Interview with M.K. Hobson + Giveaway

Filed in Interview , M.K. Hobson , The Geeky Lover , The Smutty Lover Posted on April 25, 2011 @ 6:00 am 32 comments
Today we are happy to welcome to Book Lovers Inc. M.K. Hobson, author of the acclaimed and beloved The Native Star, a unique mix of western, fantasy, steampunk, as some called it a thrilling “witchpunk” novel! Book #2 The Hidden Goddess is to be released in May and Mary kindly agreed to indulge our curiosity and answer our questions.  Please give a warm welcome to M.K. Hobson!
BLI: Mary can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Well, I’m a mom (to both a beautiful 13 year old daughter and a beautiful yellow lab), a wife, and a marketing manager for a large corporation (not necessarily in that order). I love to sew and am particularly fond of historical costuming. And sometimes, in between all that other stuff, I write books and even short stories.

BLI: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?
On the spectrum between “planner” and “pantser” I am as the far on the “planner” end of the curve as it is possible to be. I spend so much time planning & plotting that it ends up taking me forever to write even one word. Other people were Cleopatra in their past lives; I was Machiavelli.
BLI: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?
It’s like the difference between Captain Ahab and your Uncle Joe, who likes to fish for trout on the weekends.
BLI: We heard that you’ve been nominated for the Nebula Award. Congrats! What did you think when you first heard about this especially when these awards are dominated by men?
Thank you! When I found out I’d been nominated, I was astonished and amazed, not only by the nomination but by the incredible composition of the ballot. My book, N.K. Jemisin’s THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS and Mary Robinette Kowal’s SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY are all debut novels. And Nnedi Okrafor’s WHO FEARS DEATH is her debut adult novel. No debut novel has ever won the Nebula, but this year the odds are good that might change!
The best part was that I found out about the nomination from Madeleine Robins, a brilliant writer (readers who don’t know her Sarah Tolerance mysteries should check them out post haste!) and one of the first people to blurb THE NATIVE STAR.
BLI: Your novels are set in a world with many different aspects–steampunk, western and also a magical twist. Can you tell us a bit more about it?
I’ve heard the comment a lot that it’s difficult to categorize THE NATIVE STAR but I think it won’t be so hard once I finish more books in the series, which I’m imagining as a sweeping multigenerational family saga. Or actually, now that I think of it, maybe it will be even harder to categorize, once I start venturing into different historical periods and different magical ramifications/justifications for historical events! Anyway, when I think of what I’m hoping to accomplish with these books, it can be summed up as “The Forsyte Saga–with magic!”
BLI: How did you come up with the magical aspect of your world. There are so many different views of magic out there, what makes yours special?
I guess what makes it special is that I tried to take the kinds of magic that already existed (well, existed in human folklore and tradition) and systematize them. I tried to pull out the commonalities and make it all consistent. I’m a big fan of taxonomy and standardization.
BLI: What made you give Stanton the rather unusual first name of “Dreadnought”? X-Men?
I didn’t even know there was a Dreadnought in X-Men until this question made me go look it up. What was he, some kind of star-killing war-creature? But to answer your question, I can’t quite remember how I came up with the name Dreadnought. I wanted something silly and pretentious but also not TOO silly and pretentious, we still had to be able to take him seriously after all. Dreadnought ultimately fit the bill.
BLI: What can we expect of Hidden Goddess?
THE HIDDEN GODDESS is a bit darker than THE NATIVE STAR, and I expect that as the series progresses the books will continue to get darker. Of course, the humor will still be there; I can’t write anything that doesn’t have some humor in it. And humor and horror go together quite well.
BLI: The relationship between Stanton and Emily was a joy to read in the first book, The Native Star, and in The Hidden Goddess, they are engaged to be married, will we see any interesting developments along the way in terms of their romance?
Well, you know how it is … in the first book you have the two romantic leads fall in love, and in the second book you have to test their relationship. And boy, do I. I spare no effort in testing their relationship. I throw a sociopathic future mother-in-law, a strangely possessive Aztec goddess, and the Institute in their way. The course of true love is not about to run smooth for my poor characters.
BLI: Will this book focus more on Emily discovering the depth of her magic as well as the knowledge she would need to use especially after the events in The Native Star?
Absolutely. In THE HIDDEN GODDESS, Emily has to learn a lot more about her connection with Ososolyeh on her own, without as much help from Stanton as she had in the first book. She also has to learn more about her past, which has always been a mystery to her.
BLI: Which spell would you love to use in real life and which one would you never want to go wrong on you?
Being that I’m always so damn busy, I find Hermione’s “Time Turner” spell from the Harry Potter books very attractive. However, I’m not particularly interested in going forward or backward in time; rather, I’d like to just stop time around myself so I could get more done. But I’m sure that would backfire on me; I would end up working 80 hour days and being exhausted. But then, I could just stop time and sleep for 14 hours straight, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad …
BLI: Will there be more books in this series? What is next on your schedule?
Well, I’ve got ideas for several more books in this series, and I think I might even be able to convince my editor to buy them … but I have to finish the proposals!
The proposal I’m *currently* working on is for the next 2 books in the series, which jump forward 30 years to follow Dreadnought & Emily’s youngest son. It’s set in 1911, which was a very interesting time in history. And as much as I love bustles, it will be nice to explore a whole new era of costuming. 😉
BLI: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?
No, I can’t tell you three reasons people should read my books … but I can tell you three kinds of people who I think would like my books, how about that?
1) History buffs (but not those who get annoyed by writers who tamper with history because … well, if you’re that kind of reader, my books will annoy you.)
2) Humor afficionados (but not those who read humor because they prefer a lighter view of life … because my books can get a bit dark in places.)
3) Costuming geeks (THE HIDDEN GODDESS has four times as many costume changes as THE NATIVE STAR!)

Thank you Mary for stopping by BLI and answering our questions, and we can’t wait for the release of the Hiden Goddess! 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~*Giveaway*~*~
Mary has generously offered one copy of Hidden Goddess to a lucky commenter.
All you have to do is ask Mary a question
or leave a meaningful comment about the interview.
Please leave us a way to contact you
(email in blogger profile or twitter name-
no way to contact you – no entry).
This giveaway is international
Giveaway ends on Saturday, May 7th  2011 and we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good luck!
Copyright 2010-11 Book Lovers Inc.

About Stella


Stella is a proud bookaholic and a self-taught multilinguist in training. Besides reading, her other great passions are travelling and baking. When she is not globetrotting she lives in sunny Budapest, where she loves to spend her free time preparing (and feasting on) delicious cookies or devouring equally yummy books. Her favourite genres are urban fantasy and romance and she couldn't live without her daily dose of sunshine. Besides being the Latin Lover on BLI Stella also blogs about books and a bookish life on Ex Libris.

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32 Comments

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  • Birgit April 25, 2011 at 6:21 am

    I must admit I haven't come across any of Mary's books, but after reading the interview I know that I absolutely have to get my hands on them! I like the adventurous mix of genres and well, venturing into different historical periods is always a plus 🙂 !

    Thanks for introducing me to this author and the chance to win the book!!

    danaan at gmx dot at

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  • Bethany C. April 25, 2011 at 7:32 am

    I totally agree with your choice of spells- I would love to stop time to get things done! And by the way, when I first read the sentence, I thought it said a 'Tina Turner' spell. Although I suppose casting a Tina Turner spell would probably net you a positive result in some form.

    b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  • Karla Vollkopf April 25, 2011 at 7:38 am

    So I'm not the only one who would liek to stop time, huh? I do wodner what it'd be like to have Hermione's "Time Turner" spell from the HP, too. LOL
    And you're right! You should make your characters suffer! (evil laugh) 😛 They need to fight to stay together, and entertain us, of course. 🙂 LOL

    Thanks for the international giveaway!

    kah_cherub at hotmail dot com

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  • Sharon S. April 25, 2011 at 8:29 am

    Those are some awesome covers. Did you have a say in them? I love books with magic, but I like for there to be rules and consequences for using it. Are there any specific rules/consequences for using magic in your world?

    Thanks for the chance to win!

    Link
  • JymXu April 25, 2011 at 9:56 am

    This is a great mix of genres. I have recently started reading The Native Star and can not wait to dive into this series.

    cdclark02 at gmail dot com

    Link
  • M.K. Hobson April 25, 2011 at 10:38 am

    Hi Sharon, thanks for your questions!

    1) I got a bit of say in the cover for THE NATIVE STAR — in the original draft they showed me, the hand with the stone in it looked REALLY masculine and I asked them to revise it to look more ladylike. I didn't have any comments on the cover for THE HIDDEN GODDESS; I loved it from the moment I saw it!
    2) There are global consequences for using magic, not personal ones; magic creates a kind of toxic waste that results in big mutated creatures called Abberancies.

    Good luck everyone!
    M.K.

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  • Teril April 25, 2011 at 11:10 am

    Native Star was amazing! I cannot wait for Hidden Goddess. I have a cover comment also, they are breathtaking! What are your reactions when you see the covers for your books. Are you all you ever wanted them to be?

    terilhack at yahoo dot com

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  • tetewa April 25, 2011 at 11:55 am

    I'm always looking for new authors to read, sounds good! tWarner419@aol.com

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  • Lil April 25, 2011 at 11:58 am

    I am genuinely curious. What was the inspiration for The Native Star? It is such an unusual and intriguing mix in genres.

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  • M.K. Hobson April 25, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    @ Teril: When I saw the cover for THE HIDDEN GODDESS, I was overjoyed! As I've said elsewhere, I hope it starts a new fashion on bookcovers for sexy napes. 🙂

    @ Lil: Really, the inspiration was my love of the era and my desire to write some American-based Victoriana (to counterbalance all the well-known and well-loved British Victoriana that's out there).

    Link
  • Estella April 25, 2011 at 2:56 pm

    Congrats on the Nebula Award nomination!
    You are a new to me author and your books sound interesting.

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  • draconismoi April 25, 2011 at 6:26 pm

    Costuming geeks, eh? Will Dreadnought be forced to dress up like a tablecloth this time around? A relationship should be built upon a good solid foundation, and Emily really needs the opportunity to mock his outfits before their wedding.

    Just saying.

    cass at feministdracona dot net

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  • Barbara E. April 25, 2011 at 6:54 pm

    I've been wanting to read Native Star since it came out, but haven't had a chance to pick it up yet. Now there's a second book coming? I better hurry so I don't get too behind. 😀
    Both books sound fantastic and I do want to read them.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

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  • Linda April 25, 2011 at 8:46 pm

    Congratulations on the nomination. I just bought a copy of Native Star & can't wait to read it.

    thumbelinda03@yahoo.com

    Rgrds,
    Linda

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  • Melissa (Books and Things) April 25, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    Oh now I'm curious about the different costumes that will show up in the books. Interesting.

    books (dot) things (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  • JenM April 25, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    I have The Native Star on my TBR pile, just haven't gotten to it yet, but now that the second book is out, I'll have to move it up. Every time I hear about this type of book (kind of steampunkish with magic set in the old West) I always wonder whether the author watched the old TV show Wild Wild West – Did you?

    jen at delux dot com

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  • M.K. Hobson April 25, 2011 at 9:49 pm

    @draconismoi: Well, Dreadnought doesn't dress up like a tablecloth, but he does find himself in a getup immensely worthy of Emily's mockery. She admirably retrains herself from doing so, however, given the circumstance.

    @JenM: I am horribly embarrassed to admit that the only exposure to "Wild Wild West" I ever had was the movie version with Will Smith. I have been meaning to order the box set of the TV shows, but I've just never done it …

    Link
  • Jason April 25, 2011 at 11:41 pm

    I just wanted to thank you for all of your work on Podcastle. It is amazing how much you are a part of in the fiction world. Good job and keep it up.

    jaosn [at] jasonkivela [dot] come

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  • marybelle April 26, 2011 at 1:43 am

    Both THE NATIVE STAR & THE HIDDEN GODDESS look amazing. I will be reading this series.

    marypres@gmail.com

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  • Tore April 26, 2011 at 8:14 am

    Both books sound very good. Please enter me in contest. Thanks for the giveaway. Tore923@aol.com

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  • Beverly April 26, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    I LOVE the X-Men! These other two books are new to me – – did you get to have a hand in the covers? They are amazing!
    Please enter me. Thanks for hosting.
    bevsharp@desch.org

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  • -petit April 26, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    I'm in love with this cover! It's amazing! I wouldn't like a Time Turner, because I'm a little distracted and I can bump on my other self, and the world can end! XD

    sweet.sayumi@yahoo.com.br

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  • Pamk April 26, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    Just curious how I missed your books. Sounds exactly like something I'd read. I am going to add your books to my tbb list.
    scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com.

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  • JessS April 27, 2011 at 1:27 am

    While I agree that Hermione's time turner or any time stopping spell would be useful I never liked them because you would age while the world was paused and end up way older than everyone else. Then again 14 hours sleep would be nice.
    The book looks amazing.

    jessicamariesutton(at)msn(dot)com

    Link
  • Karen H in NC April 27, 2011 at 8:21 am

    Well, what do you know? Another new-to-me author to check out! Love it!

    kkhaas at bellsouth dot net

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  • claudia April 28, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    I purchased "The Native Star" immediately after reading this interview because Mary Hobson is a new author to me. Well, I read the book in only one day (consider that I'm not an English/American native speaker)! I really liked this first one, I love the fact that it is a mixture of different genres. I can't wait to read "The Hidden Goddess" to find out how the relationship between Emily and Stanton will go and also to see the new costumes that will show up in the next books!
    Thanks for having made me know this awesome writer and for the great giveaway!

    klaudin at hotmail dot it

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  • Novels On The Run April 28, 2011 at 7:33 pm

    Hi ,

    Thanks for a great interview. I haven't admittedly heard of Mary, I am glad I now have. I love steampunk. Her books will be going on my tbr list on Goodreads. They sound very creative.

    Michelle

    tintinbrains@bigpond.com

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  • van_pham April 29, 2011 at 11:49 am

    I loved the first book, The Native Star. When I first read the synopsis and the reviews for the book I knew I had to have it.

    I can't wait to read The Hidden Goddess!

    Question: I really love the book covers of this series, who designed them and did you have any input in it?

    van
    Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  • EVA SB April 30, 2011 at 1:53 am

    I have seen these books around but this is the first time I have read an interview.

    Mary you say Hidden Goddess will be darker. Why do you think it is that readers, and authors, seem to enjoy it so much when stories get 'darker'?

    eva.s.black[@]gmail[.]com

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  • Janicu May 3, 2011 at 9:30 am

    Great interview. I was pointed here by Kristen at Fantasy Book Cafe since we both enjoyed the first book so much. She was right – knowing the second book is darker makes me want it more. It also sounds like Emily & Dreadnought's story will be completed in two books, and further books will be about different characters in the real world. This I also like! It's refreshing to have a series reboot with new characters.

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  • readinrobin May 4, 2011 at 11:59 am

    Your books definitely sound like something I need to check out. I'm not sure why but I personally love books that defy categorization. And I qualify as the first and second kind of people who you think would like your books!

    readinrobin@gmail.com or readinrobin on twitter

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  • Anonymous May 10, 2011 at 12:17 am

    My name is Nicole Dunlap, and my email is auxier0492@aol.com.

    I can't believe I've never picked your book up before! You sound like the kind of author whose books I really enjoy. I really hope I win. 😀

    Link
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