My World: Interview with Mary Ann Loesch

From Goodreads: As a sixteen year old voodoo queen in the making, Joan Renault just wants to be like all the other girls in the small town of Monte Parish, Louisiana—obsessed with boys and swamped with social lives. If the other kids would quit calling her “hoodoo hag,” she might have a small shot at normality. It would also help if Joan’s weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren’t always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie Laveau. After all, it’s hard to make out with your best friend when your grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts, normal doesn’t come easily.
When Joan witnesses the brutal sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere’s scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present. Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess is determined to use the residual energy of Pandora’s Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi’s Day—the voodoo day of resurrection—Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.

The Interview:

1) Tell us a bit about Bayou Myth.
Bayou Myth is my latest release! It's a young adult novel set in the spooky bayous of Louisiana. My main character, Joan, is a sixteen year old voodoo queen in the making who has to deal with some Greek myths that have gone wild in her home town. She's guided by her long dead grandmother, the infamous Marie Laveau, and she has a huge crush on her best friend, Dave.

2) Did you have to do a lot of research to write this book?
Actually, I did! The teenage angst came easily enough, but learning about the voodoo pantheon and tying it to Greek mythology took some work. I also researched a lot about Marie Laveau, who was a real voodoo priestess in New Orleans in the 1800's. The stories about her are legendary. She's definitely a fascinating and mysterious character.

3) What inspired you to write about voodoo?
Bayou Myth is based on a short story I published called Bayou Scar. That story was about a grown up Joan who works for the New Orleans police department. But she isn't a normal cop. She uses her knowledge of voodoo to help solve particular crimes. I thought the story had potential for a novel, but as I started writing Joan's back story, I became interested in her life as a teenager. There aren't that many YA books right now that focus on voodoo, so I thought I'd kind of run with the idea.
Also, voodoo is a misunderstood religion. Not that I helped clear up those misunderstandings though……

4) What kind of "quirks" do you have while writing?
I hate being interrupted. I've had to train my family how to approach me when I'm working. I usually let them know that I'll be writing from this time to that time and that it is forbidden to come and ask me a question about where something is in the house.
Especially if it relates to the laundry.

5) Do you have a favorite character you've written?
I love Joan from Bayou Myth, but my all time favorite character that I've created is an angel called Nathan Ink. He's a tattoo artist who specializes in tattooing people with symbols that represent the seven deadly sins. Of course, his tattoos are special and odd things happen to the people who allow him to ink their skin. You can read about him in my other novel, Nephilim.

6) What's next for you?
I've got so much on my plate! I'm finishing up Bayou Scar, the sequel to Bayou Myth, as well as, working on several other projects for freelance clients. I'm also a school teacher, so I'm trying really hard to get some enthusiasm to return to work after an awesome summer of writing.

7) Tell us where we can find you.
If you want to learn more about me and my latest release Bayou Myth, visit my website at www.maryannloesch.com. I'm also an avid book reviewer and blogger at All Things Writing: http://www.allthingswriting.blogspot.com

Thanks for having me today!

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