MFT Guest: Interview with Aimee Carter and Giveaway of The Goddess Test

Today for My Favorite Things I have Aimee Carter on for an interview about The Goddess Test.  I loved this book and am excited to have her here today.  She's also giving away a copy away so make sure you check out the details at the bottom.

About The Goddess Test:

Every girl who has taken the test has failed. 
Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. 
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. 
Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. 
If she fails...

How did The Goddess Test come to be?  Was it a full idea that popped into your head?  Or more of a niggling of an idea that came to you as you wrote?  

I usually do some significant outlining before I sit down to write a story. I don't write twenty or fifty or a hundred pages of outlines, but I do make sure to get the major plot points down. I consider it a map of sorts, though I'm not against veering off-course if it's what's best for the story. The Goddess Test has been niggling in the back of my mind for literally years, ever since I'd first really understood the myth of Hades and Persephone. Rather than focusing on Persephone's terrible circumstances, I looked at Hades and tried to see the story from his side of things.

Along the way, I made a lot of changes to the plot, and it didn't fall into place until 2007 or so, when the idea of Kate going to Hades in an effort to save someone she loved occurred to me. From then on out, I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting the outline, coming up with ways in which everything would work. Sure, Kate would be stuck with Henry for six months, but what was going on in those six months that makes the story compelling? It was a long process, but in the end, it was definitely worth it.

Were you in control of the story?  Or did your characters completely take over? 

I've had characters do some surprising things, but I'm always in control of the story. Everyone has a different way of writing, and I've heard of authors whose characters take over and drive things for them, but I'm not one of them. I'm very conscious about what I write and how I can make it the best it can possibly be, at least at that stage of the process. It'd be wonderful if they took over for me though! That'd make my job a lot easier. :)

What made you decide to write about the Greek Gods?  Were they something you found fascinating and studied before you ever thought of The Goddess Test?  (I have to throw in here that my daughter’s name is Phaedra.  Phaedra was a Greek Goddess but we won’t share her history here.  It’s not really such a great story.  But I LOVE Greek names!  And that one especially!) 

Oh, Phaedra is such a beautiful name! Your daughter's lucky to have it. I've always loved mythology, ever since I was a kid, and it came naturally, I suppose. I read everything I could get my hands on, but I kept coming back to that myth and continued to wonder about Hades' side of the story. I'm a sucker for ancient Greek culture, and I studied it whenever I could. 

What was your biggest challenge when writing The Goddess Test or the next book(s)? 

While there were certainly challenging parts to writing The Goddess Test, especially getting the ending right, I think the most challenging part about writing the trilogy as a whole is the spot I'm in now. People are reading and reviewing The Goddess Test, and while I don't read anything but positive reviews - for my own peace of mind - I'm hyper-aware of the fact that people are going to be reading the book I'm writing now, which is the third in the series. And it's daunting. I can see why a lot of writers have a hard time with sequels, but I'm determined to make this the best of the three, and hopefully that determination will produce results.

Did you have any input in the cover?   What can you tell us about the process?  

My publisher is amazing and asked me all kinds of questions about various scenes in the book, about what I envisioned for the cover, about the different characters, etc. In the end, I really had no idea what I wanted for the cover, and I was floored with the beautiful results.

Are any of your characters based on real people?  (Maybe you shouldn’t tell me if Henry is based on a real person… ) 

Ha! No, no, I'm very careful not to do that. Some of them have traits from myself or people I know, but no one is based off of anyone specifically. Not even Kate's mother is anything close to what my own mother was like.

What’s a book(s) that you find yourself recommending over and over? 

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. And of course the Harry Potter series. I reread those books all the time, and they never get old.

If you could be a Goddess which one would you want to be? 

 I've been asked this a few times, and my answer changes each time, so take this answer as you will. I think I'd like to be Athena. Intelligence, power, and beauty, all rolled into one. She's always stood out to me, and she has the fewest downsides as far as the major Olympic goddesses go.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?  Have you made any excursions outside The Goddess Test series that you can share? 

Besides the next two books in the Goddess Test trilogy (the second, Goddess Interrupted, will be released January 2012), I also have a dystopian trilogy coming soon from Harlequin TEEN as well. The first book is called Masked, and I can't wait to share it with everyone!

Oh, I can't wait for the Dystopian trilogy!  Thanks so much for being on Aimee!

Thanks so much for having me, Candace!

You can find Aimee on her website:  http://www.aimeecarter.com/

The Giveaway:

Aimee is giving away one copy of The Goddess Test to one lucky person!
You must have a US or Canadian address
You must be 13 or older to enter
Ends July 5th, 2011

To Enter:

Leave a comment and include contact info please!

 

For the schedule of The Favorite Things event check out the schedule post.  And make sure you head over to My Bookish Ways to see what she has going on today as well!