Hello there friends, welcome back to my interview realm once again.

We have a returning guest in our midst tonight, as we speak to her as part of her ongoing Blog Tour, so strap yourselves in and let’s find out more about the latest release from author Gabriele Russo.

You can find the original Author Interview that I did with Gabriele here:-

Author Interview – Gabriele Russo – The “Gods Inc.” trilogy – “Incompetent Gods”, “Inclement Gods” and “Incoherent Gods” (Fantasy/Comedy)

So without further ado, here is the latest installment and interview with Gabriele in her Gods Inc Series, thanks for reading and enjoy the show folkerinos 🙂

 

Hi there Gabriele, a real pleasure to have you back here with us again to chat about your latest book release in the GODS INC. Series – “Incoherent Gods”.

Hi, glad to be back.

Who are the key players/lead protagonists and antagonists that pop up in your book this time round?

Well, Queen Louhi, Ba’al, Jupiter, Mimir and John are back in action trying to save the world, but they are joined by a couple of new characters, the main one being Hercules, Jupiter’s great-great…great-grandson. Then there’s the irremediably evil witch Chiloe, and her victim, Yggdrasil, the Tree that holds the different planes of a world together. Having a tree as a main character was challenging – I even had to invent a pronoun for IÞ.

What is the story about regarding the conflict that needs to be resolved by the characters and what are the stakes for them?

Chiloe has managed to cheat death for thousands of years, but she feels it coming. To avoid the hell she deserves, she gives Yggdrasil a poison that is turning IÞ insane, thus breaking the links between the different planes of reality, which in turn would render the world unlivable, and might even destroy it.

To preserve existence as they know it, the gods have to not only catch and stop Chiloe (which becomes all the harder after she takes over Queen Louhi’s body), but they also have to find a way to cure Yggdrasil.

How did the idea for this tale take shape? What inspiration did you draw upon when you came up with the concept of the novel?

I started writing this novel in a creative writing class, in French, and my main inspiration would have to be old French comedies of the 80’s and 90’s. Hercules especially is loosely based on François Pignon/Perrin, a recurring character in Francis Veber’s œuvre (the character was sometimes played with mitigated success by Martin Short in the American remakes, but Pierre Richard was a tall blond man). I was also re-reading Gargantua for another class at the time… Which makes for a pretty zany mix, especially considering I finished writing it in 2016 primaries, but it was a hoot to write.

What sort of research did you do for this novel to help flesh it out further?

The usual for me, which is mostly searching for the right god for the job, plus an in-depth research on Yggdrasil and his guardians.

Regarding research for your books, is there anything that has surprised you or completely changed your world view after writing this book or your previous books?

I’ve come to realize that most religions, if not all, are basically so similar, they could very well stem from a common root. The echoes can quickly become deafening when you start seeing them.

Later of course, each branch evolved with the need to find different solutions to a people’s particular issues, or to fit their leaders’ agendas. It’s something I’m exploring in my next novel – how all religions in the world might be at the same time both right and wrong about everything.

What aspects of your characters in this book would you say that you relate to on a personal level?

They get on each other’s nerves a lot – I’m a little impatient with people myself; it’s why I quit the restaurant business to become a recluse writer.

What were the hardest parts of this book to write? And what were the easiest?

I don’t remember any hard parts with this one, everything kind of flowed out of me. The only thing that proved a bit difficult was tying all the threads together in a neat knot at the end. I had to install a big white board in my office to be able to look at them all at the same time to weave them coherently.

Were there any significant concepts that you had to edit out of this book that seemed like a good idea in the first draft but became too unwieldy as the story progressed?

No, but then I’m a minimalist writer – editors tend to ask me to add things, not take some out.

Do you hide any secrets or Easter eggs in your books for dedicated readers to find?

Do you mean allusions to other works? I do. I enjoy doing so perhaps a little too much… I have to pace myself.

Finally, regarding your subsequent projects, are you working on anything specific or have plans in the pipeline?

As I mentioned previously, I’m currently working on a novel that is exploring religions. It’s about the apocalypse – the real one, the one no hero will be able to stop, and what will come after.

And once again, that’s a wrap! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by and may you have The Luck of the Gods with your Blog Tour, have fun and we look forward to reading more of your work 🙂

Thanks for having me 🙂

Bio:-

Gabriele Russo, AKA Lucie-Gabrielle Jolicoeur-Rousseau, was born in Quebec City amidst a family of book lovers – her father had dreamed of being a writer and both of her brothers are published authors.

Since she earned her Bachelor’s in History, it was no surprise (except to her) that she ended up working in restaurants, eventually owning two, which almost drove her mad. She sold them and was nursed back to pseudo-sanity by Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.

That’s when she answered the family calling and decided to write. Armed with her ideas for the Gods Inc. series she went back to the University and got her Master’s in Creative Writing.

She now lives with her husband in Culpeper, Virginia, where she divides her time between painting, ripping apart and reconstructing her recently bought historical home, playing tennis and, of course, writing more books.

You can connect with her via the following Social Media channels:-

Facebook:- Gabriele Russo – Author (FB)

Goodreads:- Gabriele Russo (Goodreads Author)

Twitter:- @lugabirusso (Twitter)

Website:- The Website of Author Gabriele Russo

You can buy her books here:-

Buy books by Gabriele Russo in the UK/Europe

Buy books by Gabriele Russo in the US/Rest of the World

If you too would like to be interviewed on my blog at TooFullToWrite and you have a book or a series of books that you would like us to chat about then fill out the Contact Me form here with your details and we can arrange a future interview slot.