Author of Persephone
I've always wanted to be a writer. There's not a specific moment I remember. I colored pictures of stories before I could write and I have this tendency to act out story scenes that goes back as long as I can remember. I used to be a much more enthusiastic actress. I'd run around my house acting out scenes like a little psychopath. Now I just talk to myself while I'm driving in the car.
Is being an Author all you dreamed of, or did it just happen? The best and worst thing about it?
I've been writing all my life. Before I could read I called it make believe, but the same basic components were there. Plotting, developing characters, dialogue.
It's all there, I developed much of my writing style through reading. I would read my books with a black marker and a pen in hand, so I could change anything I didn't like. If the next book wasn't coming out soon enough, I'd create my own version.
I did that with shows too. As soon as Sailor Moon went off I'd start acting out the next episode. I was so proud of myself, because I was almost always right.
Took me awhile to realize the show had a rather repetitive formula...
While I was in middle school I wrote my first book. It was terrible. I still have it on a floppy disk, and I'm too terrified to open the file because it was that bad. In high school I was able to take creative writing classes and learned how to critique the work of my peers.
I enjoyed writing so much that when I ran out of creative writing classes in high school, I begged my school councilor to let me take it at the college through joint enrollment. In the summer between eleventh and twelfth grade I took English 1101 and 1102. During my senior year I took introduction to creative writing, advanced fiction writing, advanced non fiction writing, advanced poetry writing, and screenplay writing. The next year I took my core classes and even more creative writing classes. Including autobiographical writing, science fiction and fantasy writing, technical writing, and every other writing class I could find. Once I ran out I moved to Atlanta to get an English degree with a concentration in creative writing. I'm finishing up my masters now, and am applying to the Phd program with a creative writing dissertation.
Despite my lifetime commitment to writing, my personal writing didn't really take off until I joined my writers group. I was familiar with the workshop format through my schooling, but there's something different about a group of people who willingly spend Saturday nights away from their family and friends to talk about their writing that just can't be replicated in a classroom.
What was the very first thing you ever wrote?
Something about a green frog that didn't want to be green anymore. I don't remember much of it because I was in kindergarten. I only remember it because I was a horrible speller, and my cousin read it out loud, emphasizing the bad spelling, at Thanksgiving one year, and I just thought it was the funniest thing ever. I think it's possibly the hardest I ever laughed in my whole childhood. Which in retrospect, is kind of messed up since my teenage cousin was essentially trying to publicly humiliate her five year old cousin for not having perfect spelling at a family event, and I worshiped her so much that it never occurred to me to mind.
What made you create (your book)? How did it come to you?
Actually, it was watching the Clash of the Titans trailer. Something about the music, and yelling, and the damn the gods quote just got me thinking about the gods, and who was more damned than Persephone? Then I wondered if there was more to that story, and one thought led to another.
I'm very interested in where everything comes from. We tell the same stories over and over again. Persephone, phantom of the opera, beauty and the beast. There's something about the Greek myths, Persephone's in particular, that pull at us, inspire us to rewrite it. Maybe because it feels incomplete. Everyone wants to finish it. To put their own spin on it. I caught the bug and it still hasn't let go of me.
Who is your literary hero?
Peter Beagle. I love his novels. He manages to write really good novels. His novels are good literature yet still manage to tell a great story without getting dragged down in craft. And to top it off, most of his stories are for children, so it does it in a very concise space. He's amazing. My favorite novel by him is Tamsin, but The Last Unicorn is a close second.
How much of your characters are based on your traits or someone you know personally?
On my traits? Oh, I'm sure a ton more than I'm aware of. My friends tell me when they read my books they can "hear' me in all the characters. As for people I know personally, not as many as I tried to get in there. I'll start with an idea of an actual person, but then the character informs me that it's not right. Persephone, for example, was supposed originally based on a friend of mine who was gorgeous, wealthy, shy, and very, very smart, yet most the people in my school didn't like her because they assumed she was stuck up or was jealous. This friend was snarky and sarcastic and amazing once you got to know her (good snarky, I love snark), but you'd never guess it because she was so quiet. I always felt bad for her because even I was jealous of her, so when she complained about her feelings and the stuff she was going through, I wasn't always the best friend because my logic was she was pretty! She had everything. How could she talk like her life wasn't perfect.
And then I grew up, and I realized how very isolating those things I was jealous of must have been. I wanted to make Persephone like her, so that girls like her could have someone like that to identify with. Most of the books I read feature average looking girls that have a million guys chasing them, or pretty, popular girls. But Persephone surprised me by stabbing a guy with a pen in the second chapter, and I realized she wasn't nearly as shy as she pretended to be.
Describe your main character in six words.
Naive, loyal, fierce, kind, growing, powerful
Describe the world you’ve created in six words.
Some myths are still happening
What scene was your favorite to write?
In Persephone it was the dinner scene where we meet all the notable residents of the Underworld. I had so much fun imagining the lively conversations between the groups. I can include it below, but this scene still makes me smile so much.
“And this is my—” Hades broke off and cleared his throat. “May I present my wife, Persephone.”
I moved to stand as they had for me, but Hades put a firm hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place. They all bowed then returned to their seats. People dressed in white robes served the food. I wondered if they were the people who drank from the Lethe. Dinner chatter began on the far side of the table, seeming to revolve around Charon recounting his day on the ferry.
I stared down at the white tablecloth, trying to remember which of the silver utensils I needed to use for the first course. A silver plate was placed before me with a fried pink oyster mushroom served with grapefruit. It was topped with an orange nasturtium blossom.
“So…” I turned to Moirae, who glared daggers at me, and quickly turned back to Hades. “Uh, what did you do today?”
He looked surprised by the question. “It’s barely been an hour since I last saw you.”
“It’s called small talk,” I snapped. “You should try it some time.”
He sighed. “Fine. I spoke with Hestia about your history lessons, arranged for you to begin self-defense lessons with Charon—”
“What?” Charon piped up from his end of the table. “When did that happen?”
“Just now,” Hades said around a bite of chicken. “I’m multitasking.”
“Why does she need to learn self-defense?” Aeacus asked.
I popped the flower into my mouth, savoring the spicy flavor. I wondered how they’d known I was a vegan. Everyone had something different on their plates. Maybe it was just a cool Underworld trick, like the rooms decorating themselves.
“You’re going to have Charon teach her?” asked Thanatos. “He won’t be able to shut up long enough to teach her a single move. I’m way better at self-defense.”
“Not everyone can kill someone just by touching them,” Hypnos pointed out.
“You’ll be busy guarding Persephone any time she leaves the palace.” He looked at me. “You’re perfectly safe in all but the public areas of the palace. Only certain souls can enter the living quarters. Just stay out of the public sections, the ballroom, the front lobby, the banquet hall, and the court room, unless either myself, Cassandra, or Thanatos are with you.”
“Hah!” Thanatos laughed at Charon. “You may be the self-defense guru, or whatever, but I’m the one people want around if there’s any real trouble.” He looked at Hades. “I’m going to need to recruit more Reapers to cover my shift.”
“What?” Cassandra snapped. “You have too many Reapers already! One of them nearly killed Persephone today.” She saw my eyes widen and sighed. “Fine, not nearly killed. Gods, you deities need to learn to appreciate a good exaggeration.”
“I’m well aware of what happened this afternoon.” Thanatos yawned. “And since my Reapers are banned from the living quarters, that means I have to distribute the list. If I’m also expected to act as a guard, then I’ll need more Reapers to keep things moving smoothly.”
“And last week?” Cassandra asked. “What was the reason then?”
“You guys won’t believe who I met on the ferry today,” Charon said from his side of the table.
“Who?” Minos asked.
“Okay, you guys remember that movie with the…”
I didn’t get to hear the rest of his sentence because Thanatos drowned him out. “More people are dying every day. I need help.”
I shifted closer to Charon, but couldn’t hear him over Cassandra.
“Bull! You only had a handful of Reapers during the plague!”
“And maybe a tenth of the population,” he retorted.
“How many do you need?” Hades asked.
Cassandra sighed loudly and sat back in her seat. Heads shook around the table, and I caught more than a few amused grins. Cassandra seemed to be the only one who was bothered by the Reapers.
“A hundred?”
“You get fifty. And keep them out of the palace, would you?”
Thanatos grinned and took a bite of his steak. I studied him closely. He wore black robes, grim-reaper style. His dark hair was pulled back from his narrow face. His dark eyes met mine from across the table and I gulped, staring hard at the soup before me. I didn’t want Death shadowing me. I glanced at his twin brother, Hypnos. He looked just like Thanatos, only his robes, eyes, and hair were grey. Not old-people grey; more like the color of smoke.
Charon laughed. “Give us a week, Thanatos. Persephone will be able to kick your bony ass across the Styx.”
The table erupted into cacophony. Everyone was talking over everyone else, adding wagers and jesting with each other. Lethians deftly ducked between the dueling deities, serving the main course. A plate of corn-filled phyllo tulips and eggplant topped with tomato sauce was put in front of me and I took a nervous bite.
“You’re on!” Thanatos replied. He gave me a devilish grin. “One week, Persephone.”
“That’s okay,” I squeaked. I didn’t want to go hand to hand against Death.
No one heard me. Hades’ eyes glittered in amusement. He gave me a look that said see what you started? as plainly as if he had spoken.
“I’m also trying to clear my schedule to teach you about your abilities.” Hades smiled wryly. “And I’ve still got to prepare for Brumalia. You’re keeping me busy.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be any trouble.”
He chuckled. “Don’t apologize. It’s a welcome diversion.”
“Then thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, seeming pleased.
“Well, since no one else is asking,” Charon called from the end of the table, “I suppose it’s up to me. Hades, when did you get a wife?”
Everyone laughed. “You miss everything.” Cassandra snickered.
“Damn those needy souls,” Charon joked, sliding an easy grin my way, his gray eyes twinkling. “So what happened? Hades sweep you off your feet?”
“You could say that.” I glanced at Hades. I wasn’t sure what I was allowed to disclose.
“See, I had this vision—” Cassandra began.
“Always visions with you,” Thanatos groaned.
“—that Persephone was in trouble. So I calmly told Hades—”
“If by calmly you mean burst into the throne room shrieking like a banshee,” Hades teased.
“I do not shriek,” Cassandra said indignantly.
“Yelled, then.” Rhad’s white teeth gleamed against his midnight-dark skin.
“Whatever. Anyway, Hades took off—”
“Since when did you have visions about the living?” Hypnos interrupted.
“Two living deities were involved,” Cassandra said. “These days that’s unheard of.”
“Two?” Minos asked, stroking his gray beard. “So you must be…” He trailed off, looking at me speculatively.
“Goddess of Spring,” I supplied.
There were murmurs of approval from around the table.
“You’re a new one.” Hypnos sounded intrigued. “How old are you?”
Cassandra smacked him over the head. “Heathen!”
“Back to the story,” Charon said impatiently. “What was happening topside?”
Hades took over then, recounting the story dramatically. Anytime he made himself sound too heroic Cassandra put him in his place. I looked around the table with the fresh realization that this group wasn’t just a collection of souls or subjects but a trusted inner circle.
“Well, Persephone, it’s great to meet you.” Aeacus straightened his dark robes.
I nodded at him. “Thank you.”
“Don’t you worry any about any demigods,” Charon said. “Anyone who comes down here with the intent to do you harm will regret it.”
“Ah yes,” Cassandra teased. “Charon could do something really helpful, like hit them with an oar.”
“Hey! I’m the self-defense guru! Remember?”
“He could always talk them to death,” Thanatos said.
“Cassandra could shriek at them.” Hades snickered.
I laughed despite myself. For the rest of the meal, Charon grilled me about life among the living. I was surprised my voice wasn’t hoarse by the end of the meal.
What scene was the hardest for you to write?
The fight at the end. I've had several reviewers point out that it was over too quickly, and I agree. I'm just not good at fight scenes. I think I've improved over the last few books, but they are still my hardest scenes to write.
What are you working on now?
I'm currently working on the next trilogy of the Daughters of Zeus series, which stars Aphrodite. I can't go into much without getting into spoilers for the Persephone trilogy, but I can tell you the first book is called Venus and Adonis and it takes place on a cruise ship
Goals? Accomplishments? Improvements?
Goals: To hit the New York Times best seller list some day
Accomplishments: I wrote three books :) and got them published. I'm pretty happy about that.
Improvements: I need to get better at writing fight scenes and make out scenes.
Are there any authors or books you recommend?
Kelley Armstrong and Scott Westerfeld are two of my favorites. I think everyone should read Uglies.
What's your favorite thing to do when you're not writing?
I love to read. I end up staying up way too late to read. I was so sad my last semester of grad school because I had no time to read anything for fun, and I think my writing suffered for it. So I make time for that.
