At several points in Istanbul, Hope feels caged, like a prisoner. Is she being held captive, or is she a willing participant in the quest? In what ways is her situation and reaction to it similar to that of a victim of human trafficking? In what ways is it different?
The woman attending to Hope in the hammam tells a very involved story about the history of Roxelana, the slave turned sultan’s wife for whom the hammam was built. Why does the author spend so much time on this story? What does it have to do with Hope?
Hope is able to rescue the puppy she encounters in the Istanbul back alley, but not the Eastern European sex trafficking victim. Why?
Why is the Greek antiquities dealer so dismissive of Hope and the others?
Did Michael’s recounting of his return of Jimena and Ana to Mexico surprise you? In what ways?
Mona and Don’s relationship changes dramatically during the course of Hope’s disappearance. What has it meant that they never formally ended their marriage? Was their night together a signal that they still love one another, or just a symptom of their shared grief?
What did you think of the fact that Mona is not entirely forthright with the investigators? Would you have immediately shared the import of Tabby’s news—that she had managed to translate Hope’s Mark—with the FBI? Why did Mona and Don keep it to themselves?
Mona and Don were educated at the same place, trained in highly logic-driven and fact-based disciplines. Yet they diverge significantly in their willingness and ability to embrace the mystical and unexplainable. Why?
We see three very different “versions” of Tabitha in the course of Dark Rising. How does Tabitha’s persona and demeanor change from the time of the questioning in the FBI office, the meeting with Don and Mona at her home, and her visit to Hope near the end of the book? Why? What does this tell us about teenage identity?
What was your reaction to Hope’s entry into the monastery on Skellig Michael, when she finds herself surrounded by rocks?
Are there other “jokes” God plays upon Hope and Michael in the course of their journey? How do these events shape your view of the God portrayed in this book?
Is Gabrielle right—that sacrifice can only be real if it hurts?
What is the import of Michael’s story of the lonely monk who threw himself from the cliffs of Skellig Michael?
Reflect upon Hope’s interactions with the diplomat at the airport in France. Did it surprise you to learn that the US Government is dedicating resources to fight human trafficking around the world? In what other ways are governments and non-government organizations taking action to end trafficking and help victims?
Why did Hope chop off her hair after returning to Atlanta? Why is it significant that she did so?
What references—explicit or implicit—to other literary works or Bible stories did you notice as you read? What struck you about these references?
How is the theme of identity woven into the story? How are Michael and Hope both symbolic of the quest to define and understand one’s identity? Are their identities and fates in their own hands? How do the characters of Henri, Enoch, Gabrielle, and Tabitha stand for the changeability of one’s identity? What do Mona’s dramatic life changes at the end of the book say about one’s identity?
Betrayal and forgiveness play significant roles in Dark Rising. Did Hope, as Gabrielle prophesied, betray Michael? In what way? What other betrayals took place in the story and why are they significant? What does the story tell us about forgiveness, acceptance, and choice?
Do you think Michael is coming back to Hope? Why or why not?
AUTHOR Q&A
Q. In prior interviews, you have talked about wanting your protagonist, Hope, to face real consequences for the choices she has made as opposed to having an artificial “happily-ever-after” ending. In what ways does Dark Rising do that?
MM: I think it is woven throughout the book. Whether it is getting caught up in a riot when she slips away from the angels, accidentally playing into the Fallen Angels’ hands due to her distrust of Michael, or finding out that her father is dead—possibly targeted due to her involvement with human traffickers—Hope has to deal with the real consequences of her choices all the time.
Q: You seem to enjoy giving little nods to religious stories, history, and other literary works in your writing. Can you share some of those tributes found in Dark Rising with us?
MM: Of course, references to Cain and Abel and the angelic traditions of multiple religious traditions continue to surface throughout the book. Part of the reason I chose Istanbul and Skellig Michael as settings for Dark Rising was their rich histories. The sacking of Constantinople by Crusaders in the 1200s and the bloody rise of Roxelana both fascinated me as stories, and I wanted to find a way to weave them into the plot. Irish monasticism and its role in preserving knowledge during the Dark Ages was also something of keen interest to me; as I explored that period I stumbled into the story of Skellig Michael and its lonely monks. Another reference keen readers might notice includes a salute to C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, one of my favorite books of all time. It was a shoutout, stemming from admiration, but also serves to underscore some important themes in Dark Rising—betrayal, sacrifice, and forgiveness.
Q: Tell us how and why identity surfaces as a theme throughout The Archangel Prophecies.
MM: Readers might remember that when Hope meets Enoch for the first time in Dark Hope he makes a big point of mentioning that the names of things and people are important. This plays out in significant ways for Hope and Michael—both as we learn the real import of Michael’s name and all the associations with him over time and as Hope struggles to define herself as something separate from and greater than the Mark on her neck. We see shifting identities in multiple characters: Tabitha, Gabrielle, Enoch, and Henri, for example. Even Michael and Hope need to engage in a bit of role play back in Dark Hope when they try to infiltrate the Chinese trafficking ring. The importance of this theme to The Archangel Prophecies is twofold: first, it mirrors the experience of young adult readers, who are going through rapid growth and change, trying on and growing into their own identities—which can be scary. Second, it underscores that identity is a choice: Any one of us can change who we are, for the worse or the better, by the actions we take each and every day.
Q: You take Dark Rising to some pretty exotic locations. Did you actually visit these places as you wrote the book?
MM: By chance, I had actually already been to Le Puy-en-Velay during the early stages of drafting Dark Hope and had noticed what a perfect setting the chapel would make for the confrontation with the Fallen Angels. I didn’t realize just how perfect until I started researching its history and the meaning of all the architectural devices with which it is decorated! I made a special trip to Istanbul to visit all the locations I’d chosen for Dark Rising. I only visited after I had done a significant amount of research and had already written a full manuscript. It is an amazing city, and I long to go back. Though I have been to other parts of Ireland, Skellig Michael remains on my bucket list. I thought it was cool that, as I was writing, J.J. Abrams chose the Skellig as one of the locations for his upcoming Star Wars movie. Someday …
Q: During your research trip to Istanbul, did you experience anything similar to what Hope experiences in Dark Rising?
I did manage to make it to every setting in the book, so I had the same opportunity to be awestruck by the golden, airy spaces of Ayasofya, for example, to drudge myself around the crowded square outside of the university, to even experience the beauty of the very same hammam I write about. Some of my observations are actually written into the book—I really saw the woman hanging out of the window of her high-rise apartment, washing windows. I really did see cats everywhere! I did not get caught up in any riots while I was there (though there was one just a week or so later at the university in Ankara), but I did have a sort of awkward experience in Fener (the site of Hope’s confrontation with a trafficker) when I realized that I was the only visibl
e woman for as far as I could see. Nothing threatening at all, though.
Q: At some stages, Hope seems to make questionable choices—stealing away from the protection of the angels in Istanbul, for example. Why did you make her take such risks?
MM: It was important to me that Hope not be viewed as a victim, nor that the story be driven by choices solely made by other characters. I always wanted to position Hope as having agency. I also felt that her responses might be considered rational if viewed through the lens of a teenage mind. There is a great body of neurological research that suggests teens view risk differently, and they view risk to relationships as being as real and potentially more important than risks to their physical well-being. Hope’s relationship with Michael and her credibility with the angels is on the line in Istanbul. She needs to prove herself and discover the location of the Key. Her choice to escape and explore is all in service of that goal, which ultimately will keep her safe and perhaps improve her situation with Michael. Her repeated decision to stay with the angels and not run away is a rational reflection on her situation: She will be hunted down by the Fallen Angels and by Michael’s band because she is central to the Prophecy. Until she finds the Key, she remains in danger. Her decision to not let Raph heal her skin is a little bit of rebellion, among the only things she can do to continue to assert her independence.
Q: What can you tell us about the title Dark Rising?
MM: It is meant to reflect the fact that by the end of the book, we feel somehow that evil has overwhelmed Michael and Hope—even though they managed to succeed in the higher mission assigned to them—but also signal that the story is not yet finished. There is more to tell in this battle of good versus evil, as well as in the story of Michael and Hope.
Q: Human trafficking seems to take a lesser role in this stage of your story. Why is that?
MM: The plot at this stage is really driven by the angels’ search for the Key, the battle for Heaven, and the relationship between Hope and Michael. The trafficking subplot is more subtle at this stage. It is an omnipresent threat in Istanbul, coming to the forefront when Hope has her run-in in the backstreets of Fener and again when Michael recounts his experiences in Mexico. It remains relevant to the story of Mona and Don. It will be much more front and center in the next and final book of the trilogy, though.
Q: Why did you spend the time to have Michael tell Hope what happened when he went to Mexico to return her friends to their hometown?
MM: Partly it was because readers kept asking me about Maria/Ana and Jimena—what happened to them? They had come to care about them and really wanted to know the complete end of their story. Partly it was to revisit some of the truths about human trafficking—things like the potential complicity of law enforcement, particularly in places where the rule of law is more of a suggestion than a reality. It serves the theme of betrayal and forgiveness to remind readers of the involvement of the girls’ uncle and the police and to reveal that Ana did not wish to have Michael kill her uncle. It also seemed like a natural thing Hope would want to know. She cared about her friend enough to go after her in Atlanta and Las Vegas. She would want to know that things ended up okay for her.
Q: Tell us about some of the new characters featured in this book.
MM: I introduced readers to Gabrielle and (in more depth) Raph, both archangels. In one sense, they fulfill the roles assigned to them in various religious traditions: Gabrielle is a messenger, so she gets to provide some clarification of Hope and Michael’s quest in classic deus ex machina style, while Raph is a healer. But they are both challenging to Michael and his authority, introducing new sources of tension into the story. And they will each play a significant role in Book 3. The other minor characters I introduced—Del, the Greek antiquities dealer, the trafficker and his victim, and the diplomat in France—mostly acted as plot devices. The antiquities dealer, though, in particular, was quite fun to write. He is such an erudite snob, still nursing the wounds of history! I loved him and the entirety of his surroundings. I got a kick out of researching old Turkish aphorisms that he could spout off as he lectured them all from his dusty showroom.
Q: You spend a lot of time describing the architectural and decorative details of many of the buildings the characters visit in the course of Dark Rising. Do you have a special love for architectural and art history?
MM: The details of the buildings and their histories are meant to both transport the reader to the setting but also to provide clues to the unraveling of the Prophecy. But yes, I do love art and architecture. I actually considered being an architect at one stage and even attended a design program during one of my summers as a college student.
Q: What can readers take from the seeming equilibrium that emerges between Michael and Hope?
MM: It is equilibrium on two fronts: physical equilibrium, in that his touch is no longer threatening to her and they can equally sense one another’s thoughts and feelings when they touch, and an equality of powers in the sense that Hope has gained some of Michael’s intuition. I wanted to find a way to put them on more equal footing, in general, and of course find a way to make it possible for their romance to advance. The idea of a transfer of powers from angel to human as a consequence of intimate contact can be found in some ancient religious traditions.
Q: Do you have any favorite scenes in Dark Rising?
MM: I love the scene where Michael and Hope are nestled together on the balcony in Sultanahmet. I had envisioned that scene very early and loved bringing it to life. I also loved writing everything that happened on Skellig Michael. It was so nice to finally get Michael and Hope on the same side, understanding one another and being open about their feelings! As hard as they were to write, I also loved Hope challenging the trafficker in the Istanbul alley and the scene in the chapel in France.
Q: You really seemed to develop the characters of Mona and Don much more fully in this book. Can you tell us a little about that?
MM: I thought it would be interesting to explore their reactions to Hope’s disappearance, whether Mona comes to believe Don’s theories at all, and how their relationship is affected by their worry and grief. The loss or potential loss of a child can either drive a couple closer or tear them apart. The fact that Mona had never really cut her final tie to Don was intriguing to me and suggested they might go down a different path. Their relationship and its inadvertent outcome provide the platform for much of the plot in the next book.
Q: How do you think Hope matures in Dark Rising?
MM: She definitely has become much more assertive than she was at the beginning of her relationship with Michael. She questions and challenges him and the other angels more regularly and more frequently pushes beyond the boundaries they have set for her. She maintains her independence, even in small ways, like with her refusal to be healed by Raph. She also becomes more attuned to the interpersonal relationships between others—picking up on the tensions between Raph and Michael, for instance, or having a new understanding of her mother and father’s true feelings for one another. And she learns some painful lessons, particularly about seeing beyond the surface of someone’s demeanor to understand their real motives and actions, and the importance of trust in relationships. These insights are essential lessons on the road to adulthood, even if they are earned in painful ways.
Q: There was a lot of discussion of Hope’s love of food in Dark Hope but the characters never really seem to eat much in Dark Rising. Was this deliberate?
MM: (Laughing.) I just couldn’t fit it into the story that well. I think Hope probably lost some weight on her trip. She’ll have to double up on the Wright’s cupcakes to get back to her healthy weight.
Q: Some people might find the literary references in your sneak preview of Dark Before Dawn odd (p. 385). Can you explain them?
MM: Certainly. Aurora, or Rorie, is named for her father, Don, but on the sly—aurora originating from the Latin word for “dawn” or “goddess of the dawn.” So her name is a play on words, a rhyme. Her
name also suggests much needed renewal or new beginnings for Mona and Hope, as the Goddess Aurora used to fly across the sky every morning announcing the return of the sun. The excerpt included as a sneak preview of the final installment of The Archangel Prophecies is also is a tweak of the old stories written by Giambattista Basile, Charles Perrault, and the Brothers Grimm—ultimately memorialized in the Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. Aurora is the name of the princess featured in the movie—the one whose fairy godmothers bless her but ultimately cannot protect her from the evil doings of Maleficent. She needs her Prince to come and rescue her from eternal sleep. Our Rorie has warrior angels for her blessing and protection. They bless her with insight, strength, and bravery, as opposed to the blessing bestowed in different versions of Sleeping Beauty—things like beauty, grace, and perfect dancing skills. It is quite a contrast. And our Rorie won’t be waiting for a prince to save her in Book 3. So the reference is a tongue in cheek riposte to the “princess awaiting rescue” trope that too often pops up in literature aimed at girls of all ages. It is consistent with my vision of providing readers with a strong female protagonist.
Q: Did you change anything in your writing process as you tackled Dark Rising?
MM: I probably did much more of what I call “desk research”—reading books, looking things up on the Internet—than I did with Dark Hope, as the settings were much less familiar to me. I probably asked more “specialized” readers to read the manuscript at earlier stages and to read for very specific things. For example, a friend of mine who is a doctor advised me heavily on the medical accuracy of Michael’s injuries as I described them. Another friend who grew up in Istanbul read for the accuracy of my descriptions of the city and my use of Turkish. I think the complexity of the story in this book was greater, and so I had many more iterations of the manuscript than I did for Dark Hope—hopefully it pays off in a better read! I continued to build playlists for inspiration; I continued to interview people with special knowledge of the issues or settings upon which I was focusing; I continued to paper the walls of my office with images of each setting, gleaned from Pinterest and other places online. I kept on using my typical mix of notebooks, iPad, laptop, and even the backs of receipts for my actual writing. So in those respects, it was a similar process.
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