Welcome my stop on the Minotaur Blog Tour! Be sure to scroll down and read the author's guest post about what inspired him to write the book.
~ABOUT MINOTAUR~
Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books
“Where shall I start?” asked Minotaur.
Ovid made an expansive gesture with both hands. “Where else but the beginning of course.”
Minotaur nodded his huge head. “Yes,” he said. “Yes,” his eyes already glazing over with the weight of thousand year old memories. And then he began.
So begins the story of Asterion, later known as Minotaur, the supposed half bull creature of Greek legend. Recorded by the famous Roman poet, Ovid, Asterion tells of his boyhood in Crete under the cruel hand of his stepfather Minos, his adventures with his friend, Theseus, and his growing love for the beautiful Phaedra.And of course what really happened in the labyrinth.
This is the true story of the Minotaur.
~ABOUT PHILLIP W. SIMPSON~Phillip W. Simpson is the author of many novels, chapter books and other stories for children. His publishers include Macmillan, Penguin, Pearson, Cengage, Raintree and Oxford University Press.
He received both his undergraduate degree in Ancient History and Archaeology and his Masters (Hons) degree in Archaeology from the University of Auckland.
Before embarking on his writing career, he joined the army as an officer cadet, owned a comic shop and worked in recruitment in both the UK and Australia.
His first young adult novel, Rapture (Rapture Trilogy #1), was shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for best Youth novel in 2012.
He is represented by Vicki Marsdon at Wordlink literary agency.
When not writing, he works as a school teacher.
Phillip lives and writes in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Rose, their son, Jack and their two border terriers, Whiskey and Raffles. He loves fishing, reading, movies, football (soccer) and single malt Whiskeys.
Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson (INT)
~Author Guest Post~
I’ve always been fascinated by monsters, an interest and love nurtured by countless books on myth and legend. My focus was always ancient Greece and in particular, their monsters.
History (or ancient history) is written by the victors. The story of Theseus and the Minotaur was disseminated by the Athenians who were the most powerful city state in Greece after the fall of Crete. Why then wouldn’t they paint their hero Theseus in the best possible light and the Minotaur as some horrible monster?
My latest YA historical novel, Minotaur, is a reimagining of the ancient myth. Did the Minotaur exist? If so, was he the monster that the myths insist he was? I like stories about underdogs, particularly ones from their perspective and this is Asterion’s (Minotaur’s story) told in first person perspective to the Roman historian, Ovid.
In terms of my journey as a writer, I submitted stories to magazines when I was a boy but never got anywhere. My teachers always thought I’d do something writing related as I was such an avid reader and did pretty well in the subject.
I completed a BA in Ancient History and Archaeology and an MA in Archaeology. I joined the army as an officer cadet. I then completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies. I worked as a curator and archaeologist before travelling overseas. I fell into the I.T and banking recruitment sector in London and then Australia. It was when I was in Australia that I started writing fiction 15 years ago.
I was in my late 20’s then. I travelled a lot and used to email my escapades back to my friends. A few of these friends told me I should write a novel. I did just that, hiring a cabin in the woods (Wollombi, Australia) from my brother. But the novel (adult sci-fi) wasn’t very good.
I then completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching and have been teaching for 13 years now. I started writing kid’s fiction to be used in schools. The publishers I work for like the fact that I’m a teacher and writer. It’s also good practice for writing novels.
I’ve had over fifty chapter books and four young adult novels published. My first young adult novel, Rapture (Rapture Trilogy #1), was shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for best Youth novel in 2012. Minotaur is actually my sixth novel. At the writing of this, I have just completed my eighth novel as part of my Masters in Creative Writing. This one is also a Young Adult novel based on Greek myth.
History (or ancient history) is written by the victors. The story of Theseus and the Minotaur was disseminated by the Athenians who were the most powerful city state in Greece after the fall of Crete. Why then wouldn’t they paint their hero Theseus in the best possible light and the Minotaur as some horrible monster?
My latest YA historical novel, Minotaur, is a reimagining of the ancient myth. Did the Minotaur exist? If so, was he the monster that the myths insist he was? I like stories about underdogs, particularly ones from their perspective and this is Asterion’s (Minotaur’s story) told in first person perspective to the Roman historian, Ovid.
In terms of my journey as a writer, I submitted stories to magazines when I was a boy but never got anywhere. My teachers always thought I’d do something writing related as I was such an avid reader and did pretty well in the subject.
I completed a BA in Ancient History and Archaeology and an MA in Archaeology. I joined the army as an officer cadet. I then completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies. I worked as a curator and archaeologist before travelling overseas. I fell into the I.T and banking recruitment sector in London and then Australia. It was when I was in Australia that I started writing fiction 15 years ago.
I was in my late 20’s then. I travelled a lot and used to email my escapades back to my friends. A few of these friends told me I should write a novel. I did just that, hiring a cabin in the woods (Wollombi, Australia) from my brother. But the novel (adult sci-fi) wasn’t very good.
I then completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching and have been teaching for 13 years now. I started writing kid’s fiction to be used in schools. The publishers I work for like the fact that I’m a teacher and writer. It’s also good practice for writing novels.
I’ve had over fifty chapter books and four young adult novels published. My first young adult novel, Rapture (Rapture Trilogy #1), was shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for best Youth novel in 2012. Minotaur is actually my sixth novel. At the writing of this, I have just completed my eighth novel as part of my Masters in Creative Writing. This one is also a Young Adult novel based on Greek myth.
No comments:
Post a Comment