Interviews and articles with the author

I’ve been honored and privileged to be featured on various blogs and websites, and I would love to share these experiences. Here they are:

N. Gemini Sasson, the author of The Bruce Trilogy, and Isabeau (the sequel to Isabeau, The King Must Die, is now available) asked me to give some insight about one of my characters, who she envisioned as “the imperfect hero.” I chose Aridela, rather than one of my male heroes.

“I would like to explore my heroine, Aridela, rather than one of my heroes, for one reason: current stories seem wont to portray women as flawless, lacking even the perfectly normal “flaw” of not having as much physical strength as males. In Aridela, I wanted to create a protagonist who is strong, yes, but real and believable. I wanted to show how she acquires her strength, rather than simply shoving her out there already formed, as if by magic.”  HERE is the link to the rest of that article.

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The blogger and writer, Diane Dooley, interviewed Lavender Ironside about her book, The Sekhmet Bed (available on Amazon), and during the course of the interview, Lavender, a book reviewer who happened to be reading my book at the time, mentioned it, and me.

“Ironside:  I am currently reading a fantastic ancient-history novel by Rebecca Lochlann, called The Year God’s Daughter.  It’s set in ancient Greece and Crete.  Lochlann is a fellow independent author and she has a real skill with description.  Her world is painted in very lush, highly sensory strokes, and the book has so far been a pure delight to read.  I am going to do a review of it on my blog and on the Historical Novel Review blog when I’ve finished it.”  HERE is the link to that entire interview.

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Recently, V.R. Christensen (author: Of Moths and Butterflies) interviewed me on her blog. I had such fun discussing the themes of The Year-god’s Daughter, the research, and the characters. It also made me think about them, which is always a good thing as I am working hard on getting the second book ready for release.

Christensen: “Do you write simply for entertainment’s sake, or do you have a higher purpose?”

Lochlann: “My goal, after writing a story that captures a reader’s imagination, is to return this mythical, historical woman/ideal to human awareness, to give her life again, reminiscent of what she enjoyed thousands of years ago.” HERE is the link to the entire interview.

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Lavender Ironside (author of The Sekhmet Bed)  interviewed me as well. More pondering on the themes of my books, and especially my inspirations!

Ironside: “One of the things I enjoyed so much about your novel The Year-God’s Daughter was the depth of historical information it contained.  You’ve said elsewhere that you did about fifteen years of research on Minoan and other Bronze-Age culture in order to build your world properly.  I think it’s rare to find historical novelists, these days, who care so much about cultural precision.  What is it about your setting that drew you in so thoroughly and for so long?  Or is this kind of deep enthrallment just one of your personality quirks?”

Lochlann: “I am an obsessive perfectionist. To this day, I still hone in on any documentary that comes along. So far, my research continues to hold up to current facts and theories. Very pleased about that. But one almost has to go into these kinds of things blindly: I mean, if you knew beforehand how much work and how many years the research and writing would consume, would you take that first step? I might not have. As far as what drew me, well, I have always loved how the ancient Greeks wove such fantastic, detailed stories around the natural events of the world. Now those people were real storytellers. I guess, in a way, I wanted to create a new myth, one written so modern readers could get into it, yet still with the flavor of the ancient stories that have come to us through time.” Click HERE to read the complete interview. Thank you, Lavender, for the interest, and this lovely interview!

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V.R. Christensen wanted to do a blog series on “Flawed heroes,” and asked me to write about one of my triad, Menoetius–the most mysterious of the three. This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been asked to do. Yes, honestly, Menoetius keeps to himself, even from me. He is one of the biggest introverts I have ever known.  I have to fight an overwhelming sense of betrayal whenever I reveal anything about him.

Lochlann: “When the Greek youth Menoetius first comes to Crete, he is seventeen, with a young man’s smooth skin and lustrous dark hair that ten-year-old Aridela likens to a waterfall. His eyes are what really capture her imagination, however. Cobalt blue like the heavens at twilight, in this land where nearly everyone has eyes of brown or black, they have a glow about them, like the sun shining through deep water, or the star Iakchos, rising above Crete’s mountain summits in the fall.

The Goddess lives in his eyes; Aridela, who has communed with this deity from birth, senses it.”  Click HERE to read the complete post.

V.R. had such overwhelming interest in her “flawed heroes” series that she’s added another, one on “flawed heroines.” My thoughts on Aridela, as well as general commentary on “superwomen” can be found there. And don’t forget to check out the other flawed heroes and heroines: Archer Hamilton & Imogen Shaw (from Of Moths and Butterflies,) James Douglas and Isabeau (from the Bruce Trilogy & Isabeau,) Tristan and Eva (from Artemis Rising,) and Will and Nell (from The Nell Sweeny Mysteries.)

Lochlann: “I cannot identify with Lara Croft, (at all) Elektra, Yu Shu-lien, or the myriad other superwomen gracing many books and movies today. To me they are enticing but unrealistic, unattainable. They are almost as bad, in their way, as the Catholic Mary. What mortal woman-of-faith can live up to such spotless virtue (as defined by men?)” For the entire article, click HERE.

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Elisabeth Storrs (author of The Wedding Shroud) interviewed me about the Erinyes series, taking me deeper into inspiration and themes:

Storrs: “Is there a particular theme you wish to explore in this book?”

Lochlann: “Growth. Change. Preparation through adversity… Aridela lacks the qualities so important in a ruler and even more important in a girl chosen by Goddess Athene to travel through time and become her spokesperson. Humility. Caution. Compassion. The internal growth that disappointment, sorrow, loss and grief usually inspires. Aridela has been allowed to run free and be spoiled because her future is not considered as important as her sister’s. The Thinara King strips her of all that. In The Thinara King, this spoiled, shallow child is changed profoundly, taken down to her emotional skeleton. The only question is, will she survive it? Maybe not, and certainly not without help.” Click HERE to read the entire interview, and thanks to Elisabeth for this opportunity to talk about my series!

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The author and blogger, Hock Tjoa, read my books and interviewed me on his website. His questions run the gamut, from inspiration to thoughts on writing and publishing.

Tjoa: “What fueled all this creativity and work?”

Lochlann: “I’ve been an avid reader from a very early age. One of the first books I remember reading was D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. It captured my imagination wholly. This fascination continued without pause, eventually to include The Odyssey, The Iliad, and The Greek Myths, (Robert Graves).” Click HERE to read the interview, and many thanks to Hock Tjoa, author of The Battle of Chibi. Tjoa is also an actor in community theater, a playwright, and an active blogger and book reviewer.

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Links to my awesome author buddies and their books:

N. Gemini Sasson: Blog

N. Gemini Sasson’s Amazon page

Lavender Ironside: Blog

Lavender Ironside’s Amazon page

V.R. Christensen: Blog

V.R. Christensen’s Amazon page

Elisabeth Storrs: Blog

Elisabeth Storrs: Amazon page

Hock Tjoa: Blog

Hock Tjoa: Amazon page