Today I am welcoming Authors Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams. They have teamed up to write The Goddess Girls Series, a fabulous series based on the Greek myths for children ages 8-12.
Interview: Welcome Joan & Suzanne!
Hi Kathy! Thank you so much for letting us visit today.
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Suzanne: Anything with chocolate (like rocky road and chocolate chip cookie dough). But I also wish I could try the ambrosia shakes at the Super Natural Market enjoyed by students at Mount Olympus Academy.
Joan: Great question. I’m a chocolate chip mint freak. Second choice is strawberry with strawberry chunks. Yummm.
Is there anything you need in order to write? (ie Chocolate, quiet, music)
Joan: Aloneness is the main thing I need to write. Chocolate, Diet Pepsi, and quiet are helpful, too. I need quiet to write, but when I’m making a book dummy or doing something artsy-craftsy, I love to have itunes on.
Suzanne: Chocolate is good (see above), but I don’t actually need it to write. I just need my handy dandy computer, a cup of tea, my series notes, mythology reference books, and internet access to good ol’ Wikipedia. I also like writing in my office, surrounded by favorite knick knacks and books, photos of my family, and with my little fox terrier in his bed nearby.
How do you react to a bad review?
Suzanne: Scream, run to my room, throw myself on top of my bed and cry. No, just kidding. Joan and I have both been in the children’s writing/publishing biz a long time. Everyone has different tastes, so there’s an element of subjectivity in every review. Most of our reviews have been complimentary, more than balancing out the occasional negative review (or negative comment within a generally positive review). The positive comments give you a good feeling. I tend to shrug off the bad ones.
Joan: Ditto Suzanne’s answer. I know how a bad review feels, so I will never ever write one about anyone else’s book, music, whatever. However, I once watched a friend turn a bad review of her work into a positive. She asked readers if they agreed with various aspects of the review. It drew a ton of attention to her work and garnered more readers for her. I admired her for that.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Suzanne: Not having to start my working day until eleven o’clock (or later). I worked twenty-four years as an elementary school librarian before I became a full time writer, and since I’ve never been an early riser, I always had to rush out the door to get to work on time. Now I can ease into my day. Most mornings now I enjoy drinking a cup of tea while writing in my journal or reading a good book before I go off to the gym for step class or yoga.
Joan: Ha! I have to laugh over Suzanne’s answer. She gets up way earlier than I do. I’m a night owl. My day starts at ten and I’m working till the wee hours. When it’s quiet. My guilty pleasure is watching the same Sex and the City and Burn Notice episodes over and over and over.
What TV show/movie/book do you watch/read that you'd be embarrassed to admit?
Joan: Millionaire Matchmaker for TV. It’s the only reality show I watch. Um, except for Project Runway. I watch Nickelodeon and Disney Channel to stay current with what kids are watching. And I actually enjoy a lot of it myself. Peeking at Suzanne’s answer, yes, who could not love Captain Underpants?!
Suzanne: Book series: Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. They’re funny, and the wordplay in them is great! TV show: Arrested Development and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Both can be raunchy and gross at times, but also hilarious.
Write a haiku about your book.
Suzanne:
Aphrodite lives
In girls who look in a mirror
And like what they see.
Joan: I have never written a haiku and had to look up the form on Wikipedia! I hope this works:
Artemis spurns love
till the arrow of Eros
brings her Orion.
Thank you for broadening my Haiku horizons, Kathy. And thanks again for having us at I’m A Reader, Not a Writer today!
Series scoop:
Join the class at Mount Olympus Academy with Goddess Girls, a new series that puts a modern spin on classic Greek myths!
Aladdin paperbacks, ages 8 ~ 12.
Athena the Brain
Finding out she’s a goddess and being sent to Mount Olympus brings Athena new friends, a weird dad, and the meanest girl in mythology—Medusa!
Persephone the Phony
Hiding her feelings works fine for Persephone until she meets a guy she can be herself with—Hades, the bad-boy of the Underworld.
Aphrodite the Beauty
Sure Aphrodite is beautiful, but it’s not always easy being the goddessgirl of love.
Artemis the Brave
She may be the goddess of the hunt, but that doesn’t mean Artemis always feels brave.
Coming Soon:
Athena the Wise
Zeus says Heracles has to do twelve tasks or he'll get kicked out of MOA! Although she's not sure it's wise, Athena agrees to help out. (April 5, 2011)
Aphrodite the Diva
Isis claims she's the goddess of love? Ha! But to keep the title all to herself, Aphrodite has to find the perfect match for Pygmalion, the most annoying boy ever. (August 2011)
Two more Goddess Girls books to come!
Artemis the Brave
(Goddess Girls #4)
All of Artemis's friends and classmates depend on her to be the most courageous goddessgirl in Mount Olympus Academy. Little do they know that despite her expert archery skills, the smelly geryons, ring-nosed Minotaurs, and stinging scorpions in Beast-ology class scare her as much as anyone else! But what's really bothering her now is that funny feeling she has whenever she looks at foreign exchange student Orion. She's never had a crush before--could this be what all the fuss is about? And will she find the courage to talk to her crush, make him see her as more than a pal, and to ace Beast-ology class?
Giveaway: Artemis the Brave Prize Pack
* Artemis's puppy! 8.5" dog named Amby--short for ambrosia, food of the gods!
* Nail polishes
* Bangle bracelets
* Goddess Girls bookmark
* Autographed copy of Artemis the Brave
Giveaway Details:
Open to US Only
Last Day to Enter is 1/31
To Enter Please Fill Out This Form:
