Excerpt and Q&A with Julie Kagawa, author of the Iron Fey series

Today is the last day of the Julie Kagawa The Iron Knight'blog tour, which has been going strong around the web this past month. Ill be posting my review shortly, but in the meantime, here are a few snippets to pique your interest about the fourth book in this bestselling series.

Blurb of The Iron Knight:

Unable to survive in the kingdom of his beloved due to his supernatural nature, a warrior prince sets out to turn himself human. But first he must cross deadly lands and overcome nightmarish obstacles before reaching the fabled testing grounds, where he will endure a series of challenges. He is joined on his quest by a team of fantastical creatures, each with an agenda of their own'one, a faery prankster whom the prince has vowed to kill for past misdeeds; another, a wise-speaking cat who claims to be a truthful guide; the third, a legendary and villainous beast pulled right from the fairy tales; and finally, the last, a seer who appears to be the resurrection of the prince's former love, long thought dead but now restored to life and as beautiful and tempting as ever. With these dubious allies by his side, the prince sets off to achieve his ultimate prize, but to do so will require overcoming the greatest challenge of all in his quest for a human soul'himself.

An exclusive excerpt from Julie Kagawas The Iron Knight:

'And incidentally, 'the old chicken plucker' can hear every word you say, so I suggest we hurry. After she is done with the fowl, she intends to come after you as well.'

He reached the fence and leaped up on it, somehow balancing himself on a crooked skull, peering back with glowing yellow eyes. 'You did not think she would let you go so easily, did

you?' he asked. 'We have until nightfall to be clear of the marsh, before she comes riding after us with all of hell close behind her. So let us pick up the pace, hmm?'

Puck shot me a sideways look, grinning feebly. 'Er. Never a dull moment, huh, ice-boy?'

'I'm going to kill you one day,' I told him as we hurried after Grimalkin, back into the swampy marshland. It was not an idle threat. Puck just laughed. 'Yeah. You and everyone else, prince. Join the club.'

Julie Kagawa answers some pressing questions for her readers

The Iron Knight is the fourth book in the Iron Fey series. Are there plans for any more?

Meghan and Ash's journey has come to a close, but it's not the end of The Iron Fey series.' In 2012 there will be a new series starring Ethan Chase, Meghan's little brother, when he is older.

The Iron Knight contains many challenges and puzzles and quests. Which is your favorite, and how did you come up with them?

Thank you! 'I think my favorite challenge was the part with the mirrors, when the characters had to face their dark sides. It's a very Classic Quest challenge, which was what I was going for in The Iron Knight. Will Puck get a heroine of his own? Are you planning another Iron Fey novel or is it something new for you now?

You never know with Puck. Puck is a legend, more so than Ash or Meghan or even Grimalkin. I have too much respect for the old legends to start changing their stories to fit my expectations. The image of Puck at the end, wild and carefree, suits Shakespeare's Robin Goodfellow far better than a Puck who settled down with a girl.' But again, who knows with Puck? The only predictable thing about him is his unpredictableness.

Had you already started the Blood of Eden series before the Iron Fey series?

Id been toying with a post-apocalyptic world as I was finishing up The Iron Knight, but the idea to add vampires didnt come until my agent and I were discussing ideas for my next series.' She mentioned that HarlequinTEEN was on the lookout for vampire books, and the idea to mesh the two together just sort of clicked.

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