Marjorie M. Liu's Blog, page 13

Winner of RUSH!

Using Random.org, I pulled a name — and congrats to Brett Jonas! Please contact me with your address and I’ll send RUSH right out to you! And thank you, everyone, who participated! I hope you check out RUSH when it’s released on June 7th!

And, in other news…I give you chipmunks! Not just any chipmunks, but young chipmunks. They’ve been playing like crazy around these rocks — four little nest mates, practically doing cartwheels in the leaves. No fear, either. At least not of humans. Caution, at...

RUSH! And a giveaway!

So, Eve Silver’s RUSH is a book I’ve been looking forward to reading for almost the last year — not only because it’s a YA sci-fi, which is rare and a genre I love — but because Eve is a fantastic writer, and I have adored every single book she’s ever written. Why should RUSH be any different?

Let me assure you: I have just finished reading the book, and it is superb. I rarely make recommendations, but I believe in this book, and I think readers — young, kinda young, older, and onward — will g...

Alive! Alive!

Wow, I have a blog. And I haven’t been updating at all.

I’ve been writing, on deadline, which is the reason why — and it’s a good reason, right? Blogging can be the perfect tool for the procrastinator, but right now, procrastination is the enemy. I have a ton of work to do.

Still, there are some small things that have recently brought me a great deal of enjoyment:

1. Barbara Vey’s Reader Appreciation Luncheon (see photos below)

2. Eve Silver’s smiling face, and the ARC of her upcoming sci-fi YA,...

Boston

I was in Boston during the Marathon bombing. Years ago, the first time I visited Boston, there wasn’t much about it that I liked. My experience was tainted by racism, angry drivers, an East Coast vibe that didn’t sit well with my Seattle mojo. That was when I was seventeen. Last year, at thirty-three, I came here again. And this time the city showed a different side. Of course, I was a different person, too.

Boston has become a second home to me, in ways that I never expected. Mostly, because...

More from Tokyo.

Of course, I’ve been home for a couple weeks now, but I’ve been terrible at updating my blog. First of all, while I was there it was non-stop action, running around until we’d get back to the hotel and then just collapse from giddy exhaustion. Then, I returned home to the states and hit the ground running on my novel — again. So, these photos will be trickling out slowly, but surely.

Japan was amazing, though, in more ways than I can express. I would live there in a heartbeat. Maybe not foreve...

Tokyo! Day 1!

Japan Airlines is the best. One of the nicest fourteen hour flights I've had in a long time (which is saying something, believe me).

Took the packed train from Roppongi to Shibuya (with a transfer between).

Waiting for the train!

Made it to Shibuya, though it's hard to see the famous intersection from this angle.

I just had to visit the tribute statue of Hachikō, who is still called "the most faithful dog in Japan".

Another view of Shibuya. More details, impressions, to come -- but quickly: I love...

Just do it!

From Chuck Wendig’s fantastic blog, Terrible Minds, another great post about motivation, and where it comes from, how we find it, how we get inspired. And the answer, as he puts it so perfectly and succinctly?

You just do.

All the writing-talk and story-speak in the world won’t do more than tickle your theoretical story’s imaginary testicles if you’re unwilling to commit thetimeandeffort it takes to grab the words from inside your ribcage and smash them like overripe fruit on the page.

Yes, a mi...

Happy Chinese New Year!

When blizzards attack!

These photos don’t convey at all what it feels like to be outside with 25 mph hour gusts and a wind chill of 3 degrees. Also, you really can’t tell just how high the snow is. And it’s high, let me tell you. Cars are buried in drifts almost up to their roofs. We were walking, wondering how the city had gotten all the vehicles moved from the side of the road — and then realized they were still there. Just buried from sight.

Everything is shut down, with only pedestrians on the road (and the occa...

Just remember: HAVE FUN

So, I’ve been slogging along on my novel. Some days are great, and exciting…other days, not so much. And it occurred to me, finally, that I have reached that dreaded, terrible, boundary line in every project: when you hit the wall, and it stops being fun. Most authors go through this, but I feel as though I’ve plunked a little harder than usual. As in, my problem isn’t mere word-exhaustion.

I said, this morning, “I’ll have fun on the next book.”

And my partner-in-crime replied, “That’s terrible...