On the voyage home to the Azores Islands, Eva accepts the pagan name of Arethusa but learns too late that her life will mirror the Greek nymph’s tragic end. Her mother reveals that her destiny lies with Diogo, the shipowner’s volatile son. But Eva has a vision of another...
When the ship founders in a storm off the coast, Tristan, a local boy, saves her life and steals her heart. Destined to be with Diogo yet aching for Tristan’s forbidden love, Eva must somehow choose between them, or fate will choose for her.
Q:
If your main character were a real person in today's world, what would her room look like? What kind of clothes would be in her closet? Songs on her iPod? What would she watch on TV to relax?
A:
Wow, what a difficult question, G.P.! My character is a quiet and strong character who lives in a world that's time out of time--it's hard to imagine her anywhere but on her little island out in the Atlantic. But here goes... If my main character, Arethusa Maré, were living in today's world (in the USA), her room would probably be filled with antique furniture shipped over from the Azores (Portuguese) Islands. She actually grew up in Massachusetts as a young girl, but Azoreans live quietly amongst themselves in farming communities, so she wouldn't have access to a lot of what most teens have these days. She'd have little trinkets and sea shells she'd picked up in her travels. Perhaps some love letters tucked away in a locked wooden box. And her room wouldn't be complete without a little jar of sand from Terceira Island.
Even in today's fashion forward world, she might still be wearing dresses instead of pants. Though she might have a few pairs in her closet. I suspect she'd be a bit sporty, if given the chance. I think she really loves to run on the beach, feeling the sand between her toes. She'd love shoes--what girl doesn't?!--so she might have quite a few pairs scattered about her room. She lives most of her life in her mind, so I think she'd have a fairly messy room. One of the most interesting things about Arethusa is that she cannot speak. Because of that, I can see her gravitating toward activities like listening to music, watching movies and reading--and she'd have piles of books in her room. She's a reader of old-school poetry of the Byron/Tennyson variety. But she'd dig Pablo Neruda (if you don't know his stuff, check it out!) and (Portuguese) Fernando Pessoa's poetry as well.
I think she'd be obsessed with romantic films--perhaps a little Titanic or Pride and Prejudice or even Twilight (who knows?!). And definitely Ever After.
As for music, she would have eclectic taste. I can see her obsessing over Coldplay, Adele, and Florence and the Machine like the rest of us. But I think she'd also love movie scores, classical music, and a touch of techno. We would catch her watching a little Vampire Diaries on TV, I think. She's dealing with her own immortal monsters, so I think she'd identify with that show. =)
Listen to Cheri read from Artemis Rising here:
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