An Interview with Josephine Angelini
A few weeks back I read and wrote a review of Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, you can read the review here! Since then I have been lucky enough to be able to ask Josephine a few questions. Here are my questions and her answers:
Firstly Josephine, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Well, I grew up in a tiny town in Massachusetts called Ashland. I’m the youngest of eight kids—seven girls and one boy. Which means I basically grew up in a convent, or a sorority, depending on which sister you ask.
I got a great scholarship to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and studied Shakespeare and Sophocles and the like, immersing myself in tragedy. Funny enough, it was actually less drama than I was used to at home. Wailing women and doom-laden destinies? Another day at the office– or in my life, another day in the bathroom, watching my sisters do their hair and make-up as they talked about their latest personal catastrophe. I understood Greek tragedy from day one.
So, yeah, I went to art school and studied classical theatre, which basically means I had given up all hope of ever being anything but a bartender—and I was a bartender for quite a while. Then I took some very good advice from my husband and wrote a book.
Wonder of wonders, but my book got published.
I’m a writer now and not a bartender, but don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten how to make a Cosmo or a Long Island Ice Tea. As my sister’s would say, you never know how the “art thing” will shake out, so don’t get crazy. Bartending is solid work, after all.
I wouldn’t dream of talking back to my sisters.
Could you tell us a little about Starcrossed?
STARCROSSED is a modern day retelling of the Iliad set in high school.
What inspired you to write this story?
I saw a copy of the Iliad right next to Romeo and Juliet on my bookshelf and I wondered why no one had ever tried to merge the two stories and set it in modern times.
Basically I asked myself why no one had ever tried to take two of the best-known lovers in the world and put them into our times? Helen of Troy, Paris and the Trojan War—this is some BIG romance– on top of that there’s tons of action, supernatural powers to keep things interesting, and plenty of intrigue. It seemed to me like this story was waiting for someone to write it, and I happened to be the one to stumble over it first.
I heard that the 2nd book in the series is estimated to be released in 2012, is there anything you can tell us about it?
DREAMLESS is darker than STARCROSSED. It is the “trials” part of the classic Hero Journey, and Helen (our hero) really goes through the wringer in this book. She has to cross the Underworld to complete her task, so it’s not all love and roses. There’s a lot more action and danger in this book. But she does meet a boy named Orion down there to help her, and I hope readers get as excited about him as I am!
I have a soft spot for Hector, and would love to hear more of his story, is he going to be in book 2?
Hector is a big part of both DREAMLESS and Book 3. He is a major character in Homer’s Iliad, and I do not ignore that in my books. All of Homer’s characters are in my story (even if I haven’t introduced them or you don’t recognize them yet) and Hector is one of the most important characters of all.
Plus, I just love writing him—especially when he’s being a big jerk. There is something so fun about being a woman, writing a guy that you’d really love to punch in the face. It’s empowering, I guess.
When you are creating your characters, do you base them on people you know or are they completely made up?
Half and half. I start with people I know, but then I do a lot of work on them. I think it’s always best to start with what you know in order to root your writing in truth, but then you have to allow that character to have his or her own voice. That takes a lot of work, lengthy character bios, and mostly just a lot of time thinking about how to make a character function inside a plot while still maintaining a unique and totally real quality.
If Starcrossed were to be made into a movie, who would you like to see play Helen and Lucas?
I get asked this all the time, and I genuinely have no answer! It’s too strange for me to think about these characters existing outside my head. I have such clear images of them I can’t imagine anyone else being them but them.
Now it’s time to answer the Fictional Fantasy Five? These are questions that I ask all our visiting authors :)
What book are you currently reading?
I just finished THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner last night. I’m dying for the third book to come out so I can read it immediately– I have to know what happens!
Who is one of your favourite Authors?
I have a bunch of favorites. I know, lame answer, right? But think about it. Say you work in an office with a ton of people, and the boss asks you to stand on a desk and announce to everyone who your favorite co-worker is. Bad idea.
What is your all time favourite book?
I don’t have one. I promise you I am not being difficult, but the truth is there have been different books that touched me at different times in my life and no one book that been my favorite from childhood to now. People change, they grow into and out of books.
But one play has always been my favorite (at least so far) Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand.
What is your all time favourite movie?
I don’t have an all time favorite.
Now I’m starting to feel bad because I’m giving you bupkis. Okay, here are a few of my favorite movies. The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, Alien, The Two Towers, The Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Matrix, Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, Stand By Me, The Terminator (the original one).
I’m leaving out a ton. See, this is why I hate doing “favorites” lists. Now I’m going to spend the rest of the day thinking about every good movie I’ve ever seen and wondering if it should have made that list.
Where is your favourite place to write?
I like to write at my kitchen table. (Below is a photo of Josephine’s table :) )
A huge thank you to Josephine for taking the time to answer my questions! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series :)
