Author Interview with Jessica Therrien

Hi everyone! As part of the Oppression Blog Tour, I’m interviewing Jessica Therrien, the author of Oppression, a novel about Greek gods descendants and fate. If you’re a mythology junkie, this one is for you!

What or who was your inspiration for Oppression?

My husband was a huge inspiration. He is my William :)

What kind of research did you do for Oppression?

I did quite a lot of research. I had to make sure there was a Greek god to justify the abilities I gave each character.  I also used Homeric Hymns as “proof” that Greek gods were never really gods (William quotes one of the hymns in the book).

What came first? The story? The title? Or one of your characters? Can you tell us how it happened?

The premise came first. Then along came Elyse. I read somewhere about how the blood of the gorgon could heal & poison…I thought that was an awesome ability for a main character.

In Greek mythology, blood taken from the right side of a Gorgon could bring the dead back to life, yet blood taken from the left side was an instantly fatal poison.

William came soon after Elyse. It was obvious she needed a love interest. Then I needed a conflict…Anna & Chloe. The title came last. I went through a ton of titles, including one that George Clooney stole ;) (The Descendants).

How did you mold Elyse’s personality, character? When you were creating her, what did you do?

I probably shouldn’t have, but I used my own emotions to craft her character. The love story between her and William was sort of inspired by my own love for the man that is now my husband. 

Why did you decide to not consider Greek ‘gods’ as ‘gods’ in your novel? What made you do it?

I really wanted the story to be somewhat feasible. I wanted my readers to be drawn into a world that was paranormal but still realistic. I loved that about Twilight, how it put that little seed of wonder into readers’ minds…what if vampires really do exist? I wanted readers to think the same thing about Descendants.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on book two in the Children of the Gods series. It will be out next year through ZOVA Books.

______________________________________________

Now what is Oppression about? I tried to sum it up before the interview but this is a more detailed version:

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for the prophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded by violence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.