I never liked Helen of Troy. She seems so helpless. Homer and others portray her as beautiful, yes, but to me she seems egotistical, self-centered and weak. So when it occurred to me that a kidnapped princess was a good place to begin a story, I set out to describe a  very different young woman than Helen.

Yes Thalassai, the heroine of my novel  Moon of the Goddess, is pampered, and lives sheltered in a palace, but as she faces her fears and her kidnappers, she finds there is strength in her, and smarts. She becomes an instrument of her own rescue.

Sure there is a hero, her brother Melanion, who sets out to rescue her, and he has an important role. But the goddess who comes to her in secret opens her to her own strength. She grows into a beautiful and strong woman in the course of the novel.

You will have to wait a bit to read her story: the novel will be released by Prizm Books on November 13^th. Buy it online from them, or look in your local bookstore shortly after that. Or ask me and I’ll make sure you find a copy.