Author Interview: Audrey Hart, author of The Dig

Everyone please welcome Audrey Hart, author of The Dig!

Audrey Hart, author. Came up with the idea for The Dig while visiting the Minoan ruins in Crete. The Dig: Zoe and Zeus is the first book in a trilogy.

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How are you today?
When I started to respond I didn’t realize the computer was in Caps Locks mode so that freaked me out for a second. But now I’m good and calm!


Haha! Tell me about your book The Dig.
The Dig is the first book in a trilogy that follows outsider Zoe Calder on her travels through time to Ancient Greece where she discovers that she has special powers. She meets Zeus. Hello crush! And then she endures trials and heads to Mount Olympus with Zeus where she clashes with the clique of gods. They’re all pretty rankled by her budding relationship with Zeus. After all, where did this Zoe come from? Why does she have powers? At school, Zoe understands that her outsider status is her own doing. But here, the tables are kind of turned. And ultimately, she learns a lot about her own power, the power that we all have, whether or not we can, you know, move actual mountains.

What is the message that you want to convey to your readers?

This is my first novel. I had always wanted to write a coming of age story about a strong, independent girl learning about her strengths, her weaknesses and her capacity for love. And it has all finally panned out in The Dig!

Give me one thing that you would want to change about The Dig.

That’s a great question. I would like it if there had been some kind of dance on Olympus so that Zoe could be the only one without a date. Because, of course, Zeus would have already promised to attend with Hera and would be blasted if he blew her off. Or would he have blown her off? Hmm.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Old school puzzles. I usually have an incomplete puzzle on a nearby table. I swear, I think puzzles are amazing. Putting together a puzzle always inspires me to be creative.

What music were you listening to when you were writing The Dig? 

Eminem and Passion Pit both did the trick for me. With Eminem, it’s because he’s so funny and so charged up. His music is like coffee in that way. And Passion Pit’s ethereal sound reminds me of time travel, it’s very magical music, that Passion Pit music.

Who is your hero in real life? What about in books?

My dad, who is a wildly entertaining storyteller and has always loved Greek mythology. When I think about heroes in books, I immediately think of the ones I read about when I was young who made a strong impression on me: Anne Frank, Nancy Drew and, in a frothy sort of way, Elizabeth Wakefield and Jessica Wakefield.

What are your favorite colors?

Seafoam green and blue. Sea colors!

How many wisdom teeth do you have? 

None. And I don’t think I’ve eaten Jell-O since they were extracted.

What do you miss most right now? 

At this particular moment, my keys. I misplaced them a couple of hours ago and I wish I had one of those clapping devices so I’d be able to find them! And I always miss my little brother. He’s at college in upstate New York and one of these days, I hope to show up and surprise him.

Do you trust others easily? 

I do, in fact. That’s why Zoe was such an intriguing character for me. In some ways, I feel like her polar opposite and it was so much fun to explore that personality.

What was your favorite toy as a child? 

My dollhouse. That’s where I started writing,, making up stories about the dolls. Oh that family that lived in the dollhouse, they went through some really crazy ordeals!

What is your next project?
The Dig is a trilogy, so I’m working on the second episode at the moment. Look for it in the spring of 2012!

The Dig

by Audrey Hart

Zoe Calder has always been an outsider. Stashed away in boarding schools since her parents died, Zoe buries herself in the study of ancient worlds. Her greatest thrill is spending her summers with her archeologist aunt and uncle on digs around the world. And one day, while investigating a newly unearthed temple in Crete, Zoe discovers a luminous artifact that transports her to ancient Greece.

As Zoe quickly learns, the Olympian Gods are real, living people—humans with mysterious powers… Powers that Zoe quickly realizes she has come to possess, as well. However, when the people of ancient Greece mistake Zoe for an Olympian, the Gods must restore the balance of the ancient world… No matter what.

Zoe is forced to play a confusing and dangerous game as Hera rallies the gods against her—all except for Zeus, the beautiful, winged young god who risks everything to save her.

Out of time and out of her element, teenager Zoe Calder finds herself in ancient Greece, battling against the power of the Olympians and the vengeance of a scorned goddess—all for the strange and mysterious boy she has come to love.