Medusa the Mean Book Tour - Author Interview

I'm very happy to welcome back Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, authors of one of my favorite series, the Goddess Girls.

Thanks for having us back again to celebrate the release of Goddess Girls 8: Medusa the Mean, Alex!

The Goddess Girls series has come so far! Did you always plan on writing so many books?

            Our original proposal was for four books—a tween spin on Greek mythology set at Mount Olympus Academy where Zeus is the principal. We didn’t know we’d have a chance to write beyond those, but we were hopeful. Medusa the Mean is #8, and we’ve got four beyond that for twelve in all. Mythology is a never-ending source of material, and it’s fun tweaking and updating it to suit our middle school setting.

What made you pick Medusa and bring her front and center?

            With that snaky hair, she’s one of the most well-known characters in Greek mythology. We loosely based the book on her most famous storyline, which involves Andromeda and Perseus. And on personal level, we really wanted to answer the question: Why is she so mean? To find out, we delved into her past a bit. Her mom and dad were a sea monster and a sea hog. They’ve always favored her two sisters and even discouraged Medusa from attending MOA. But nobody keeps Medusa down!

We have always seen Medusa from the other girls' perspectives, will we learn more about her in Medusa The Mean? Particularly about her relationship with her sisters?

            This book goes straight to Medusa’s heart. She wants two things: To become immortal and for her supercrush to like her in return. After all, her two sisters are immortal. That’s so unfair! Her relationship with them is typical of siblings—sometimes caring, sometimes teasing.

Will you be exploring other characters, like Pheme or Pandora?

            Wow! You read our minds. Next up is our first-ever Super Special, The Girl Games, which is told from the four main goddessgirls’ viewpoints, rotating by chapters. After that are Pandora the Curious (December 2012) and Pheme the Gossip (April 2013).

I love how you write these young goddesses, but I also love the boys! So I have to ask, do you have a favorite godboy? (Mine is Hades!)

            That’s great to hear, Alex! In Goddess Girls 12, we’re trying a new twist in which we’ll write from the viewpoint of both the goddessgirl and a godboy in one book. We’ll get to see how they each feel about what’s going on and about each other throughout the story in alternating chapters. The title is Persephone and Hades. We’ve had requests for a book about these two, and we’re really excited about tackling this one.

Medusa the Mean (April 3^rd)

The Goddess Girls series by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, 

takes place at Mount Olympus Academy, and puts a modern spin on classic Greek myths.

Aladdin paperbacks ages 8 ~ 12. 

Thank you so much for visiting! And you have no idea how excited I am to keep reading this wonderful series.

For more Medusa the Mean Tour Stops, please visit The Teen (Book) Scene.