Five Questions With.....Marjorie M. Liu

We're back with more from Marjorie M. Liu. Today, Marjorie completes her guest blog stint at OOTB as she answers "Five Questions."


How did the idea of Tiger Eye come to you? Once you finished the book, did you envision an entire series based on the characters?

Honestly, I don't know! The story began with the first paragraph, and from there I just started writing - fast - and the story unfolded. It was a wonderful experience -- and as I neared the end, ideas for other books did begin developing inside my head. Shadow Touch, for example, is a product of those imaginings. I feel both thrilled and humbled by the opportunity to write that book and continue the saga of my favorite guys and gals at Dirk & Steele.

What is your daily writing process? Do you plot each and every point of your manuscripts, or let your mind wander?

My mind wanders! There's no rhyme or reason to the way I do things, which can be good and bad. Good in the sense that I believe it helps me stay spontaneous - but bad because it does slow me down, especially during those crunch times when I would rather be the hare than the tortoise.

I know you love iTunes and have an eclectic mix of artists you enjoy. Do you use music when you’re writing, such as making soundtracks for your novels? What are you currently listening to?

I love listening to music as I write! Music carries energy that I find keeps me going, stimulates my brain, puts me in the groove. Lately, I've had the radio tuned to WUOL, Louisville's classical music station, which I find very conducive to my writing. I also have several mixes thrown together, songs that seem to compliment the books I'm working on at any given time. For example, some songs I've been listening to while writing The Red Heart of Jade (book #3 in my Dirk & Steele series) are:

Crazy (Tony Kanal Remix) - Alanis Morissette
Kiss From A Rose - Seal
A Sorta Fairytale - Tori Amos
Waiting In Vain - Annie Lennox
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper & Sarah McLachlan
Take On Me - A-ha
Extreme Ways - Moby

Your X-Men book Dark Mirror. Tell about the process of writing a book where the fan base is so, well, fanatical. Did you feel you needed to maintain certain characteristics for each of the X-Men to stay true to how they are portrayed in comics or in movies, or were you comfortable with your own interpretations?


I loved writing that book, although it was a bit harder than I expected - mainly because there are quite a few characters in Dark Mirror, and I wanted to make sure all of them received equal time on the page. As far as maintaining certain characteristics, I don't believe I made a conscious effort to write the X-Men in any particular way. Or rather, I feel so comfortable with those characters, that whatever came out felt natural, and how I best idealized them from the comics.

What’s ‘up next’ in your career? Any new characters competing for your attention?

Everything and anything! I've got all kinds of new stories rattling around in my head, some in my Dirk & Steele series, and others part of something new. I feel so lucky to be in a situation where I can actually act on my dreams. It's going to be a busy year - I have five books scheduled for release in 2006 - but I'm looking forward to it all.


Thank you, Jana! And thanks to all my readers!

And thank you, Marjorie!!! Everyone pop over to Marjorie's Live Journal and give her a big round of thanks!