Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
I have a lovely surprise today – I am conversing with Ms Fielding ahead of revealling my ruminative thoughts on behalf of her latest release ‘Aphrodite’s Tears’. A novel I was most surprised about finding as it is a mixture of historical context, Greek History and mythological overlays with a realistic story-line where the Mythos is brought forward into a breathable and livable story arc where you can let the mythology retract in order to see the beauty of the story being shared.
Ahead of reading the story itself, I did quite a bit of research into the writing style and methods of Ms Fielding in order to generate our convo today, as I wanted to better understand how she writes and what makes her passionate about telling the stories she’s creating. One thing we share in common is a love of Greek foods, which is why the foodie in me asked a question about which ones are her personal favourites! Also, despite my earnest interest in Greek Myths, I have oft felt they feel muddled and hard to decipher as they are writ – this is one reason I’ve started to seek out re-tellings or re-imaginings of how the world of the Greeks can become re-presented in such a way to make them obtainable for those of us who shirk away from their canons.
This in effect is what drew me into wanting to read this novel – as despite the hurdles I’ve faced trying to sync myself into the Myths themselves, there is enough interest in me to find them in these new variants of where they are re-moulded to befit a story we can hopefully feel properly attached and feel part of the legacy which has survived all these years.
Ever since I read the Seven Sisters series earlier this year, I have re-established my love of time slipping between historical context and contemporary worlds – but I also, felt due to how the author also broached in historical artifacts of cultural heritage and other tidbits which elude to each of the sister’s origins – there is a newfound passion for finding writers who are shifting and augmenting their writings with a baseline of Old World knowledge to be re-inserted into a narrative where new characters take shape to entice us on a journey back into what is not yet understood but can become known. In this way, this novel felt like it might hearken a fond remembrance for the Seven Sisters but also for ?
If these are the kind of stories you’re enjoying to discover as well, I hope you’ll enjoy this conversation! Be sure to return this Friday, to see my thoughts as I share my reading experience of being within the pages of this epic tome of mythological drama set against a more contemporary time-line of where the story is set not too far removed from our current moments. In fact, it begins in the 1970s and thereby is still within range of reflective memories for most of us; especially if we’re in GenX.
Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and leave commentary for the author or myself in case this convo moves you to leave a note behind!
Aphrodite's Tears
Summer 1977, Oriel Anderson finds herself on the charming Greek island of Helios hoping to fulfill a long held dream or joining an archaeological dive team. Broken hearted after her university fiancé leaves her for her best friend, Oriel is determined to prove she can make it in a man’s world by heading up an all-male dive team on her first underwater dig.
Spending her days excavating a Roman shipwreck, surrounded by turquoise waters and scorching sunshine, Oriel thinks that she has found paradise, until she meets her employer and the owner of the Island, Damian Lekkas.
A widower, with a scarred face, Damian is a brooding presence on the island who instantly takes a shine to Oriel, but Oriel resolves to maintain a professional relationship between them. But the mercurial Damian has other ideas, and Oriel’s stay soon becomes a battle between her head and her heart.
When strange things start happening Oriel doesn’t know what to think. She learns that no other women who had come to work on the dive had lasted more than a few weeks, a young boy almost drowns on one of her dives, then one morning Oriel finds a dead songbird in her room, its throat slit. Finally out exploring the beaches Oriel becomes trapped in a cave. Is it all just a coincidence or is someone trying to send her a warning?
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780995566767
on 12th April, 2018
Published By: London Wall Publishing
Available Formats: Hardcover, Ebook and Trade Paperback
Converse via: #AphroditesTears + #HannahFielding
If you would like to gain further insight into this novel or the author’s writing style – I encourage you to visit her author’s blog. She’s left behind wonderfully insightful posts which highlight different aspects of Aphrodite’s Tears – whilst tucking you in closer to her process & research.
What first interested you about Greek Mythology and exploring inserting Greek Mythos into your stories by tethering them to Contemporary heroines where readers could find an entrance into understanding the back-stories of whom they were inspired a bit easier than directly reading the Myths themselves? As this is what drew my eye into wanting to read the novel.
Fielding responds: I have always been interested in the legends and myths of all countries. Greek myths were written thousands of years ago by wise men who helped to shape our modern thinking, and many of those stories have withstood the test of time and are relevant today. I am especially attracted to them because they explain the many facets of human nature in a dramatic way that appeals to my imagination and invigorates it.
As “Aphrodite’s Tears” explores the story behind how Icarus did not heed his father’s warnings about flying into the sun with wings which could not protect him against the strength of the sun itself – what was your first takeaway from his story? Which then led you into being inspired to tell Oriel’s story?
Fielding responds: Oriel is concerned that Damian is like the sun, and if she gets too close – following her heart, not her practical mind – she may encounter disaster. Perhaps her misgivings have some merit; perhaps there is peril on the island of Helios. But Oriel has jumped to an assumption that it is Damian that is the danger; that falling in love could be her undoing. In fact, another force may well be at play. In this way, in Aphrodite’s Tears I pay homage to the Icarus myth.
You have a personal heart-connection to Greece – as it is a favourite place of yours to visit and to feel attached to on a soul level. Were any of the places you’ve visited inspiring you directly as you set the backdrop for this novel as far as setting and the textural feelings of where you were leading us to go visually?
Fielding responds: Everything about Greece’s countryside inspires me. Everything about it makes me want to become one with nature; to taste it, to understand it, as it catches and reflects the sun intensified by the Greek light’s brilliance, both in the morning and the evening. Admiring the sunset from a cliff or from the island of Santorini; crossing the pine forests of Attica with their profusion of colours… Glimpsing a patch of blue-green sea beyond a spur, stretching to the horizon, or looking down upon a little cove or bay of sparkling yellow sand as I turn a corner; and again walking through olive groves, maybe wandering within the sacred ruins of Olympia and the many other historic ruins that are strewn across this ancient land. Indeed, it is all this put together that excites my spirit and stimulates my imagination.
What is your favourite part of Oriel’s character? Her willingness to dare to think outside the conventional wisdom of her time or the fact she is considering to follow her heart over the will of her conscience?
Fielding responds: Both actually, because they go hand in hand, especially with a man as complex as Damian.
Chance meetings and random encounters are part of our lives all the time – they make us re-consider how we connect to others and how others connect to us. What inspired the entry into Oriel and Damian’s romance of having such an unexpected beginning which would give the most drama to their overall story?
Fielding responds: I have always had a very fertile imagination. I love the unexpected, the sense of adventure, the adventitious and mystery; I find it all very romantic. That is why in many of my books I include a masked ball. I am also a great believer in fate. You cannot escape what is written in the stars for you; hence this favourite quote by Omar Khayam (Khalil Gibran): “The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.”
What was your favourite part of re-recreating the Myth against the story-line of Damian and Oriel? Was it to re-iterate the Myths still have a purpose to be in our lives or was it the joy of finding a thread of entry for a discerning reader seeking these kinds of stories?
Fielding responds: They both go hand in hand. The myths inspired the story, and I knew that because the stories of old remain as true today as they did thousands of years ago, the reader would find threads of meaning and enjoy the parallels. In the novel, both Damian and Oriel are well-versed in Greek mythology, and they are deeply respectful of the old stories; this interest and respect is something I think we should all have in a world that too often looks forward and not back.
What do you find the most fascinating about what archaeologists and anthropologists uncover in regards to how they start to piece together the tapestry of human history? Have there been specific discoveries which gave you an immediate smile or left you paused in thought to think about how fascinating it was to have something recovered which gives us such a tome of insight into the past?
Fielding responds: I have always been thrilled by archeological discoveries. I grew up in Egypt, a country rich in history. Even as a child I remember being fascinated by the Valley of the Kings on the Nile, where the pharaohs were entombed – and to this day, archeologists are still uncovering new tombs there. I love to visit museums, and can easily lose hour upon hour studying the exhibits, which tell us so much about how life has changed for humans – and yet, too, how it remains the same; the ambition and hope and love and spirituality at the core of humanity.
You’ve shown how strong women have to be to pursue certain fields of interest where men are rather dominating the scope of their professions. How important was it to show Oriel was not afraid to break social norms and be an archaeologist when few would understand the passion she held for the ancient worlds?
Fielding responds: My grandmother, Ester Fanous, was a well-known feminist in Egypt. She was one of the founders of the New Woman Society and she helped to found the Women’s Wafd Central Committee in 1920. I like to think that I follow in her footsteps, in that I am all for equality between men and women in every aspect of life. All my heroines, although naïve emotionally, are strong women who are confident enough to show their worth in ‘a man’s world’. They are strong-willed and determined women, without being overambitious and without losing their femininity.
As you’ve mentioned you won’t be re-visiting the people on Helios in future stories – do you know if you will re-explore a story set somewhere hinged between the Greece of the past and the modern age? If so, can you share a bit about what has left you curious to contemplate a thread of story?
Fielding responds: I will definitely in the future revisit Greece in a story, even if only partially. I am now immersed in Lake Como, Italy and the French Côte d’Azur, as I am editing my next novel. It’s called Concerto, and will hopefully be launched in 2019. With that book consuming me right now, I can’t really think of anything or anywhere else for the time being.
Describe your favourite way of exploring Greece for those of us who haven’t yet been blessed to go there – where would you recommend us to visit and what should we see if we had a limited window of opportunity?
Fielding responds: Of course the islands are all lovely… each one has its own charm. I love Rhodes: the most romantic of them all, I think, given that my husband and I spent our honeymoon there. Santorini has the most magnificent sunsets, and Paxos has wonderfully lush green vistas. Corfu and Crete are ideal if you like interesting shops and museums, a lot of sunshine, snow-white beaches, and bathing in the wonderful turquoise sea. Still, if you are a real fan of ancient sites and history, then Delos is the place for you.
What are some of your favourite Greek foods and do you enjoy cooking the dishes you find overseas whilst you’re at home?
Fielding responds:
Gyro – A dish of meat roasted on a vertical spit, which I serve in a sandwich accompanied by Tsaziki, a salad made from yoghurt, cucumber and fresh mint.
Spanakopita – Spinach pie; filo pastry stuffed with feta cheese and spinach.
Pastitsio – An oven-baked pasta dish with meat and tomato sauce and béchamel topping.
Dolmades – Stuffed grape leaves (I stuff them with the vine leaves from our gardens in England and in France).
Rolo Kima – A traditional meatloaf stuffed with boiled eggs; delicious cold to take on a picnic.
Loukoumades – Fried balls of dough drenched in honey with cinnamon (really, really delicious).
When you’re not researching or writing your stories, what gives your soul the most joy?
Fielding responds: I am an avid collector of Art Deco and Art Nouveau glass, of Japanese sculptures and of Chinese porcelain, and nothing gives me more pleasure than to rummage in flea markets and antique shops in the various countries I visit and at home, searching for a treasure to add to my collection.
I would like to thank Ms Fielding for giving me such wonderful responses to my enquiries and for giving my readers a chance to see what intrigued me about reading this particular novel – as she has brought Greece happily to life for all of us through her reflective memories and the ways in which the heart of Greek History is threading through the backbone of ‘Aprodite’s Tears’.
I definitely agreed with her about the Equality for all people – men & women together as well as the foodie in me was overjoyed in learning about her favourite foods! I hope this convo will entice you to read this novel or if you already are a reader of hers – which has become your favourite stories she’s released thus far along!?
This author interview is courtesy of:
JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: Book Cover Art for “Aphrodite’s Tears”, author biography, author photograph of Hannah Fielding, book synopsis, and reviewer badge were provided by JKS Communications and used with permission. Tweets are embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish and the Comment Box banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
Comments via Twitter:
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Jorie interviews @fieldinghannah about her #newbook wherein a dramatic story interweaves through a new vision of how to merge #GreekMythology into a compelling #Romance: #AphroditesTears!?
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