Exclusive! Kate Daniels’ Mahon and Aunt B talk to Paperback Dolls! (Psst…and there’s a giveaway!!!)
Kate Daniels’ very own
Mahon and Aunt B!
Its not every day you get the chance to have a sit down with a pack Alpha, let alone two! But thanks to Ilona Andrews, the Paperback Dolls were lucky enough to get an exclusive with two of the Kate Daniels Series’ fascinating characters, just in time for the release of the latest book in the series – Magic Bleeds, out May 25th!
PBD Dolls: Why not introduce yourselves to those of us who live in a cave somewhere and don’t know who you are?
Aunt B: Oh, no need to be so formal, dear. We’re all friends here. I run Clan Bouda. The Hyena Shapeshifters.
Mahon: I’m Mahon, Alpha of Clan Heavy, Pack Executioner, Free Man of the Code.
PBD Dolls: It seems like some big bad is descending on Atlanta, what do you think is out there?
Mahon: Everything is fine, there is no need for alarm.
Aunt B: We’re peaceful people. We really don’t get involved in things outside of the Pack. You young people get so excited. It’s natural. I was the same way at your age. Come sit down, have some tea with us. Would you like a cookie?
PBD Dolls: *take cookies* Mmmmm chocolate chip.
PBD Dolls: So, what do you think the future holds for the Pack?
Mahon: Peace and prosperity. A long reign for our lord.
Aunt B, nods: What he said.
PBD Dolls: Mahon, a few questions for you first – the Beast Lord as a toddler, child, teenager….that must have been fun, anything you can share?
PBD Dolls: *sigh* *mumble* I guess thats a no then…..
PBD Dolls: So back to you, how did you end up as Pack Executioner?
Mahon: I was asked to do it and I accepted.
Aunt B: *rolls eyes*: The thing to remember, dear, is that Curran can’t carry out executions by himself. There must be a separation of power and official process. And Mahon just happens to be both a powerful shapeshifter and a respected one, some would say revered in certain bear circles-
PBD Dolls: Being the Pack Executioner must be a tough job, how do you unwind? What makes the job easier?
Mahon: I like to go out into the wilderness. Hunting is good. Fishing. It’s simple. Life isn’t complicated out there.
PBD Dolls: Hardest thing you ever had to do as Pack Executioner?
Mahon: Our kind suffers from loupism. It flares in adolescence. Mostly we catch it early, but sometimes we don’t and bad things happen. It’s never easy to take a life of a child. Even if you know it’s a mercy, it’s right, and best for everyone. It’s a burden that you always carry. That’s why I do it. Because I can and other can’t and I can spare them that burden.
PBD Dolls: When you first met Kate Daniels, you said she was bad for your blood pressure…change of heart?
Mahon: Ms Daniels is a fierce fighter, competent and tenacious. She shows loyalty to her friends, which is no small thing. She will, however, always be bad for my blood pressure.
PBD Dolls: *tries not to snicker*
PBD Dolls: Mahon, Can you tell us how you you felt, sitting on the sidelines at the games while The Beast Lord fought in the arena?
Mahon: I was proud. They fought well and with honor, as I knew they would. I had no doubt they would be victorious.
PBD Dolls: It seems love is in the air among the pack members – tell us about the someone special in your life?
Mahon: My mate and I have been married for forty five years. She is a wonderful woman, and we have six children, all girls, and two grandchildren, also girls. We’re both in the prime of our lives and we enjoy each other’s company. I’ve never felt the need to look at another woman.
PBD Dolls: *sigh* that is so lovely….*clears throat* where were we….
PBD Dolls: Do you think the Beast Lord will be able to make it work with someone who isn’t pack?
Mahon: I’m sure that whoever Curran chooses will be worthy of the honor of being the Pack’s alpha and his mate. It is not my place to speculate on this matter. He is a grown man and he runs his own life.
PBD Dolls: When did you know Curran was Beast Lord material?
Mahon: As soon as he walked out of the forest to us. There was just an air about the boy, a power of sorts. I knew right then he was something special. And then he turned, and I knew at that point that if I could have a son, I would want him to be just like that boy.
Aunt B: He’s a man now, dear. He’ll turn thirty one this year.
Mahon: It doesn’t matter, Beatrice. He will always be my son.
PBD Dolls: *seriously in danger of crushing on Mahon*
PBD Dolls: A few final questions for Mahon - Atlanta?
Mahon: I don’t go there unless I have to.
PBD Dolls: Dark meat or light meat?
Mahon: Dark.
PBD Dolls: The question everybody wants an answer to – what shampoo does The Beast Lord use? That hair is to die for, there has got to be some hair-product secret there…..
Mahon: *flat stare* I think we’re done here.
PBD Dolls: Right, ok, Aunt B, do you feel that as a female pack leader you are looked at differently by other pack leaders?
Aunt B: Oh no, sweetie. We’re an open minded lot. It’s not your equipment down below that matters. It’s more about the size of your claws and teeth and the will behind them.
PBD Dolls: How long have you been pack leader (at what age did you become pack leader)?
Aunt B: Asking a woman her age? *clicks tongue* That is a dangerous question. I was alpha when Beast Lord was in diapers. Let’s leave it at that.
PBD Dolls: *tries to sneak another cookie from the plate* These are seriously good….
PBD Dolls: Favorite things to do when not dealing with pack business?
Aunt B: I like to garden. It’s a very neat and orderly hobby. You plant a flower, and it grows, and then it blooms for you. My plants are my good quiet children. I talk to them, and they listen. They don’t run off to another state and seduce the senator’s son, they don’t get busted for shoplifting, and they don’t pick fights with the wrong people and then crawl home to be stitched up. I hardly ever have to bribe anybody on their behalf.
PBD Dolls: *amazed that Aunt B has not been driven to drink*
PBD Dolls: Kate has mentioned that Hyenas and Lions don’t get along – why?
Aunt B: Oh, it’s the nature thing, dear. Lions hunt and we strip their kill after they’re done with it. Lions work too hard. They watch, they wait, they run, spend all that energy, take it down, and by the time they kill it, they are really too tired to eat it. We do the good deed of not letting good meat go to waste.
PBD Dolls: What do you do in order to make dealing with the Beast Lord a bit easier?
Aunt B: I make sure to always have dessert ready. That boy loves sweets.
Mahon: He’s a man, dear.
PBD Dolls: *note to self: make lots of treats when thinking of approaching Beast Lord*
PBD Dolls: Hyenas, kinky sex and sex toys in the bathroom….care to elaborate?
Aunt B: It’s all good fun. When you’re young, you should try different things. It makes you so much more interesting when you get older. You have all those memories and pictures, just in case you have to blackmail someone later.
PBD Dolls: Kate Daniels – good news or bad news? Would you accept her as the Beast Lord’s mate?
Aunt B: Kate is a sweet girl. Always so polite.
Mahon *rolls eyes*
Aunt B: Of course, it is not my place to pick and choose the Beast Lord’s mate.
Mahon: You’d love that though.
Aunt B: And you wouldn’t. You’ve lined up doe-eyed breed cows for him for years.
Mahon: They were proper girls.
Aunt B: Yes, with three words in their head. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Mahon: You’d have him mate with some loose cannon that will bounce about to and fro wrecking things.
Aunt B: At least the boy wouldn’t get bored.
Mahon: He needs stability.
Aunt B: He’s stable enough. He needs someone to tell him no once in a while.
Mahon: That never did any man any good.
Aunt B: I wonder what Katherine would say about that. I’m having tea with her tomorrow. Won’t she be surprised when I tell her of her husband’s views on marriage.
Mahon: *growls under his breath*.
PBD Dolls: *ping pong neck* *ow*
PBD Dolls: When Kate brought Andrea to you, what thoughts were going through your head?
Aunt B: The child was in such a bad shape. I just hoped she would make it.
PBD Dolls: Why were you happy you had Curran to deal with and not Mahon, what would Mahon have done differently?
Aunt B: We’ll skip that question since the Bear is sitting right here.
PBD Dolls: *innocent look*
PBD Dolls: Andrea and Raphael – do you approve?
Aunt B: My Raphael could have any girl he wanted.
Mahon: And often has.
Aunt B: You shush. Andrea is a good girl. Strong, assertive, aggressive. All good things. She could be great if she just stopped working so hard to deny who she is.
PBD Dolls: Among Hyenas, the females are dominant, so why does being your son give Raphael special status?
Aunt B: We still have a male alpha, and since my bouda mate has long passed and I am not about to take another – they take so long to train – Raphael serves as the alpha. The males need to have someone who understands their issues.
PBD Dolls: By the way, does Raphael have a single brother?
Aunt B: He had two, but both went loup. That is it for me. After he made it to adulthood, I swore off having babies. I can’t bear to kill another.
PBD Dolls: *tries to remember that crying while interviewing is unprofessional*
PBD Dolls: Could you tell us a bit more about your courtship with Raphael’s father? It sounds like he was special…
Aunt B: Oh, Sebastien was a riot.
Mahon: Good fighter. Good man. You knew where you stood with him, and if you were in a fight together, he’d guard your back.
Aunt B: Why, thank you, Bear. That’s kind of you.
PBD Dolls: Fighting the Rakshasas, did you go in there thinking “this might be the last fight? the last stand?
Aunt B: No, I was thinking, “We have got to get that child away from them before she bleeds to death.” Humans are so fragile. They’d ripped her to shreds. I thought she would die in Curran’s arms.
PBD Dolls: So, juicy gossip about the Beast Lord?
Aunt B: He loves chocolate. That’s why he works out so much, he eats sweets all the time.
Mahon: He doesn’t.
Aunt B: I do recall you complaining that “that boy” would eat you out of the house and home and all the honey from your beehives was gone and you were sick and tired of it. How many stingers did Catherine have to patiently pull out of his royal paws?
Mahon *chuckles*: He was twelve and he’d just come out from months of lean eating in the woods. He was so skinny, if he stood behind a broom, you’d walk right past him.
PBD Dolls: *imagines twelve year old Curran* *awwww*
PBD Dolls: *Determined look*
PBD Dolls: No, seriously, what does Curran use to make his mane look like that?
Aunt B: It’s a shapeshifter thing, dear. We grow hair easier than most people. Well, it’s about time for the Bear and me to get going. We enjoyed your company. Should do it again sometime.
Mahon: Speak for yourself there.
Aunt B: Oh be nice.
PBD Dolls: Aunt B, Mahon, thank you so much for doing this, we are truly honored that you agreed to meet with us. *grabs last cookie from plate* *wonders if it would be cheeky to ask for the recipe*
Paperback Dolls would like to send out an immense thank you to Ilona and Gordon for taking the time out of their busy pre-release schedule and doing this interview, and would like to let everyone know that they rock. The Kate Daniels/Magic series has the full Paperback Doll seal of approval – so go out there and spread the word. This is a wonderful series!
Visit Ilona Andrews website http://www.ilona-andrews.com/
Here at PBD, we have some very terrific friends going to Ilona Andrews signing on the 25th, who are not only getting signed copies for all of us Dolls, but also for one lucky winner!
Now for some rules:
Leave a comment for Ilona and Gordon, telling them how wonderful they are for doing a character interview, because sadly, they do not plan on repeating it in the future. Also, let them know just how much your looking forward to Magic Bleeds on May 25th.
This contest is International.
There are more ways to win:
+1 for each place you post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your comment.
+1 subscribe to Paperback Dolls – either via a reader or email (see the RSS button at the top of the right sidebar or the entry form to the left sidebar.) Please leave your email without the @ {dot} com. Nobody needs to know your email address.
We ask the winners to post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.
The contest will stay open until May 27th, at which time we’ll determine the winner with help from Random.org and announce them on May 28th.
Also, we will try to contact the winners, but we ask that you check back to see if you’ve won.
~PBD
Wonderful interview with two great characters. I am really looking forward to MAGIC BLEEDS.
Posted on Twitter, facebook, and LJ.
Can I do a PbD *squee* too?
Cool!
Bwahahaha Curran's hooked on chocolate!!!! I just love the hyenas! Thanks so much for the enjoyable start of the day.
Wow, how awesome are they?
Ilona Andrews are the coolest author team I've come across!
Thank you so much!
What a fabulous surprise! I enjoyed this interview so much, just as I do the entire Magic series! This makes the wait until the 25th slightly more bearable (no pun intended!). A huge thank-you to Ilona Andrews for taking the time to delight their fans so!
Who else has a total crush on Mahon now?
Isn't he more my type? Older…hairy?
Day, he's married!!!! I shall crush on him from afar…
Like I said….more my type;)
LOL @ the black mail pics of older hyenas! For some reason I am picturing politicians sending an errand boy to go pay off Aunt B for shady pics from the past!
Thank you for the interview. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I wish you would do it again. It's fun! If you change your mind, I would like to read Julie interview. Love love love Aunt B and Mahon.
Ying x
OMG! Mahon and Aunt B are simply too cool for words. I think Mahon's gruffness is just a cover for his softer side. ;) I love Aunt B's attitude. She's rather cheeky herself! Now if we could just get Curran and Kate to be half this honest with each other the fireworks would shoot off the page. LOL
What a fun interview. Thank you. Wishing I had one of those cookies to go with my coffee. :-) I can't wait until the book comes out.
Props to Ilona and Gordon! It's not every day you see such great character interviews!
Posted info on my blog –> http://extralargeaslife.com/?p=402
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And i'm following via Bloglovin, don't know if that counts!
That was so much fun. Aunt B was so sweet, Mahon was gruff, like a bear. Thank you Ilona and Gordon! Now where are the cookies???
I pre-ordered the book and I can't wait to read it next week. A signed copy would be priceless. Thank you for the opportunity!
That was perfect! I'm pretty sure I'm slowly going insane waiting for magic bleeds to come out, and that character interview threw me a lifeline! I will survive, yay!
Wow, that was a great interview!
Mahon is married… and has more than a handful girls… I wouldn't have guessed that one.
This blog is now added to my google reader.
And I added a post at facebook too.
Great interview :)
Thank you, Aunt B and Mahon, for giving that interview.
Loved it! And of course the cookies were chocolate, *wink* *wink*
katiealtman(at)hotmail(dot)com
Hehe awesome interview. Ilona and Gordon, thanks for doing it! I'm kinda loving Mahon now. Not that I didn't before, but the extra information is…interesting lol
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Great interview. I love Aunt B. I'm so impatient to get Magic Bleeds.
I'm sorry to say that I have planned the day to read your book. It will probably be about 4 hours time. Then I will be promptly ready for the next book. I really love your writing.
I loved the interview, I keep getting more and more excited for Magic Bleeds so I would love to be entered :D
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What a fun interview? I loved every minute of it. I do wish there'd be more in the future.
I adore Gordon and Ilona. I follow their blog and they crack me up on a regular basis. :)
I'm such a big dork fan of their books that I literally request vacation days for their book releases. I am at the store the moment it opens and then I can spend the rest of the day reading. (I usually finish in four hours, then read it again.)
What a nice surprise!!!
The interview makes waiting (even if it is just 5 more days)for the book easier.
Ilona and Gordon are wonderful.
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Love your interview and am really excited for this read. Working out like crazy due to a love of chocolate sounds just like me. I'm a exercise freak because I refuse not to eat chocolate and everything else I love.
OMG, that was so cute! I can't wait for the book to be released!
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chichai_hana at hotmail dot com
really looking forward to Magic Bleeds. Great interview !!!
Loved the interview! It's fun getting a sneak peek at the lives of secondary characters. And, of course, the Curran info was also great!
OMG that interview was freaking awesome!
Thank you Ilona, Gordon, and Paperback Dolls :)
**helps herself to a cookie**
Great interview! Thanks Ilona, Gordon and PD.
Thank you Gordon and Ilona! That was a great interview. It's always fun to learn more about the secondary characters. I'm so happy the book is finally out next week.
+1 – subscribed to your feed.
jen(at)delux(dot)com
I don't think there is anything I don't love about Ilona Andrews! They are wonderful.
Aunt B is my hero and yes it's hard to see Mahon as anything but a big ole teddy bear. I had to buy the book twice lol I love it so much.
Great Interview! Thanks!
I'll be at the signing next week in Portland on the 25th (so I guess I don't really need a signed copy since I'll be getting my own) but I'm really looking forward to it, I just love all their books!!
just for fun I went ahead and posted a link to this interview on my google bookmark feed and my myspace page and I subscribed to your feed for facebook!
I'm excited to see your future interviews and posts!
Thanks, S
Love the entire Kate Daniels series! This interview was fabulously fun–too bad it may be the only one of its kind. Love Mahon and Aunt B–hope to see more of them in the books.
Can't wait for the new book!
LOVED this interview – thank you so much.
Also an enormous fan of the Kate Daniels! Can't wait to read the next book!
Do you have any cookies to give away too ;-)
Hi, Love the Kate Daniels books. The interview was great. Aunt B is one of my faviourite characters and I think Mahon is starting to become one as well. Ilona, Gordon and the Paperback Dolls you were all fantastic before this interview but you became even more awersome after it.
I have been addicted to this series since I found Magic Bites! Gordon and Ilona are the coolest authors – they blog every day and give us readers stuff to think of and do until their next book comes out. The interview helped gain some insight on some great characters. Thanks again! LaRae
Great interview. I am really looking forward to Magic Bleeds.
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bacchus76 at myself dot com
The interview was excellent. I'm glad Ilona and Gordon agreed to do it in character. Learned a little more about Mahon, Aunt B, Curran and Kate…
Thanks for hosting this contest!
Good luck to everyone else.
That was fun! I liked getting their perspective and getting to know more back story. Thanks for running the contest, too!
that was sweet… you guys are soo good to your fans.. love that.. read magic bleeds last night.. was up till 6 in the morning reading it.. always worth losing the sleep :D You never disappoint… 12 more months to the next one.. lol already counting days ;)
I loved the interview. The dynamics of the conversation made a humorous and lively discussion.
Thanks, Ilona and Gordon for the wonderfully comical diversion in our day.
That was awesome!!!
It was so much fun to do! But I still don't have the recipe for those cookies…
I LOVE character interviews! so fun!
throuthehaze at gmail dot com
I'm not normally that keen on character interviews but this one was really good! It sweetened the wait for "Magic bleeds" with quite a few choice background infos into the characters! Please Ilona Andrews let this not be the last one!
I'm not normally that keen on character interviews but this one was really good! It sweetened the wait for "Magic bleeds" with quite a few choice background infos into the characters! Please Ilona Andrews let this not be the last one!
I really enjoyed the interview, it made me laugh and smile so hard I don't think my cheekbones will ever be the same, but my heart broke that there won't be any more (say that isn't so!) :(
Thank you very much though for this chance to enter the contest and for such a great question-and-answer. I'm really hoping to read Magic Bleeds soon! :)
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…3 entries?
Jade
legally_write @ hotmail {dot} com
these character interviews crack me up! thank you for the contest!
k_sunshine1977 at yahoo dot com
Enjoyed the interview, looking forward to the read!
Thank you for the interesting interview and for making this great contest international! :)
Giada M.
fabgiada @ gmail.com
This was a wonderful interview, Ilona and Gordon. I am looking so forward to reading Magic Bleeds.
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The character interview was fun to read.
Also thanks for making the giveaway open to International entries.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
I love reading character interviews, I like how the author has the opportunity to play witha character outside the boundaries of the novel's plot. It was fun thank you Ilona and Gordon!! :-D
Amazing interview and thanks for your generosity! To win a signed copy of Magic Bleeds, be still my heart.. oh that would be great!!
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Great interview, and I really mean it. The chocolate comment had me laughing!
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Thank you Ilona for the laugh while waiting for Magic Bleeds!
And I would love a signed copy of my very own.
This was so great!
i am new to this series and would adore a signed copy of the book!
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Thank you Ilona andrews for doing the character interview! It was really fun and special!
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