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

This book was provided to me in exchange of an honest review

In 2157, the Adryil—an advanced race of telepathic humanoids—contacted Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. Born penniless, Iris’s one shot at a better life is to attract an Adryil patron. But only the best get hired, and competition is fierce.

A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but after the authorities arrest him for trespassing, the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her.

When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane. Then, she discovers that her visions of him are real—by way of telepathy—and soon finds herself lost in the kind of impossible love she depicts in her music.

But even as their bond deepens, Iris realizes that he’s hiding something from her—and it’s dangerous. Her quest for answers leads her past her sheltered world to a strange planet lightyears away, where she uncovers secrets about Earth’s alien allies that shatter everything she knows

In Mary Fan’s Starswept we follow the story of 15-year-old Iris Lei, a young viola player in a prestigious arts school, who is trying to make it in order to finally meet her mom. However, this is no ordinary art school. In Papilio, artist compete to become the best in their art in order to get sponsored by an Adryil, an alien race from Adryil. Late one night, while wandering the hallways of Papilio, she meets an Adryil boy named Dámiul and soon learns that not everything is what it seems.

It only took two pages for me to be completely immersed in the world of Starswept, mostly because I was excited that Iris was a viola player. As a former viola player, it caught me off guard that an instrument that is usually cast aside or ignored, is in the key entrustment of the protagonists. It brought me warmth and glee. Even though that tiny detail was what made me want to read more, Fan’s world building and fast paced story telling resulted in me reading all 400 pages in one day. I could not put it down.

As a description heavy lover, I was throughly pleased. Fan immediately immersed me in her world with all the small details of the new alien species, language, history and what it means to be an artist (especially a musician). 

She is a solid writer.

“Imagine all the stars in the galaxy in one pair of eyes, all the sureness of home in one pair of arms, all the heroics of a thousand epic tales in one noble heart.

This is my love.”

However, Starswept does follow the traditional tropes of YA: girl meets mysterious guy - her life changes - another boy also secretly loves her - and she gets with mysterious guy who hides secrets. Despite this, Fan was able to keep me so immersed, invested, and intrigued with what was going to happen next that I was not bothered with these tropes (it was once I started this review, that I realized how tropey it was).

While the relationship between Iris and Dámiul is considered the main focus of the story, it sometimes takes a back seat as the story dives into a darker and more serious tone as Iris learns more about what the Adryil are really doing with the artists of Earth. Their relationship was kinda insta-love which usually bothers me to the end of the earth but Fan wrote their developing relationship so beautifully, that I forgave it…for now. More than the love, its a story about how we perceive ourselves and our worth, while fighting for our beliefs.

I do not want to go too much into this book and any spoilers because I really think people should read it and experience it. It is diverse, has decent character development, beautiful prose, and a handsome male protagonist who is not cocky or broody (he is a sweetheart who wants to make the world a better place).

Space, aliens, music, interesting twists, love and fantastic story telling - what else can you ask for?

My Rating: 4/5