NPR Called

Technically, they emailed, but what's the diff?

The oh-so-briefly-exciting-to-me part of the anecdote is that they invited me, as an expert in Greek mythology, to comment on a story update they're doing for the next episode of Weekend America. I assume they got to me by finding my 1999 middle-grade book Tales of Greek Mythology and then following the trail to my author site.

I immediately laughed, and hard, at the notion of actually agreeing to be interviewed "as" an expert on the body of Greek mythology and the most common misconceptions about the gods. I believe my exact reaction to the topic was, "Huh? What?" And 2–3 minutes of furious Googling just to learn something relevant got me nowhere. (You try it. I dare you.) So I had to decline. Would have been fun, though.

Now, thinking back to late 1997/early 1998, when I was writing the book: Could I have discussed the differences among the various classic versions of the 5 myths I retold? Sure thing, and at length! And could I now (hint, hint) speak as an expert about retelling classic works for targeted reading/interest/age levels while maintaining original elements of story, and even voice — or about any number of writing-, editing-, reading-, and freelancing-related topics? You betcha!

I am waiting by the phone NOW.