Elijah David

Arielle Bailey's debut novel, The Icarus Aftermath , is out in the world now, and I'm here today to talk to her about it. ED:  The Icarus Aftermath mixes Greek myth and Star Wars-style space opera. What led you to that combination? What led you to use the Icarus/Labyrinth myth specifically? AB: The combination burst on me fully armored, like Athena herself. My horse had died earlier that day, and I’d had a long day following. I was in the shower, trying to deal with it all, and I suddenly thought, “What if Icarus flew too close to the sun not to be an arrogant twit (look, he was in the original myth, okay) but to save someone else?” I mentally saw it in the blackness of space and knew instantly it was a space opera. Another ten seconds and I had the foundation of a scene that I wrote as soon as I got back to my room. It was a blinding flash of inspiration. And after I realized I’d be retelling Icarus, I knew I had to retell the Labyrinth/Minotaur myth too, be...

I'm excited to welcome back Mirriam Neal for another interview, this time to discuss her new novel, Dark is the Night . (In case you missed my review of Dark is the Night , you can find it here .) ED: Last time we talked about a book of yours, we spent some time discussing your redemption of certain mythical characters. With Dark is the Night , you're not so much redeeming these characters as taking a different tack on them. Which aspects of vampire (and werewolf) lore were you most excited to explore? What drew you to these creatures and this genre? MN: Honestly, as much as I enjoy the physicality of creatures like vampire and werewolves, it’s their psychology that fascinates me the most. You have people who (mostly) used to be human, and can remember it all, and still look human to most people—but have been altered into predators in ways most people can’t see. It goes beyond having fangs or howling at the moon, and getting to explore those dynamics is like Christma...

Over the last month and a half, I've been posting on blogs other than Inexhaustible Inspiration as part of a blog tour to get the word out about Albion Academy . While I've tried to make sure to link to them here and on the Facebook page, I thought it would be handy for everyone to have a list of all the links on one post. Here they are from oldest to newest: Redeeming Myths at SpeculativeFaith ( Mike Duran's rejoinder to the SpecFaith post ) Interview at Amanda Bradburn's blog Why I keep coming back to Arthurian legend at The Splendor Falls on Castle Walls Interview at Mirriam's blog The Magical Origins of Albion Academy at Further Up and Further In Interview at Lilly's Scribblings Guest Post about Real Life Locations in Fiction Guest Post on Mixing Mythologies at The Other Half of the Story

Today it is my very great pleasure to interview/host Mirriam Neal as part of the blog tour for her newly published novel, Paper Crowns. I had the privilege of beta reading this book last summer and I can't wait to read the final version. Below you can see the beautiful cover and the synopsis of the book. Ginger has lived in seclusion, with only her aunt Malgarel and her blue cat, Halcyon, to keep her company. Her sheltered, idyllic life is turned upside-down when her home is attacked by messengers from the world of fae. Accompanied by Halcyon (who may or may not be more than just a cat), an irascible wysling named Azrael, and a loyal fire elemental named Salazar, Ginger ventures into the world of fae to bring a ruthless Queen to justice. And without further ado, the interview: ED:   Ever since I first read  Paper Crowns , I've only been able to think of it as a fun romp through Faerie. What drew you to writing a story about Faerie in the first place? What...