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. Read More
