by Ed Fortune

Phoenicia Rogerson is a London-based writer with a rather less checkered past than Hercules. Her debut novel, Herc, is the result of a lifelong infatuation with Greek mythology, and she is greatly enjoying being able to claim her book purchases are for work. We caught up with her to find out more.

STARBURST: How would you describe HERC to someone who doesn’t know much about mythology?

Phoenicia Rogerson: Herc is the story of what it would be like to have a superhero as your neighbour if you lived in ancient Greece and the superhero has no impulse control.

What was the hardest piece to write?

Iolaus’ chapter and then his speech after they meet Hippocoon were both really difficult for me. Without going into spoilers, I put off writing them for ages because I didn’t want the events in them to happen. I really love them now, but they hurt to write.

Apart from HERC, what’s your favourite version of Hercules in modern media?

I’d be lying if I said anything other than the Disney version!

Why Hercules?

It sounds facetious, but because he’s Hercules. He’s the first hero I could ever name, and there’s just so much about him in the Greek myths. Even now, there are stories about him that surprise me. The character just goes deeper and deeper, and I love unravelling that mystery.

Do you have other books planned in a similar vein?

Yes! Though the exact subject is still a secret for now…

Why have the Greek Myths lasted so long?
This answer could probably be a book by itself! There are a lot of factors, but what has always drawn me to them is how human everyone is, even the gods. They’re constantly making human mistakes, which means the myths are both comedy and tragedy, often all rolled up into one.

If you were writing the labours of Hercules to include one modern task, what would that task be?

Getting all the sand out of your house after you go to the beach. Even flooding the place wouldn’t have got Herc out of that one.

What character is the most fun to write?

I had so much fun with Eurystheus, especially in his letters with Augeas. In the first draft, those were about seventeen pages long because I didn’t want to stop writing them. After that, Iolaus is a close-run thing. I’m a big overthinker, whereas Iolaus just blurts things out sometimes, so I really enjoyed playing with that freedom.

Which character seriously needs to have a word with themselves?

Omphale, for sure. She’s very lonely, and she lies to herself so she doesn’t have to admit it.

What would you say the biggest influence on this book is?

I fell in love with Terry Pratchett’s work when I was a teenager. It was the first time I read books with that magical combination of humour, fantasy, and history, and I think knowing that it’s possibly influenced me a lot.

Which writers inspire you?

Basically, anyone who writes and has small children. I don’t know how they do it.

What tropes do you personally avoid the most?

I don’t think about tropes too much when I’m drafting, which means anything I say here is inevitably going to show up in the book, but I find any problem that could be solved by two people having an honest conversation super stressful to read. Now that I think about it, exactly that situation happens in Herc…

Is it easier to write queer fiction these days?

Herc is my debut, so I can’t really talk about how it’s been for anyone else. What I can say is that I’ve had a really lovely experience with people’s reactions to the queer elements in Herc. It’s something I worried about a lot when I was writing and querying, that there would be clap-back about the idea of a queer Hercules, but I’ve experienced some incredible support and enthusiasm about it. I’m really thankful for everyone before me who’s made that the landscape I’m working in today.

If we like this book, what other books do you recommend?

This runs the risk of just being a list of books I love! In the vein of mythology and retellings, I’d say Joanne Harris’ Gospel of Loki, Natalie Haynes’ Stone Blind, and Luna McNamara’s Psyche and Eros. More broadly, anything by Becky Chambers.

HERC comes out August 31st 2023, and can be pre-ordered now.