Blossom of Ash is my short story retelling of the Hades and Persephone. After writing the tale for BookLoot's July subscription box, I realized that there was a larger story to be told and decided to turn the short story into a full young adult novel.
Forced to live as a servant in her own home, Persephone Allistor faces a bleak life under the thumb of her abusive mother. However, when dark secrets come to light, a new life with the God of Death, Hades, presents Persephone with a destiny that will change her and the fate of the world as she knows it.
Inspiration
“The Fates and the rules of the universe demand balance, and so we will offer up another life to take Anathema's place.”
Ever since I dove into the Percy Jackson series many years ago, I became obsessed with Greek mythology. I always loved the story of Hades and Persephone. The contrast between nature and death, and the intersection between light and darkness. However, I didn't like how Persephone was portrayed as a damsel in distress. In the greek myth she was little more than a pawn used by Zeus, Hades, and Demeter. This version of the story just didn't sit right with me. The translation of her name means destroy-slay for goodness sakes! And despite not having any truly evil characteristics, Hades is the villain in every pop culture story because of his association with death. So I rewrote my version of the story and it turned into "Blossom of Ash", which is available on my wattpad account.
From Short Story to Novel
After writing this retelling I realized that "Blossom of Ash" barely scratched the surface of the story Persephone and Hades were meant to tell. I wanted Persephone to live up to her name, Destroy-Slay. I wanted to explore her growth from mortal to the goddess of hell, in a manner that was reflective of the flowers she adores so much. I realized that in order to do so I needed to go break away from the short story and venture into novel territory.
With one full length novel (1st draft), already under my belt, you'd think I would have this in the bag. I knew how to plan and execute a novel, I'd done it before, and I could surely do it again.
Right?
Well, not exactly. My first novel, The Taborda Chosen, was.... good as far as first tries go, but it wasn't personal in any way. It was easy to write TTC, because it felt very surface level. This story however, felt different. It felt real, and like it had potential to be truly amazing. This story felt like the one.
Ya know?
Anyways, the writing process for the "Blossom of Ash" full length novel, titled Solace of Shadows, has been much harder than the Taborda Chosen. The thought to quit crossed my mind, but the fear that this story that had been living in my mind and heart for so long, would never see the light of day is always enough to get rid of that thought. This story is difficult to write, because it's real. And that's how I know this story is the one I need to tell.
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty” - Theodore Roosevelt
I've gone through three versions of how to start this novel, cut over 45,000 words, but I think I'm finally on the right track. I'm excited to see where this story goes and can't wait to share Solace of Shadows with you all. I'll be posting more of my progress here and sneak peeks!
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Journals always make the writing process easier! I use a moleskine journal and Lamy Pen