Antiheroes: A Guest Post by Abigail Owen
Held captive by the Titans, Laura is determined to survive — because if she doesn’t, Hades will risk everything, including the world, to save her. Read on for an exclusive essay from author Abigail Owen on writing The Things Gods Break.
Hardcover
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The Things Gods Break (The Crucible Series #2)
The Things Gods Break (The Crucible Series #2)
By Abigail Owen
In Stock Online
Hardcover
$29.99
$32.99
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The gods want her dead…Hades will bury them.
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The gods want her dead…Hades will bury them.
The longer I write, the more ideas I have. My Crucible trilogy was one of those ideas that came to me in pieces. I was working on the final book in my Dominions trilogy, exploring the system of goddesses in that series, and finding their powers and sibling dynamics fascinating. I wanted to do even more with it, but then I got the brainstorm of the trials element combined with gods. It didn’t fit that world, though, so…shiny new idea and new gods needed!
Enter my lifelong love of Greek mythology. Initially I considered creating an epic fantasy world entirely based on Greek mythology, going as far as to come up with all the pantheon gods. But the more I did that, the more it became obvious that the actual Greek pantheon would work much better for the story.
Meanwhile, my personal obsession with morally gray antiheroes meant that the hero was always going to be Hades (even when it was epic fantasy and simply based on Hades). They don’t get much more morally gray than Hades, the god of the dead and King of the Underworld. Once I hit on that combination—Greek gods, dangerous games, and Hades—the first book, The Games Gods Play, exploded out of me.
Which brings us to book two, The Things Gods Break, just recently released…
I am a heavy plotter, and usually when I start a series, I know exactly what the high-level points will be for each book. But with the Crucible, for the first time ever, I didn’t know where I’d go with books two and three. I just let myself enjoy the writing of the first book. But then I wrote the epilogue…
And suddenly I knew exactly what I wanted to do with book two (and the impacts to book three).
I called my editor, who loved the idea, and we made sure during edits on The Games Gods Play that we were careful to add in little brushstrokes and Easter eggs that we could tie to The Things Gods Break. But, where The Games Gods Play exploded out of me, The Things Gods Break had a complicated time-related element that took much more careful plotting and building. It is hands down the biggest challenge I’ve ever given myself as a writer. And I loved every single second of making The Things Gods Break its own book while moving the overall series story forward and, simultaneously, giving The Games Gods Play an entirely new perspective.
I hope readers who loved The Games Gods Play will enjoy The Things Gods Break just as much! Heads up, though, readers…this is the second book in a trilogy. So yes, there’s another cliffhanger. But in book three, which we’ll be announcing soon, I promise to wrap up all the loose ends and give Lyra and Hades their final Happily Ever After!