Saturday, August 28, 2010

Interview with Marianne de Pierres










             



Welcome to Strange Candy Reviews, Marianne! It's great to have you here.
Hi Jo-Anne, thanks for inviting me to visit!

                                                                                                                                                                          SCR: Can you tell us a bit about yourself Marianne? Where did you grow up?
I’m a country girl from Western Australia who grew up on a farm reading pulp westerns and boys own adventure stories. I spent an unhealthy amount of time day dreaming that I was an action hero. At eleven I went to boarding school in Perth, and then on to Curtin Uni to study Film and TV. Then I fell in love with an engineer and spent ten years living in Paraburdoo. I didn’t begin writing seriously until I moved to Queensland fifteen years ago.

SCR: Do you have a favourite holiday spot?
Not really. Anywhere the family is together creates a happy memory but I have loved summer holidays on North Stradbroke Island.

SCR: For those who haven't read your books, could you give us a little description about them?
I’m a fairly versatile writer who swings between various sub genres of SF, crime and young adult fantasy. I love science fiction but I could never see myself writing one kind of book forever. My first SF series was post-cyberpunk, my next was space opera. I’ve also written humorous crime and have a dark YA fantasy coming out next year.

SCR: Did you always know you wanted to write science fiction?
When I was younger I wanted to write whatever I happened to be reading. I guess I spent a lot of years immersed in reading SF as an adult, so it seemed a natural progression.

SCR: Was it a genre you read when you were younger?
I started reading SF when I was in my twenties, quite late really, but my love for the genre grew and grew, until, for a period, it was all I read. Recently my tastes have broadened again, and my bedside table is piled with a variety of titles.

SCR: Your Parrish Plessis character is a pretty tough chick. How did she come about?
I started thinking about her character in about 1997. At the time there weren’t a lot of SFP (strong female protags) in SF, and urban fantasy was just a glimmer in Laurel K Hamilton’s eye. Most importantly I wanted to put her in an Australian setting to let her do her thing.

SCR: I really like your impression of futuristic Australia. Was there a lot of planning involved?
Thank you! I always plan a bit, but I do find too much structure constricting. I did ask myself lots of questions about what things had changed in my futuristic version of Australia and what things had stayed the same. My planning was born from those two simple questions.

SCR: Do you have any routines when you write? Do you have certain rules you follow when you write?
I write first draft right to the end even if it’s horrible, then I go back and starting the beautifying process. I don’t tend to write out of order, as some authors do. Other than that, it’s a case of hanging on for dear life.

SCR: Are there any authors out at the moment that you are really enjoying, or do you have a favourite book?
As I said, my bedside table is a mixture of authors and genres. Right now it’s harbouring, among other books, Feed by Mira Grant, Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay, The Wind Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane and The Reversal by Michael Connelly.

SCR: Has an interviewer or fan ever asked you a question you didn't know how to answer?
Yeah, a few times on panels. Sometime you just have to own up you don’t know!

SCR: If you could write a biography for anyone past or present who would it be and why?
I only do fiction :)

Marianne de Pierres is the author of the acclaimed Parrish Plessis and Sentients of Orionscience fiction series. The Parrish Plessis series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a roleplaying game.
Marianne is an active supporter of genre fiction and has mentored many writers. She lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband, three sons and three galahs. In 2011 her first young adult dark fantasy novel will be published. Marianne also writes humourous crime series under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt. Visit her websites at www.mariannedepierres.com and www.tarasharp.com



Thank you Marianne for stopping by.





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