I’m a huge fan of Tessa Gratton’s The United States of Asgard series. You can tell from my reviews of The Lost Sun and The Strange Maid! I mean, Norse mythology in the modern day… what’s not to love?!?!? To celebrate the third book, The Apple Throne, I have an interview with the author, Tessa Gratton.
About the Book:
There is only one person in the whole world who remembers the famous prophet Astrid Glyn: the berserker Soren Bearstar.
Ever since Astrid agreed to give up her life, her name, and even her prophetic dreams to become Idun the Young, the almost-goddess who protects the apples of immortality in a secret mountain orchard, she’s been forgotten by everyone. Everyone except Soren.
For the last two years he’s faithfully visited her every three months. Then one day he doesn’t come. Though forbidden to leave the orchard, Astrid defies the gods by escaping with a bastard son of Thor to find Soren. But ancient creatures are moving in the mountains beneath the country. They are desperate to leave the shadows and Astrid’s quest might be the key they need.
Not-quite-a-goddess, but no longer only a girl, Astrid must choose a path that will save herself and the people she loves without unraveling the ancient magic that holds the entire nine worlds together.
Welcome to the final chapter of the United States of Asgard.
Author Interview:
Some pretty epic things go down in Norse mythology.What was the most surprising/interesting/crazy thing you came across while reading Norse mythology? What is something from Norse mythology you wish you could have included but it just didn’t fit with the book?
Oh this is a hard one! You’re right there are so many interesting and CRAZY things. One of my favorite examples is the time a giantess almost drowned Thor with her menstrual blood – one of the only giants to ever get away from him! 😉
I’d have liked to put Freyr the Satisfied into the book more. Several of the versions of THE STRANGE MAID that I wrote included major scenes at Bliss Church, the mega-church dedicated to Freyr. I touched on followers of Freyr quite a bit, but never got to put him in the center of things. I ended up focusing on the warlike or darker qualities of many of the gods (Odin, obviously, and Freya and Thor), and I wish I’d found room or the right way to tell a story that let Freyr be an example of goodness – the way Baldur is – but in a more complicated, adult way. Baldur is childlike in that he’s simple and what he represents is simple: the hope of sunlight and the belief that people are good in their core. Freyr would’ve been more difficult in that he would represent the strange juxtaposition of loving charity and close-mindedness I see in a lot of American big religion. He’s the “religion” to Baldur’s “faith.”
Maybe someday I’ll have a chance to write a novella about Rathi Summerling!
Each of the United States of Asgard books involves a quest (as good myths do!) As a contemporary reader I see these quests as one of my favorite things… road trips! What’s the best road trip you’ve ever been on?
My family used to go on road trips every summer, which was part of my inspiration for this series. We camped all across the west and mid-west, in deserts and mountains and near the ocean. There’s something about the open road, the choices you make when you’re just driving with friends or family, with the destination in mind but focused on the little moments of the journey that feels so epic to me. My favorite road trip destinations are the Badlands in Nebraska and Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.
Do you have a writing process you follow for each thing you do or does it differ based on the project?
My process is fairly amorphous: I have an idea and let that idea bake for a while – anywhere from 10 years to just a few weeks, depending on the project. I usually know when a project is ready for my focus when I realize the core emotional conflict for the main character. I need that connection in order to be driven by my heart. It’s funny because I think in long winding spirals about the world and characters and themes, gathering information and research materials, jotting down notes, collecting imagery and music that reminds me of some aspect. But that stage is what might last a whole decade if necessary.
Once I know the emotional conflict, things get more specific and real: I create maps of the characters that work as a basic outline of the stakes of the story and how I want the main characters to change. Plot is pretty irrelevant to me at that point.
I draft usually around 10,000 words a week when I’m really on-target. But I also delete anywhere from 90%-15% of a novel between first draft and final draft. My revisions are often very intense because of how little I pay attention to plot initially… So I don’t necessarily recommend this way of doing things.
If you could have a dinner party with any fictional characters who would you invite?
Lestat de Lioncourt – the Vampire Lestat. I’m not sure I’d need more than just him – not only does he know how to fill the silence with intense, long-winded stories, it might be dangerous to add any other element to the situation! Maybe Gen from the Thief Series, since he could certainly hold his own and those two conversing together would be amazing.
What’s your favorite mythological creature and why?
I’m a huge fan of griffins. I imagine them to be like intelligent, ferocious lions, but they can fly! What isn’t better for being able to fly?
With The Apple Throne you’ve ventured into the world of independent publishing. I imagine this was different from working with more “traditional” publishing houses. How did your process change going the independent publishing route?
My publisher for the New Asgard series cancelled the third book, so in order to make sure readers who loved the series could get their hands on it, I did self publish. I had so much help from my literary agency (Andrew Brown Lit. Agency) that I’m positive I could not have succeeded without them. I loved having total control over the cover, but I felt bad at everything else. I’m a writer and editor: that’s what I’m good at and what I love. The publishing part is not a thing I want to learn how to do – being in charge of everything stresses me out! I have so much admiration for people who are great at self publishing!
Thanks so much to Tessa for answering my questions! You can check out my review of The Apple Throne today as well!
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