Marjorie M Liu-An Interview with the Author

The Reading Cafe is pleased to present the author of the Hunter Kiss and Dirk and Steele series Marjorie M Liu.

Link to Website: Marjorie M Liu

TRC: Hi Marjorie and welcome to The Reading Cafe. We would like to start with some background information.

Please tell us something about yourself?

Marjorie: I never feel there’s much to tell!  I’ve moved around a lot in my life, which means that I’ve developed a strong sense that people are home, far more so than a place.  I’m bi-racial — with a Chinese father and a white-American mother — and I grew up obsessed with books, art, music, all of which was encouraged, much to my great fortune.  I love gardens, and making gardens.  I love cats, poodles, early morning sunlight.  I love baking.  I love the ocean.  In general, I just love life.

TRC: Your biography states that you were called to the bar, but you did NOT like the job of a lawyer. Have you been able to use your education background in your writing career…e.g. storyline research etc?

Marjorie: Absolutely.  Law school is basically an education in human behavior — oftentimes the very worst of it.  It’s also a training ground for staying organized and on top of your work — which, as a writer, is far more important than anyone realizes. This is a profession that requires self-motivation.  You have to sit down.  And write.  Every day.  Without anyone looking over your shoulder.  Yes, having a passion for what you do makes all the difference in the world, but trust me, that sort of discipline isn’t easy.

TRC: What challenges did you face writing your first novel?

Marjorie: Having the courage to do it, first and foremost.

It wasn’t so much the challenge of writing that first book (though that was an immense undertaking) but instead it was the emotional toll of making the decision to put everything else aside in my life, and just go for it.  I had graduated from law school and been accepted into the bar — I was supposed to be looking for a job, there were a lot of expectations on my shoulders — and here, I wanted to step away from the world and write a book about psychics and shape-shifters.  

I knew in my heart that I had to do it.  I had to give myself this one chance to follow my dreams.  But it required a lot of fierce soul-searching.  Once I began, though — once I was committed — everything else fell into place.

TRC: Do you remember where you were when you saw your first novel ‘for sale’?

Marjorie: I actually don’t.  Isn’t that sad?  It might have been an airport, though I think it was probably the local Barnes & Noble in Bloomington, Indiana.  

TRC: You were recently traveling through Asia and China. What was the highlight of your trip? Did you consider doing any research for a future novel while traveling?

Marjorie: Every trip is research for a future novel.  Every walk outside my front door, even.  Everything I do, everything I see (no matter how mundane), gets filed away into the back of my brain.  Paying attention to the world, living with a sense of wonder — taking nothing for granted — that’s how I try to experience life.   And its feels odd to list those things — they’re not anything you can hold on to — but I think they matter if you want to fully shelter all the living, breathing, evolving parts of your imagination.  

But yes, I did recently go to China.  I think the highlight — one of them — was a trip to the Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi Province, which are home to 51,000 stone Buddhas that are carved directly into a mountain.  To say it was ‘incredible’ wouldn’t even come close to describing that place. I walked into one cave, stared up and up and up into the serene gaze of a giant Buddha, and almost dropped to my knees.  The weight of history and devotion, and spirit, was overwhelming.

 

TRC: You have recently e-released A DREAM OF STONE AND SHADOW (previously in the anthology Dark Dreamers with Christine Feehan), one of your novellas in the Dirk and Steele series. What plans do you have for future Dirk and Steele storylines?

LINKS TO ORDER:
Amazon Kindle
KOBO
B&N Nook

Marjorie: Some backstory:  the Dirk & Steele series is set in our world, and is about a detective agency created to help psychics, and other non-humans (mermen, gargoyles, shape-shifters, and other creatures out of legend) find each other and make a safe community that allows them to use their powers and gifts to help others.  It’s paranormal romance, but also paranormal action-adventure punched into one.  

As for future storylines: I’m not sure yet, to be honest.  I’m considering taking a brief hiatus from the series to write something different that’s been brewing in my head.  I do, though, have another e-novella coming out soon — a re-release of a Dirk & Steele prequel called WHERE THE HEART LIVES, which takes place well before the founding of that paranormal agency.

TRC: Will you tell us the premise behind your latest Dirk and Steele novel- WITHIN THE FLAMES?

Marjorie: It involves one of my favorite characters in the series: Eddie, a fire-starter who has been with readers since the first book. Over the years I kept trying to find an “in” with him, the right way to tell his story, but what I finally realized was that he had to evolve before he could carry the weight of his own novel.  Grow up, essentially.  Which is what happened over the course of the series, until finally it was time.  

Anyway, the premise is that Dirk & Steele sends Eddie to New York City to find a young woman named Lyssa, a dragon shape-shifter who has been living in hiding for most of her life — hunted by some of the most dangerous witches in the world: the Cruor Venator, who feed on the fear of their victims.  Worse, though, a traumatic event in Lyssa’s youth left her in the middle of a “bad shift”, which means that part of her body — specifically, her arm — will be forever caught in its dragon form.  So, she’s hiding not just from witches who want to kill her, but from the rest of the world, who can’t be allowed to discover she isn’t human.  

TRC: THE MORTAL BONE is your latest release in The Hunter Kiss series. Please tell us about the premise? How many books do you have planned for this series?

Marjorie: The Hunter Kiss series is quite different from my other work — it’s not romance, for one thing, but instead a fusion of fantasy and science-fiction.  The demons are really aliens from other worlds, and there’s time travel, genetic manipulation, quantum roads (and prisons) — all of which has merged into the myths and legends of our various human cultures.

THE MORTAL BONE is the fourth book in the series, and follows Maxine down a dark path when the demons who protect her are ripped away from her body, and she’s forced to survive without them.  Not only that, an army is coming for her — the kind of army that devours worlds — and she has no idea how to stop it.

LINKS TO ORDER:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Books
KOBO
The Book Depository
B&N Nook and Paper Books

TRC: The series premise is very interesting: a demon-hunter covered in living tattoos that come alive at night to fight as her own demonic army. Who or what was the inspiration for the heroine? What was the inspiration for the living tattoos?

Marjorie: Maxine as a woman and heroine came to me fully formed — that is, her personality and backstory.  She just…existed for me.  The tattoos, though, were inspired by a documentary I watched late at night on the Yakuza, who are members of the Japanese mob.  Many Yakuza have full body tattoos, which are incredibly intricate and visually powerful.  I’d seen them before, but for some reason — that night — inspiration hit.  I was like, “Wow, what if they came alive?”  And that was it.

TRC: X-23 Vol. 3 was one of your latest releases in your comic book line. You have a rather extensive collection of Comic storylines and characters. On which series are you currently working? Do you have a favorite storyline or character?

Marjorie: I’ve had the privilege of working with so many Marvel characters who I love: Daken, Black Widow, X-23, Gambit, Jubilee, and more.  It’s so much fun writing for them!   As for favorite storylines…it’s hard to choose.  I suppose I’m very fond of my run on Black Widow, called “In the Name of the Rose”.

I’m currently writing the Astonishing X-Men.

TRC: Which ‘genre’ do you feel is the most difficult to write: novella, full-length novels or comic books?

Marjorie: In some ways they’re all the same.  No story is entirely easy.  Comic books are shorter, that’s all, and you have the privilege of working with an artist who can illustrate your words. 

TRC: How much influence does the graphic artist have as it pertains to your storylines etc?

Marjorie: I suppose it depends on the writer.  In my case, I’m always thinking about the artist, what they bring to a story — and I’ll consult with them and say, “Hey, what are you really dying to draw?”  And then I try to make it happen.  Also, these men and women are incredibly talented.  They are phenomenal storytellers.  Which means they’re always making improvements on the script when they sit down to draw.  

TRC: If you could ‘virtual-cast’ your Hunter’s Kiss series, do you have a dream team that would represent each of your characters ..e.g. models, actors, singer?  And if so, who would they be?

Marjorie: Oh, gosh.  I don’t know!  I think an elderly Jimmy Stewart would have made a good Jack (who is Maxine’s not-so-human grandfather).  

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas with friends, family and other authors. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Marjorie: I don’t bounce ideas all that often, to be honest.  I have to reach a certain level in the work before I feel comfortable enough to discuss it.  When I do, though, I talk to my family, and partner.  

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Marjorie: The fifth book in the Hunter Kiss series, which might be the last.  Hard to say at this point, but I’m treating it that way, in case.  Maxine’s continues to evolve both as a woman and leader — and there’s a new secondary character that might take readers by surprise.

I’m also writing the next issue of Astonishing X-Men, which never really stops.  I write a new one every three or four weeks.   

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Marjorie:  I love my readers.  To them, I owe everything, and I appreciate their continued support more than I can say.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food

Chinese dumplings.

Favorite Dessert

A bowl of sweet grapes.

Favorite TV Show

Most recently, the Danish version of The Killing.

Favorite Movie

Hard one!  Perhaps THAT TOUCH OF MINK with Doris Day and Cary Grant.  Really, anything with Cary Grant.  He’s my favorite actor of all time.

Last Movie You Saw

Magic Mike

Dark or Milk Chocolate

Dark!

Favorite Song

Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” (but my favorite songs always change, depending on my mood…last week it was Florence + The Machine’s “Breath of Life”)

TRC:  Thank you Marjorie for taking the time to answer our questions.  It was our pleasure to feature your books at The Reading Cafe.  We are looking forward to all of your new releases.

******AN AMAZING GIVEAWAY*******

 

Marjorie has graciously offered a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky member at The Reading Cafe. 

1.  You must be a member at The Reading Cafe.  If you are not a member, please register using the log-in at the top of the page or by using one of the social log-ins like Twitter or Facebook.

2.  If you use Twitter etc, please leave your email address in the comments, so that we may contact you if your name has been chosen as the potential winner.  

3.  Please comment on the interview and answer one of the LIGHTNING ROUND questions

4.  The contest is open internationally.

5.  Contest runs from july 25-28, 2012