Interview with Katherine Marsh, Author of The Gods' Revenge

Welcometo Smack Dab, Katherine! Please tell us about The Gods' Revenge and TheMyth of Monsters series.

The Mythof Monsters series, which starts with Medusa, and continues with TheGods’ Revenge, tells the story of the descendants of the Greek mythologicalmonsters as they navigate life at a boarding school in Venice run by theOlympian gods. I like to describe it as Percy Jackson meets Wednesdaywith a feminist twist.

I'malways interested in retellings of classic stories, and how authors bringclassic tales into contemporary life. Ava, your main character in the series,is a descendant of Medusa. What drew you to her story?

As a childreader of myths, I was always bothered by the fact that so many of theso-called monsters were women. As the mother of a daughter, I wanted to givevoice to these maligned female characters while putting girls at the center ofan action series and Medusa always seemed like one of the most compelling. Sheis consistently described as angry and ugly, as if there is a naturalequivalence for women between the two. In some versions of the myth, she isalso portrayed as a victim, yet her name means “guardian” or “protector” whichhints at great agency. I wanted to explore these contradictions and qualities,which reflect the struggles of female experience.

In thefirst book, Ava begins her schooling at the Accademia Del Forte. There, she’ssurrounded by other students who are also descendants of mythological monsters.They’re all learning to harness their powers, and there’s something reallywonderful at first about a school where everyone has magical abilities andacceptance seems guaranteed. But as Ava learns, it's too good to be true. Howdoes the Academy's dark underside evolve in book two, particularly with changesinvolving the headmaster?

I don’tthink I’m spoiling anything by revealing that after the events in book one, theOlympian gods aren’t pleased with Ava and her friends. In book two, they’relooking for ways to undermine them. The new headmaster, Perseus, brings a wholenew level of toxic masculinity to the school, opening the Bro Bar, a snack barthat celebrates hero-core, and banning girls’ sports. I want to emphasize thatthe story isn’t dark but has a lot of humor to it. In fact, this book is evenfunnier and more playful than the first.

Onetheme that emerged in Medusa was "with great power comes greatresponsibility,” in that the original monsters were examples of power gonewrong. How are the students learning to harness and control their abilities inbook two?

I wouldargue that the “great power/ great responsibility” idea applies even more tothe gods than the monsters! Part of my quibble with this question is that theOlympians preach self-control to Ava and her fellow monster descendants at theAccademia, but they hypocritically don’t exhibit much self-control themselves.This goes to societal double standards; whereas angry men are viewed aspassionate defenders, angry women are perceived as too emotional to lead.Learning to harness and control your powers for the Myth of Monsters gang isalso about figuring out what right and wrong is beyond the standards set bysociety, especially for women and girls.

Also inbook 1, you described the development of these powers as almost like a diseasemanifesting. Can you tell us more about how powers continue to develop for thecharacters in The Gods' Revenge?

Thedevelopment of the kids’ powers may feel to them at first like a disease, butthe better analogy is to adolescence—their bodies are changing in ways thatfeel strange, disconcerting and different. But that’s because they don’tunderstand how to harness these new bodies and powers yet. In The Gods’Revenge, some of Ava’s friends start to do just that: Layla, the descendentof an empusa, a kind of Greek mythological vampire, uses her power to transformto give herself a dream “glow up.”

At theend of Medusa, Ava comes face-to-face with her ancestor, who tells herthat her destiny is to "help other so-called monsters find out their truestories and who they really are." How does Ava embrace (or struggle with)this calling in book two?

Ava isserious about her mission but her friends are in middle school so there are alot of distractions like the effect of Layla’s glow-up on other students,including Ava herself. What’s so fun about this series is that I also get toexplore some of the scenarios that happen in mortal middle school—for examplewhen a friend matures faster than you or becomes prettier or more popular. Ilike to think of The Gods Revenge as The Summer I Turned Prettyfrom the perspective of Belly’s best friend….and with vampires.

Yourseries seems to flip the script on who's really the monster and who's the hero.There’s a definite theme, it seems, of not judging people based on theirlineage or reputation before getting to know who they truly are. Was thisplanned from the beginning?

Mostdefinitely! And I would extend that idea to how we judge our parents. How doour mothers’ experiences in the world shape us or inhibit us? How can we takethe strength of our mothers and make it our own while compassionately releasingourselves from expectations and fears that may have held them back? These arequestions I’ve tried to grapple with while also creating an action-filledadventure.

Haveyou heard from readers that Medusa inspired them to dive deeper intoGreek mythology? What's been the response to your fresh take on these ancientstories?

It’s beengratifying to hear from adult women especially who’ve read the books togetherwith their daughters. But my favorite feedback has actually been from boyreaders, especially the superfan who told me how he felt girls and women shouldhave equality and justice and that it wasn’t fair that Medusa got her head cutoff (it isn’t!). As a boy mom too, I loved this and purposefully included twomale characters, Ava’s brother, Jax, and her friend, Arnold, who play importantsupporting roles in the series. I loved the challenge of flipping the gender ofthe smart girl sidekick role, like Hermione Granger or Annabeth Chase, almostas much as I enjoyed flipping the hero role so girls could lead the action.

What'snext for The Myth of Monsters series? Any particular myths you’reexcited to tackle?

I’m busyat work on Book 3, Poseidon’s Prisoner, which will reveal Ava’s fieryfriend Fia’s origin story. Fia is a descendent of the chimera and a fanfavorite and I can’t wait to share this new adventure with readers!

Wherecan readers find you and keep up with your work?

Katherinemarsh.comis my website and I have some fun activities and challenges for readers in myKids Only section, as well as how to reach me directly (I love hearing fromkids). Adults can also find Myth of Monsters teaching resources. I am also onInstagram @katherinemarshauthor.

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