I wanted to say a big thank you to author M.W Muse for dropping by my blog today to tell her version of the Persephone story. M.W. Muse is the bestselling author of the Goddess Series and is the New Adult pen name for the award-winning, bestselling adult romance author Mandy Harbin. Her books range from contemporary to paranormal erotic romance and include Darkest Sin, an erotic romantic suspense and first in the new Darkest series and the ever-popular Woods Family series, which began with the bestseller Surrounded by Woods. Writing as M.W. Muse has afforded her the opportunity to spend some time focusing on the younger side of love, and the accomplishment of having a book ranked number one in teen romance. She lives in a small Arkansas town with her family

My take on altering the myth of Persephone:

Within Greek Mythology, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. There are a few different interpretations of the myth surrounding her abduction by Hades, which led her to be his wife and queen of the underworld. Commonly, Persephone had been kept away from other deities since some gods (Hermes, Apollo, etc.) had tried to woo her. Hades, wanting her for himself, had taken her from a field against her will. When her mother had found out, she’d grown depressed while she searched for Persephone, but her feels had altered vegetation and caused starvation. Eventually Zeus forced Hades to return Persephone for the good of the people. Hades did, but not before tricking her into eating pomegranate seeds—which would bond her to the underworld. As a compromise, She then had to spend half the year with Hades, resulting in the barren seasons of the calendar year we know today.

This is a just a very condensed version. In my Goddess Series, Legacy Kore believes herself to be a regular teenager until she discovers on her 17th birthday over the next year of her life, she’ll be changing into a goddess with her official ascension on her eighteenth birthday. She doesn’t believe in all the mythology crap, but when she starts developing abilities, she learns how real it is.

The major difference between my series and traditional Greek Mythology is the original gods are still around today, and them, along with other gods can attempt to recreate a likeness of an original god by mimicking the circumstances in which the original one was created. Of course, it doesn’t always work, and over the centuries, newer gods have diluted powers mixed with gods of their heritage. As for Legacy, she has to learn how similar she is to the original Persephone and do what she can to keep from being abducted like the god she was created like. Legacy also has to protect herself from other gods who’d want to destroy her before her ascension. Of course there’re hot guys who want her. What’s a good romance without that?

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Ms. Muse was also kind enough to answer some questions for me.

Why do you write different genres?
From the sweet stories of first young love to the hot, hot, hot erotic stories and everything in between, I love romance. I like paranormal, suspense, funny, historical…practically everything, so I write what I like. J.D. Salinger was quoted saying, “…I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure.” I, too, write for my own pleasure, so why limit what I write when I don’t limit what I read? All levels of romance are fun!

Where do you get your ideas?
Everywhere. Dreaming, listening to music, interacting with people, anything can spark an idea. Once an idea materializes, I play around with various scenarios until I know the direction I want a story to go in. Getting ideas is the easy part. But writing a book around those ideas is the thrilling part.

When do you write?
Usually at night and on the weekends. I may get inspired listening to music and engaging with people, but when I write I like total solitude. That’s usually easier said than done but more likely to occur during those times.

Do you have a writing system?

Of course. I do a lot of technical writing, and that organized mentality bleeds into my creative writing ventures. There are a lot of different methods one could utilize, but I tend to write in stages. After mentally developing an idea for a book and writing up short bios on my characters, I draw out a three act structure on a piece of paper, noting key points in the book (setting up the story, plot points, conclusion, and particular scenes that are important and/or I’m already excited about). I actually stole this concept from studying screenplay writing, and since I love to watch movies, this method helps me visualize my book at a glance. Then I open a spreadsheet and write every scene that I think will be in the book. This step shows me exactly what’ll happen from start to finish and allows me to move scenes around before I start writing a book. Once the grunt work is done, I write. Since I already know my characters and every scene I’m going to try to include, writing the first draft is usually pretty fast. I have a minimum- per-day word count that I stick to during the first draft, but I usually double that minimum goal.
There are people on both sides of the fence who are for or against outlining a book like this before writing. People who are against it argue that it stifles creativity; however, I find this just isn’t true for me. Understanding my characters and outlining everything beforehand gives me the freedom to run free with the story I’ve already created on paper, yet it keeps me on track when I write. Also, the prep work is used as a guide to write my story and not something that can’t be deviated from. Sometimes parts are taken out or changed. If the story takes me in a different direction than what I’ve outlined, then I follow the story. It’s the creative process that works for me

Follow M.W Muse around the net!

Her website at http://www.mwmuse.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MWMuse.Author
Twitter: @MW_Muse
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/MWMuse

Goddess Series:
The Goddess Series is about a teenage girl who discovers on her seventeenth birthday that her mother hadn’t died all those years ago, but that she is actually a Greek Goddess and Legacy is changing into one, too. Each book in this series follows Legacy through obstacles she experiences over the next year of her life, leading up to her eighteenth birthday and her final ascension…or supposed ascension. Along the way she discovers love, betrayal, heartache, friendship, and answers to questions she never knew ever existed.

Order of the Goddess Series and Links:
Goddess Legacy (FREE on all retailers for a limited time!): http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Legacy-Young-Adult-ebook/dp/B00B9DN2ZM/ref=sr_1_6_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1379698057&sr=8-6&keywords=m.w.+muse

Goddess Secret: http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Secret-Series-Young-ebook/dp/B00BN1YOUW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Goddess Sacrifice: http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Sacrifice-Series-Young-ebook/dp/B00BUFF1GW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2

Goddess Revenge: http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Revenge-Series-Young-ebook/dp/B00C4ZBJXQ/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Goddess Bared: http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Bared-Series-Young-ebook/dp/B00CJD4QVK/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2

Goddess Bound: http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Bound-Series-Young-ebook/dp/B00DE2KZHE/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1