Hi, Phoenicia! Welcome back! It’s been about two years since we last spoke, so how have you been and what have you been up to?

Busy, but I don’t think I really know how to be anything else! Recently, I’ve been deep in the edits for book three(!), knitting the single biggest project I’ve ever made (I think it’s going to weigh about 3kg when I’m done with it), and embarking on a particularly silly project to walk all of London’s tube lines, because I have to leave my house sometimes.

Your latest novel, Aphrodite, is out November 11^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

In the style of a noughties tabloid:

Fake Goddess’ Olympic Revenge Spree

What can readers expect?

If I haven’t given myself away already with the way I write, the tone is irreverent. It’s muti-POV with the characters speaking as though they’re in an interview, and it follows Aphrodite, and the drama of the Greek gods all the way from their births to the end of the Trojan War. She starts out as one of the Fates, weaving the future of the world, until she decides to lie her way into Olympus instead. Only, that’s not all it cracked up to be either, so she takes some rather radical action to fix the world.

And there are footnotes! I’m very excited about the footnotes!

Where did the inspiration for Aphrodite come from?

Aphrodite rather snuck up on me as a character! She’s incredibly prevalent in the background of other myths, but it was only when I started looking more closely at her that I realised how complicated her character is.

She’s one of the oldest gods, and she remembers the time before they were in power, which is such an interesting perspective when your entire cast is immortal. This puts her in the unique position of having one foot in the world of the gods – and all their drama – and one foot out of it! She also has a level of freedom that none of the other goddesses do, which makes for some wonderful chaos.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Ares was probably my biggest surprise. I didn’t have the best impression of him going in, but he’s so clear and straightforward about who he is, and he loves Aphrodite so much, it makes him incredibly refreshing to write after some of the twistier characters.

I specifically enjoy his interactions with Cadmus – think grumpy dad pretending he doesn’t love the puppy you brought home – which leads to his and Aphrodite’s mutual attempts to stop their daughter from dating this shiny mortal hero, which goes about as well as any parents’ attempts to stop their daughter dating anyone.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I don’t think I’ve ever written more words for a project as I did for Aphrodite. Since the time span is so long (many thousands of years), and I’m such a perennial nerd for Greek mythology, I was endlessly trying to sneak in just one more story about this or that side character. With so much material at hand – and material that wasn’t concerned about making sense chronologically between sources – it was tricky shepherding it all into a cohesive order.

Given that I work in software, I feel like I should have a hi-tech solution to this, but what I actually did was move key events around on post-it notes forever.

Another challenge with Aphrodite is that the gods weren’t – to put it lightly – nice people. When your entire cast do objectively monstrous things at various points (looking at you, Zeus), it’s an adventure to balance being honest about those events while still having characters that readers can root for. Soppily, my general response to that is love. Showing who and what they care about, and why they behave the way they do, goes a long way to soften them. Even Zeus.

This is your second novel! What were some of the key lessons you learned between writing the two?

Not everyone reads like me! It’s been a real delight hearing readers talk about the different ways they interacted with Herc, some of which I never would have guessed, and being able to include some of their feedback into Aphrodite. That’s how I ended up with my beloved footnotes – they’re clues to the context of all the side characters: where they come from, how important they are, and what Aphrodite thinks of them.

It’s really pushed me to think about books differently, which has been a wonderful surprise.

What’s next for you?

Well, I handed in a draft of book 3 the other day… Though it hasn’t been announced yet, so I’m going to be cagey and mumble the rest of this, mumble mumble. Let’s just say, it’s technically a sequel.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up in 2026?

Most recently, I’ve loved Hekate by Nikita Gill, Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, and The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton. Probably my most anticipated for 2026 is Frances White’s The Bone Door, because I loved her debut so very much.

Will you be picking up Aphrodite? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Phoenicia Rogerson, Author of ‘Aphrodite’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab
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V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, opens another door to a new fantasy series set in the dazzling world of Shades of Magic.

Dreambound by Dan Frey
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In this thrilling contemporary fantasy novel, a father must uncover the secret magical underbelly of Los Angeles to find his daughter, who has seemingly disappeared into the fictional universe of her favorite fantasy series.

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie
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A hotheaded hacker must outwit the AI at the heart of a rogue warship–turned–penal colony if she and her crew of con women want to escape with their lives in this electrifying sci-fi thriller from the acclaimed author of Bonds of Brass.

The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
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The first book in a wildly inventive and mesmerizing new fantasy series from acclaimed author Josiah Bancroft where magical mysteries abound and only one team can solve them: The Hexologists. 

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
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Enter a land of gods and monsters, soldiers and mercenaries, secrets and wishes—the explosive #1 internationally bestselling fantasy debut in a new trilogy for fans of The Witcher and Gideon the Ninth.

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth
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Be gay, solve crime, take naps—A witty and quirky fantasy murder mystery in a folkloric world of witches, faeires, vampires, trolls and ghosts, for fans of Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey and T. J. Klune’s Under the Whispering Door.

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
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A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson
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A queer revisionist retelling of the story of Hercules, for fans of The Song of Achilles, A Thousand Ships and Ariadne.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi
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Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo
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The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest.

A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey
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Enter the bazaar of the bizarre—where fate and fortunes are for sale just beneath Covent Garden—in this high-stakes historical fantasy debut set in 19th-century London, perfect for fans of Neverwhere and The Night Circus.

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan
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The first adventure in the Mirror Realm Cycle, a Spanish Inquisition-era fantasy trilogy inspired by Jewish folklore, with echoes of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden.

Hex Education by Maureen Kilmer
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A guilt-ridden former coven is forced to tap into the magic of their past . . . if they want to stop their lives from going up in flames again.

The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu
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A lyrical, queer sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a locked-room thriller.

The Sky Vault by Benjamin Percy
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The third book in Percy’s innovative and acclaimed Comet Cycle, The Sky Vault, follows an investigation of a mysterious weather phenomena in Fairbanks, Alaska, and a government secret buried since WWII.

The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu
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A hero once believed to be the chosen one must find a new path with the help of a band of unlikely allies in the sequel to The Art of Prophecy, an epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Wesley Chu.

The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar
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In a story that is cosmic, inventive, and sly, multi-award-winning author Lavie Tidhar (Central Station) travels from the emergence of life to the very ends of the universe.

The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern
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From environmental journalist and founder of the #TransRightsReadathon Sim Kern, comes the eat-the-rich climate fiction you won’t want to put down.

The Never Wars by David Pedreira
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In The Never Wars–a mind-bending mix of Interstellar and The Expanse–a group of disgraced Special Forces are given one chance to redeem themselves. The question is whether they’ll survive long enough for it to matter.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall
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For fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls, The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is a debut novel that explores the shields we build around our hearts to retain our own magic.

What fantasy and sci-fi books will you be picking up this month? Tell us in the comments below!

The post September 2023 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Phoenicia! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello readers! I’m a lifelong bookworm and mythology nerd, so it should come as a surprise to no-one that I grew up to write a book about Hercules. When I’m not reading and writing, I can normally be found knitting, jumping into cold water, or playing RPGs (though I haven’t yet managed to do all three at once!). I live in London, I’ve never met a pun I didn’t like, and if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be potatoes.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

My childhood best friend and I used to play a game that was, in retrospect, just acting out Jumanji fanfiction (which made it very weird when I first saw Jumanji as an adult).  That’s the first time I can remember telling stories – putting them on paper took a few more years!

Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!

The first book I remember reading: the actual first book I remember described Italy as being boot-shaped, and that’s all that really stuck with me. The first one I remember in any detail was called Vernon Bright and the Magnetic Banana. It involved a boy magnetising a banana, then accidentally magnetising himself.

The book that made me want to become an author: My Family and Other Animals. It made me realise real people write books, and there’s no secret special selection committee like there is for spies and astronauts. I’ve wanted to write my own since I worked that out.

The book I can’t stop thinking about: A Monster Calls. Reading it is like having your heart gouged out with a spoon, so I recommend it to anyone who asks.

Your debut novel, Herc, is out September 3^rd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Many adventures. No impulse control.

What can readers expect?

Lots of characters explaining their experiences with Herc in almost an interview style, which means seeing all sides of the man himself, without ever hearing from him directly.  Some of them are funny, some of them are tragic, and all of them are insistent they get to tell their story this time.

Where did the inspiration for Herc come from?

I’ve been wanting to read a book with all of Herc’s stories in one place for a really, really long time. I started writing it because I was sick of listening to myself complain!

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I had so much fun writing the letters between Eurystheus and Augeas. If I could justify writing a whole book from their points of view, I absolutely would. Otherwise, I always enjoyed writing an Iolaus chapter. He doesn’t really think before he speaks, which makes for a fun ride.  It’s not quite right to say I enjoyed writing Megara’s chapter, but I found her point of view both eye-opening and really important. It’s one of my favourite parts of the book.

This is your debut novel! Can you tell us a bit about what the road to becoming a published author was like for you?

Yes! I’m so excited! I’ve taken a pretty traditional path here in terms of getting an agent first and  then my agent sending the manuscript out to publishers, though Herc is far from the first manuscript I’ve written. My most interesting detour was definitely having an RPG published!

Are you working on anything else at the moment?

Yes, but the details are still a secret…

Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

About a million of them, but I will attempt to restrain myself:

• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
• All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
• Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
• A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
• Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

Will you be picking up Herc? Tell us in the comments below!

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