The Nerd Daily recently got to chat to Katee Robert, bestselling author of numerous standalones and series, including the beloved A Touch of Taboo novellas and the Wicked Villains series, where Katee gives the spotlight to classic villains in a brand-new way. We got to ask Katee all our burning questions surrounding her new release Neon Gods, a modern, steamy and unputdownable retelling of Persephone and Hades, her writing routine and so much more!
Hi, Katee! Thank you so much for joining us! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Thank you so much for having me! I’m an author who writes erotic romance, ranging from dark to fluffy. I’m a bit of a nerd, so I spend most of my non-writing time reading, knitting, and watching anime. The combo has really gotten me through the last 15 months or so of… *waves at the world*
The pandemic has, of course, messed with all our lives. How have you been coping? And once everything is back to “normal” what is the first thing you can’t wait to do or place you want to visit?
I am absolutely desperate to go to New York and see a bunch of Broadway plays. It’s one of those indulgent things that was like “someday I’ll do this cool thing” before last year, but now it’s a priority. I missed an opportunity to see Hadestown in 2019, and the pandemic turning everything upside down has made me determined to rectify that as soon as it’s safe.
Now onto Neon Gods! What can readers expect from this compelling Persephone and Hades retelling?
They can expect a grumpy Hades, a Persephone who uses her sunshine exterior as a mask, political maneuvering, and extremely high heat! All of my favorite things, wrapped up in one story.
I absolutely devoured Neon Gods – the vibes were impeccable and the characters jumped right off the page. What were your favorite scenes to write for this book and which ones proved a challenge?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! This one really felt like an indulgent writing experience. I just had so much fun with these two. My favorite scene is maybe a little weird, but it’s when Persephone is hiding in the bathroom and Hades is talking to her through the door and she’s not acting like he expects, and he’s so blessedly confounded, it just made me fall in love with him.
As for challenging scenes, the final confrontation scene was tricky for me. I tend to buzz right through endings, so it took about three passes of edits to expand it to do a proper job of hitting the right emotional punches and giving a more satisfying beat.
Neon Gods marks the second time you are giving readers an outstandingly wicked and hot Hades to devour – another version of him appeared in your Wicked Villains series. What was it like giving Hades another go?
Honestly, it felt a bit self-indulgent. Hades is a personal favorite, and I could write a dozen books featuring different versions and interpretations of him (I really, truly want to write a lady Hades at some point). The Learn My Lesson Hades is the cold, icy, manipulative version of the myth. In Neon Gods, I got to write a softer character, even if he’s a bit snarly on the outside. It was a lot of fun to dig into.
And speaking of Wicked Villains – you’ve put your own spin on numerous classic villains, from the Sea Witch to Jafar. What other villains do you have your eye on for future projects?
Honestly, I’ll probably circle back to fairy tales again and again. They’re my passion, and like Hades, there are so many different lenses to view them through. I actually have plans for a Bluebeard retelling (a personal favorite), but not even I can redeem Bluebeard. It will be a horror story, rather than a romance, and it’s on my “someday” list.
You regularly write and release numerous titles a year (seriously, how do you do it?!). Care to share any writing or discipline tips for fellow writers?
I naturally write fast, and a few years ago I took Becca Syme’s Write-Better-Faster course. It was honestly life-changing. It allowed me to really lean into the things I’m good at (writing fast with very little prep and figuring out the story on my way down). As a result, for the last two years, I’ve really streamlined my process. I’m a creature of habit, so I write every day, usually 2-3k words. But that works for me because if I don’t write every day, I forget how LOL.
My best advice for writers is to find what you’re good at and do that. Maybe it’s writing every day. Maybe it’s writing 2 days a week. Maybe it’s something else altogether. Our brains and processes are all really unique. There’s no one right way, but once you find YOUR right way, you naturally become better-faster. Though, honestly, my pace is pretty extreme!
Your stories always feature the perfect blend of steamy, sexy and sweet. What do you look for most when you stock up your TBR?
This answer has been heavily influenced by the pandemic. It, quite frankly, broke my reading habits. I haven’t been able to read YA or contemporary romance through most of it. The things that are getting me through, though, are dark romance (the steamier, the better!), fantasy, and horror. The horror is new. I’ve never read it before last year, but now I can’t get enough. I’m also on a quest for a monster romance with high heat and low content warnings, but I haven’t found quite what I’m looking for yet.
If Neon Gods were to be adapted to the big screen, what three scenes would be an absolute necessity and what songs would you want to play during them?
Oooooh, this is an excellent question! Okay, so the three scenes would be:
- Persephone’s flight through the upper city of Olympus and across the foggy bridge to the lower city, where she sees Hades for the first time. Perfect song (scene would be in slow-mo obviously LOL): Holding Out For a Hero cover by Nothing But Thieves
- The first scene on the throne with Persephone and Hades getting busy. It’s such a sexy, intimate scene but also they’re in front of a small crowd of people. The song I played on repeat while writing it: like that by Bea Miller
- I’m such a sap, but I would love to see the scene where Persephone and Hades name the puppies. It’s one of those conversations so filled with meaning because it’s a pre-emptive to them saying goodbye. A great song pairing would be: Version of Me by Sasha Sloan
With Neon Gods releasing soon, can you tell us what readers can expect from Electric Idol, the second instalment in the Dark Olympus series?
It’s a retelling of the Eros and Psyche myth. Let’s just say that Eros is a VERY different character from Hades. He’s basically a feral cat who Psyche is nice to one time, and he immediately falls for her as a result. Aphrodite is furious for various reasons and sends her son (and fixer) to murder up Psyche. Instead, he marries her. Because reasons! This book brings us deeper into the upper city and the people who move there, and it was a lot of fun writing how Psyche navigates those circles because it’s very different from how Persephone does.
And since you’re an absolute writing machine, what projects are you working on right now and what can readers expect from them?
I’m wrapping up the third Dark Olympus book right now (it’s a Helen-Achilles-Patroclus ménage and WHEW BOY, it’s spicy). I’m also continuing my Sabine Valley series, which is a very, very loose retelling of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (except the books are all pagan and ménages). And later this year I’ll be writing one of those monster romances I’ve been searching for.
Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Yes! Always! There are a few upcoming books that truly knocked my socks off and I cannot recommend highly enough. First up is The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. It’s a non-European Sapphic fantasy between a murderous princess and a former priestess and it’s phenomenal. If horror is more your jam, Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw blew me away. It’s a haunted house horror story set in Japan with messy friendships and I devoured it in one sitting.
