Q&A With Abigail Owen 

I am delighted to be doing this Q&A with New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author of epic romantasy, new adult modern mythic romantasy to super spicy adult paranormal romance, Abigail Owen. What’s amazing is Abigail has written over thirty books and most of them are in a series. Some of her series are The Inferno Rising series, The Dominions Series & her recent release which is the beginning of the new series The Crucible series, The Games Gods Play. 

Thank you so very much for having me! I really appreciate it. ☺

Q: Abigail would you please give a brief description of each of your series starting with your recent release The Games Gods Play? I know The Games Gods Play has Greek Mythology in it and the cover is gorgeous! 

A: Absolutely! Although there’s several, so I’ll keep each one brief. ☺

The Games Gods Play: New Adult, Greek gods in a modern setting and they select humans to play in a series of dangerous games. The winner determines the new king or queen of Olympus. This is the first book in a trilogy!

Dominions: Upper YA (18+), this epic fantasy series features a hidden princess whose job is to be the decoy for her sister. She is kidnapped by a man who is made of shadow and born of the villain of the story.

Inferno Rising / Fire’s Edge: Adult, these two series feature dragon shifters and phoenixes in a world where the high king of dragons is a false king who needs to be taken down. These two series are set in the same world and can be read separately OR in a chronological order listed on my website. 

Brimstone Inc.: Adult, this series of bite-sized novellas is set in the same world as Inferno Rising. Each book is completely standalone featuring a different paranormal creature and different romance trope. 

Q: What is it about writing in the romantasy & paranormal romance genres that you enjoy so much?

A: I could go on about this for pages and pages, lol. I think what it comes down to is that this genre features two of my favorite things about escaping into books:

1.    A huge, fascinating, imaginative, magical world that I’d love to lose myself in.

2.    An epic romance with all the banter that I know eventually ends happily ever after.

In a world where magic and happiness aren’t always available, I love to find them in books!

Q: How long does it normally take you to write a book? Where do your ideas for your characters and fictional worlds come from?

A: Each book is different depending on what’s going on in life and the length of the book. When writing a first draft I try to write about 2,000 words a day. So, for a 100k novel, it takes me about ten weeks. I can go faster, but if I do that for too long, I burn out, so I try not to.

My worlds and characters come from so many places. Dreams. A random TikTok about words showing up in a wall usually under water but exposed by drought, an obscure fairy tale. But that just gets me started or sets a scene. A lot of my ideas come as I’m building my own world and spending time with secondary characters. It just sparks something more for that series or a spin off or sparks something new constantly!

Q: What lessons & emotions do you hope readers learn and feel after reading each of your books? 

A: I hope that readers find a true escape in my books. That they are drawn into worlds they love that they meet characters that they want to be friends with (or not!), that the story makes it hard to put the book down, and at the end they close the book and sigh.

Q: Since you are most likely writing a sequel to The Games Gods Play, without spoiling too much, can you reveal the title for the sequel & the release date & what fans may expect in book 2? 

A: Unfortunately, I can’t give the title or date yet. But I can say that announcements are coming soon. ☺ Book 2 will pick up right where book 1 ended and we will explore Tartarus and the titans. We will also get answers to some of the questions still floating around from book 1!!!

Q: Will The Games Gods Play be a trilogy, or will it be a series? If it will be a series how many books do you plan on writing to The Games Gods Play? 

A: It is currently planned to be a trilogy, and I will likely stick to that. But I am loving this world so much, I will probably do spin offs after that!

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to your work? The entertainment industry needs new material to work with instead of constant remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels and spin offs. Who would be your dream cast to play the characters you created? 

A: It is currently being shopped around for film or TV. I don’t have a dream cast because I love to see new up and coming actors and the ages of my characters would lend toward that. It would be incredible to see this world and these characters come alive on screen! One of those impossible author dreams that I’m crossing all fingers and toes might come true someday. ☺

Q: How does it feel being on both the USA Today & New York Times Bestsellers Lists? It sounds like a dream come true! What qualifies to have a book on both of those lists? 

A: I am still in a state of shocked disbelief. Just reeling but incredibly happy. Of course I have always hoped to make a list, but twelve years and fifty books in and I hadn’t really come all that close and hitting #1 on any list just seemed like an impossibility. So, to hit #1 on both is just…astounding and incredible. I am so very grateful to every reader who bought the book or posted about it or supported me in any way, because I wouldn’t have achieved this without you! 

Q: Speaking of myths, legends, & fairytales, (and their retellings) which stories are your favorites? Which myths, legends & fairytales do you think need more retellings and Hollywood adaptations & why?

A: I could also go on about this for pages, LOL. So today I’ll stick to my favorite Greek myths. I am obviously a fan of the Hades and Persephone story, although my Hades gets a different love story. But there are several more tragic stories that I’d love to see get a different happy ending re-imagined: Medusa, Psyche and Eros, and Echo and Narcissus come to mind. I’d also love to see Hephaestus more in stories! Something about his story just really fascinates me and he also deserves a happy romance IMO. (You might be seeing a pattern here lol.)