Hi everyone! I'm still pregnant...in case you were wondering ;) Like you, I'm anxiously awaiting Christmas, only I'm hoping for a special kind of present--THIS BABY! I'm ready to pop.
For those of you wondering about my giveaway exchange for an honest review, I've already sent out the first group of books. The next set will go out in January or February. However, if you're anxious to get your hands on a copy
now, Ana and Neyra from
Beach Bum Reads &
Darkest Addictions had me over for a really fun interview and they're hosting a giveaway along with it. Here is a little taste of the interview:
*At Cearno's Cafe in San Francisco waiting for Jessica Therrien to arrive*
Neyra: *leans towards Ana* Oh.My.Gosh Ana, look at him, isn't he gorgeous! With his beautiful green eyes.. *sighs*
Ana: *Takes a sip of my iced tea and looks towards the man Neyra is ogling* wheeew *fans self*gorgeous indeed!
Neyra: *sigh* His name's William *spots Jessica walking into the cafe, smiles and waves her over*
Ana: *looks at William one last time then turns and stands to give Jessica a hug* thanks for joining us
Neyra: *Hugs* Hi Jessica! Thank you for meeting with us today! Please, have a seat. Would you like some coffee? :]
Jessica: *Hugs* Hey guys! I'm dying to have coffee. *Pats massively pregnant belly* No caffeine for me, though. I miss it so much. Writers need coffee!!
Neyra: Awe! Baby bump, too cute! ^-^ How far along are you? And yes, I'll bet with all those long hours overworking your brains and most likely very little sleep!
Ana: Aww. Well you look gorgeous! Glowing & everything :) *calls the waitress over & asks for a pitcher of water*
Jessica: Thanks! I'm six and a half months. We're having a boy, and he's due in early January. I used to joke that I was a stay-at-home author for my book babies. Now I'll be a stay-at-home author AND a stay-at-home mommy. I'll keep having my book babies of course, but now I'll have a real baby too. It should be interesting.
Neyra: Eeep! that's too many babies! >.< LOL I bet you're excited though. Little boys are so fun, but once they get to the crawling and walking stages *whistles* Good Luck! :D
Ana: you can always punish him later by writing him into one of your books. Though, that'd probably be awesome. Have you guys thought of a name? Is your thought process the same as when you're thinking of names for your book characters?
Jessica: *Haha* It's okay. My book babies don't cry or crawl, so they're a little easier. We have picked out a name, but I'm keeping it super secret in case we change our minds. It was really hard to pick one that both my husband and I agreed on. Character names are much easier. My husband doesn't get a say. *sips glass of water*
Ana: ooh secrets! looking forward to finding out what you both name him. *grabs a menu* While we're here, go ahead and order something...ANYTHING! Our treat :)
Neyra: *eyes the cashier, and mutters to self* He's just so Hot.. *turns to face Jessica* Oh, yes that's understandable, we look forward to finding out your little bundle's name in the future ^-^ & Speaking of Names & book characters, I'm sure you can guess why we picked this city and this particular cafe to have the interview *smiles mischievously*
Jessica: Oh that's sweet of you. I'll get the fruit bowl and a blueberry muffin, one of Elyse's favorites. Yeah, a lot of people are surprised that this place actually exists. A friend of mine used to live upstairs in Elyse's apartment, so I spent many summers in this cafe. Of course, it was called Just Bean Thereback then. (Address: 201 Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA Link to Cafe Location) It's a little more mysterious these days, being owned by a Descendant and all...
Ana: It must have been fun growing up here.*smiles* ..Excuse me *stands up* do continue without me *heads to the little girls room*
Neyra: *leans forward to get a fruit* Thank you, and yes, I am definitely surprised, but at least now I have an actual picture in my mind as to how this place looks. (I was imagining it to be a little darker with wooden countertops and all).
Speaking of Descendants, for those readers who've yet to read your book.. Oppression is the story of a young girl (Can we call her young? I mean she is old. lol), named Elyse. She's keeping secrets, and has always had to live in hiding. For one, she ages five times slower than any average person; and, two, she has the ability to heal with her blood, though she doesn't understand why. Alone for 39 years after the death of her parents, only her best friend, Anna, knows of Elyse's strange ability and age difference, or so she believes. Soon she finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed, with others just like her, descended of the people the Greeks considered Gods. There is a prophecy, and Elyse finds herself in the middle of it all. But can she play by their rules when she's forced to choose between the life she knew and the life she's been thrust into?
I love Greek mythology based books, but they're always about the usual Gods; Hades, Zeus, Aphrodite. Your book talks about, their children's children. How did the idea for Oppression come about?
Jessica: Well, when I studied Greek mythology in high school, I remember learning that some of the places, like the city of Troy for example, are thought to actually exist. I thought, if the places actually exist, wouldn't it be crazy if the gods did too, only there was a logical explanation for it all? That got me thinking, if people with abilities and long lives were discovered in ancient Greece, they would no doubt be mistaken as gods and treated as such. I used that concept to explain modern day mythology and to develop my story about the Descendants in today's world. Most books based on Greek mythology tend to stick to those traditional ideas and gods, whereas I was more focused on the premise that the Greek gods were never really gods at all. This gave me a lot more flexibility and allowed me to be creative with which gods to use as Descendant bloodlines. I'm still really having a lot of fun with it.
Ana: *walking back to the table and hears the ending of Jessica's explanation* Well, I think its a great idea and I'm sure a lot of people enjoyed your book. *takes a sip of water* Now, I'm a big paranormal fan, but when I read the synopsis for your book, Greek mythology stood out. I was excited. I love Greek mythology, reading your book definitely upped my visit to the theaters to watch Immortals. Including Henry Cavils sezzy self on the big screen ;)
Neyra: *Looks up* Welcome back hon, and yes I agree the concept of Greek Mythology always stands, but as I said before there's always more focus on the Gods we're all familiar with. *takes a sip of coffee* I'm sure, Jessica that there was a lot of research done despite you already having studied Greek Mythology in high school? Were there any new surprises you weren't familiar with that were woven into Oppression?
