Book 101 Review: Sapha Burnell
The other day, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Daniel Lucas of Book 101 Review Podcast.
We talked written works, favourite authors (shout out to William Gibson, Thomas Merton & Madeleine L’Engle), the feel of prose in Cyberpunk. I lit on poetic and post-modern literary modes, surrealism and non-linear storytelling. Speaking with Mr. Lucas was effortless, he’s a solid interviewer and I enjoyed all the questions he sent my way.
It was wonderful to address a few questions about Norway, my favourite koselig country, which reminds me of living on the West Coast of Canada. Homeland of my maternal family, Norway is a place close to my soul, although I haven’t spent as much time there as I would like.
A few of the interview questions caught me off-guard in a wonderful ‘keep me on my toes’ way, like the talk about Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (something I read and enjoyed!) and how my mythpunk novel was different to a work like Miller’s novel.
One of the main differences between Song of Achilles and Char & Ash is the setting. Song of Achilles takes place in Ancient Greece & Troy, while Char & Ash is in the human world of 2017. Narration is different, too with Patroclus narrating Song of Achilles in first person, Char & Ash is 3rd.
WHAT WERE MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF CHAR & ASH?
Find out more about the Grout Market and Zeus in a Nursing Home during the interview. I was glad to talk about including such problematic mythological figures as Zeus in the course of the podcast, my take on them and the desire not to modify too much from the truth of the extant information we have. This might be a little controversial, but I do use religious and mythological figures in my work.
This is the first interview about Char & Ash in a podcast yet, and I am infinitely proud of being able to talk about cyberpunk, mythpunk & godpunk, Ares, Zeus, Caleb Mauthisen and favourite blends of poetry and prose.
I hope you click the embedded audio down below, or visit your podcast distributor of choice to find Book 101 Review, and listen to my episode. If you can, please share the links on social media and use the hashtag #charandash.
ABOUT CHAR & ASH
THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE IS GONE AND SOMEONE IS TRYING TO KILL GODS.
The Mystic Realms keep a tenuous peace after centuries of war. Forged into the Realms’ only Judge, demi-god Caleb Mauthisen is both peace maker and executioner of the Mystic Truce. When Caleb is called to the charred remains of a scorched Sacred Grove outside Dover, rumours reignite tensions as Ares warns of war’s whisper. High Queen Selyka is hiding something in the roots and petals of her Fae Courts, and it smells of char and ash.
Caught between the Mystic Truce, Ares’ demands for answers and concern for his Fae-cursed lover Tuija’s safety, Caleb descends into a roiling adventure to find the perpetrators and staunch the flow before the Mystic Realms lose faith in him and in peace. Little does he know the perpetrator Stana stole something far more precious than belief in gods and heroes.
