The Big Idea: Abigail Owen

The pantheon of Greek gods is having a moment in popular culture recently, from the new Kaos TV series to the video game Hades, and author Abigail Owen adding her own imagination to that moment with her latest, The Games Gods Play. Come find out how Owen is putting her own spin on the tales people think they know… and putting one god in particular into an unusual position.

ABIGAIL OWEN:

I’d love to say that the big idea for The Games Gods Play was one of those lightning bolt moments (pun totally intended). I mean, a book about dangerous trials designed by Greek gods should be a lightning bolt, right? But instead it was an idea that built gradually over a few months.

I was just wrapping up writing the third book in my Dominions series, which has its own system of goddesses, and I was thinking how much fun I’d have exploring those characters’ superpowers more. I’ve always enjoyed writing characters with varying powers and seeing how those abilities face off. At the same time, I’m a child of the 80s, so I fell in love with Greek mythology young thanks to the original Clash of the Titans movie. I have pretty much devoured anything from that mythology over the years (with clear favorites like Medusa, Narcissus and Echo, Psyche and Eros). And let’s be honest, pantheons of gods are much like superheroes (or supervillains!) when it comes to supernatural powers and how they interact with each other and the world.

Initially I was thinking of a spinoff backstory series to Dominions featuring the goddesses. I liked the idea of having the goddesses put the mortals through some kind of contest or trial with a throne (initially the mortal throne) as the stakes. However, that combination didn’t fit the mythology I’d already woven into my Dominions series…

So: new series!

With a whole new series to build, I got to create another unique high fantasy world. I love worldbuilding (maybe even more than the romance, but don’t tell!). I had even created a pantheon of gods for my planned spinoff series based primarily on the Greek gods (although I mixed a few others in there—Norse, Celtic, Egyptian–to mix up the powers a bit more). In fact, originally, the god of death and ruler of the Underworld wasn’t the romantic hero, but he did choose the heroine as his champion.

The more I explored that world building, though, the more I started to realize that actual Greek mythology fit the storylines I was coming up with even better. Making that change in my thinking suddenly allowed me to explore a mythology I already loved so much in detail. It also sparked so much inspiration for me—from settings, to the trials created by each individual god with their powers and values in mind, to the characters I’d want to introduce…