By Elisabeth Naughton
Thanks so much to Cindy for having me here today!
My second Eternal Guardian book – ENTWINED– recently hit store shelves. For those of you new to the series, the Eternal Guardians are seven warriors descended from the seven greatest heroes in all of Ancient Greece. Zander, the hero in ENTWINED, is a descendant of Achilles. He’s the oldest guardian, the one rumored to be immortal, the fiercest warrior and the only one with nothing to lose. I fell in love with Zander when I was writing MARKED – book one in the series – so I’m excited for readers to finally get their hands on his story.
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ple ask me all the time, why Greek mythology? I don’t have an easy answer except to say that I love the tales from Ancient Greece. Always have. Epic wars, tragic love stories, conniving gods and danger lurking around every corner. When I was researching STOLEN FURY (my 2010 double RITA nominee book), I found myself deeply immersed in the characters and narratives centered around the great culture, and I thought, “It would be really fun to develop an entire series based off these myths.” MARKED was the result, and the series grew from there. I love taking traditional myths and characters and shaping them into my world. I love the variety of people, beings and magic that can be found in the legends. I love being able to put my own spin on these classic tales and seeing where they take me.
In my series, the Eternal Guardians are battling an evil goddess who was once a hero like them but sold her soul to Hades for immortality. She’s cunning, dark and willing to do whatever she can to reach her goal. But she’s not the only villain in this series. There are many devious gods and goddesses in addition to mythological beings skulking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to shine.
And of course, there are plenty of hot guys. At least seven, to be exact. A few more who hang on the periphery and are as intriguing as the warriors themselves. So far I can guarantee at least five books in the series – hopefully more. Because I’ve switched publishers there’s a slight delay in the release of the next book. TEMPTED (book 3) will be an October 2011 release, followed closely by ENRAPTURED (early 2012). I realize this is a bit of a wait for fans, but it couldn’t be avoided. After that I’m back on a six months or less release schedule so I hope readers will understand. To tide fans over, I’ll be posting a few free reads on my website over the next few months, so if you haven’t already signed up for my newsletter do so soon so you don’t miss out!
Today I’m giving away either a copy of MARKED (book 1) or ENTWINED (book 2) to one lucky commenter (winner’s choice!). Simply tell me, what’s your favorite myth from Ancient Greece?
Happy Reading!
Elisabeth
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Please leave a comment to enter to win a copy of ENTWINED or MARKED. If you’re reading this blog through a feed at Facebook, Goodreads or another social network, please note you need to leave your comment at www.museinterrupted.com to enter.
The back cover blurb for MARKED and ENTWINED, links to excerpts, and Elisabeth’s bio, can be found in yesterday’s promo post. Visit Elisabeth’s website to learn more about her and her books.
Congratulations on your publisher switch!
For some reason, the myth that I thought of is Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and his wings melted. I think it’s because I’d love to fly. Not quite so close to the sun, though.
Hi Elisabeth! I find Greek mythology fascinating. I have a son, who even from a young age, was drawn to it. He could tell me all about the different gods and powers. It’s a great idea to base a series on. Congrats on your new release!
I was so happy when I heard another publisher had picked up your series. Not that I was surprised, just relieved.
Greek mythology is full of great stories to mine. Good luck with the release!!
Love your story, Elisabeth!
My favorite Greek myth? Why, Heracles, of course. Gotta love the whole half-god, half-mortal scenario. Makes him bigger than life, yet human.
Congratulations on the double RITA nomination and your pending release.
L.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Elisabeth. Eli, like Maureen, I was thrilled to learn you’d moved your series to Sourcebooks and can continue working with your editor.
I love Greek myth, but I couldn’t tell you my favourite. I mix up Greek and Roman mythology. I used to have a book of all the gods, but I don’t know what happened to it.
Your series sounds great, and I’m sure your fans won’t mind waiting as you change publishers. The great thing is, the series will continue.
My favorite would have to be Odysseus, all the trials and tribulations, but with a happy ending.
Thanks, Edie! So far I’m very happy with my new “home” and can’t wait to see what they do with the cover of TEMPTED.
Sometimes I think it would be great to have wings too…no more standing in line at the airport, no more waiting in traffic on the freeway. Flying in the rain might be tricky though…
Hi Marian, thanks so much!
Very fun about your son. My daughter loves mythology as well. Partly because I have Greek myth research books lying all over the house, but partly because she loves the Percy Jackson series.
Hey Maureen – thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the congrats. Nice to know no one else was stressing over my predicament. I sure was!
Hi Lynda! Ah yes, Heracles…obviously one of my favs since Theron, the hero in MARKED, is his descendent. I’m having a lot of fun taking the myths and twisting them to fit my stories.
Thanks for the congrats…and for the comment!
Hey Cindy, thanks so much for having me here today!
And yes, the wait is kind of a pain for readers, but like you said, the important thing is that the series goes on. 🙂
Karen, I love Odysseus too! Titus is my guardian who is descended from Odysseus and I can’t wait to write his book. It’ll be filled with – like you said – many trials and tribulations (and of course, a happy ending)!
My favorite Greek myth is definitely Persephone and Hades’ story. It always seemed more romantic than just an abduction…I’d love to have it fleshed out more.
Julie…I LOVE the myth about Persephone and Hades. And anyone who’s read my books knows I’ve taken that myth and twisted it around. Hades and Persephone are fun fun FUN to write about!
One of my favourite myths is the one about Icarus and how he flew to close to the sun and then died.
Medusa…there are just people that I would love to look at if I were her! 😀
One of my favorites is Demeter and Persephone and why we now have the changing of the seasons!
Good morning, everyone. Spav, Tammy and Kelli Jo, thanks for joining us. Your names were entered in the draw.
That said…ta-da!…Marian Pearson Stevens is the winner of one of Elisabeth’s books. Marian, please look for an email from me in your inbox.l
Thank you again for blogging, Elisabeth, and best of luck with the continuation of your series at Sourcebooks!
Thank you Cindy for hosting the blog, and to Elisabeth for offering one of her books! I’m thrilled! You ladies rock! Big hugs and big thanks!
You’re welcome, Marian. Elisabeth did most of the work!
i absouletly love all your books and someday hopefully i will write a novel and i would say my favorite myth is hercules
Spav – good choice! (except for the dying part…but I think everyone – except the gods – died in all these myths. LOL)
Tammy – oooh…now that’s an idea I could get behind. (Just leave out the part where Perseus beheaded her.)
Kelli, I like the myth of Persephone and Demeter as well. Makes a lot of sense.
Marian – congrats! Cindy sent me your email and I’ll be dropping you a note soon. I hope you enjoy the Eternal Guardians!! Thanks to everyone for playing along!
Kaesy – aw, thank you! I never tire of hearing that. 😉 The key to writing is to just do it. There will never be a better time than right now. Even writers who have been writing a long time have trouble getting into the swing after some time away (like me!). You can totally do anything you set your mind to! Good luck!