Interview with Author Alexandra Sheppard

Hey Booklovers,

I'm back with another interview. This time with the lovely Alexandra Sheppard who is a UK author. I reviewed her book Oh My Gods on my blog back in January. It's a fun read especially for younger teens looking for a light read.

What was the inspiration behind Oh My Gods? It felt so much like the books I read when I was younger. It reminded me of the Mates and Dates series a little bit. 

It’s funny you should say that - OMGs was definitely inspired by the angsty teen diaries I read obsessively as a teenager. Books like Princess Diaries and Angus, Thongs & Full-frontal Snogging had a huge impression on me growing up, so it’s no surprise that they colour my writing now. 

But it was after watching an old musical called Down To Earth that the idea for OMGs came to me. It’s a movie starring Rita Hayworth about a Greek muse who masquerades as a dancer in a Broadway musical and ends up falling in love with a mortal man. The movie itself isn’t anything special, but that’s when the idea of Greek gods on earth occurred to me. 

I love that you have a Black girl with curly hair on the cover. Did you have any specific requests for what the cover should look like?

Thank you. I love the cover too! I’m so grateful to Liam Drane and Paul Oakley for doing such a brilliant job. The bold and bright illustrated approach is entirely down to them.

My only feedback came after seeing an early draft - the hairstyle was quite loosely curled, which isn’t how Helen’s hair is described. So I sent a mood board of hairstyles and textures to give the designers some direction. 

I love how this story addresses Helen being a half lifer. Was that inspired by your interracial heritage? Did you ever feel a pressure to write Helen a certain way since the character is half British-Jamaican? 

I never set out to mirror my mixed-race identity with Helen’s half-mortal heritage...but it does make for a neat metaphor! So, while it wasn’t initially inspired by my heritage (at least not consciously), there are parallels.

When I wrote Helen’s character, I wanted to explore her feelings of alienation and loneliness as the only half-mortal in a family of gods. Yes, Helen is the only one without powers or immortal life. But she’s also the only Black girl in a mostly white family. That adds another dimension to Helen’s experience. 

Since Helen is the normal one in a family of magical beings, did you find it hard to balance the fantastical elements with her normal school life?

Yes, simply because I find it easier to write scenes depicting ‘normal’ life than I do fantasy scenes. And as you say, I also had to strike the right balance between the two. I never set out to write a fantasy book - the world of OMGs is very similar to our own. I had to decide how much magical mayhem it would take to really make Helen’s life tough!

How would Helen and her family handle the current pandemic? And how would she deal with the protests?

You know, I’ve been thinking about this! I think Helen would be having regular Zoom calls with her besties to avoid losing her mind about being cooped up. Because, of course, Zeus would go way over the top in trying to keep her safe from the virus (I’m thinking a magical force field around the house…). 

Apollo and Aphrodite would be incredibly bored, desperate for shops, salons and bars to open. They probably wouldn’t see what the fuss was about (they’ve lived through the bubonic plague, after all).

I think the BLM protests would raise some difficult conversations in their household, however, Helen would have an ally in the form of Eros. He would definitely be supporting the BLM protesters in Helen’s place - maybe handing out vegan snacks and bottles of water on the streets.

What has your experience been like doing school visits? 

I love them! I’ve traveled to schools all over the country, and while no two school visits are the same, there are many similarities. The students are nearly always engaged, keen to talk about Greek mythology and get involved with the creative writing tasks. There’s always one or two students that ask cheeky questions (“Miss, are you rich? How old are you? What car do you drive?”) but I don’t mind those.

The most rewarding visits are in those schools where an author visit is rare - I’m sometimes the first author these students have ever met. They are fascinated and excited, and some of them even leave the session feeling like they now want to be authors. 

God bless the librarians and teachers who work so hard to make school visits successful - enthusiastic staff make a huge difference.

Are there any books by Black British authors on your TBR?

A few! I’m really looking forward to reading If I Don’t Have You by Sareeta Domingo, Grown by Melissa Cummings-Quarry and Natalie Carter, Love In Colour by Bolu Babalola, Witches Steeped In Gold by Ciannon Smart, Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and All My Lies Are True by Dorothy Koomson. 

Do you have any works in progress you can currently discuss?

I’m working on my second YA novel but I can’t say more than that at this stage! I will say that this story touches on many themes/topics close to my heart such as sisterhood, gentrification, magic, inheritance and Jamaican food. 

What are your favorite Jamaican dishes?

Curry goat is my all-time favourite dish - it’s the meal I always ask my mum to prepare for my birthday. Closely followed by saltfish fritters, jerk chicken, festival and rum punch. 

If you weren’t a writer what job would you be doing?

I was a social media manager for ten years before my novel was published, so I’d probably still be doing that and working in advertising. I definitely prefer writing.