*Blog Tour + Interview* The Immortal Game by Talia Rothschild and A. C. Harvey

Book Title: The Immortal Game

Author: Talia Rothschild & A. C. Harvey

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology

Synopsis:

Content Warning: Emotional abuse, battle scenes, up-close death

An exiled goddess goes on a quest to clear her name and save Mount Olympus in Talia Rothschild & A. C. Harvey’s action-packed young adult debut, The Immortal Game!

Galene, daughter of Poseidon, desperately wants to earn her place among the gods. But when a violent attack leaves Mount Olympus in chaos and ruins, she is accused of the crime. Banished from Olympus, Galene sets out to prove her innocence and discovers a more deadly plot—one that threatens even the oldest of Immortals.

Fortunately, she has allies who willingly join her in exile:

A lifelong friend who commands the wind.
A defiant warrior with deadly skill.
A fire-wielder with a hero’s heart.
A mastermind who plays life like a game.

All-out war is knocking at the gates. Galene and her friends are the only ones who can tip the scales toward justice, but their choices could save Olympus from total annihilation, or be the doom of them all.

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Author Information

Talia Rothschild, Italian American, is passionate about stories in many forms—music, dance, photography, film and, of course, great novels. She believes in thick hot chocolate and creamer in your tea. When she’s not happily writing, she’s mothering the sweetest baby girl and making memories with her husband.

Ashleigh Harvey is teaching high school physics and bringing her writing dreams to life. English-born and world-traveled, she loves filling her life with new adventures, such as visiting a new country or exploring the Wild West with her husband. She also finds escape in movies, music, literature, and yearly comic conventions.

Author Interview

I am so excited to host Talia Rothschild and A. C. Harvey on A Court of Coffee and Books today! Thank you so much, Talia and Ashleigh , for stopping by and don’t forget to order a copy of The Immortal Game!

Congrats on your debut book! What was your inspiration for The Immortal Game?

Thank you so much!! We were inspired at the age of 13, at a sleepover! We’d been close friends since the fifth grade, but we’d finally outgrown make-believe games. So, instead of play-acting, we decided to write down a story instead! Driven by our passion for mythology (largely sparked by the Percy Jackson series), we created characters and a world among the Greek pantheon, and with that, The Immortal Game was born. 🙂 We found inspiration in other books, movies, and ultimately, each other, as we talked through some of the most epic ideas we had.

What was your favorite part of writing The Immortal Game?

Ash: The best part of writing this book was the years of creating and writing I spent with one of my best friends. It kept us close when we would have naturally drifted apart, and it was amazing learning and growing as writers together. It was SO much fun, basically just a decade long extension of that sleepover we had in 7th grade 🙂

Talia: I love Ashleigh’s answer! Mine is similar. I really loved every step of it—passing notebooks back and forth, working toward deadlines, developing character and story at sleepovers, diving into a new draft—but I really loved looking back on all the years of writing The Immortal Game and seeing how far our story, our writing, and our friendship has come. The payoff of all our work has been so rewarding!

What was the writing process like with a co-author?

Ash: Because we started this journey together, and we’re so like-minded when it comes to stories and writing, it was actually fun and pretty easy! We got a good system down for writing and editing. We were helpers and cheerleaders to each other, and I think the story is only as good as it is now because we wrote it together! True, there have been hard times and strains put on our relationship due to conflicting ideas and expectations, but in the end, it only made our friendship stronger and more durable.

Talia: I loved writing with Ashleigh—not very many coauthors are lucky enough to have the synergy we have. Developing characters and story with someone just as invested, who got it like I did, was so fun! I loved sending an epic scene I’d just finished off to Ashleigh, anticipating her reaction. I loved staying up till 5 AM with her to finish our first draft! Writing a book with your best friend is so much less lonely than writing alone. 🙂

If you could spend one day with Galene, what would you do? Are there any places you all would visit?

Ash: I feel like Galene and I would pack a picnic and go on a hike to some mountain lake (On Mount Olympus if it were possible!) where we’d enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and have plenty of time to talk and chill. After, we’d dip our sore feet in the hot tub (I’m sure they have those on Olympus) and eat popsicles.

Talia: I’d love to visit the ocean with Galene—to see it through her eyes. If I couldn’t breathe underwater with her, I’d at least love to ride Poseidon’s sea horses above the waves. Then, maybe I’d help her design her temple and play games with her over at Kostas’s place.

Did you have to do any research for The Immortal Game? If you did, what was your favorite piece of information you came across for your book?

We did so much research! We researched all the gods (popular and less known), monsters, lore, geography, Ancient Greek armor and weapons, Grecian measurements (which we didn’t end up using). We also did tons of research on things like underwater volcanoes, bioluminescent fish, and meteorology. We used a no name, but real, goddess named Poinê as our antagonist. Our favorite research, though, might have been when we read about the goddess Galene. We ended up sculpting our main protagonist after her, changing her name to fit and everything! She’s the only one out of our main cast of characters who is a real goddess—go look her up!

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Ash: Do whatever you can to reach your dreams. Do the work! It’s FUN work and so fulfilling. Make the time to write, read, practice, learn and grow. Make the sacrifices for your passion and it will reward you 🙂 Never give up, despite all the rejections you WILL get. Dedicate yourself, be patient, and do the work. Also, surround yourself with people who feel the same way and will encourage you and help you reach those great heights you aspire to.

Talia: YES to everything Ash said! Part of doing the work, for me, is carving out time to write. It’s not going to magically appear—you have to proactively prioritize writing over a lot of other things in your life. Find a system that works for you, and don’t give up! Go to conferences, network, research, join writing groups, put yourself and your work out there! Fill your life with the things that inspire you. Please be open to feedback and remember, even the most successful of authors have been told no time and time again, so don’t give up.