Is it Tuesday again already? Well it is in my hemisphere of the world, and that means it’s time for another interview with one of the characters from my upcoming novel The Trials of Hercules: Book One of The Osteria Chronicles (release date 18 October 2014).
As you may know, the questions come from the terrifically talented Cee of Cee’s Photography as part of her weekly blog event Share Your World. The questions are designed to explore your own world, but since I’m a bit boring, I thought it would be better for my characters (who have much more exciting lives) to answer the questions.
This week, Artemis has stopped by for an interview. Artemis has a small, but critical role in this first book of the series (don’t worry, the “big” 
characters will be interviewed as we draw closer to the release date). This goddess of wild animals is a bit of a tomboy and prefers to dress in leggings rather than the dresses of most of Osteria’s women and gods. She’s quite protective of the animals under her care and more than once one of her arrows has accidentally been fired into the chest of a mortal who has harmed one of her creatures.
And now, the interview:
Question: List two things you have to be happy about.
Artemis: First, a new stag has just been born in my forest and he is gorgeous. Blue eyes, bronze hooves and gold antlers. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for poachers. Second, I’ve just received a new quiver of arrows from Hephaestus. Poachers, you’ve been warned.
Q:List at least two things in nature do you find most beautiful.
A: (Gives a little snort) Two? I’m supposed to pick only two? (Sits back and crosses her arms over her chest.) Two? Okay. Flora and fauna. Done. Next question.
(As the goddess is fiddling with one of her new arrows, the interviewer has chosen to move on, rather than press for a more definitive answer).
Q: Think of two favorite scenes in your life and tell us about them.
A: The first would have to be when the gods relented and allowed me to use my forest in Cedonia as the place where mortals could come to worship me rather than some monstrous temple. No one had thought of doing such a thing – but then Dionysus copied me by making his sacred area his vineyards, no surprise there (she makes a drinking motion with her hand and gives a knowing nod). Besides, between you and me, Hera’s temple in Portaceae is big enough to count for two temples, so I think it all evens out if I don’t have one.
The second, that’s a toss up between a few events. Getting my first hunting dog from Pan was wonderful as was meeting Orion, but probably the scene that would count as a favorite was when Adonis thought he was a better hunter than me. The look on his face when the boar I sent after him, gored his pretty body was priceless. I mean, if he was such a great hunter, he should have been able to kill the boar before it killed him, right? I do love proving my point.
Q: List two of your best personality traits.
A: I’m tenacious and loyal.
Thanks for reading everyone! And if you need to catch up with the interviews, I’ve sat down with:
Image credits:
- Artemis with hind, also known as “Diane de Versailles” Roman copy by Leochares. Photo taken by Marie-Lan Nguyen. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
- Death of Adonis – Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
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TAMMIE PAINTER IS THE AUTHOR OF THE TRIALS OF HERCULES: BOOK ONE OF THE OSTERIA CHRONICLES AND AN ARTIST WHO DEDICATES HERSELF TO THE TEDIUM OF CREATING IMAGES WITH COLORED PENCILS.
Tammie Painter 