I STEPH: I'd like to welcome author S.E. Babin on her Goddess Fish Virtual book tour for "Out of Practice Aphrodite. S.E. sat down for a little bit and shared a little about about the book with me. Now, I don't know much about "Out of Practice Aphrodite." What's it about?
S.E. The main character is Aphrodite. She’s been
blending in with the mortal population for years now, but her peaceful
existence is about to be shattered when Mount Olympus comes calling. Now she’s
caught in the middle of a high stakes power play, and it’s up to her to take
down a powerful goddess before Abby’s existence gets wiped out.
It’s a mixed genre book – part mystery and
part humor, so the tone throughout most of the novel is light, mostly because
she can make fun of herself…and everyone else, of course!
2 STEPH: How
long did it take you to write?
S.E.: The book took about a year to write, but the
bulk of it was done over a period of about four or five months.
3 STEPH: Did
you have to do a lot of research for the novel?
S.E.: I did do quite a bit of research on this one,
only because I wanted to make sure the book stayed true to the characters. I
did take major liberties with some of the stories to make it my own, as many
authors do. For Aphrodite, I pulled from The Theogeny. For the others, I used
traditional myths. This was done to keep my main character from being related
to everyone in the story!
4 STEPH: How
does the cover reflect the story inside?
S.E.: That’s a great question. Have you ever
picked up a book thinking it was written in one style because of the cover,
only to start reading and figure out you were completely wrong? I hate that. I
think this cover is reflective of the story. Aphrodite (Abby) is trying to fit
in with the mortals. She wears regular clothes, loves pop culture, and (as you
can see on the cover) she loves a good cup of coffee. The cover is in the
vector style, which I love, and shows the work inside probably has a lighter
tone.
5 STEPH: Oh, I love a good cup of coffee. Now, Aphrodite
(Abby) is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weaknesses?
S.E.: Let’s talk about her weaknesses first. In
mythology, many of the gods and goddesses are vain and manipulative. Abby stays
true to that with vanity, at least in the beginning. She is the Goddess of Love
and the most beautiful woman in the world. After thousands of years knowing
that, she’s bound to have some issues being humble. However, as the novel
progresses, she tones that down a little bit because more important things come
to light.
Her strengths are many, though. She cares for
her friends very much, although she struggles with selfish behavior sometimes.
She also cares about Zeus even though she can’t quite figure him out. Overall,
she’s a very loving person who’s been way too complacent over the years. Things
change quickly for her, but she adapts to those changes with as much grace as
she can.
STEPH: Tell me about the heroes in this book.
S.E.: I
have two heroes in this book – Hermes and Marshall. Abby struggles with her
feelings for both. On one hand, she knows Hermes is probably the better choice
because he’s a god and he understands her better. On the other, Marshall
touches something inside of her she thought was long buried. They both love her
personality and how far she’s willing to go to make something right.
STEPH: What
was in the inspiration behind the story?
S.E.: It was a what if moment. What if Aphrodite (who tries so hard to be
normal) unwittingly gets tied up in Olympus politics?
S.E.: I do. I have a Kindle Paperwhite. I don’t like the glare from reading on a Fire
or iPad, so I chose to go with the simpler device. I’m a simple creature at
heart.
STEPH: What
are you reading right now?
S.E.: I am reading a few books right now – The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing, Swamp
Sniper by Jana Deleon and Fashionably Dead by Robyn Peterman.
STEPH: Fun
Question: Do you have any Spring Traditions you'd like to share? Do you garden?
Go to festivals?
S.E.: I do garden. Every year I plant a butterfly garden. This year will
probably be straight herbs. We just redid the landscaping in the front and put
in Bougainvillea, Agapanthus, Texas sages, Plumbago and a few others. It’s
starting to look great outside!
I’m not a festival person, only because I don’t like crowded places. I
really have to love something to put myself in an area with tons of
people. However, if something
interests me, I will usually take the plunge. In fact, I just did one of those
underground supper club things. We sat and ate a professionally prepared meal
with about 30 strangers. I had so much fun doing that.
Thanks
so much for hosting me today!
STEPH: Thanks so much for being here today. Here's a link about the book:
Out of Practice Aphrodite:
Abby’s major screw-up brings the wrath of Zeus upon her head. He
offers her a choice – work for him or spend the rest of her days hanging out in
Hades with her ex-husband. For Abby, this choice is a no-brainer, especially
when Zeus says the only thing he wants her to do is make a love match.
She’s the Goddess of Love. What could go wrong?
Everything.
Abby stumbles into an ex-lover, a dead demi-god and the
realization that a crucial relic has been stolen right out from underneath
Zeus’ nose. Eris, the Goddess of Chaos and Discord, is behind the theft and
murder and the faltering powers Abby is trying to keep secret. With Zeus
breathing down her neck, she’ll need to keep her wits about her as she races
against the clock and Zeus’ imposed two-week time period.
Of course, this is easier said than done. Not only is she
struggling with a budding attraction to a sexy lawman and feelings for
long-time friend, Hermes, she’s also trying to keep everyone out of the path of
a vengeful goddess while saving the Earth and Olympus from the reign of a
tyrant. What’s a goddess to do when the fate of the world rests upon her
fashionable shoulders?
ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:
More tears rolled down my face and golden light
blinded me and still I stood there, sucking every bit of magic I could from
her. She would never hurt anyone again. “We are gods, Zeus. We are all beyond
help.”
“No, Abby. That’s where you are wrong. Look at you.
Look at the life you have made away from Olympus. Look at the man you are
killing someone for.”
I stared at Marshall, still with his hand out
toward me, green eyes watchful and wary.
“You have shown me things I long thought the gods
were incapable of – compassion, love, hope, and I hope now you’ll show mercy.”
He stood there, powerful in his own right, the King of the Gods asking me to
show lenience against someone who would have destroyed him. I looked away, no
longer wanting to see the pity or the longing for his daughter in his eyes.
I shut my eyes, willing this all to go away,
wishing I could wake up in my bed none the wiser. When I opened them, I turned
away and saw Artie standing in the doorway of the den, tears in her eyes and a
hand over her mouth. The look of horror in her eyes was my undoing. I released
the magic with a gasp and fell to my knees. Sobs racked my body and I couldn’t
stop them. The horror of the last few weeks caught up to me in that moment, and
I laid my head on the smooth concrete of the floor and succumbed to the grasp
of magic.
ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY: The author will be awarding a chocolate/coffee/wine-themed gift basket (US only) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour so please leave a comment about the book, the blurb, the excerpt, or share who your favorite Greek God is and don't forget to leave your email in the comments. The more you comment on the tour, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/02/virtual-book-tour-out-of-practice.html
BUY LINK:
BUY LINK:
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Aphrodite-Naughty-Goddess-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00J1ABHQG/ref=la_B00J1J236A_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394975176&sr=1-1
Sheryl has had a book in her hands pretty much from
the time she could hold things with her hands. Her love of reading turned into
a curious exploration to see whether or not she could write her own. Beginning
with random, terrible poetry and a slightly popular reimagining of Beowulf’s
Grendel in her high school English class, Sheryl ended up spending way too much
time in the library, killing any chance of her becoming a cheerleader or
anything even remotely cool.
Sheryl has a fondness for humorous, lighthearted
stories but also secretly covets bad-ass leather wearing chicks who curse too
much. It helps if they’re funny, too. She writes a little bit of everything but
is currently focusing on light paranormal mysteries. Visit her at
http://sebabin.com/.
Twitter - @hungrybiblio
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