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Exclusive Author Interview with Mary Fan



Mary Fan is a sci-fi/fantasy writer from Jersey City, NJ. She is the author of Jane Colt, Starswept (read my review!), Flynn Nightsider and the Edge of Evil, Stronger than a Bronze Dragon. 

In addition, Mary is the co-editor of Brave New Girls, a YA sci-fi anthology. Brave New Girls features tales about girls in STEM. Revenues from sales are donated to the Society of Women Engineers scholarship fun.

Mary has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember and especially enjoys the infinite possibilities and out-of-this-world experiences of science fiction and fantasy. In her spare time (when she has any), she enjoys kickboxing, opera singing, and exploring new things—she'll try almost anything once.

Mary graduated Magna cum Laude from Princeton University in 2010 with a Bachelor of the Arts in Music, specializing in composition. Although she is currently focusing on writing, music is still her first love, and so in her spare time she composes songs and soundtracks.

I was able to talk to her and ask her few questions in order to share with you guys! Let's get started.

Q: What is your go to snacks when writing?

I don't snack a lot when writing, but I have to have a beverage nearby. Have to... otherwise I feel incomplete. Depending on my mood, the season, and the time of day, this might be tea, wine, beer, or coffee. Or the occasional juice. I get super antsy when I don't have something to drink within reach!

Q: Care to share you favorite playlist?

Sure! I don't listen to music when writing because it distracts me (I just wind up listening to the music instead!), but here's a playlist of songs I listen to while out and about:

Renegades - X Ambassadors
Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea - Missio
The Fall - Imagine Dragons
Laura Palmer - Bastille
Loudspeaker - MUNA
Uprising - Muse
Heathens - Twenty One Pilots
KDV - Missio
Not Your Fault - AWOL Nation
Centuries - Fallout Boy
Warriors - Imagine Dragons
Critical Mistakes - 888
Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon

I have no idea what any of this says about me... it's just what I listen to!

Q: When creating a new story do you start with the plot or the characters? You do you start with the ending, the beginning or just somewhere in the middle.

The world, actually! Usually that's the first thing that occurs to me. What the world looks like, how it might feel to live in it... and then from there, characters start to form. I automatically go for the person in this world who thinks they're nothing special -- a "nobody." How would that person feel, and what might they want? How would they get it, and what would stand in their way? From there, a plot begins to take shape.

Q: Most of your books are science fiction — what got you into the genre?

Wishbone, actually! It's funny -- I can trace my love of sci-fi back to a single book: the Wishbone adaptation of Legion of Space, Unleashed in Space. It was a fun space adventure, written in the era of old-school sci-fi, and I liked it so much I tracked down the original Jack Williamson novel. It. Was. Awesome. I was maybe 10 or 11, and I quickly became obsessed with old-school sci-fi. I borrowed every Jack Williamson book my library had, and then I moved on to his contemporaries, and then I discovered more and more of the genre. And then Galaxy Quest hit theaters. I'd never watched classic Star Trek (only a bit of Next Generation with mom), so I didn't get any of the references, but I just thought it was a fantastic romp through the stars. 

 I wanted more space books and space movies... and that's when I discovered a little thing called Star Wars (I hadn't grown up on it -- didn't discover it till middle school). I actually found the novelizations of the original trilogy first, and I liked them so much, I hunted down the originals... in a seedy pirated DVD shop in Hong Kong, where I was living at the time (I was 12 and I had no money, okay?). Accidentally binge-watched the entire trilogy in one night (a school night!) and went to class starry-eyed the next day. From there, there was no turning back. Sci-fi was my THING.

Q: What is your earliest memory of art?

Hmm... probably playing violin as a toddler. I started playing when I was three, and I have very vague memories of finger tapes, fun little tricks to remember how to hold the bow (make a fox, and the fox is eating a carrot!), using sponges as shoulder rests...

Q: If there is a person (dead or alive) you’d like to meet and get advice from — about writing, life, ect?

Ursula Le Guin (may she rest in peace). I would have loved to learned from her anything she was willing to share.

Q: You specialized in composition while at Princeton University, who is your favorite composer? How did that influence your writing? 

I don't think I have a single favorite -- there are too many great ones out there! And I tend to like most music... it takes a special kind of horrible for me to dislike a song. Though a piece that's been special to me is Verdi's Requiem. I was so obsessed with it in college, I wrote my junior paper on it, and then took inspiration from it for my senior composition thesis. 

Most of my characters tend to be performing artists of some kind, and I think that's because I've studied music since I was so little (pretty sure I learned to read music before I could read words). Music also tends to weave its way into my writing unintentionally through the descriptions. I think it's just how I perceive sound now.

Q: What are you currently reading?

I'm currently on something of a horror kick. I just finished For Emmy, a creepy little novella by Mary San Giovanni, and I'm about to start Brian Keene's The Rising. Also have Justina Ireland's Dread Nation on deck after that.

Q: Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Because they're both solid objects on Earth. Considering the size of the universe -- not to mention the multiverse -- and how much of it is made up of dark matter, that's actually very specific.

Q: Tea or coffee?

Yes, please!

 You can learn more about Mary Fan books when you visit her website: www.maryfan.com
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Novelist & Screenwriter Irena Brignull | Exclusive Interview



I had the honor of interviewing Irena Brignull! Who is well known for her novel The Hawkweed Prophecy, two young girls that were magically switched at birth. Ms. Brignull's second book recently came out. Check them out and dive into a world of destiny, magic and love.

The Hawkweed Prophecy 

Poppy Hooper and Ember Hawkweed couldn't lead more different lives. 

Poppy is a troubled teen: moving from school to school, causing chaos wherever she goes, never making friends or lasting connections. 

Ember is a young witch, struggling to find a place within her coven and prove her worth. Both are outsiders: feeling like they don't belong and seeking escape.  Poppy and Ember soon become friends, and secretly share knowledge of their two worlds. Little do they know that destiny has brought them together: an ancient prophecy, and a life-changing betrayal. Growing closer, they begin to understand why they've never belonged and the reason they are now forever connected to each other.

Switched at birth by the scheming witch Raven Hawkweed, Poppy and Ember must come to terms with their true identities and fight for their own place in the world. Enter Leo, a homeless boy with a painful past who – befriending them both – tests their love and loyalty. Can Poppy and Ember's friendship survive? And can it withstand the dark forces that are gathering?

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Amazon

The Hawkweed Legacy

Poppy Hooper doesn't want to be the queen of the witches. 

But some problems can't be left behind.
Some love stories can't be forgotten.
Some friendships won't be broken.
And some enemies won't stay dead …
The battle for the throne isn't over yet.

Poppy has only just discovered her position and her power as queen of the covens. Tormented by the loss of her would-be lover Leo to her best friend, Ember, and a past that’s shadowed by secrets, she’s left her dangerous world of witches and flown to Africa. But Poppy never stops longing for Leo and, when she feels his magic begin to spark, she will do anything to be reunited with him. 

Now as the girls come of age and Poppy’s powers grow stronger, her mother, desperate for her daughter’s return and forgiveness, sets into motion a plan that puts Poppy and Ember, the boy they love, and the world as they know it at risk.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR



 Irena Brignull is a successful screenwriter. Since working on the screenplay of The Boxtrolls, Irena has been writing an adaptation of The Little Prince directed by Mark Osborne and starring Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams and Marion Cotillard. Previously, Irena was a Script Executive at the BBC and then Head of Development at Dogstar Films where she was the script editor on Shakespeare in Love, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Bravo Two Zero to name a few. Irena holds a BA in English Literature from Oxford University. 



Interview Time:


What gave you initial inspiration for The Hawkweed Prophecy?

It was a holiday that I took with my kids to Italy one spring time. It was actually more of a recuperation than a holiday, as my youngest had spent that January very sick in hospital. I don’t know if it was being able to finally relax and look forward after such a crisis, but the idea for The Hawkweed Prophecy just came to me one morning. I told my daughter about these two girls switched at birth and the teenagers they grow up to become, and everything went from there.

Were there any specific songs that helped you write The Hawkweed?

I listened to Stevie Nick’s Landslide a lot. The truth is I tend to get so into what I’m writing that I block out everything around me and I fail to hear much. My poor kids will vouch for that! So I do sometimes put on music to set a mood, but when I start typing, the song just fades away.

Describe your novel in one sentence?

The magic of witches, nature, friendship and love.

Tell us a little bit about The Hawkweed Prophecy. Did it change you? How did it grow from an idea to a published novel? 

It grew very slowly. At first, I wrote it as and when I could, but then I sent the first 100 pages to an agent and she encouraged me to finish it. That helped enormously. I sped up and delivered the manuscript. She gave me some notes and I did a re-write which then got sent out to publishers. I was very lucky to get interest from a few of them and so was in a position to choose.

Did the experience change me? I think so. It definitely taught me patience and stamina. Writing a novel was something I’d always wanted to do, but I’d never felt confident enough to really embark on. I always had the excuse of another screenwriting job, so it really took my child’s illness to make me stop and take stock. Finishing the manuscript felt like such an achievement. I tried not to hope that it would get published, and I was blown away by the response it got.

When creating the characters, shaping them, are you inspired by real life people or actors or other fictional characters.

Looking back now, I think that the characters and their journeys were inspired by the real life tales of women being persecuted for being witches in the past. I’ve always been fascinated by who they might have been, and horrified by the punishments they endured. Also, I did have Macbeth’s weird sisters firmly in mind – wondering what their story, beyond the play, could be. Other fictional characters must have affected my writing too, just less consciously. Outsiders mostly - Rebecca, Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason, Carrie, Hester Prynne, Heathcliff all come to mind. Plus all those witches and wicked step-mothers from so many childhood fairytales. My own teenage experience, as well as that as a mother, was hugely influential too.

How was writing a novel compared to writing a script? Difficult? Easy? About the same?

They’re both very demanding. Both a combination of pain and pleasure! Writing a novel, for me at any rate, takes a lot more determination and sheer endurance. A lot more words are needed on the page. Plus, novel writing is more solitary, screenwriting more collaborative. I love them both, but the feeling of accomplishment on finishing a novel is second to none.
 Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I’d like to thank all my readers. There so many books out there to read, and I’m so grateful that they picked up mine and gave me their time, thoughts and feelings. It takes their imaginations to bring these stories to life.
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