Author Interview with E.B. Black
I’m hosting the book tour for E.B. Black’s book, Medusa’s Desire on my blog today. E.B. Black is touring with Enchanted Book Promotions. Thanks for replying to my questions, E.B.!
The Interview
1) When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I thought about being an author off and on my entire life. My mother studied journalism in school and when I was a child, I used to write a fake newspaper regularly that I shared with the neighbor. I wrote fan-fiction as a teen and became more serious about writing as an adult.
I’ve always loved to daydream. It got me through certain difficult events in my life. I wanted to start writing down my daydreams.
2) What inspired you to write ‘Medusa’s Desire’?
I was terrified of Medusa as a child. I was afraid the stories about her were real and that she trapped people’s souls in their bodies when they were turned into stone.
When I grew-up, I found out that the reason she was transformed into a monster was because she was violated by Poseidon and Athena punished her for the action, instead of him. I started to struggle with body image issues and thought about how much worse it would be to be Medusa who was so ugly that people died when they looked at her. That’s worse than breaking mirrors with your appearance!
I felt that Medusa was misunderstood and I wanted to write her story.
3) How long did it take you to write ‘Medusa’s Desire’ from start to finish?
I wrote the first draft in a week, but the editing and critiquing took me almost a year to complete.
4) What was the most challenging part about writing this book?
Medusa is wearing an invisibility helmet during most of the book. It can be difficult to write about a main character and how she ties into the story when no one can see her.
5) Who was your favorite character to write about? Who was your least favorite character?
Besides the main character, Medusa, my favorite character to write about was Perseus. He is romantic and gentle towards women, sweeter than any other man I’ve ever written about, but he has a dark side as well. He is obsessed with being perfect and strong and makes a few bad decisions because of it.
My least favorite character to write about was Andromeda. I wanted to hate her because she stands in the way of Perseus and Medusa being happy, but I found out after awhile that she has abandonment issues (because her parents gave her away to be sacrificed to a sea monster in order to save their own lives!) and her own insecurities.
6) If you could have coffee with three authors (dead or alive), which ones would you choose?
1.) Neil Gaiman, so I can pick his brain. 2.) Shakespeare because he wasn’t afraid to write about anything. 3.) Homer, so he can teach me more about Greek mythology!
7) Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Be patient and stubborn. As long as you don’t let anything discourage you-time, rejection, criticism-you’ll reach your goals.
8) Are you working on something right now?
Yes. I hope within the next few months to be able to release a prequel to Medusa’s Desire called Pandora’s Mistake. It’s a re-telling of the myth of Pandora’s box and the real reason she decided to open it: for true love.
Thanks for answering my questions, and good luck with your next book, Pandora’s Mistake!
Medusa’s Desire
Title: Medusa’s Desire
Author: E.B. Black
Genre: Fantasy Romance
“It all started the day her god raped her.
She transformed into an abomination through his touch. Her skin grew scales. Her eyes turned red. She screamed for help, but all who saw her became stone.
Medusa thought she would be alone forever, until the day a man came to kill her and fell in love instead. Now Perseus is running from those who hired him as he continues to love a girl who could kill him with a glance.”
Author Bio
E.B. Black lives in southern California with her family and two rottweilers. She daydreams about dressing up like a necromancer for Halloween and about new fantasy worlds she can throw her characters into.
Visit her website, Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Goodreads or purchase the book from Amazon.