Song of the Oceanides received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author J.G. Zymbalist.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The name of the book is Song of the Oceanides, and I humbly self-published it through CreateSpace on 13 January of this year.
What’s the book’s first line?
From the moment Emmylou heard the song of the Oceanides, she recognized something godly in the tune.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch.”
It’s the summer of 1903, and the lives of three disparate misfits are about to intersect. One is a Martian girl stranded upon the Earth.
Another is a tragic Earthling lad forever taunted by a band of sea nymphs. The last is a comic-book artist who’s quirky art is the only thing that comforts the aforementioned children as they embark upon their respective journeys toward salvation.
What inspired you to write this book? A particular person? An event?
Much of the story comes from idea books I’ve been keeping since childhood when I had a bout with depression. That descent into melancholia and all the subsequent trouble I got into at school really form the basis of the plot. On the other hand, the story of the Martian girls is really the stuff of pure invention–a sort of homage to all the kitschy sci-fi I grew up with. Lost in Space was a big influence. I always loved that show.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Catharsis. If you give it a chance, I think you’ll feel something. And I do believe you’ll learn something too. As fantastical as it all is, the text traffics in the facts of life. It’s not a tale meant to merely entertain the reader with a lot of sex and violence and that sort of thing. Song of the Oceanides has something intelligent to say about the human condition.