Interview With A Death Goddess
Of Prophecies and Pomegranates
In Kraven’s spicy, Greek mythology retelling, Persephone, Goddess of Spring, struggles to meet the impossible demands of her overbearing, manipulative mother, Demeter. Sequestered to the Upper Realm, far from the politics and intrigues of Olympus, Persephone begins to crack under the pressure, sure that she will never be enough.
But the Fates have other plans, and when Persephone meets Hades, brooding God of the Underworld, she finds that they may have more in common than she could have ever believed. He calls to the darkness dwelling deep inside of her with a kinder hand than any she’s ever known. Over secret rendezvous, the two connect and wild passions ignite.
When Persephone’s very freedom is threatened by an arranged marriage, she must decide to either remain the obedient, subservient wallflower her mother forced her to be, or to stand on her own, embracing herself and the dark power inside of her in the Kingdom only Hades can offer.
As Queen of the Underworld, Persephone blossoms into power far greater than any the Olympians have ever witnessed, but the scorned Goddess of the Harvest won’t make it easy for her to leave. Facing war and famine but aided by fellow Olympians Artemis, Hecate, Dionysus, and Hephaestus, Persephone and Hades fight for their freedom and their realm, until Zeus steps in with a devastating edict.
In this irresistible, epic love story, the forbidden romance between an empowered Persephone and delectable Hades sets in motion a chain of events that will challenge the very fabric of Olympus.
We’re here with the Goddess of Spring herself, to ask the questions readers have been dying to know.
T.C.:
Thanks for sitting down with us today, Persephone. Can I call you Persephone or do you prefer Queen of the Asphodels?
PERSEPHONE: *laughs* “You can call me, Seph, if it’s easier. Persephone is a little bit of a mouthful.”
T.C.: For sure. So, we know you’ve been ruling the Underworld with Hades for some time now, but I wanted to ask when you thought you might have realized your power was different from the others of the Upper Realm?
PERSEPHONE: “Hmm. I think a part of me always knew that I wasn’t as…set on the path as some of the others. From an early age, some things just grew a little wayward, no matter how hard I focused or tried to force the blooms to conform. I know now that those blooms were exactly as they were meant to be. I just hadn’t figured out how to see the loveliness in their uniqueness yet.”
T.C.: But you do now?
PERSEPHONE: “Oh yeah. I’ve learned that cutting off pieces of myself and trying to stuff them into a mold not meant for me only hurts myself. In the end, people will have expectations, but they’re just opinions. When you start living for yourself, that’s going to piss a lot of people off. But none of those people can say they didn’t directly benefit from your capitulation. So screw ‘em.”
T.C.: Absolutely. What would you say the hardest part about running the Asphodels is? Besides the war, I mean.
PERSEPHONE: “Well, now that we’re settling in without worrying the gates are going to crash in, I think the hardest part is just being fair. Everyone has a story, you know? Why they lived the way they did, what circumstances got them to that place. It’s hard to judge an entire life by a single moment, and often that moment is what tips the scales to send someone down to the Pits. I definitely don’t envy the Kings who have to do that judging.”
T.C.: Completely understandable. Was it difficult to leave behind the Upper Realm? Down here, does it ever feel claustrophobic?
PERSEPHONE: “I could see why you’d think that, but the truth is, even though there was so much sky above me in the Upper Realm, I was still tethered to the ground. I lived in a cage, I spoke and grew when I was expected to, but I never really had the chance to be free. Here, I am. Hades encourages me to explore, to see and learn all there is without the constraints of anyone else’s expectations.”
T.C.: Speaking of Hades, how did the God of the Dead take your willingly eating the seeds of the pomegranate on Olympus. We all heard the fight between him and Zeus was getting pretty heated, but details have been a little scarce.
PERSEPHONE: “He was upset, I can’t lie, but only because he worried for my safety. He wants me to never feel caged, and now I’ll need to make sure I’m not out of the Hells for too long or it could hurt me. But it was my choice. And one of the things I love about Hades is that he understands that. At the end of the day, I am my own person. He holds my hand, but he doesn’t try to anchor me to him. There’s something incredible about having that space to just become whoever I wanna be.”
T.C.: You’re really in love, then?
PERSEPHONE: “Yeah. I’m a little obsessed with him, truth be told. You know, everyone thinks he came after me, but the truth is we met by the Fates, and every moment from that day on, we were magnets. Circling each other, unable to pull away. But I’m actually the one who asked him to Bond. Those words were my choice.”
T.C.: And he said yes, thankfully.
PERSEPHONE: “He did. Once he got out of his own head. He’s a brooding god, sometimes, but I got what I wanted. I think he did too.”
T.C.: Well, that’s all the time we have for today, if you want to hear more about how Hades and Persephone fell in love, incited a war, and then caused a natural disaster, their memoir “Of Prophecies & Pomegranates” is out on shelves October 21st!
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T.C. Kraven is a writer and activist who seeks to normalize the diversity that is representative of her hometown of New Orleans. She specializes in contemporary mythological retellings with an emphasis on the culture of The Big Easy, the queer community, and healthy kink. Kraven travels the country and globe, attending signings and pulling inspiration from the myths of the Greek pantheon and the amazing muses around her. For more info, visit her website tc-kraven.square.site.
Follow T.C. Kraven on social media:
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Category: Interviews, On Writing
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