Ask the Author: Marian Allen
Answered Questions (13)
Marian Allen
I'd like to go to the Underworld -- specifically, the town of Hades -- in Sara Marian's THE LIFE AND DEATH (BUT MOSTLY THE DEATH) OF ERICA FLYNN. Since there's no physicality, you can look any age you choose. Nothing can hurt you. You can live in any kind of house you want, and there's always enough room and nothing ever gets dirty -- unless you want it to! Kids play cartoons, where they jump off high places and go splat, then get up and reform and laugh. The "currency" is whatever symbol you choose infused with your best emotional memory of that thing (marshmallow = camping out with your best friends and favorite relatives). Plus, there's great jazz.
Marian Allen
That's a tough one. The first couple that came to mind were Nick and Nora Charles of THE THIN MAN. Each one is a strong individual, and they don't always agree, but they're obviously devoted to each other and committed to their relationship. They're also funny. And they have a dog. So what's not to like?
Marian Allen
Thanks for asking, Steve! Almost all my books are in print. The only ones that are ebook only are the short story collections, and my upcoming collection of science fiction stories will be in print shortly after it's an ebook. You can request that your library order the books. I appreciate it!
Marian Allen
Hi, Pat! John Gardner's GRENDEL, read when I was in high school, opened up for me the depth of the truism that "the villain is the hero of his own story." And Joseph Campbell reinforced and helped explain the power and resonance of myth, fairy tales, folk tales, and archetypes. Thank you so much for connecting on Goodreads. :)
Marian Allen
Truth is VERY strange. There are some people I know and some coincidences I've experienced that I would have to change in a book, because nobody would believe them!
Marian Allen
I always loved stories. My mother read to me every night before I went to sleep, and my grandfather told me cautionary stories about why we should look both ways before crossing the street and so on. When my mother told me that anybody could write books, that books weren't artifacts from an earlier time, but were constantly being written and published, that was the only thing I wanted to do.
My books generally end up being about the nature of friendship and human connections, told in genre form: the SAGE books are fantasy, SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING is science fiction, I have a paranormal in edits, and a series of cozy mysteries waiting to be finished.
My books generally end up being about the nature of friendship and human connections, told in genre form: the SAGE books are fantasy, SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING is science fiction, I have a paranormal in edits, and a series of cozy mysteries waiting to be finished.
Marian Allen
Juvenile literature is by far the hardest to write properly and to sell. The term "age appropriate" is such nonsense, since each child matures intellectually and emotionally at different rates from the putative norm. J.K. Rowling deserves a lot of credit for opening young people's literature to adult acceptance of dark material in young people's literature, but I think Lemony Snicket's A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS did even more.
Marian Allen
I don't get writer's block. If I'm working on something and I get blocked, that's my subconscious telling me I'm taking the story in the wrong direction, or I've forgotten to address something important. Once I find my mistake, the writing flows again.
Marian Allen
Having written.
Marian Allen
Three pieces of advice:
1. Learn basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
2. Never give up; never surrender!
3. The only unbreakable rule of writing is: Do whatever works.
1. Learn basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
2. Never give up; never surrender!
3. The only unbreakable rule of writing is: Do whatever works.
Marian Allen
Two short stories and edits to two books. I have another book with an editor, and I have a series of cozy mysteries partially plotted.
Marian Allen
I don't get inspired, I just write. It's just what I do, how I am. Being around other writers and "talking story" does fire me up, but I don't need to be inspired in order to write.
Marian Allen
I get my ideas from so many places! My most recently published book is SAGE, a three-volume fantasy. That one started with a flash of a scene between a wise man and a wise woman, and a tension between their two definitions of wisdom. Then a flash of a scene about a runaway bride whose pursuer didn't know her when he saw her. Then a flash of a scene about a shapeshifter being unsuccessfully hunted in the woods. I usually do start with just little snippets of things like that, and I build from there.
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