Author Interview and Giveaway: “Eromenos” by Melanie McDonald

Author Interview and Giveaway: “Eromenos” by Melanie McDonald

Author Interview: Melanie McDonald

It’s been way too long since I posted an author interview on this blog, but finally found a great candidate.  Melanie McDonald just published an acclaimed new literary historical novel Eronemos about Emperor Hadrian’s doomed young lover Antinous. From the back:

“Eros and Thanatos converge in this story of a glorious youth, an untimely death, and an imperial love affair that gives rise to the last pagan god of antiquity, Antinous.

In this coming-of-age novel set in second century Rome, the Greek youth Antinous of Bithynia recounts his seven-year affair with Hadrian, the fourteenth Roman emperor. In a partnership more intimate than Hadrian’s political marriage, Antinous captivates the most powerful ruler on the earth.

This version of the story of the emperor and his beloved ephebe envisions the life of the youth who after death achieved apotheosis as a pagan god whose cult of worship lasted for hundreds of years, and gives voice to Antinous, whose image still appears in museums around the world.”

Ms. McDonald not only agreed to an interview, but provided a signed copy as a giveaway (details at the end of the post.)

Faith L. Justice:  I’m sure two of the first questions readers have for you is, “How do you pronounce the title?” and “What does it mean?” (more…)