Interview with Katherine Marsh, Author of The Gods' Revenge

Welcome to Smack Dab, Katherine! Please tell us about The Gods' Revenge and The Myth of Monsters series.

The Myth of Monsters series, which starts with Medusa, and continues with The Gods’ Revenge, tells the story of the descendants of the Greek mythological monsters as they navigate life at a boarding school in Venice run by the Olympian gods. I like to describe it as Percy Jackson meets Wednesday with a feminist twist.

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

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

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

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

One theme that emerged in Medusa was "with great power comes great responsibility,” in that the original monsters were examples of power gone wrong. How are the students learning to harness and control their abilities in book two?

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

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

The development of the kids’ powers may feel to them at first like a disease, but the better analogy is to adolescence—their bodies are changing in ways that feel strange, disconcerting and different. But that’s because they don’t understand 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 descendent of an empusa, a kind of Greek mythological vampire, uses her power to transform to give herself a dream “glow up.”

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

Ava is serious about her mission but her friends are in middle school so there are a lot 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 to explore some of the scenarios that happen in mortal middle school—for example when a friend matures faster than you or becomes prettier or more popular. I like to think of The Gods Revenge as The Summer I Turned Pretty from the perspective of Belly’s best friend….and with vampires.

Your series 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 their lineage or reputation before getting to know who they truly are. Was this planned from the beginning?

Most definitely! And I would extend that idea to how we judge our parents. How do our mothers’ experiences in the world shape us or inhibit us? How can we take the strength of our mothers and make it our own while compassionately releasing ourselves from expectations and fears that may have held them back? These are questions I’ve tried to grapple with while also creating an action-filled adventure.

Have you heard from readers that Medusa inspired them to dive deeper into Greek mythology? What's been the response to your fresh take on these ancient stories?

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

What's next for The Myth of Monsters series? Any particular myths you’re excited to tackle?

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

Where can readers find you and keep up with your work?

Katherinemarsh.com is my website and I have some fun activities and challenges for readers in my Kids Only section, as well as how to reach me directly (I love hearing from kids). Adults can also find Myth of Monsters teaching resources. I am also on Instagram @katherinemarshauthor.

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