Hello everyone,
I’ve got an author interview for you today. This time I was able to chat to Ioanna Papadopoulou. She is the author of Winter Harvest, a mythological retelling about the Greek goddess, Demeter.
I’m nearly finished this novel and found it very compelling and beautifully written. I also enjoyed the story being told from Demeter’s point of view.
If you like Greek mythology, this is certainly a book that should interest you. It is released on the 21st November – so only 5 days to wait.
The interview
On writing
First of all – I wanted to ask some questions on behalf of budding writers out there about your writing process.
You write within the mythology retelling genre – How do you go about creating your worlds? Did you do a lot of historical research? Or did you use the original mythologies more to inspire the setting?
For Winter Harvest, I didn’t want to focus too much on the history of ancient Greece. I researched extensively on mythology, which included a lot of reading of geographers like Pausanias because Demeter’s mythology hasn’t been depicted in poems or plays as much as other ancient Greek characters. This allowed me a great deal of freedom because at best for her myths I had short descriptions. The only major literary work I used was the “Homeric Hymn to Demeter.”
I purposefully avoided the historical elements as I think these myths are timeless and although they do refer to a past, I don’t want to frame them too much. I think Winter Harvest could be re written in a more contemporary world and still hold. I also think that my worldbuilding is a mixture of what I saw and learnt as a Greek person of my country’s past but also of a more contemporary Greece which still, even centuries later since its ancient past, still struggles with very similar issues regarding power dynamics, family hierarchies and gender equality.
Which authors have inspired you?
This is a hard question! There are various authors and books that influenced me and motivated me to write “Winter Harvest.” One of them is the “Witch’s Heart” by Genevieve Gornichec, because it allowed me to re-read and re-think the story of Angrboda and focus a lot more on the personality and feelings of the main character, playing with the inconsistency of mythologies, and still create a compelling full story. I also was greatly inspired by “Circe” by Madeline Miller whose work reminded me how odd it was to me that in the more English-speaking world didn’t see Demeter as the uniquely different female Goddess that I did as a child. I really wanted to put Demeter in the centerstage after reading it.
Beyond this book, I would say authors that always inspire me and reading their work motivates me to write are Lucy Houston, Samantha Shannon, Shauna Lawless, P H Lee, Natalia Theodoridou but really there are so many authors that I am probably forgetting right now.
What is your favourite perspective to write from?
I am not sure I have a favourite. I think 3rd feels more natural in many stories but I also really like 1st as well, when I am close enough to the character. I have never attempted omniscient as I am kind of afraid of doing that because I feel without following a specific character’s voice, I would lose the plot. I have tried 2nd but it has not been a successful experiment.
In terms of drafting – can you go through this process. Some writers have a first draft that is almost complete, other writers only do the bare bones of the story and their editing is a lengthy process. Where do you fall here?
Drafting is an ongoing process for me. I am still trying to figure out what works. I used to be very much a ‘gardener’ type of writer where I didn’t plan or structured the plot. I just dived into the story/book. I have slowly changed. I am now more focused on knowing a bit more of where I am going but I also never do when I start. I kind of need to stop my writing, edit back and structure the story after the first few thousand words and then continue. In my current WIP I am figuring out the worldbuilding of my second fantasy world as I am going. I then go back and fix things again. I am not really sure I have a process that is consistent. I just try with each book to be better and this changes how I write with every book. And that makes writing harder instead of easier to be honest!
How are you managing work/life balance. When do you find time to write around work and other commitments? What is your writing routine?
I am incredibly lucky to have a husband who is also a writer, so we motivate each other. For many years we worked on putting 1000 words per day on paper and it helped me write a lot. I am still trying to do that but the last year I haven’t been able to keep up. I counteract this with trying to do writing days so that I still get some results and progress more consistently. I am hoping that as my health stabilizes that I will be able to commit to 1000 words per day again, but I am not sure if that will be the case for a while. So, for now I balance that with writing days where I can do about 5k words, to keep me going. But I also try not to hate myself for when I can’t motivate myself to write because then I will be mentally unwell which will make me struggle to write even more.
Have you ever had writers block? If you ever do, what works to get you back into the writing zone?
This year actually was the first time I had writer’s block and it showed by the fact that I have had less short story publications than previous years. It was probably not just writer’s block but a wider distance from all things writing. I have been struggling with my current WIP for over a year when I usually complete a novel and some sort stories or part of a new novel in a year and try to send at least 100 submissions for short stories as a minimum. I think I was really helped by reading. Seeing other people’s amazing talent made me want to be like them and slowly pushed me towards picking up a more consistent writing pace. I also felt greatly helped by writing with a timer and not really caring about what I produced at that level. I kind of followed a Greek saying which advises that the only way to return to something you love is to do it by force in the beginning and then your appetite for it will return.
Do you listen to music while you write/edit? If so, what music is on your playlist.
Again, in my ever-growing attempt to be better as a writer, the answer to this has changed. I used to write with music but not anymore. I find that it clouds the words in my head, and I need to
concentrate more on the language to get a better first draft. If I write with music, I would choose instrumental or classical so there would be no words at this point.
Getting Published
You have been published by Ghost Orchid Press – can you tell me about how that came to be?
I was querying agents but because I had read some wonderful short story collections and books by Ghost Orchid Press, I decided to also send them my novel directly when they opened for submissions. They accepted me and after weighing the benefits and disadvantages of being without an agent, I decided to take this chance and I am really happy I did. Ghost Orchid press, although small, has some lovely people who have given my book a lot of love and thought.
Your cover art is beautiful – were you involved in this at all?
Yes, I was. We discussed with the publisher for potential artists, and we settled on the very talented Yiorgos Cotronis together. I wasn’t involved with original sketches but at the end I had some variations of the final cover before we decided on the current one, which is gorgeous!
CURRENT BOOKS
Winter Harvest
Without giving any spoilers, what can you tell us about this retelling of Demeter?
My Demeter is not a hero. She is a powerful female deity and is not fighting for others, only for herself and her daughter. I think this is a feminist retelling but also it doesn’t shy away from the cruelty of feminine expressions of patriarchy.
What do you think sets your book apart from others in the genre?
I don’t know ha ha ha. I think it mostly is different because no other work, as far as I know, sees Demeter as a major player in the ancient Greek mythology scene. The Persephone and Hades myth is very popular the last few years, but Persephone’s abduction is seen mostly from Persephone’s side. I also think it is perhaps darker than other myth retellings because I wrote it as a corruption arc for a future villain.
What themes (if any) are you exploring with this work?
I have always been fascinated with female autonomy and this book explores that. I think Demeter always spoke to me because she is one of the few characters in Greek mythology who managed to fight against Zeus and lived to tell the tale. She was an unwed mother, a woman who had lovers of her own choice. I loved exploring her bodily freedom, even though she doesn’t always achieve it as she should. Parenthood is another important theme. Especially the relationship of mothers and daughters, which plays with Demeter both as a mother and as Rea’s daughter. This book also explores family through the lenses of power dynamics where nearly no relationship is free from the corruption of power and inequality.
Is this going to be a series – if so, how many books are you planning? If it isn’t a series, are you working on anything new at the moment?
I don’t plan to write Demeter again, although there is one myth that I was too scared to include and a part of me wants to do but I have no plans for it. I am currently working on a novel that is the first of a trilogy (I think) about a woman infested by a magical water parasite that controls her thoughts and reactions, guiding her towards a certain path.
READING
Who is on your current to be Read list?
Ooof so many! More books than I can read. But I plan to read very soon “Fathomfolk” by Eliza Chan (I have an ARC!), the “Weaver and the Witch” by Genevieve Gornichec, “Beast” by Linz MacLeod and “Threads that bind” by Kika Hatzopoulou.
What books have you enjoyed recently?
I really enjoyed “The Sun and the Void” by Gabriella Romero-Lacruz, “The Words of Kings and Prophets” by Shauna Lawless, “The Pattern of the World” by J.T. Greathouse, “The Adventures of Almina Al-Sirafi” by Shannon Chakraborty, “Lingun” by Ai Jiang, and “Bitterthorn” by Kat Dunn.
Thanks very much for answering my questions!
And also thanks to you for reading! If you want to read Winter Harvest, here are a few links!
Waterstones – https://www.waterstones.com/book/winter-harvest/ioanna-papadopoulou/9781739234850
Blackwells – https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Winter-Harvest-by-Ioanna-Papadopoulou/9781739234850
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