Hades is one of those mythological characters that I feel like you could tell a thousand versions of because he’s so nuanced. What was it like to write two different versions of Hades only a few years apart? You wrote another version of Hades in Learn My Lesson, inspired by the 1997 Disney film Hercules. Happily ever afters are in short supply.' 'There are a lot of Greek myths, in particular, that are brutal. Was Hades really the villain? Did Persephone choose to eat in the underworld intentionally? Was Demeter a controlling monster of a mother or simply overcome with grief? Every retelling brings a different point of view, and I’m totally addicted to reading the different interpretations because there’s always a new perspective to be told. I love this myth because there are so many different lenses to see it through. Why do you personally find it so compelling? Why do you think we keep coming back to it, as well as revising it?

The myth of Hades and Persephone is a perennial fascination in romance. In Neon Gods, Robert returns to the character of Hades, this time reaching all the way back to Ancient Greece for inspiration, turning the myth of Hades and Persephone into a love story that touches on public perception and political gamesmanship. Her O’Malleys romances follow a modern crime family, and her Wicked Villains series takes its inspiration from classic Disney characters such as Jafar, Ursula and Hades.

Author Katee Robert is something of an expert when it comes to morally grey but seriously sexy heroes.

Hades neon gods