The Glassheart Chronicles

by Courtney Cole

Question: Courtney Cole, several of your storylines are based on historical events or mythological legend. How much research do you do in writing these novels? How true to the original legends do you stay?

  I do sooooo much research. Hours and hours and hours and I end up collecting way more information than I actually end up using. I try to stay very true to the actual myths and legends or history itself. There are times when I have to twist something to suit my purpose (I write fiction, after all), but if I do change something, I note it in the back of the book.

  I think it is so much fun to use myths in my books—I’ve been fascinated by mythology for as long as I can remember. Sometimes, a lot isn’t known about a particular myth (or even a historical figure, like Cleopatra) so I put my writer’s brain to good use and make up something interesting. Or if I don’t like a particular thing…for example, the personality of Ares the god of war. He’s supposedly ruthless and bloodthirsty. But it didn’t work for my story. I wanted him to be ruthless when need be, but to also be funny, witty and loving the rest of the time. So, that’s how I made him in the Bloodstone Saga. What woman doesn’t love a bad boy with good guy tendencies?

 

  What is one thing that no one knows about you?

  Um. Hmm. Being born and raised in Kansas, I tend to talk way too much, so there probably isn’t a lot that I haven’t already revealed about myself. Wren Emerson and I grew up in the same little Kansas, incidentally. But you probably already knew that.

  I wish I had something really cool to tell you, like I have webbed toes or an extra finger, but I’m not cool like that. Let’s see….

  Oh, here’s something. I have an extremely heavy foot while I’m driving. I’ve had more speeding tickets than I can even remember. I had like…6-7 in one year or something a few years ago and had to carry high-risk insurance for awhile. Boo! I try to watch that now so that my husband doesn’t kill me.

  And speaking of feet, I have huge ones. I mean, I’m 5’10” so I guess I should expect that, but seriously. My feet are enormous. I wear a size 11 shoe. My dad used to tell me that God couldn’t make me perfect, so He gave me big feet. Thanks a lot, God. Shoes aren’t nearly as cute in a size 11 as they are in a size 8. Also, I have a snaggle toe. My second toe is longer than my first one. No amount of pedicures can fix ugly.