Underworld's Daughter, by Molly Ringle

A few years ago I purchased a lovely little lot of books at an auction, and among them was a beautifully bound edition of “Chrysomela, A Selection from the Lyrical Poems of Robert Herrick.” The poems were chosen and introduced by Francis Turner Palgrave, the famous anthologist, and I enjoyed reading the charming and quaintly antiquated prose of his preface. One phrase in particular struck me as being quite apropos of Molly’s style, as well as of Herrick’s poems:

[T]he power to describe men and things as the poet sees them with simple sincerity, insight and grace: to paint scenes and imaginations as perfect organic wholes; -- carrying with it the gift to clothe each picture, as if by unerring instinct, in fit metrical form, giving to each its own music; beginning without affectation, and rounding off without effort; - the power, in a word, to leave simplicity, sanity, and beauty as the last impressions lingering on our minds ...

Let me give an example of why I find Molly’s prose (and okay, maybe it’s not “metrical,” technically, lol, but it IS lyrical!) so enchanting, and so powerfully able to pull you into the emotional world she’s created:

Lute music rose from somewhere near, and the smell of sweet incense and drying autumn leaves curled into the darkening sky. Her feet moved that direction, the domestic magic of a mortal city pulling her in.

Like our dear friend Francis said, simple, vivid and graceful. I love that about Molly’s evocative way with words.

This is the second volume in Molly’s Chrysomelia series (the series’ title is what made me think of the Herrick book, obvs), and it’s not a stand-alone, but rather a welcome continuation of the story that began in Persephone’s Orchard, the first book in the series. It begins, like the first book,in media res,  only this time the “res” is one of sweet intimacy and tenderness, the culmination of the tentative and touching relationship between Persephone and Hades (the originals). And the narrative again moves between the remembered past of Hades, Persephone and their peers, and the story of Adrian and Sophie, the contemporary counterparts of their ancient incarnations. Things aren’t easy for Adrian and Sophie (relationship status: complicated) this time around. The story starts with Sophie feeling “betrayed, or at least left out,” when inveterate trickster Niko bestows the gift of immortality on two others by stealing and sharing with them the underworld orange Adrian meant for Sophie. And Thanatos, the deadly antagonist whose violence ended the first book, has stepped up its game in ways that rock the characters' stability and emotions. The addition of more characters and points of view make this a deeper and more rewarding reading experience than Persephone’s Orchard, in some ways. The character of Hekate (she’s the titular Underworld’s Daughter, btw) both in the past, and in the now, is richly imagined and endearing, full of mystery, grace, intelligence and emotion. She’s just a really cool person, and an awesome addition to the cast. Dionysos (and his contemporary counterpart) is a fun and kind of frustrating character, full of fun and frivolity but also fractured and flawed in ways that make him/her, real and relatable.

“The past is never dead, it’s not even past,” said Faulkner, and that would be a fitting epigraph for this series, in which the events of the past echo and resonate in the now. Molly’s artfulness in setting patterns of relationships and events in ways that illuminate each other, create foreshadowing and dramatic tension is an especially enjoyable element of the book (cf. Demeter confronting the newlyweds in the Underworld with Sophie’s dad discovering Adrian in her room over Thanksgiving break, just for one delicious example).

So just to be clear, I loved this book. But be forewarned, it is the second volume in a three book series (“Frodo was alive, but taken by the enemy,” remember?), and as such, there are unresolved story lines and emotions at the end. I can’t say I was disappointed exactly, but man, it is going to be a long wait till next June.

Who's That Girl?

I’m a huge Molly Ringle fan, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a link to my interview with her from a
couple years ago. Take a read, learn about her other amazing books, and first literary success, winner of the 2010 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Award for worst first sentence!

Giveaways!

Last but not least, please enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance at winning one of two sets of Persephone’s Orchard and Underworld’s Daughter: the entries are simple. You’ll need to follow (or already be following) three people on Twitter: me (@flybrariman); Molly (@MollyRingle) and Michelle Halket, Molly’s editor at Central Avenue Publishing (@CentAvePub). I’m including Michelle because (a) she’s awesome, and (b) because Central Avenue Publishing has lots of other cool authors you should check out (one of their books I really liked was Across the Hall, by N.M. Facile, here’s my Goodreads review!). And just in case you don’t win my Rafflecopter, Central Avenue Publishing is running a really cool one, with some extra swag thrown in (that Greek coin necklace looks really cool, right?)(the picture is of all their swag, mine's just for the books).  Good luck to all, thanks for entering!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Purchase Links

Amazon Barnes & Noble

For a limited time, Grand Central has priced Persephone's Orchard at $.99, so on the off chance you don't win one, this would be a great time to buy!

Of Romance and Laughter -- Author Molly Ringle Interview and Giveaway!

Molly Ringle is an author I love, and I’m delighted to welcome her to the interview chair here at the Still Seeking Allies clubhouse. Her books are both thoughtful and irrepressibly funny, literate and sweetly silly, sexy and emotional, and all around full of awesome. Molly’s been writing fiction for over twenty years (yes, she started young!), and in addition to her charming novels, she’s written several hilarious parodies (available at her website) including send ups of many YA and Romance favorites. Similarly reflecting her intense devotion to wry and witty humor, she won the grand prize(!) in the 2010 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with one (intentionally) terrible sentence, which you can read at the BLFC homepage. Her current project is a contemp take on the Persephone/Hades situation, which seems fraught with dramatic and smexy potential. Molly lives in Seattle with her husband and two charming kids, where she is a devotee of fragrances and chocolate.

You have written some very clever and terribly funny parodies – of Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings and more recently The Hunger Games and Les Mis. Your web site gives them equal billing, by identifying you as “a writer of novels and parodies.” How do you feel the two relate to each other? Does that sense of humor which reigns rampant in the parodies infuse your novels, too?

The parodies (and perhaps also the Bulwer-Lytton sentence) were where I made my biggest splash on the Internet. Some of them went viral and have still gotten way more attention than my original fiction has. (Of course, the parodies are free, which does lend to a larger readership! We all love free funny stuff.) So I figure maybe half the people who land on my website are looking for the parodies rather than my other writing, and I try to make it easy for them to find what they're after. But the success of the parodies did give me a major hint that maybe humor is something I'm good at, and it would therefore be stupid *not* to use it in my novels. I generally do include a lot of humor, which can be ridiculous or wry or subtle, depending on the scene.

Do you have to hold back sometimes in a serious part and say, whoa, this isn’t the time to be punny or playful?

Certainly, making an irreverent remark or laughing at the "wrong" time has been a problem with me both in writing and in real life--just ask my mom, who failed to prevent me from giggle attacks in church when I was a kid. And those wrong-footed moments do occur in my rough drafts too, but luckily I'm able to rein myself in and edit them out before the final galley.

Do web searches for the parodies or your awesome Bulwer-Lytton award winning entry bring new readers to your site, and hopefully to your novels? Have you had any particularly memorable responses to your water bottle/kissing analogy? Have you ever been asked about “the rest of the story?” Any offended gerbil lovers, Ricardo’s or Felicity’s who felt ill-treated?

I have no proof that the Bulwer-Lytton win actually increased my book sales, but it did make people laugh, which was the important thing. My favorite responses have been the people who say I captured their early kissing experiences perfectly with that disgusting description. (Hah! Yeah, most of us have had such unfortunate encounters...) One or two of the journalists did ask what happened to the couple, and I admit I haven't really planned it out; but I can't help feeling their affair is somewhat doomed. So far no gerbil owners, Ricardos, or Felicitys have complained personally to me, but I do feel bad for surely causing some teasing for those with such names (or pets).

Have you ever chatted with any other BLFC winners? Kind of a select and exalted company, right? You guys should get together for one of those “Dark and Stormy Night,” cocktails!

As soon as I won that contest, I started getting emails from previous winners, and in the subsequent years I've emailed the grand prize winners to congratulate them too. So far everyone is wonderfully nice, and droll, and modest, as you'd have to be to write an intentionally horrible, awkward sentence and then endure headlines like "World's Worst Writer" for a month or so afterward. (Um, no, headline writers, that isn't quite what the contest means.) And Scott Rice, the organizer of the contest, must be one of the kindest and most patient people out there. He's run the contest almost singlehandedly for over twenty years, getting terrible sentences in his inbox every day, and still comes across as good-humored and thoughtful in his messages.

Part of the premise of your sexy and sweet Adult Romance "Summer Term" is that protagonist Paige is a doctoral candidate in linguistics. Your knowledge of and background in linguistics make that element of the story feel believable and unforced. Same with your experiences in Edinburgh in "What Scotland Taught Me," and the city of Seattle in "The Ghost Downstairs." Have you had experiences that make your ghost-agonists (in TGD and "Of Ghosts and Geeks") more real and relatable to you? Does your world view have room for real life ghosts, or is that just a literary device?

I have no personal history with ghosts, but some of my trusted friends and relatives swear they've had ghostly experiences, so I like to think it's possible. I might just lack the sixth sense, or maybe ghosts aren't interested in showing off for me. Mostly I lean toward ghosts for my paranormal devices because I think they're the scariest of the supernatural beings, and therefore the most interesting. They also have the capacity for a deeply sad story, or a surprisingly funny one if you twist things.

Your followers on Facebook and readers of your blog know that you love the rain, which seems like a good thing for a Seattle-ite. How about elaborating on that for us Midwesterners who see that more as a bug than a feature? I know it ties in to your sensitive and sophisticated sniffer, is that right?

It's true that the air usually smells good in the rain. And around here the rain tends to smell somewhat like the ocean, which is beautiful. But I also like that the rain waters my garden so I don't have to, and that it makes the world quieter and cozier. Plus you don't have to wear sunscreen, a substance I find greasy and itchy. Incidentally, little-known fact about Seattle: it doesn't rain as much as people think (it drizzles often, but pours rarely), and hardly rains in the summer at all. While the Midwest and South and East Coast are getting their humid summer downpours, we're drying out on the West Coast. A summer drought is the norm here. Our grass usually turns brown by mid-August. So the return of the rain at the end of summer is especially a treat for me, because I've missed it!

Is music a big part of your writing life? I know you were at one time a lover of Robert Smith and The Cure, Nick Drake (right?) and other lovely, angsty Ur-emo. Still like that kind of thing? I’ve seen you liking The Lumineers lately, what else fills out your playlist these days? Do you listen to or imagine music in your head while you are writing?

I rarely have music in my head, or even playing, while actually writing. My focus is on the story then. But I definitely form attachments to certain songs that have the right mood for a particular story, and I listen to them while daydreaming about the characters. I have a playlist right now for my work-in-progress, including The Lumineers and some other hipster groups like Of Monsters and Men, and Florence and the Machine. I do still love my Goth-ish New Wave stuff (Cure, Pet Shop Boys, New Order...), and also atmospheric, beautiful, sometimes eerie music like Dead Can Dance and Loreena McKennitt.



"Summer Term" and "Of Ghosts and Geeks" were quite a bit sexier than most of your other stories. Was it awkward or fun writing “those parts?” I like that they are sweet and tender as well as toe-curling, was it hard to achieve that tone?

Thank you! Those can be difficult to write, because it's easier for readers to find fault with love scenes than with other types of scenes--we all delight in heckling such things. It's more important than ever not to use clichés or over-sappy dialogue, or weird inventive metaphors that'll yank the readers out of the moment and make them snicker. On the other hand, love (or at least romantic attraction) is one of the two main pillars of my writing (the other being humor), so I'm always happy to get to those scenes and decide how best to tackle them. I think a bit of human awkwardness makes them more realistic, and therefore more endearing.

Many authors draw people to their Facebook page by offering to publish teasers, swag, cover reveals or other prizes when a threshold number is achieved. Any chance of us seeing you in that Princess Leia costume when your fb page hits 1,000 likes? (Okay, just threw this one in to make you laugh, but think about it!)

Haha! I doubt there's a lot of demand for such a photo, and in any case I'd have to acquire the costume. I don't actually own one. But 1,000 likes would be awesome, and will surely require some kind of celebration. I'll consider all suggestions!
[Ed. Note - Amazon carries them, just sayin]


Last I heard the Persephone story was really kicking into gear, and you were thinking about making it a series, or at least a two parter. Is that still an option? This is a genre that has seen a lot of activity in the last couple of years. Your fans know you will make it fresh, funny, and emotional; can you share anything with us about the project and how it’s seen through the prism of Molly-o-vision?

At this point it looks like it'll have to be at least two volumes. Turns out I have a lot of adventures to relate. Additional books are quite possible, whether in the series or more like companion books or spin-offs. Basing a YA romance on the Persephone/Hades myth has been done lots of times in the last decade alone, but that means it's a myth a lot of us love. I did a fair amount of world-building to explain how the Underworld works and what the gods can and can't do, and plenty of that is my own creation. The current novel is about a present-day girl learning she's the reincarnation of Persephone, and becoming attracted to the modern reincarnation of Hades. I go back and forth between prehistoric Greece and modern day to piece it all together. Having two storylines is probably why I'm going to require two volumes (or more).

But I use the original mythology as inspiration: Underworld pomegranates with magical properties, strange otherworldly animals (beasts are everywhere in the myths), Demeter and Persephone being plant experts, Hades driving a chariot drawn by supernaturally fast horses. However, in my modern-day section, it's now an old bus that he's harnessed to the horses. No chariots left over from the old days, you know. Also, I did include a human sacrifice, which I'm pretty sure is a first for me. (Don't worry, it's not too graphic.) In any case, I'm hoping to be ready to share that book with the world sometime next year!

(I kinda love this picture of Molly relaxing in the wild, near Puget Sound, not gonna lie!)

The Molly-verse, a go to guide!
Website
Goodreads Author Page (Molly has posted the first chapter of all her books on their Goodreads’ pages, check them in depth!)
Facebook page
Blog
Twitter (@MollyRingle)

Gigantic Free Giveaway!!!
Now that you've heard a bit about and from Molly, here's a chance to win a copy of one her her wonderful books! With none of that silly Rafflecopter nonsense to deal with, either (more for my benefit than yours, lol)! Just leave a comment on this post (be sure to include an email where I can contact you). One commenter will be chosen at random, and the giveaway will take place a week from today, Saturday December 8th at 9:00am-ish CST, and I'll notify the lucky winner by e-mail at or around that time!

What’s the prize? Well none other than one of Molly Ringle’s great novels. Courtesy of Molly's awesome small press indie publisher Central Avenue Publishing, the winner will choose between an e-book of Molly's clever and twisty contemp NA "Relatively Honest" and or an e-book of "What Scotland Taught Me." Man, these are both so sweet! Hard to choose between them! Fortunately, you can't go wrong with either!

Here's my review of Relatively Honest on Goodreads!

And my review of What Scotland Taught Me, as well!

Of Ghosts and Geeks, by Molly Ringle

Of Ghosts and Geeks by Molly Ringle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Of Ghosts and Geeks is cute, funny, sweet and sexy. MC Gwen, one of the titular geeks (see, sounds titillating already, eh?), is a quirky and charming professor of literature at Girthmore College, sadly in danger of becoming the spinster some might mistakenly take her for. Then she makes an amazing, potentially life-changing purchase - a rare illustrated mythology book, right up her scholarly alley. Little does she know that it's a a BOGO, and the "get one" is the kooky, reckless and restless ghost of a victorian teenager, determined to experience (in death, vicariously) the paroxysms of passion she'd been denied in life. The self-named Violetta (her real name, Dorcas Schmelbeck, is just too prosaic, pedestrian and passionless for her - hey, true story, my mom wanted us to name our oldest daughter Dorcas, family name and all, back in the day. She professed to be mystified when we tried to explain the utter cruelty of inflicting that on an innocent child. Anyhoo...) Violetta has little in the way of real life experience (except for her death, which was a doozy) or impulse control, but makes up for it with her ability to control inaminate objects, which she uses to compel Gwen's compliance with her seductive schemes for experiencing second-hand romance of the voyeuristic kind. She's already selected a partner for Gwen to perform with, the luscious and likeable Paul Chang, the landscaper who mows Gwen's lawn. Paul's biceps and his appreciation for the intersection of comic book heroes and mythology (he's the other geek)have actually previously come to Gwen's fond attention, and when Violetta (pronounced "vi-o-lator?") insists that the two of them re-enact certain poses, postures and positions illustrated in the aformentioned book, the action, and Gwen and Paul's mutual attraction, come to a boil. Like I said, this is fun, and funny. The humor is pretty broad, and laugh out loud-a-licious. Violetta veers between ridiculous and scary, and there are twists and developments that keep things fresh and unforeseeable. Molly has a knack for creating relatable, real-feeling characters, and these two are no exception. Yes, you can see what's happening long before they do (I guess part of geekiness is the whole socially awkward thing, especially with the opposite sex), but that doesn't make their reluctant(?) and reticent compliance with Violetta's ever escalating demands any less entertaining or satisfying. Of course, no true geek tale would be complete without a bit of cosplay, and Molly manages to work in the holy grail of every geek guys fantasy, to sexy and funny effect. So, hopefully I've conveyed my enjoyment and appreciation of this warm and tenderly funny story. This reminded me a bit of Summer Term, only this is the funny version, not the romantic one - it's got that same campusy, academic vibe, and the feeling of a close (sometimes claustrophobically so) community of teachers and students. Indulge yourself by reading this when you need a break - trust me, your enjoyment will be disproportional to its length. Just one final question though - Girthmore? What's up with that?



View all my reviews

Summer Term, by Molly Ringle

Summer Term by Molly Ringle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Paige Huntley, a grad student teaching a summer course, is surprised to see film star Aidan Grey on her class roster. She's getting over a broken engagement, and has been thinking a lot lately (maybe a little too much!) about her urbane dissertation adviser, the attractive but married Stefan Serovinak. The last thing she needs is the distraction that comes with having an attractive celebrity in her class. But as summer term unrolls, she finds there's something about Aidan that she didn't expect, and begins to find hard to resist. Aidan has come home to the remote college town where he grew up to finish his degree and figure out if he's as enthused about this whole Hollywood thing as he once thought. Meeting the attractive, down to earth and clever Paige was definitely not on his syllabus. Take these ingredients, stir in some stalkerazzi fans, a pushy agent, and a great cast of side characters, plunk them down on a sleepy summer college campus, and you have a charming, funny, sometimes suspenseful, and very satisfying light romantic novel.



For some reason this book makes me think of a lovely German wine - light, sweet but not cloying, with many classic, familiar elements, but still fresh and original. It's definitely a Qualitatswein mit Pradikat - a superior wine with special qualities. The characters are maybe a little too good to be true (that's one sensitive and understanding movie star, you've got yourself there, Paige!), but isn't that part of the fantasy fun, really? There is definitely some toe curling mclovin' going on, too - this is def an adult romance, and there's a bit more of the old je'ne sais quoi going on than in the YA I'm used to reading (wow, what you girls are getting up to these days!), but it's sweet and intense and conveys so nicely the dizzying, overwhelming emotions that engulf our mc's and catapult them into and out of each others arms, even against their better judgment and common sense. And isn't that what love is supposed to do?



View all my reviews