Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Inspiration and Research Behind Prophecy by Coreena McBurnie






In Prophecy, Book One of the Antigone: The True Story series, Antigone, a princess of ancient Thebes, steps out of the shadows of the past to tell her own story, a story where truth of history is stranger than the fiction of myth.
Prophecy is directly inspired by my love of ancient Greek mythology. I have always been drawn to Greek myths. I remember having to write a report about Theseus and the Minotaur in grade 5 and thinking how wonderful the story was. When I hit university, I found the Classical Studies department and was instantly captivated with the beauty and richness of the ancient cultures studied there, so much so, that I earned both a BA and an MA in Classical Studies.

One of my favourite pieces of Classical literature is the play Antigone by Sophocles. It is really a wonderful play -- Antigone's world is devastated, her family is mostly dead, and she doesn't have much to look forward to. But, she is true to herself and her moral compass. She has strong beliefs and does whatever it takes to abide by them, even if it means defying her uncle, the king, and sacrificing herself.

This makes Antigone unique in the ancient tales. So many women in myth are presented as either passive, obedient, and long-suffering, such as Penelope when she fends off suitors for 10 years as she dutifully awaits her husband's return from the Trojan War; or they are portrayed as hideous monsters, such as Medea is when she takes her revenge on her husband, Jason, by murdering their children, cutting them into pieces and throwing them into the water so Jason will have to stop and collect them while she makes her getaway.

As far as research goes, I feel like I've been working toward this book for years with all of my reading of ancient literature and myth! However, before I started writing Prophecy, I re-read the Oedipus trilogy of plays by Sophocles. I also had to look up details of life, such as the exact form a sacrifice took.



Author Links:




Author Bio:

My name is Coreena McBurnie and, ever since grade 5 when I had to do a report on Theseus and the Minotaur, I have had a soft spot for Greek mythology. When I hit university, I was drawn to the Classical Studies department (earning both a BA & MA), where I explored the archaeology and culture of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds — and also where I managed to read Homer’s Odyssey, one of my absolute favourite books, in the original Greek, something which was thrilling for me (I know, sounds crazy, but the poetry and scope of the original text is amazing). After a lifetime of “what is that?”, “why did you study that?”, and “what can you do with a degree in Classical Studies?” I have decided to write novels based in ancient myth and to bring so many of the stories I love to life for a modern audience, with my own spin, of course.

Prophecy, Book 1 in the Antigone Series, is my first published novel. Currently I am working on Book 2 in the Antigone Series, called Fate. I am also in the middle of another novel about Clytemnestra who is notorious in Greek myth for killing her husband, Agamemnon, when he returned home from the Trojan War. I love exploring the motives of strong women in ancient myth.

I live in BC, Canada with my husband, our three kids, and our cat, in a beautiful part of the country, on two rivers, surrounded by ranches, near ski hills, and only a couple of hours drive to the ocean.



Synopsis of Prophecy:

An ancient princess, hidden prophecies, impossible choices…

Sixteen year old Princess Antigone, daughter of the infamous ancient Greek King Oedipus, wants to lead a normal life and fulfill her duty to the gods, her city, and her family, but fate has other plans. The Olympian gods bless her, the snakes talk to her, her parents want her to marry a foreign prince, her embroidery looks like burial shrouds for dogs, and she has fallen in love with the wrong boy.

When the mysterious and devastating prophecies surrounding her family are revealed, Antigone must choose where her allegiance lies: With the gods who have betrayed her family but who she is obliged to serve? With her plague ridden city? With her family which lay in ruins? Or even with herself?

In Prophecy, Book One of the Antigone: The True Story series, Antigone steps out of the shadows of the past to tell her own story, a story where truth of history is stranger than the fiction of myth.



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