Tracy Wolff is an author I know and love because of the Crave series. I loved the first four books and plan on reading the final two books soon. So I was really excited to see that Tracy Wolff was releasing her first middle grade book.
The Aftermyth is the first book in a dark academia middle grade book. Today I want to tell you about the book and I had a chance to send Tracy some interview questions about the book. So keep on reading!
In a world ruled by the tenets of Greek mythology, one girl’s fate is more than it appears in the first book in a new dark academia fantasy middle grade series from #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Crave series Tracy Wolff.
What’s your myth?
Penelope Weaver has spent her whole life preparing to attend Anaximander’s Academy, where students learn how to bring to life the stories of Greek mythology as well as discover the Greek god whose principles they most embody. Penelope knows she’s an Athena—all smart, practical, and rule-following girls who take part in stories that matter are Athenas.
But when Penelope and her twin brother Paris arrive at Anaximander’s, it appears fate has other plans. Penelope isn’t placed with Athena but with students who are anything but practical and who prefer parties to rules. And that’s just the beginning. She’s given the world’s worst muse, her assigned tasks feel impossible, and the magic of Anaximander’s is overwhelming. Not to mention, there are two very different boys making her new life even more confusing.
But as things go from bad to dangerously worse, one thing becomes in a world where everything is fated to happen a certain way, some stories need to be rewritten. As the world around her shifts and cracks, Penelope is asked to forget everything she thought she knew to help create a better story…even if that changes every plan and breaks every rule.
Author Interview
Hi! Thank you so much for having me today!
- What inspired you to write The Aftermyth?
So many things inspired me to write The Aftermyth. I’ve been a huge fan of mythology my whole life, Greek and otherwise, and I’ve always wanted to write a mythological based adventure series filled with gods and monsters, muses and mayhem. And that is definitely what I did with The Aftermyth, but the book—and the series—is about so much more than that as well. One of the problems I’ve always had with mythologies is how misogynistic they tend to be, and Greek mythology is definitely no different. So when I sat down to write The Aftermyth, I wanted to write a story, and a series, where we got to see a more fair alternative to the stories we know so well.
For example, in the Aftermyth, I take on the Pandora’s Box myth, which is a myth that has bothered me forever because Pandora gets all the blame for opening that jar and letting bad things into the world. But she was actually created by two male gods to do just that. Because he was mad at two male titans (Prometheus and Epimetheus), Zeus went to Hephaestus and demanded that he create Pandora to punish them. Once she was created, he had the other gods and goddesses gift her with beauty and wit and intelligence and unending curiosity. Then he sent her to Prometheus to punish him for stealing fire from the gods to give to humans. The story says Prometheus rejected her because he knew she must be a trap (which is misogynistic enough, when you think about it), but instead of sending her back to the gods, Epimetheus fell in love with her beauty and married her. It was after that that she opened the jar that Zeus had given her and let all the bad things into the world. And now she is blamed for all of it, when really she did exactly what she was created to do.
History tends to be written by the winners, or whoever is left to tell the story. The Aftermyth is my take on herstory—looking deeper into the myths we’ve heard so many times and try to make them right. All while telling a fun story complete with a dark academia campus that spins like a Rubik’s cube, upside down waterfalls, a giant gumball machine, different halls named for Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, and Aphrodite for students to be sorted into, individual muses with a whole lot of attitude, shifting mosaics, and an Underworld unlike any you’ve ever seen before. Plus there’s Penelope, her twin Paris, her bestie Fifi, and a whole cast of fun characters that can’t help but get into a hilarious amount of trouble.
- What has been the favorite part of your publishing journey so far?
The Aftermyth is my eightieth book, but there are parts of the publishing journey that never cease to excite and thrill me. With The Aftermyth series, I have a truly incredible editor and one of the things I love most is the brainstorming sessions we have over coffee on Friday mornings. No matter how wild an idea I come up with, she always greets it with enthusiasm and aplomb as we try to figure out if it will work in the world I’ve created. I’m so, so lucky to have her! My other favorite parts of the publishing journey come after the book is written. The only thing that beats holding that first author copy in my hands and oohing and aahing over it is going to bookstores and meeting readers who love my characters as much as I do 😊
- If you were a character in The Aftermyth, what kind of character would you be?
Oh, I would definitely be Fifi, the main character’s best friend. She loves sparkles as much as I do and her plan for the disco apple is one of my favorite parts of the book 😊
- Describe The Aftermyth in five words or less.
Adventurous, fun, danger-filled, wild, unique. Also, sparkles There are lots and lots of sparkles …
- What is your favorite quote from The Aftermyth?
My favorite quote is in the prologue: “ Secrets are only hidden until they’re spoken. And promises are only kept until they’re broken. Stories, though… Stories can last forever.”
A quote from the middle of the action that I also love has to do with a pet vulture named Agatha: “Maybe she’s as sick of eating Prometheus as Prometheus is of being eaten. Eternity is a really, really long time.”
- Could you give us 5 random facts about The Aftermyth (think the story, writing, publishing, anything that comes to mind)?
Hmm… that’s such a fun question.
- While writing The Aftermyth, I had to buy a Rubik’s cube and label every single square so I could keep up with how the campus spins and where everything is in relation to everything else after it shift. Without it, I would be as lost as my characters, lol.
- The friendship dynamic between the main character, Penelope, and her bestie and roommate, Fifi, is modeled after the dynamic with my college roommate, who is my best friend to this day. Going back and imagining our first weeks together through her eyes (she is definitely Penelope) is one of the most fun things I’ve done, writing wise, in a long, long time.
- Anaximander’s Academy is named after one of the very first Greek philosopher’s, Anaximander. He introduced the concept of infinity as well as provided deeply advanced and foundational ideas on the universe and its origins,
evolution, and world geography. I really enjoyed researching and learning about him as I wrote the book. - I’ve wanted to write for Simon and Schuster for a long time and I’m beyond thrilled that my first book with them is one that I love so much!
- My favorite side character is a pleather wearing, sleep deprived muse with a coffee addiction. I can’t wait for everyone to meet her!
The Aftermyth is your first middle grade novel. How was your writing experience for this compared to your other novels?
Writing The Aftermyth is the most fun I’ve had in a long, long time. Even my kids would walk by me while I was writing and note that I was almost always grinning. It’s hard not to have fun while creating a world that I hope will appeal to tween readers, one filled with candy rooms, disco apples, attack vultures, gumball machines, secret trap doors, a magical scavenger hunt, an eternal flame that my main character accidentally blows out, a group of annoyed Greek gods, and some of my favorite characters that I’ve ever written.
About Tracy Wolff
Tracy Wolff is the #1 New York Times, #1 internationally, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Crave series as well as many other novels. A lover of mythology, vampires, and getting lost in a great book, she’s spent her whole life asking “what if” and “what happens next”—questions being a writer has helped her answer again and again. At six, she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow, a unicorn, and a shapeshifting prince—and at seven, she forayed into the wonderful world of middle grade literature with her first Judy Blume novel. A one-time English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing fun, action-packed, romantic stories with fantastical worlds and characters who leap off the page. She has written all her seventy-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her partner, her sons, and their three adorable dogs.
After reading the synopsis of The Aftermyth and this interview with Tracy, I definitely want to read this one soon. Are you a fan of mythology? What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
