How
familiar were you with Greek myths and folklore before writing the Goddess Test
series? Was a lot of research required?
I first fell in love with Greek mythology
when I was a kid learning how to read, and my infatuation only grew from there.
I’ve studied various kinds of mythology for years, sometimes for class and
always for fun, but even then I put a great deal of research into the Goddess
Test series. Mostly as a refresher to make sure I was getting my facts right,
but I also researched the various myths looking for ways to tie the plots and
characters together in unexpected ways.
Was Goddess Interrupted any easier or harder
to write than the first book in the series, The
Goddess Test?
It was both easier and harder, in a
strange way. I rewrote The Goddess Test multiple times, and I’ve never edited a
book more heavily in my life. Goddess Interrupted did require some editing, of
course, but it was much easier.
However, the pressure to deliver a sequel
worthy of the series made the writing process for Goddess Interrupted more
difficult than I’d anticipated. There’s something called the “sophomore slump”,
where sequels or second books generally don’t quite match up to the second, and
I wanted to avoid that at all cost. So that added a lot of stress, but in the
end, I was very happy with the results.
You
give the gods and goddesses in the series “ordinary names” – Zeus is named
Walter, Aphrodite goes by Ava, Hermes is named James. Why did you do that and do the more
contemporary names have any significance?
This was something I went back and forth
on multiple times. Initially the characters Kate encounters weren’t council
members at all – I changed that very, very quickly though. By the second draft,
I had a place for each of the Olympians, and I did some heavy rewriting to
replace my first draft characters with the gods. I wanted to find a way to keep
their names the same, but since they’re supposed to live among us in secret in
the modern world, it didn’t really make sense. How many men named Zeus do you
know, or women called Aphrodite? On top of that, keeping the council’s
identities secret was incredibly important to the plot. So eventually I decided
they would have changed their names when Western civilization stopped
worshipping them as gods, allowing them to live freely among us.
I did choose each name for what it means,
some more than others – Walter, for instance, means “army leader”, while James
means “supplanter”. The exception is Calliope, which in the story was chosen by
her counterpart for its Greek roots. The reason the gods changed their names –
and why Artemis didn’t wind up with the name Diana – is explained throughout
the series, but you get to actually see this happen in The Goddess Legacy (July
31).
Goddess
Interrupted begins with the main character Kate Winters adjusting to her new
life as an immortal. Given Kate’s innate
strength and stubbornness, was it difficult to switch gears to portray her as a
bit more vulnerable and unsure of herself in her new role as goddess AND wife?
Not so much, to be honest – her
progression felt natural to me. While Kate is very tough in certain ways, she’s
extremely vulnerable as well. She’s emotionally dependent on the people around
her (her mother in the first book, Henry in the second), and that in and of
itself carves the path she takes in the sequel. She’s spent six months with
Henry, falling in love with him and forming a relationship she thinks is going
to last for eternity. But Henry is battling his own demons and isn’t ready to
be the person she needs him to be, and because Kate is so stubborn, she has a
hard time coming to terms with that. In the sequel, Kate really is her own
worst enemy emotionally – her entire world has changed, after all, and that’s a
lot for anyone to take – but it’s all part of her development into a goddess
and queen.
Kate
finds herself trying to work through her rather complicated relationship with
James, as well as her relationship with her new husband, Henry (Hades). Neither seems to be black and white, but
rather varying shades of gray. Were any
of Kate’s feelings or situations based on any relationship struggles you’ve
been through?
Not personally, no, but I did try to make
Kate’s relationships with the people in her life as realistic as possible. She
isn’t perfect, and neither are they, and that’s something they all have to work
through at varying points in the series. None of the relationships in the books
are based off of specific experiences I’ve been through though.
What
is your favorite part of the writing process?
Least favorite?
Outlining is by far my favorite part of
the process. I love the idea stage, where anything’s possible, and it’s such a shiny
place. All of that comes crashing down when I write the first draft though,
which is the hardest part for me. I tend to get mentally exhausted about two
thirds to three quarters of the way into the manuscript, and it’s always a
struggle for me to push through it, especially if I’m on a deadline. And
inevitably there are a ton of problems I didn’t notice in the outline stage
that have to be fixed for the story to work. I’m a perfectionist, so in order
for me to continue writing the story, everything I’ve already written has to
make sense.
Do
you have a favorite quote or line from a poem or book?
I love so many quotes that I couldn’t
possibly pick a favorite.
How
did you get your first publishing deal and how did that feel?
My agent, Rosemary Stimola, sent the
manuscript out to various publishers, and after a long submission process, Harlequin
TEEN offered to publish it! I was stunned at first, but that quickly gave way
to giddiness. It was an incredible feeling to know I’d be published, and to
this day, I still can’t quite believe it.
When
is the next book in the series due out? Any hints on what will happen in book
3?
Goddess Interrupted, the sequel to The
Goddess Test, came out in late March. The next book in the series, The Goddess Legacy,
will be out July 31. It’s a collection of five novellas told in the
perspectives of Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James, and Henry, and together they
form one story.
The third book in the series, The Goddess
Inheritance, is currently scheduled to be released in March 2013. Unfortunately
I can’t say too much about it, but the challenges that Kate will face are
pretty clear by the end of the sequel!
After
the huge success of The Goddess Test, Goddess Interrupted is on many, many TBR
lists for this summer. What’s on your
TBR list?
I’m so excited for a slew of books coming
out – The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, Grave Mercy, The Selection, The
Serpent’s Shadow, Philippa Gregory’s YA novel, and a ton of others. I never
have as much time to read as I want, but I’m definitely making time for all of
those and more!
Yearbook
Superlatives! If you went to high school with the Greek gods and goddesses, who
would you vote for?
·
Most likely to succeed? - Hera
·
Class clown? - Hermes
·
Nicest? – Demeter or Hephaestus
·
Best dressed? - Aphrodite
·
Best dancer? - Apollo
·
Most school spirit? - Iris
·
Most likely to attend summer
school? - Ares
·
Teachers pet? - Athena
Thanks to the publisher who has kindly given a copy of Goddess Interrupted to one winner. This giveaway is open to US/Canada only and ends on May 17th.
I loved the interview. Great questions and answers. I can't wait for book 3!
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