Interview with AJ Pellegrino, author of THE PATH HOME

 

I absolutely love mythology and queer retellings of mythical stories, so I was very excited to see Alyce fill out my form. I was even more excited when I saw that she specifically wanted to talk about her upcoming novella THE PATH HOME. So strap on in and see what this Saturday's interview has in store for you.

In this interview we discussed where Pellegrino got the idea for this story, where the names for the main characters came from, and what future stories they have planned.      

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How did you first get started with writing?

I think I've always had these stories in my head that, in one way or another, I was trying to get out. I definitely started putting pen to paper with fanfiction. My friends and I would trade our notebooks of fanfiction to each other to read. Then, it was sending Word files back and forth or binders of printed pages. I didn't start actually considering writing as a career until right before applying for college. Up until then I was planning on applying to acting conservatories, but writing just felt like the right choice as I got closer and closer to looking into schools. That was the first time I'd ever had anyone that wasn't a friend of mine look at my writing and that was a big eye opener.

I absolutely love stories that start with writing fanfiction. I've read so much of it and I truly respect someone who can spend their time doing that. I will admit to wondering what you used to write fanfiction about. That's amazing!
Can you describe this book in 5 words?

Oh god, I'm always so terrible at these types of questions! I think 5 words I'd use to describe this book are sapphic, haunting, atmospheric, yearning, and rebellion.

I thought this question might be a bit cruel but you nailed the answer. Those are great words to use for this book. I love yearning specifically!
Where did you get the idea for this book?

I've actually been working on some version of this story for years now, starting in 2015. At the center of it, it's always been about queer love and the testing of familial relationships. But I kept getting stuck. Originally, I think I was trying to tell a story about two girls figuring out their sexuality. I'd come back to it, read what I'd written, like it a lot, and then have no idea how to move forward with it. When I finally went back to it in 2021, I realized that 1) I didn't want to tell a story about figuring out one's sexuality, I just wanted it to be. I think that was heavily influenced by my own feelings when I first started writing this story, as someone who was still trying to figure out my relationship with my sexuality. To then come back to it as someone who is comfortable and happy in my sexuality, I didn't want that to be the conflict. 2) I was trying to shy away from dipping into any fantasy elements and I realized that I really wanted to include that. I don't know if I was caught up in trying to tell a story set in reality, but I love fantasy so leaning into that finally helped me become reinvested in my own work in a way I've absolutely loved. I've also always loved Mythology, Greek Mythology in particular, and so I decided to try and see if I could play with that as I worked on this story.

I wasn't expecting this book, or versions of it at least, to have been in the work for so long. And for several important changes to have been made. I am stunned by the amount of thought you've put into this novella. I'm glad you found what worked the best for you and the novella in terms of fantasy and coming out elements.
What was your experience like with getting this book published?

My first short story published, "A Song for the Water", was published by Read Furiously in their anthology series Stay Salty: Life in the Garden State. They publish such a wide range of genres and strive to publish diverse voices so I was excited to submit another short story when they opened for submissions again. In January of last year, they reached out to invite me to be a part of their One `N Done series. The series itself is so interesting and unique, so I was excited to be included and also was so beyond humbled that I was invited to be a part of it. The Path Home will be number 6 in the series. Working with Samantha Atzeni, the Editorial Director at Read Furiously, through my revision process was a dream and I am so excited for this story to be published by Read Furiously.

That's awesome! I definitely love the idea of their One 'N Done series and I'm planning to read more of them when I can. It's awesome that you were able to work with them again after your short story.
I love the names in this book. How did you come up with them?

Thank you! I knew from the beginning that I wanted both Bryony and Iris to have flower names, but I was really struggling with how obvious I wanted that to be. While I was looking into different names and what they meant, I learned that the white bryony plant and irises are both toxic to some degree. White bryonies are poisonous to eat and some variations of irises can cause irritation to the skin, I really liked the idea of these two girls having names that didn't just represent their fate, but also played into the whole conflict of not belonging in a man-made world. Dawn was not necessarily harder, but definitely a bit more frustrating to figure out. The goal was, I wanted a name for her that could mean or reference the earth and, of course, Demeter was one of the first names that came up when I did a Google search to try and brainstorm! So, I kicked that one around for a while and finally landed on Dawn, which I like a lot. Amelia and Mona were really fun, actually! I was playing with adding Hermes and Hecate into the story so I wanted to pick names that were associated with travel and the moon.

That's amazing! I love how much thought went into these names. They fit the characters very well and I think you did a great job at choosing.
What came first: the names or descriptions of the characters?

For Bryony and Iris, they sort of went hand in hand. As I looked into certain flower names I took into account their color pallets and temperaments and tried to match them up with both their personalities and descriptions, especially after they truly embrace the forest.

That's awesome! I wouldn't have considered something like that but it's such an amazing aspect to be included.
Did you have to do any research for this book?

It's funny when I first read this question I was like, "oh man, I don't think I did all that much!" But as I've been answering the ones above I realize how much I actually did! I did a refresher on the Persephone and Hades myth not just for accuracy, but to see what I wanted to lean into and what I clearly wanted to change. A big one being, consent and agency which is an important theme in this story. I did research into the Adirondack area because I'm from Long Island so anything past Manhattan has always been upstate to me. I didn't want to set this story in a town that already existed, so I wanted to make sure I was hitting natural areas correctly like forests and reservoirs in that area. Then, finally, I did a lot of research into names, and I don't think I ever realized just how much until this interview!

That's a lot of research you did! I really only considered that you might have needed research for the mountain areas, not everything else including the original myth and names and things like that. I am astounded by the amount of work that you put into this novella.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I feel like the boring answer is read, mostly because that's kind of part of the job, right? But for such a long time I was burnt out on reading or I felt like I couldn't pay attention the way I wanted to when I was reading. This past year I've been taking audiobooks out of the library and it's been such a game-changer for me. Growing up I was expected to read a book before listening to it, so I always felt like I shouldn't just listen to books. I read 27 books in 2022 because I was able to listen to them, before that I was lucky if I was reading 2 a year. So yeah, I've really rediscovered a love of reading again. The more fun answer is I've become a big board game person. I love all the ones we grew up with, and of course, Settlers of Catan. But my friends and I have started branching out into ones I'd never heard of before which is a ton of fun! A few we've been playing are Dominion, Splendor, and a few years ago my partner got one based on the movie, The Thing.

That's amazing! Audiobooks don't often work for me, but I definitely understand why they work better for others. I'm glad you've rediscovered a love of reading. Ooh nice, I need to play board games more often.
Do you have any future books or stories planned?

I'm currently thinking about two other reimaginings that I'd like to turn into novellas. They're still in the `let me pace around my living room and think about them' stage instead of the actual writing stage, so hopefully I'll start outlining them both once The Path Home comes out. I have a necromancer story that I've been working on since 2013, that's evolved so much over time. But I'm finally at a point where I think I've got the story where I want it, so I started working on that during NaNo 2022. Fingers crossed those stories will be out in the world at some point!

I look forward to seeing what else you put out! I'm definitely interested in more reimaginings and even the idea of a necromancer story! I wish you luck in figuring out what you want to write about and getting them out into the world.
Congrats on the upcoming publication for The Path Home. I hope you have a great release!

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You can find Alyce Pellegrino on their website, Instagram, Twitter.

You can buy Alyce Pellegrino's book from Little City Books (Alyce's local independent bookstore), Publisher, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

If you can't buy her books but you still want to read them, consider requesting them to your local library or suggesting them on Overdrive!