finished Meljean Brook’s The Iron Duke and I loved it. So I am really looking forward to some more Steampunk and am really excited for Dead Iron!! Love the Cover!
Loved your interview! I’m just exploring Steam Punk novels and your sounds super interesting. I’d love to win this one!
Mara
Great interview, Dead Iron sounds really good. I love your answer to the last one, stupid main characters (especially in UF) totally ruin the story.
jessicamariesutton(at)msn(dot)com
Loved the interview. I pleases me when authors are open to writing new/different genres. I find my reading becomes more expanded because of this.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Great interview!!! The book sounds great and is now on my TBR list!!!
nat_isabel(at)hotmail(dot)com
Being a great fan of the Allie Beckstrom series, I can’t wait to read Dead Iron and discover your new world! So far, I have not yet read any steampunk books, but Soulless by Gail Carriger is on my reading list for next month.
As fans are wont to do, I am waiting impatiently for the next Allie book! 🙂 When the series ends, I will be very sad to say goodbye to Allie, Zayvion, Stone, Shame and all the others. A spin-off would be a dream come true, as offer the opportunity to meet up with old friends again!
Did you make the knitted dragon? It’s awesome! I have never seen a knitted dragon before, but it’s absolutely adorable. I wish I could knit like that, but I haven’t the patience, I’m afraid.
Thanks for the great interview. Loved hearing about both series. Can’t wait to read Dead Iron (and I hope you get to write more in the series).
Enjoyed the interview. Love love love the gargoyle.
I’ve been looking forward to Dead Iron fro awhile now. I really like the Allie series and I love steampunk so I am very excited to read this new series. I would love to win a copy. : )
Thanks for an awesome interview! I’ve had this book on my wishlist ever since I first saw it on amazon. Can’t wait! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have been waiting for this book to come ou for some time now! Thanks for giveaway!
kapranova.sofija@gmail.com
That is one seriously attractive cover. The art gods smiled on you.
And the gargoyle’s adorable. So cuddly!
Thanks for the giveaway!
I can’t wait to read Dead Iron! 😀 Thanks for the giveaway!
What made you decide that you needed to have so many POVs in one book? Your Allie series is very singular, even though we get glimpses, so it seems like a big shift to have all these people driving the story.
I can’t wait to read it!
Thank you for the interesting interview and for the awesome giveaway! 😀 Dead Iron sounds so gooood! I’m in love with the steampunk genre and can’t wait to get my hands on the first book in the Age of Steam series.
Giada M.
fabgiada (at) gmail (dot) com
Woot! Woot! a new series! But wait…that means a longer wait for more Allie..hmmm…ah well…I don’t think I can wait for the give away-methinks I will be buying it asap!
I love steampunk and I really want to read this book. The cover is amazing . Thank you for the giveaway!
I can’t wait to read this! I love steampunk 🙂 The cover of Dead Iron is gorgeous
throuthehaze at gmail dot com
love the allie series and am looking forward to this one. That is a cute toy and was wondering how hard it would be to do a dragon lol.
scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com
Great interview! I love the Allie Beckstrom series and I can’t wait to read Dead Iron. Magical steampunk western? I’m all in! 😀
It’s hard to comment when so many people before me have said what I’m thinking. I love steampunk, the cover is great, and I’d love to win a copy of this book because it sounds fab.
I’ve just gotten into steampunk and this one sounds like a must read for me.
I loved reading the interview. All the best for more books in this series!
piresprisca (at) gmail (dot) com
The characters sound bad-ass by the way the author answers the questions. I’d love to read this book and get to know them myself!
Hey, thanks for the giveaway!
Sounds like a terrific book to get me out of my summer reading slump. 😀
The new book and series sounds great. I’m a huge fan of the Allie Beckstrom series, so I’m definitely going to check it out. I only hope the new series has as many great characters to love and root for.