Interview With RITA finalist Melissa Marr

BIO: Prior to writing, Melissa taught college lit. After a decade of teaching, she applied her fascination with folklore to writing. Wicked Lovely, the first novel, was simultaneously released in the US and UK by HarperCollins in 2007 (with translation rights also sold in seven countries). It debuted as a NY Times Bestseller. Critical responses both here and abroad have been positive. Ink Exchange, the second novel, released in Summer 2008 to similar responses. Currently, Melissa lives in the DC area with her family and writes full time.

KP: How did you get the inspiration for your Rita-nominated book?
MM: I keep thinking I'll get better at this question, but I still don't quite know how to answer. I knew there was this girl who had to deal with the King of Summer & the Queen of Winter. I knew her name (Aislinn). In the original version (a short story), he loved her, and she was having to choose between love and duty. She could be with him as one of his summer girls, or she could be the next Queen of Winter and only have two days a year with him. It evolved over time, but those ideas were the core ideas that led to the novel.

KP: What authors do you read?
MM: In which genre? :) I read everything but inspirational fiction, erotica, or self-help texts. In romance, I like Lynn Kurland, Eloisa James, Sherilyn Kenyon, Nora Roberts (and JD Robb) . . . I don't do genre divisions or sub-genre divisions. I like historical, paranormal, contemporary, sexy, sweet in my romance. I like classic lit (that's what I taught before I wrote). I like Young Adult, Middle-Grade, picturebooks . . . fantasy, mystery, women's studies, folklore, military history, literary theory, philosophy, poetry. I like books.

KP: Favorite character:

MM: Chaucer's Wife of Bath, Milton's Satan, Faulkner's Temple Drake. . . There are too many.

KP: 5 things always in your purse:

MM: ID, money, cell phone, pen, lip gloss

One item of makeup you can't live without:

MM: Nail polish
KP: Music currently listening to:

MM: Right this minute, I'm listening to a mix of Damien Rice, Paolo Nutini, and Poe.

KP: Tell us about your pets:

MM: Junior (lab/rott) is my oldest; he's 12 now. Jezebel (tabby) is 5. Bronwyn (turtle) is 3. Drusilla (rottweiler) turns one in August. Junior moved from the bed a couple years ago, so Jez sleeps with us now. Jez & Junior stay in the office while I work. Dru assures that I take plenty of breaks to play.
KP: First thing you drink in the morning:

MM: Water. Then tea, typically Irish Breakfast Tea, Assam, or Ceylon.

KP: Best/worst prom/high school memory:

MM: I'm lousy at worst/best/favourite questions. One of my top picks would be art class when we sat outside to sketch trees. . . or maybe being picked up by friends and tearing out of the lot too fast with the music too loud. The worst actually AT school was being told I wasn't entered into consideration for a scholarship (despite having straight As) because "girls like [me] don't amount to anything" and that it was better for the scholarship to go to someone who'd do something with their life. It was pretty heart-breaking.

KP: If you could go back in time and talk to the teenage you, what would you tell her?

MM: Not a single thing. Even with the unpleasant parts I experiences, I think who I am now results from the journey it took to get here. I don't regret a moment, wouldn't tamper with anything. We are who we are bc of where we were and the choices we made. I like who
I am today.

KP: What are you working on next?

MM: I'm contracted for 3 more YA novels and an adult anthology (with Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, & Jocelyn Drake) so depending on the day and the way the words are flowing I'm working on one of those. I don't usually work on just one project at a time.