Blog Ring of Power--E.B. Black

Today, I'm talking to E.B. Black about her current work. Please see the links below for the other parts of the BRoP interview:

About You: Terri
The Writing Life: Theresa
The Creative Process: Emily
Words of Wisdom (posting 4/9): Dean

Tell us about your new book and when it is out? Where can people purchase it? 

My debut novel and newest release is Medusa's Desire. It was released in November of 2012.

Is there anything new, unusual, or interesting about your book? How is it different from other books on the same subject?

It's different because it takes a character that's considered a villain and someone I'd personally be terrified of meeting in real life and humanizes her. I tried to understand what it would feel like to be a monster like Medusa and what kind of emotional trauma she'd have from turning everyone she meets into stone.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

There's a lot of plot holes, contradictions, and different versions of the same stories in greek mythology. I wanted to stay accurate to the original stories, but it was difficult to do so in places.


What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

My favorite chapter to write was the moment Medusa and Perseus first meet. It's so emotionally charged. They change each other's lives.

Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it?

I learned that sometimes having an experience doesn't automatically make you good at writing about it. I've had many people that were close to me die in my life, yet I struggled to write about it when Medusa went through the same thing.


If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in this book?

I'd keep it the same, but maybe write something else as a debut novel. It's a very intense book.


Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Medusa faces a lot of injustice throughout Medusa's Desire. It's similar to what a lot of us face in real life, but she's strong because she never gives up. I want people who are struggling and suffering in life to feel encouraged and not alone.

Tell us about your book’s cover – where did the design come from and what was the design process like?

I created the cover long before I finished writing my novel. I created it in stages. First I used photoshop to create the image of Medusa and Perseus together. I went through several different background images before I decided on the purple forest. I searched and tried out many fonts before I saw one that matched my theme. I kept tweaking it. If I had gone with my first cover design, it wouldn't have been as good.


E.B. Black lives in southern California with her family and two dogs. She spends her time daydreaming about the worlds she will thrown her characters into next and what it would be like to dress up as a necromancer for Halloween.

Medusa's Desire
 


When Medusa was beautiful, finding a man to love her was easy. Poseidon fought for glances from her heavy-lidded eyes against suitors who proposed whenever she left her house. Even goddesses weren't treated with such worship.

Athena grew jealous. She allowed Medusa to be violated in the Parthenon and turned her into a monster for her indiscretion.

Now when Medusa stares into the eyes of men, they scream as their skin hardens into stone. A caress against her cheek will be rewarded with the poisonous bites of the snakes that slither on her head.

No man is brave enough to approach her, until Perseus is ordered by the gods to kill her.

When they meet, desire sizzles between them. They are willing to risk it all-death, the wrath of the gods, the destruction of their families-if it means they can spend one more night together.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.ebblack.com/
Blog: http://deathauthor.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ebblackauthor
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6586070.E_B_Black
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/writerblack
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/E.B.-Black/e/B00ABPR6L0/

What format is your book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)?
E-book