Last List Blog Hop: Q&A with Bree Despain!!

Hello guys!

Today I'm extremely pleased to take part of the Last List Blog Hop for the Egmont USA authors organized by the awesome ladies at Cuddlebuggery! Isn't that banner a beauty? Done by the Cuddlebuggery ladies too!

When I heard about the closing of Egmont USA I was extremely sad because so many authors were gonna be left high and dry with books they had worked so had end up unpublished, so when I found out that this blog hop was taking place, I didn't want to miss it.

I'm hosting Bree Despain for a Q&A session and I'm also showcasing the two books of her Into the Dark series, one published, one to be published if all goes well on May 12th!

And I'll have have a giveaway for a signed copy of The Shadow Prince open international by then end of the post!!

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails.  As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

A pulsating romance of epic proportions, Bree Despain’s The Shadow Prince will leave her fans breathless for the next book in the Into The Dark series.

The Eternity Key by Bree Despain

Scheduled for release on May 12, 2015

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series. 

Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.
Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.
Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.

 Q&A with Bree Despain

1.- Greek mythology has been used as inspiration many times before, but how did you choose to go the route with the lords of the Underworld and finding the Oracle? It was such a great mix of Hades & Persephone and also Eurydice & Orpheus! Did you choose the myth first? Or did the idea for the story came first?

 The idea for the book came from the Death Cab for Cutie song "I will follow you into the dark." I used to be obsessed with the song and would play it on a loop. To me, it's a song about following someone into the unknown for the sake of love. I found myself pondering over who would do such a thing. I'm a big mythology buff so it was only natural this line of thinking led me to both the Persephone and Hades myth and the story of Eurydice and Orpheus. Both are about people who ventured into the unknown. And then I started thinking about what it would be like to be someone who had to ask someone else to follow them into the dark. What a difficult task! This brought me to my main character, Haden, and the rest of the story came from there.

2. - How did you choose music to be Daphne's main motivation and the way for Haden to connect with her? I really enjoyed to see their relationship developing with music as common ground.

 The musical aspects of the story came from the Orpheus myth. I love that Orpheus was able to use music as a superpower and I wanted to explore that with Daphne's character. She's also partially based on a relative of mine who relates to the world almost completely through music and sound--it's kind of like a form of musical OCD. My relative is very talented and passionate about music and I wanted to find a way to use this aspect as an advantage rather than a disability. On the flip side, Haden comes from a world where music is forbidden, but in order for him to get to know Daphne, he needs to "meet her where she is" so to speak, and has to delve into her musical world in order to get to know her. I liked the idea of adding a forbidden aspect to what he is doing, even though to us, learning how to sing or play a guitar would seem pretty innocent. In order to get close to Daphne, he has to slowly turn his back on the way his world has taught him to be a man.

3.- The way the Lords of the Underrealm are structured reminded me a lot of the Spartan society, was that a conscious choice on your side or something that developed organically?

 Yes, I definitely drew on the Spartan society for influence when creating the Underlords. I really loved the idea of writing about a character who has been trained to be a warrior from a very young age, and taught to suppress his emotions in favor of being stoic. It was even more fun to take that character and plunk him down in the middle of a modern day high school and see what happens!  

4.- I have the ARC of book 2 in my Kindle and I'm really looking forward to read it since I cannot wait to see what's in store for the characters since they're now on the run from two factions! Are they meeting any new allies to balance things out a bit? Any new Greek myths being introduced?

 Yes to both! Let's just say that I had some fun with the myth of Psyche and Cupid in this book.  (I couldn't resist since there is a Valentines dance that plays an important part in the plot.) 

Thank you so much for your answers, Bree!

 Thank you for the great interview questions! Each one was very thoughtful!

 About the author:

Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the upcoming Into The Dark trilogy.  Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaway

I'm gonna keep things very simple this time for the giveaway! It's offered by Bree herself and it's a signed copy of the first book: The Shadow Prince.

And YES! It's open INTERNATIONAL! 

All you have guys to do is answer the following question in the comments!:

What is your favourite Greek Myth? And why?

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