Who do you hate, or at least dislike, but keep seeking out anyway?

V. L. Locey: Probably Hades. I think that`s because I chose him as the villain in my Gods & Goats trilogy and I can`t seem to shake the taint of his evil ways in those books. Also, I`m not real fond of how he treated Persephone.

Cathy: I do agree, though he ended up playing an important role in my first novel. In that story, the hero travels right to the edge of his kingdom. I also like the story of Orpheus and Eurydice where Hades does free the beloved woman, and it is the supposedly wise musician who plays the fool and loses her for good. Who do I dislike? Hera. She gets to be the wife of the guy in charge, but she is always doing nasty things. Jealousy drives her. Of course, Zeus does give her ample reason to be jealous.

This leads us to another question: neither of us heart the original poets tell these tales; how do you dig into these stories? And as an aside, have you heard it said that there were as many versions of the tales as there were poets who told them?

V. L. Locey: Ah, research. There are times that I find it a bother. I recently wrote a historical western, and digging up facts about old railroads and such was not exciting. However, you plunk me down to write something about the Greek pantheon and I`m all over that research! I suppose it helps to have a love affair with the topic that you`re working on. When I sit down to dig into something about the Greek pantheon, it`s no longer dry, boring research. It`s another exciting adventure with Perseus or Odysseus. I`m off to Thrace with Ares or waging war beside Achilles. I have an old, battered copy of Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton that is my bible when I`m working with the Greek gods and goddesses. If I can`t find something in Ms. Hamilton`s book I`ll hit the internet, but nine times out of ten, Edith has it covered.

Cathy: Richard Martin’s Myths of the Ancient Greeks sits on the table beside where I write. I have also gone to the writings of the classical era in Greece. Pindar, Hesiod and Homer have helped me keep an authentic texture to my writing. Homer often calls Poseidon “Earth shaker” and that became an important clue for my first novel. And of course I had to see the landscape I described. Travelling to Greece was the best research; I found an absolutely magical setting for Moon of the Goddess.

If you`re interested in reading more about the Greek gods, check out our books:

Love of the HunterBy V. L. Locey

Of Gods & Goats  By V. L. Locey

Of Heroes & Hay Bales   By V. L. Locey

Moon of the Goddess  By Cathy Hird