1. What drew you to writing/working with classical antiquity?

It began when I was eight years old. My eldest sister, seven years my senior who was charged with babysitting me, told stories for entertainment (usually because our one TV was occupied by my gaming brother). When she ran out of fairytales, she pulled out her high school required reading which was a compilation of Greek myths. She summarized the stories and treated them like fairy tales. Ever since then, I was hooked.

2. What challenges did you face in selecting, representing, or adapting particular myths or stories?

The biggest challenge was creating sympathetic characters and explaining their oftentimes odd behaviors to an audience of modern critical thinkers. I’m not going to lie; I struggled to explain why Eros would not rescue Psyche as soon as he could when his mother was tormenting her. In the actual myth he seems so petty and vindictive. I also wanted Psyche to be more developed. Honestly, she is the only mortal female in Greco-Roman mythology who entered the Underworld in the flesh. The Underworld, the scariest place in the universe. She’s a pretty amazing heroine who, in my opinion, does not get enough credit. 

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

I didn’t worry too much because the characters themselves were young, but intelligent, passionate though a little naïve, struggling to gain respect from a larger, older, more jaded community. Honestly, I think those feelings reverberate in a lot of young people across all cultures. My main worry is trying to get young folks to give the book a chance. Many young readers may be turned off by the slightly academic slant of the story, which is why I wanted to focus on the romance. Honestly, who doesn’t love a great love story?

4. 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?)

Absolutely. I have always been impressed with writers who are able to take well-known stories and create something fresh. The most common example in recent years have been fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, even Sleeping Beauty in Maleficent’s point of view, all of which intrigue me. However, for me, accuracy is extremely important, otherwise the new versions just don’t seem believable. At the same time, the "spirit" of any story is very subjective, which is why this "experiment" has been so rewarding for me. I know how much Eros and Psyche the myth means to me, but it was so heartwarming to hear from so many people who shared my viewpoint or could at least appreciate it.

5. Why do you think classical / ancient myth and literature continue to resonate with young audiences?

What a great question. I believe anything that is universal and can withstand the test of time will resonate with young audiences, because young audiences are part of the human race (although some might argue with me on that. ;)) The truth is, and I’m sorry for sounding cliché, but young people are the future, and I’m something of an optimist when it comes to the future. Youth today are proving to be more intelligent, worldlier, and more compassionate than any generation before them. If anything, bringing antiquity back with all its wisdom and all its lessons so that the same mistakes don’t happen again and again is what will help young people when they eventually inherit this world.

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

Absolutely. My upcoming novel, Hell’s Captive, is based on the myth of Hades and Persephone. After that, I am considering delving into the story of Atalanta and the three golden apples. I wish to do for Greco-Roman Mythology what many have already done with common fairy tales. I want to add twists to otherwise well-known stories. And for those who don’t know the stories, kindle a new interest. There is so much room for interpretation in these myths, as obvious in the many different ways they were told throughout history. It stretches the imagination greatly and I love the challenge of pushing the boundaries of the tale, yet still remaining true to the original story.

7. Do you have a background in classical education (Latin at school or classes at the University?) 

I took four years of Latin in High School and one year in college, but my interest in antiquity began long before that. I chose Latin just so I could learn how to translate my favorite myths from its "purer" form.

8. What sources are you using? Scholarly work? Wikipedia? Special Internet websites? (which ones?) 

For Eros and Psyche, I used a combination of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, The Golden Ass by Apuleius and also as many different versions of the myth I could get my hands on. I wanted to borrow the most common themes and stretch out the gaps that appeared in all the different versions. I know growing up, these gaps caused me great grief, because they felt so incomplete and not well thought out. Then I realized that true beauty lay in the gaps. Where the holes were, a whole other story was waiting to be told. In the end, what began as just an exercise in creativity became an entire trilogy.

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