Interview with Author Melissa Marr at RT
This afternoon, I sat down with the very popular YA author, Melissa Marr to discuss the Wicked Lovely series. Here is what she had to say:
RT: So, you had two new YA releases this week. Tell us about them.
Melissa Marr: FRAGILE ETERNITY is the third book in the Wicked Lovely series. And it is often considered more as a sequel as it returns to the protagonists in the first one. It could not have happened without the events of INK EXCHANGE. All three books are linear in terms of what happens in them.
The manga that came out is the first volume of it. It is not linear, you can read or skip it, it doesn’t matter. It’s the story of Rika, one of the former Winter Girls. It happens simultaneous with the events of FRAGILE ETERNITY, so there is a bit of a crossover, but it’s more of expanding the world, it’s not the same as INK EXCHANGE, it’s not necessary to read it to know what happens in FRAGILE ETERNITY. I tried to give as many details as I can to help people who went straight from WICKED to FRAGILE.
RT: And you are touring to promote the books?
MM: I am. I postponed the bookstore tour so I could come to RT, because I really enjoy it. I should have been going to bookstores on Tuesday, but I postponed that to today, because I have a book signing here in Orlando. Then I go Atlanta, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Austin, northern Virginia, then Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, then New York for BEA. Then, Chicago, Cincinnati and Dayton with Kim Harrison and Kelley Armstrong. It’s fun, I enjoy it.
RT: What do you like the most about RT?
MM: I love how amazingly friendly everyone is. I go to a lot of events, I enjoy BEA, ALA, CTE and TLA, there’s a lot of really fun events, and Comic-Con. Really great people at almost any event, I mean, you get a group of booklovers together, it can’t be anything but fun. RT has a very special feeling to it, such an embracing vibe. Last year, I did RT the same weekend as Comic-Con, I did both in a four-day window, just so I could be here. I postponed my tour just so I could be here. It’s just a lot of fun, people are so nice, and I come out of panels inspired. I like listening to them, participating in them. It’s good for the brain.
RT: How long are you expecting the Wicked Lovely world to go on?
MM: HarperCollins bought 3 manga and they bought 6 novels. The fourth one is written, the fifth is half way. At this point, there are at least 5 set in this world. I haven’t decided what I will do for the sixth book. They have talked about wanting more, and we will see where we are. I like my characters, I like my world, I like hanging out with them. I can say that the threads that were started in the first book will be resolved by the fifth book. So the arc that is set up by the first three books, and the next one, SKIN STARVED, and the fifth book, those work together as a unit. There are stand alones I have considered doing, and have started just for fun.
RT: You have a lot of anthologies coming out, too.
MM: I do. I have the LOVE IS HELL anthology. The story there is set in the same world, but you don’t see any of the same characters. I have the UNBOUND anthology, with Kim Harrison, Jocelyn Drake, Jeaniene Frost and Vicki Pettersson. Then I have the HALF-MINUTE HORRORS, which is a middle grade project. The money goes to charity. And that one was fun, because I got to write a short creepy story. And some of my favorite authors are in it: Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Lemony Snickett and James Patterson.
RT: That’s a lot!
MM: I am kind of a workaholic. It’s one of those things where I am constantly writing stories and then people come to me and say, “hey, would you like to do something?” And I already have stories going on, like the manga story I had already half-written. You are working on these things for fun, so then you get to share you stories with other people who are not your friends.
RT: Where can people find you online?
MM: My website is www.melissa-marr.com. But Harper Teen has a really fun microsite where they are doing a promotion. If you go to HarperTeen.com, and look at their features and there is one under my name and you go to that. And if you want to ask me questions, there’s a group of readers, absolutely amazing people, who started a fansite called WickedLovely.com and I go on there most every week and answer questions for readers. I am also on MySpace and Facebook. I really like being online.
Thank you, Melissa!
RT: So, you had two new YA releases this week. Tell us about them.
Melissa Marr: FRAGILE ETERNITY is the third book in the Wicked Lovely series. And it is often considered more as a sequel as it returns to the protagonists in the first one. It could not have happened without the events of INK EXCHANGE. All three books are linear in terms of what happens in them.
The manga that came out is the first volume of it. It is not linear, you can read or skip it, it doesn’t matter. It’s the story of Rika, one of the former Winter Girls. It happens simultaneous with the events of FRAGILE ETERNITY, so there is a bit of a crossover, but it’s more of expanding the world, it’s not the same as INK EXCHANGE, it’s not necessary to read it to know what happens in FRAGILE ETERNITY. I tried to give as many details as I can to help people who went straight from WICKED to FRAGILE.
RT: And you are touring to promote the books?
MM: I am. I postponed the bookstore tour so I could come to RT, because I really enjoy it. I should have been going to bookstores on Tuesday, but I postponed that to today, because I have a book signing here in Orlando. Then I go Atlanta, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Austin, northern Virginia, then Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, then New York for BEA. Then, Chicago, Cincinnati and Dayton with Kim Harrison and Kelley Armstrong. It’s fun, I enjoy it.
RT: What do you like the most about RT?
MM: I love how amazingly friendly everyone is. I go to a lot of events, I enjoy BEA, ALA, CTE and TLA, there’s a lot of really fun events, and Comic-Con. Really great people at almost any event, I mean, you get a group of booklovers together, it can’t be anything but fun. RT has a very special feeling to it, such an embracing vibe. Last year, I did RT the same weekend as Comic-Con, I did both in a four-day window, just so I could be here. I postponed my tour just so I could be here. It’s just a lot of fun, people are so nice, and I come out of panels inspired. I like listening to them, participating in them. It’s good for the brain.
RT: How long are you expecting the Wicked Lovely world to go on?
MM: HarperCollins bought 3 manga and they bought 6 novels. The fourth one is written, the fifth is half way. At this point, there are at least 5 set in this world. I haven’t decided what I will do for the sixth book. They have talked about wanting more, and we will see where we are. I like my characters, I like my world, I like hanging out with them. I can say that the threads that were started in the first book will be resolved by the fifth book. So the arc that is set up by the first three books, and the next one, SKIN STARVED, and the fifth book, those work together as a unit. There are stand alones I have considered doing, and have started just for fun.
RT: You have a lot of anthologies coming out, too.
MM: I do. I have the LOVE IS HELL anthology. The story there is set in the same world, but you don’t see any of the same characters. I have the UNBOUND anthology, with Kim Harrison, Jocelyn Drake, Jeaniene Frost and Vicki Pettersson. Then I have the HALF-MINUTE HORRORS, which is a middle grade project. The money goes to charity. And that one was fun, because I got to write a short creepy story. And some of my favorite authors are in it: Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Lemony Snickett and James Patterson.
RT: That’s a lot!
MM: I am kind of a workaholic. It’s one of those things where I am constantly writing stories and then people come to me and say, “hey, would you like to do something?” And I already have stories going on, like the manga story I had already half-written. You are working on these things for fun, so then you get to share you stories with other people who are not your friends.
RT: Where can people find you online?
MM: My website is www.melissa-marr.com. But Harper Teen has a really fun microsite where they are doing a promotion. If you go to HarperTeen.com, and look at their features and there is one under my name and you go to that. And if you want to ask me questions, there’s a group of readers, absolutely amazing people, who started a fansite called WickedLovely.com and I go on there most every week and answer questions for readers. I am also on MySpace and Facebook. I really like being online.
Thank you, Melissa!
posted at 7:41 PM
1 Comments:
Melissa,
Your books are so cool! When I got the first one, I could not put it down. I can't wait to read the fourth and fifth ones. I am so excited. It would be so cool if you could come to our school. My school is in Shelley, Idaho. I go to Hobbs Middle School. Hope you have the greatet adventure of your life, Anonymous
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