Q & A with Kathye Quick

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We are thrilled to welcome Kathye Quick back to Books on the House!  Enjoy this exclusive Q & A with her.

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Both: Welcome to Books on the House, Kathye.  I’m excited to have you here and to be featuring your Camelot-centered books.  What is it that you love about the legend and history of Camelot?

Kathye:  I think I was a castle wench in a previous life.  Seriously though, when I was a child (almost as far back) I saw the Legend of Sir Lancelot on our B&W TV and I was hooked.  I think it was the handsome William Russell as Sir Lancelot that did it for me.  I couldn’t get enough of knights in shinning armor.  Then later I saw Camelot on Broadway with Richard Burton and then on the big screen with Richard Harris as King Arthur and the dashing Franco Nero as Lancelot.  The romance of the legend strikes a chord with me and I never tire of it.  I have a few of the Broadway songs on my IPod somewhere between the Black Eyed Peas and Adam Lambert.

Both: Where did the ideas for this series come from?

Kathye: Unwilling to face the end of the Arthurian legend, I’ve always liked to imagine what may have happened to Camelot if it would have survived Mordred’s onslaught and Lancelot’s betrayal.  I did some research on the legend and really didn’t like how it is said to have turned out.  So I invented an alternate story, tweaking the legend (after all, it is Fiction, right?) and placing the responsibility of continuing Arthur’s dream on brother knights – Constantine and Braeden.  The rest was just living it through my characters the way I would have liked it to have happened.

Both: Will there be another Camelot book?

Kathye: When I thought about the series – Beyond Camelot – Brother Knights – I envisioned 3 books.  I’ve told Sir Constantine’s and Sir Braeden’s stories and planned to introduce Adam in the last book, but in BRAEDEN AND JANNE, I discovered that Janne had a half-brother.  Reynar was sired by the evil Mordred and taken from his mother at birth to be raised by the wrenches’ serving Mordred’s soldiers.  Once he came of age, he was given to the heartless captain of Mordred’s army and taught to be a ruthless killer.  His story is screaming to be told.  Imagine, an evil warlord, never knowing a mother’s touch or a woman’s love.  How came someone like this be redeemed?  I hope to let everyone know just that soon.

Both: You also write with a partner under the pen name PK Eden.  Tell us a bit about those books.

Kathye:  Patt Mihailoff, my writing soul mate and the other half of P. K. Eden, is an incredible person and author in her own right, and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to write with her.  We met at the gym, of all places, and instantly discovered a mutual love of the syfy channel.  As we huffed and puffed on the treadmill, we plotted FIREBRAND, an urban fantasy based on the fall of the Garden of Eden.  Writing this story with Patt was an incredible experience and a labor of both love and pure joy.  FIREBRAND was won two reviewer’s Choice Awards and has been called a work on a par with the Hobbit and Harry Potter series.

FIREBRAND tells the story of Amber Drake, a tribred, born with the blood of humans, trolls and fairies running through her veins.  When the Garden fell at the beginning of time, the First One  divided what was left into three – Humans, descendents of Adam and Eve; Fairies, those who came from the Angel of the garden and trolls, those who evolved from the snake that tempted.  Each was given a sword to protect and the hope in a prophecy that one would come from all three races.  Amber’s birth starts the Arpeggio Clock on its countdown to Armageddon and only she can preside at the Triad, a rite that will restore the Garden and unite all three worlds.  But not everyone wants her to succeed.

We had so much fun that we are in the middle of an urban fantasy series entitled The Grimm Protectors.  I don’t want to give away too much, but can you imagine what Donald Trump would do with a spinning wheel that could turn straw into gold?

Both: Thanks again for being here!  Now, excuse me while I go download these on my brand new Nook!  Can’t wait to read them =)

Kathye: I appreciate the opportunity to share my love of King Arthur and his Knights and my vision of New Camelot here at Books on the House. Thanks everyone for listening.  You guys rock!