Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrews, also commonly referred to as House Andrews, is the pen name of Ilona Gordon and Andrew Gordon (known mononymously as Gordon), an American husband-and-wife duo writing urban fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal fiction. Their debut novel, Magic Bites (2007), was the first in the Kate Daniels series, which was named by Reactor as "an iconic urban fantasy". They are also known for the Hidden Legacy book series.

They have blogged since the beginning of their career and in 2013, began using the platform to publish free, serialized fiction. The novels and novella in their series The Innkeeper Chronicles were first serialized then self published. They have released over 40 novels and novellas via traditional and self-publishing channels.

Their work frequently deals with the line between technology and magic, and the after effects of military service and violence in general, while their settings focus on the American South.

Biography

Ilona Gordon

Ilona Gordon was born in the Soviet Union to scientist parents. Her exposure to fantasy as a child was limited; the genre wasn't widely available in Russia until perestroika, which coincided with her adolescence. As a child, she had access to translations of The Hobbit and The Wizard of Oz (which was radically different from the original due to censorship), and her father gave her a copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey. After perestroika, she became a fan of Robert E. Howard and Leigh Brackett, whose works were available bootleged.

She was a gifted student, frequently participating in state-sponsored academic Olympiads. As a result of a cultural exchange trip to the USA as a teenager, and despite her limited English, she received a full scholarship to attend Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, a boarding school in the state of Georgia. She continued to excel there, eventually enrolling at Western Carolina University, where she majored in biochemistry and met Andrew Gordon.

Andrew Gordon

Andrew Beauregard Gordon was born in Florida, U.S., and grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, where he was raised by his aunt and uncle. They were strict, forbidding him from listening to rock music or reading books depicting magic. As a teenager, he would sneak the Dragonlance books and other fantasy and sci-fi into the house; he was also a fan of the Spenser detective novels by Robert B. Parker, which were permitted, as well as Flash Gordon and Thundarr the Barbarian.

Gordon, as he is known, served four years in the United States Navy as a communications officer, then attended Western Carolina University to study history and political science.

Relationship

Ilona and Gordon met in a writing course at WCU in early 1994. They bonded over Robert E. Howard, whose work Gordon had a large collection of, and began collaborating and editing one another's school work. Eventually they wrote their first novel together, an epic fantasy which has never been published.

The couple married in August 1995, despite the objections of their families; Ilona's scholarship program had been cut after her freshman year, forcing her to drop out of university and leaving her with few options in the US.

After the births of their daughters, Gordon dropped out of college himself and re-enlisted in the Navy to support the family. They moved frequently during this time, between Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas. When Gordon finished his service, they moved again to Savannah, GA. In 2006, while awaiting the publication of Magic Bites, Gordon worked as a human resources coordinator and Ilona as a legal secretary.

In an interview, they cited Gordon's military service as shaping their marriage, training them to view themselves as a team and that their success comes together.

Writing Process

Early in their career, Ilona described their writing process: "[W]e start with the primary character, talk it over until we have a plot, and then I write it. Gordon edits the draft, gripes, and points out parts that make no sense. The draft comes back to me, and I edit it again. The draft goes to Gordon... you get the idea."

Their approach has since evolved; while they still edit solo, passing drafts back and forth, they now write side by side with two chairs at one computer; one will dictate and the other will type. While Ilona will write the first draft of lines of female characters and Gordon the male characters, everything they produce they consider a collaboration. They plot their stories near continuously, since they are always together, and map out fight scenes physically, drawing on Gordon's experience in judo.

Gordon described writing together like marriage: "You have to realize the other person has strengths that compensate for your weaknesses." The duo have said that Gordon's strengths are in plotting and humor, while Ilona's are in worldbuilding and relationships.

Their writing is heavily inspired by world mythology; Gordon had studied history and mythology and Ilona grew up hearing Slavic folk tales. They have cited Greek myths as their common ground; the first argument they had was about who had pulled the sun around the sky. They find new sources of material by visiting used book stores; they seek out sources on Native American mythologies at tribal stores.

Career

Early Career and Kate Daniels (2000s-2013)

Ilona had enjoyed writing as a child, but never viewed it as a career path. She returned to writing as a hobby after the birth of her first child, and soon had produced two novels. She submitted the second novel to publishers and a literary agent and was rejected. One publisher said it was too similar to the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Ilona and Gordon were unfamiliar with Hamilton, and were intimidated after reading the first Anita Blake books; however, Ilona recognized her heroine was different enough that the feedback wasn't necessarily valid.