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Welcome back to Noahan Author!
Again this week, I just have one interview to share with you. I know you're all busy getting ready for Christmas, but I think you have time to read ONE.
Enjoy!
Noahan Author Interview – Suzanne Tyrpak
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: Please tell us about your book Vestal Virgin.
SUZANNE TYRPAK: Vestal Virgin is suspense set in Rome at the time of Nero. Here's a short description:
Elissa Rubria Honoria is a Vestal Virgin--priestess of the sacred flame, a visionary, and one of the most powerful women in the Roman Empire. But when the emperor, Nero, brutally executes her brother, Elissa's world begins to crumble. Vestals are sacrosanct, sworn to chastity on penalty of death, but Nero holds himself above the laws of men and calls himself a god. He pursues Elissa, engaging her in a deadly game of wits and sexuality. Or is Elissa really the pursuer? Determined to seek to revenge, she stumbles on dark secrets. Losing faith in Roman gods, she meets the prophet Paul, jeopardizing her life and the future of the Roman Empire.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: I think everyone has heard the term “Vestal Virgin.” What did the title actually mean?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: The term Vestal originates from the goddess, Vesta. Vesta, derived from the Greek goddess, Hestia, is the Roman goddess of the hearth. In primitive societies fire was extremely important, and daughters of the household were designated to tend the flames and make sure the fire was not extinguished. Fire was considered the highest, and purest, element--consuming and sterile, rather than life giving--in other words, virginal. Hence the ancients decided, the fires of Rome, sacred to the goddess Vesta, must be tended by virgins. Usually six priestesses made up the order, and it can be dated to 750 B.C.E. and even earlier.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: Please tell us about Elissa.
SUZANNE TYRPAK: Elissa Rubria Honoria is a Vestal Virgin. Consecrated at age nine (usually it was age seven, but I took some artistic license) to thirty years of chastity--and if that vow was broken, the priestess would be entombed alive. We meet Elissa when she is nineteen, questioning authority, in search of something to believe in, torn by emotional and sexual desires--she is no longer a child, but not quite a woman. Elissa is loosely based on a real person, a Vestal Virgin whose family name, or gens, was Rubria. Elissa is a scholar and a writer, a thoughtful and passionate young woman who cares deeply for her family of origin. The violent actions of the emperor, Nero force Elissa to become a heroine. And in the process of attempting to protect her family, she discovers dark secrets from the past that will have a bearing on the future of The Roman Empire.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: What should our readers know about Emperor Nero of Rome?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: Nero, was probably a sociopath. Certainly, he came from a screwed up family. His mother, Agrippina, married her uncle, Claudius, then poisoned him so she could secure the throne for her son, Nero. The whole family was incestuous. Agrippina probably slept with her brother, the notorious (and insane) emperor Caligula--and rumors had it that she slept with her son. In any case, Nero tried to drown his mother by presenting her with a "special" houseboat designed to sink. When that failed, he had her bludgeoned to death. Nero loved to race chariots--and arranged the races so he would win. And he spent hours playing the lyre and singing, forcing people to attend long concerts from which they weren't permitted to leave. And let's not forget the thousands of Christians he burned and crucified, some sources name him as the prototype for the modern concept of Satan--but that will have to be another book.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: The free preview of Vestal Virgin deals with scenes of gladiatorial combat. The gladiatorial games had an important role in keeping the populace of ancient Rome happy. Do you think we should consider instituting something similar today?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: Oh...isn't that the point of football and reality television?
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: Please tell us a little about your background.
SUZANNE TYRPAK: My interest in ancient cultures and religions began early. I'm particularly interested in mythology and Greek theater, and that was my focus in college. The early roots of theater are based in ritual, and I spent my twenties in New York City working as an actor in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theater. I also supported myself as a go-go dancer, and I see parallels between being a dancer and being a priestess. I find it frustrating that so little was written about women's role in history. For example, Vestal Virgins were the most powerful women in Rome, but how much do we really know about the role they played? Not much. I want to know about the lives of ordinary women as well as the lives of priestesses, sacred prostitutes and sibyls. These are topics I enjoy exploring in my writing.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: What research did you do for this book?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: Aside from reading extensively, I traveled to Italy twice. The idea for this story was conceived on my first trip--I read about Vestal Virgins in a travel book. I took the second trip specifically to research this book--and in Rome I hired a scholar (who specialized in the timeframe I write about, 63 A.D.) to give me a private tour of the Forum. That was really wonderful.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: What effect do you hope Vestal Virgin has on your readers?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: I hope the book is entertaining and informative. It's suspense first, historical second. But everything I write about is well researched and entirely possible. I would compare the book to Pompeii, a thriller by Robert Harris. Ultimately, I would like readers to see that we are all part of an ongoing story. For me, history is not something written in stone. We are constantly revising our past. And by revisiting the past we gain more understanding of our present and our future.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: You are also the author of Dating my Vibrator (And other true fiction.) Can you tell us a little about that book?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: Yes--a collection of nine short stories all based on my own experience--divorce, dating and desperation! Yeah, writing these stories was my therapy. Most of the stories are funny, but a couple are more serious. They're real contemporary, written in first person--anyone dating or recently divorced will relate. Anyway, I'll brag here, J.A. Konrath gave the collection a 5 star review on Amazon and says, "Pure comedic brilliance." It's available on Kindle.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: If you could ask any character in your book one question, what would it be?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: Hmmm...good question, Noah. How about, did you guys eat pizza? Really, I would love to attend one of Nero's parties (if I knew I would survive) so I'd probably ask him for an invitation.
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: Are you ready for the end of civilization?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: No. Should I be? Civilizations come and go--that's what I write about. The fact that our planet is still around is pretty amazing, considering how many close calls we must have every day with meteors. But then, in the timeframe of the universe, we just got here a few minutes ago, didn't we?
NOAH MULLETTE-GILLMAN: What’s your deepest, darkest secret?
SUZANNE TYRPAK: LOL. Now, really Noah, you'll have to get to know a bit better before I answer that question. But, truthfully, all my deep dark secrets are revealed in the books I write.
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