1. What drew you to writing/working with Classical Antiquity and what challenges did you face in selecting, representing, or adapting particular myths or stories?

I grew up reading the greek myths and watching dramatisations of them like Clash of the Titans Ray Harryhausen films and The Storyteller so have always had a fondness for them. I always particularly liked Medusa as a character and wanted to imagine what life would be like for a young Gorgon. I played pretty free and easy with the mythology so was able to just use the characters as archetypes to build my own story around.

2. Why do you think classical/ancient myths, history, and literature continue to resonate with young audiences?

I think children will always be drawn to stories of heroes and monsters and the Greek myths have seldom been bettered. A lot of the stories are fairly simple and easy to grasp for a young mind and then the author can play with the characters and update them for each new generation.

3. Do you have a background in classical education (Latin or Greek at school or classes at the University?) What sources are you using? Scholarly work? Wikipedia? Are there any books that made an impact on you in this respect? 

I studied Latin in secondary school and was appalling at it. My main inspiration were the books and films that I grew up with. I wrote the outline for my story, then researched the myths online and in libraries. I'm afraid as I wrote the book a number of years ago I can't remember particular sources.

4. Did you think about how Classical Antiquity would translate for young readers, esp. in (insert relevant country)?

My idea was to put Medusa in school with friends, Chron & Mino [see Medusa Jones]. They were the "freaks" and the "heroes" were the "cool kids". Young readers in any country could then easily identify with the characters.

5. How concerned were you with "accuracy" or "fidelity" to the original? (another way of saying that might be – that I think writers are often more "faithful" to originals in adapting its spirit rather than being tied down at the level of detail – is this something you thought about?)

I wasn't overly concerned with "accuracy or fidelity" as I was just using the characters for my own story and mixing up the legends. I didn't really have to be faithful to the original myths. In saying that, I didn't want to do anything that was completely wrong for a character – you come up with strange "lines in the sand" in your head when writing that isn't always evident to readers! However I did hope that young readers who already knew the myths would get a kick from seeing these great characters as children and that other readers who hadn't read the myths may have their curiosity spiked by my tale and use it as a jumping off point into the original stories. 

6. Are you planning any further forays into classical material? 

Not at the moment but never say never. I'd hoped to write a sequel to Medusa Jones where Medusa and her friends travel to Hades but sadly that never happened. I have had several notes of interest from animation companies for the characters so who knows...

Prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com