Interview with Aimée Carter, author of <em>The Goddess Inheritance</em>
[box type="note"]Hi guys, Sooz here! I am so thrilled to share an interview with you today from Aimée Carter, author of The Goddess Test series. Her third book released on Tuesday—The Goddess Inheritance—and despite her crazy schedule promoting the series, revising her next series, and working on a new series, I managed to snag Amiée for a few minutes to do this interview with us![/box]
The Goddess Inheritance
During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can’t stop her—until Cronus offers a deal. In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he’ll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead. With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything. Even if it costs her eternity.
Doesn't that sound pretty crazy? Lucky for you guys, it released on Tuesday, so you can go read it now! And even better, it was the last book in the series! You don't have to wait for sequels—the first books and novellas are all out now! Because I was curious to hear more about this somewhat (read: very) popular series, I dove into the interview on that note. [hr] 1. So when you started writing your The Goddess Test series, which came first for you: the characters or the plot? For Goddess Test, it was definitely the plot. I didn't imagine the books as a series until after I'd finished the first one, and the initial idea was fairly basic and something I'd thought about every time I'd read the myth of Hades and Persephone: what happened to them? Was Persephone still with Hades thousands of years later? Or had she left him by now for someone she really loved? Henry's character came after that, along with the idea of a test to become a goddess and what that would entail. Kate's character took a lot of thinking and outlining to get right. 2. Oooh, I like how the first spark for the story came from such a simple but undeniably intriguing question! But now that you've answered that question, what’s your next writing project? Right now I'm editing Pawn, the first book of The Blackcoat Rebellion series, a YA dystopian coming out in November. I can't say too much about it yet, but it's about a girl who lives in a society where your entire life is determined by a rank you earn after a single aptitude test. When she's forced to take the place of the Prime Minster's dead niece, whom he had assassinated for leading a rebellion, she must choose to either settle quietly into her privileged new life or pick up the reins and fight for what she believes in. 3. Dang. I kinda love the premise and the title there. A name like "Blackcoat Rebellion" just begs to be read! So, for all these series you have going on, you must get pretty busy. What’s a typical writing day for you? A typical writing day includes a lot of flipping back and forth between my word document and social media sites. Eventually, an hour or two into it, I usually turn off my net connection and get to writing. I tend to aim for around 3-5 thousand words a day, depending on what I'm writing and how much time I have. Sometimes I stay at home, and sometimes I go out to a coffee shop and hang around for a while. I like to change things up for each project. Currently, with edits for Pawb, I'm in coffee shop mode. 4. Wow. 3-3.5K is one heckuva daily word count! Go you! Now for all the rest of writers out here, do you have any final words of advice or inspiration? One of my favorite writing quotes is by Nora Roberts, and every time I get frustrated or feel stuck writing a first draft, I remind myself of it:
"I can fix a bad page. I can't fix a blank page."
5. Okay, I kinda love that quote. It's totally my attitude too! Now go! Mix me a literary cocktail! I'm not picky about my genres, but in general I like...
2 parts heart-pounding action
2 parts uncertainty
1 part romance
topped with an incredible twist I never saw coming
Oh snap—nice way to use the word "twist" (I see what you did there). Also, can we discuss how awesome a book that literary cocktail would be? I'd definitely read it. ;) [hr] To celebrate Aimée Carter's release of the final book in her The Goddess Test series, we're giving away a copy! To win The Goddess Inheritance, just leave a comment letting us know if you've read the series—or if you're as pumped for it as I am--then fill out the rafflecopter form below. Oh, and thank you SO much to Aimée for stopping by! a Rafflecopter giveaway [hr]
Aimée Carter attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and received a degree in Screen Arts and Cultures (a fancy way of saying she was forced to watch a lot of old movies) with a subconcentration in Screenwriting. She writes. She watches a lot of new movies. Reads a lot of books. Tweets too much. Love dogs and has two spoiled Papillons. You can learn more about her on her website, twitter, or Facebook!