Daniella asked Jennifer Donnelly:

Hey, Jennifer! I was just wondering a few things. So, I'll jump right in, I guess. Is Orfeo based off of Orpheus? Being that they both were willing to get their loves back by going to extreme measures. What made you choose the characters (the six, Desiderio, Marco, and Mahdi) for the story? Why are the songspells what you with went instead of, say, chants? How do you start a book? Do you just jump in? Thanks!

Jennifer Donnelly Hi Daniella! Wow big questions! About Orfeo ... let's just say that there's a LOT of mythology woven into the Waterfire Saga ... and Orfeo is Italian for Orpheus, so ... you may be on to something there 😉!

You can find lots more on my website that will help with your other questions -- each Waterfire Saga book has it's own background info here: https://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/books/ and I talk about my writing process in my FAQ here: https://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/faq/

Thanks for writing!

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