Demythifying

When Luna McNamara gushed over the help she got from Dr. Regine May, we HAD to contact her and invite her on to talk to us.

The conversation mainly centres around Cupid and Psyche, but also magic gemstones, love spells and what benefit we would get from learning Latin in 2023. For fans of Apuleius and his influences, this one is an episode not to be missed!

Twitter: @Reginemay

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apuleius-Story-Psyche-Regine-May-ebook/dp/B07N6WPV7X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=regine+may+cupid+psyche&qid=1687128728&sprefix=regine+ma%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-1 

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Joining Charlotte in today's episode is Dr. Aven McMaster. In a conversation that could have carried on for HOURS, they talk about sexual and gender politics in Rome. From Ovid to Catullus. Aven tells the story of the woman she believes everyone should know about and mentions a few sources by the end, for anyone who enjoys a rabbit hole;

Suetonius "Lives of the Caesars", Cicero "Philippics", Catullus, and Juvenal "Satires".

"Exploring Gender Diversity" edited by Allison Surtees and Jennifer Dyer, from Edinburgh University Press, and "Performing the Kinaidos: Unmanly Men in Ancient Mediterranean Culture" by Tom Sapsford, from Oxford University Press.

"The Scholars" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=13330

"Pandora", by Susan McMaster (http://web.ncf.ca/smcmaster/), originally from "Dark Galaxies", Ouroboros Press 1986, and also in "Paper Affair: Poems Selected and New" published in 2010 by Black Moss Books https://a.co/d/eIjYU5R

Follow Aven on socials

Website: www.alliterative.net 

Twitter: @AvenSarah

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Kritika H Rao talks to Lauren and Charlotte about her novel The Surviving Sky. Protagonists in their 30s? Grey characters that may be right but also wrong? Adult themes in a fantasy /sci fi setting? Sign. Us. Up.

Steeped in Hindu philosophy, Kritika creates a world like no other. Where privilege comes to those who are Architects and the earth rages. 

Website: www.kritikahrao.com
Instagram and Twitter: @Kritikahrao 

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Here at Demyth HQ we are HERE for all of the new retellings of our old faves and Clytemnestra's Bind DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! Taking the story we know and love and weaving in previously ignored aspects, we have a fresh take on the House of Atreus and it's curse. Love these characters or hate them, you'll be feeling all the emotions with this roller coaster of a novel. While with us, Susan also indulges Lauren's penchant for the Scottish accent and Taggart memories.

Follow Susan on Socials;

Website: www.susancwilson.co.uk

Twitter: @bronzeagewummin

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A time-travelling love story? Where can we sign up???  To say this book ticked all our summer romance boxes would be an understatement.

When Lily and Joshua go missing in the past, it shapes their children Eva and Tommy in not only their present, but how they navigate their futures with a huge secret, they can also time travel.  

Find Pim on socials;

Instagram: @pim.wangtechawat
Website: pimwangetchawat.net

Article on the deportation of Chinese men after World War II: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/02/chinese-seafarers-were-coerced-into-leaving-uk-after-war-home-office-admits#

Gemma Chan on her father being in the Merchant Navy:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jan/08/gemma-chan-on-the-truth-about-her-fathers-life-at-sea

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Mirror mirror on the wall, which is the best podcast of them all? ;-P Today's episode sees us joined by Jan Dunning to discuss her modern take on the classic Snow White fairy tale in her novel Mirror Me. A love letter to the worlds of photography and fashion. this is a must read YA novel. 

Follow Jan on socials;

Twitter: @jandunning1
Instagram: @jandunningbooks

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Once upon a time ther was a house.....
Step inside the Miniscule Mansion of Myra Malone with Charlotte and Lauren as they talk to author Audrey Burges about one of their new favourite magic realism books.  How is Myra's minature NOT dolls house connected to the family home of the heir to a family buisness Alex Rakes? If you become a figure on the internet do you owe your followers anything? And most importanly... why is Charlotte so creeped out by a classic piece by Chopin?

Follow Audrey on the socials:
https://audreyburges.com/
twitter - @audrey_burges
instagram - @audreyburges

Also if you want to follow the minaturist that created the cover:
@hannahlemon_art

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Come with us as we delve into Chinese mythology with A Y Chao while discussing her book Shanghai Immortal. Alice sets up a vibrant scene in Jazz Age Shanghai. We also get good C-Drama recommendations which are now on our to watch list!

Follow Alice on socials:

Twitter and Instagram: @ay_chao
Website: www.aychao.com

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Psyche and Eros is one of the oldest love stories ever told. Luna Mcnamara's version plays with the myths we know and love, and gives Psyche a more well developed character, with more agency. A true retelling in it's most authentic form, with plenty of easter eggs thrown in for good measure. A must read for those who are new to myth and those who are not.

Plus, the real question is, would you have done what Psyche did if you were in her position? Listen to us discuss this and more.

Socials to follow Luna:

Website: www.lunamcnamarawriter.com
Twitter: @mcnamaraluna
Instagram: @luna_mcnamara_writer
Facebook: mcnamaraluna

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Who do we love more than a problematic woman from the ancient myths? Rani Selvarajah talks to Lauren and Charlotte about Meena and James, who were modelled on Medea and Jason. Rani takes the story and gives it a new lease of life, placing it in Calcutta, with a backdrop of colonization by the East India Company. This is a version that's not to be missed!

Twitter: @Rani_writes
Instagram: @rani_selvarajah

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