Mundie Moms

Monday, July 25, 2011

Misfit Blog Tour: Character Interview

We're excited to be kicking off the Misfit blog tour hosted by The Teen Book Scene! Today we have the privilage of sharing our interview with Astarte, one of the books characters. Here's a little bit about Jon Skovron's Misfit, which will be out August 1, 2011:

Jael has always felt like a freak. She’s never kissed a boy, she never knew her mom, and her dad’s always been superstrict—but that’s probably because her mom was a demon, which makes Jael half demon and most definitely not a normal sophomore girl. On her sixteenth birthday, a mysterious present unlocks her family’s dangerous history and Jael’s untapped potential. What was merely an embarrassing secret before becomes a terrifying reality. Jael must learn to master her demon side in order to take on a vindictive Duke of Hell while also dealing with a twisted priest, best-friend drama, and a spacey blond skater boy who may have hidden depths.

To those who haven't yet read Misfit, how would you describe the story's world to them?
The world is far more interconnected and far more complex than most mortals prefer to believe. The myths, the gods, the stories, all that you have heard is true. Or mostly true. My name is Astarte, the goddess of Phonecia, a culture long ago lost to history. But in Greece I was known as Aphrodite, and in Rome I was Venus. In Egypt, they called me Isis. In India, I was sometimes called Durga, at other times Gauri, and occasionally even Kali. But now, I am merely a demoness--a succubus, to be precise. Why, you may ask? How have I fallen so far? I might ask you the same question.

What is one of the things you admire the most about who you are or what you're able to do?
Well, I dislike bragging, but I confess I've always been rather proud of my...early contribution to human development. If it weren't for me, humanity would still be running around in a garden stark naked and completely oblivious to the marvels of the wider world around them. Perhaps because of this, I feel a certain responsibility toward humanity. It's one of the primary reasons that, unlike many others of my kind, I haven't abandoned hope in you.

If you had the chance to change something about your past, what would you change?
There are many things I am tempted to say I would have liked to have done differently. Many foolish or impulsive choices, times when I was unkind or indifferent to what really mattered. One can't lived five thousand years and not amass a fairly long list of these things. But when I really think about it, the choices that I made ultimately led me to meeting Paul and having my daughter, Jael. And so, ultimately, I would change nothing. It was all worth it.

What is one thing you desire most for your daughter's future?
Is it too farfetched for me to ask for acceptance? That a child of both light and darkness, humankind and demonkind, Earth and Hell, might be granted understanding, some kindness, and a welcome place in our existence? That is my fondest hope for my daughter. That this world embrace her as she truly is, without reservation or compromise.

Now that your daughter is 16, is there any thing you'd want to tell her that you didn't get the chance to say to her?
You know, I go back and forth on this a lot. I have a few letters planted with various trusted people that she may or may not come across, depending on the journey she decides to take. Sometimes I fear I did not say enough, that I should have provided more guidance, perhaps recommended certain choices over others. But whenever that worry begins to creep in, I realize it is rooted in my own fears and doubt. And those are two things I don't wish to communicate to her. Instead I have chosen to trust that she will find her own way, perhaps even a better way than I could have imagined.
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Thank you Astarte for joining us today. You can keep up with all of Jon's latest news & book news by following him on his website and don't miss the latest Misfits news, listen to the playlist and more here.

I'm looking forward to sharing my review of Misfit when the tour stops back by on August 3rd.

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