Author Spotlight: Heidi Heilig & Her Favorite Myth

Hello there!

Today I have the amazing debut author Heidi Heilig here. Her book "The Girl from Everywhere" was one of my most anticipated books of this year, and though I still haven't read it, I've heard nothing but great things about it.

Heidi was kind enough to tell us her favorite myth.

Are you ready? Check it out!

The Author

Heidi grew up in Hawaii where she rode horses and raised peacocks, and then she moved to New York City and grew up even more, as one tends to do. Her favorite thing, outside of writing, is travel, and she has haggled for rugs in Morocco, hiked the trails of the Ko'olau Valley, and huddled in a tent in Africa while lions roared in the dark.
She holds an MFA from New York University in Musical Theatre Writing, of all things, and she's written books and lyrics for shows including The Time Travelers Convention, Under Construction, and The Hole. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their pet snake, whose wings will likely grow in any day now.
 Follow her: Website/ GoodReads/ Twitter

Heidi's Favorite Myth

My favorite myth is the epic of Gilgamesh, which is an ancient Sumerian poem that is often thought of as the earliest piece of great literature. 

When I was a kid, my father read me all sorts of myths and legends, and when he picked up the Gilgamesh, I was shocked that the introduction was longer than the actual story! 

 Now that I'm older, I appreciate all those extra pieces of information about old legends, and try to work them into the stories I tell myself. 

Her Book

 The Girl From Everywhere

GoodReads/ Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

 

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

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Author Spotlight: E. Katherine Kottaras & Her Favorite Myth.

Hello you all!

Today I have the honor to have author E. Katherine Kottaras and her fantastic books here on the blog! And not only that... since I love myths and legends, I had the chance to ask her what her favorite myth was. And guess what? It's a great one.

Please check it out below, and if you still haven't read any of her books, what are you waiting for?

The Author 

E. Katherine Kottaras is originally from Chicago, but now she writes and teaches in the Los Angeles area. She holds an M.A. in English from the University of California, Irvine and teaches writing and literature at Pasadena City College.

She is the author of the YA contemporary novel, HOW TO BE BRAVE (2015) and the forthcoming THE BEST POSSIBLE ANSWER (2016), both from St. Martin’s Press/Griffin Teen.

Follow her: Website/ Twitter/ GoodReads

Katherine's Favorite Myth

My father was an ancient Greek. At least that’s what I told Mrs. Schlagger, my first-grade teacher. I told her that he a hero who was thousands of years old and descended from Zeus and Artemis and Demeter. She laughed when I said it, but I didn’t understand why. 

It was all true, every word. I knew it was true because every night he read to me from D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths and told me that these were our stories. I curled into his shoulder as he read about my history, our history.

The truth was that he was near sixty with wrinkled skin and gray hair. When we were out, strangers asked him how old his granddaughter was. He had to explain that I was his daughter, and they always gave him a funny look.

The truth was also that we were descended from the ancients. I had visited my father’s village in Greece. It was nestled in the Artemisian Mountains and held an original Temple to Demeter underneath its church. The tale of Demeter and Persephone was my favorite. I didn’t know what a pomegranate looked like, but I knew, firsthand, where these goddesses lived. They were my ancestors.

The truth was also that my father was a hero.

He had fought the Nazis in World War II.

He had emigrated to the U.S. without knowing a word of English.

Later in his life, when I was four years old, he had fought cancer and won.

Then later, a violent and random mugging, subsequent heart issues, a struggling business, and more.

He taught me to be proud and brave and strong, to keep moving forward, no matter the foe.

Her Books

How To Be Brave 

 GoodReads/ Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

An emotional contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and having the courage to chase the life you truly want.

Reeling from her mother's death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave - all the things she's wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she's always been afraid to do - including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most - and you learn that you're stronger and braver than you ever imagined.

The Best Possible Answer 

GoodReads/ Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

AP Exams – check
SAT test – check
College Application – check
Date the wrong guy and ruin everything you’ve spent your whole life working for– check

Ultra-high-achiever Viviana Rabinovich-Lowe has always had a plan—and no room to be anything less than perfect. But her quest for perfection comes toa screeching halt when her boyfriend leaks racy pictures of her to the entire school. Making matters worse, her parents are getting divorced and now her perfect family is falling apart. For the first time, Viv feels like a complete and utter failure.

Then she gets a job working at the community pool, where she meets a new group of friends who know nothing about her past. That includes Evan, a gorgeous guy who makes her want to do something she never thought she’d do again: trust. For the first time in her life, Viv realizes she can finally be whoever she wants. But who is that? While she tries to figure it out, she learns something they never covered in her AP courses: that it’s okay to be less than perfect, because it’s our imperfections that make us who we are.

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