Author Interview & Giveaway: Marjorie M. Liu, author of Within the Flames

Please join me in welcoming Marjorie M. Liu, author of Within the Flames, as she provides us with an author interview today.

A pyrokinetic and former car thief, Eddie cannot refuse an assignment to cross the continent in order to rescue an extraordinary woman in peril…even though he fears losing control of the destructive power of flame at his fingertips. The last of her shape-shifting kind, Lyssa hides in the abandoned tunnels beneath Manhattan. Like Eddie, fire is her weapon, her destiny…and her curse. For beneath Lyssa’s extraordinary beauty are dangerous secrets…and even darker, nearly irresistible urges...

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Every writer has a different process or schedule they follow when writing. What is your process like?

There’s no real process, actually. I always have an idea, a nagging image in my mind, some desire to speak to something that’s in my heart. That’s where the stories begin. I sit down and do my best to write them.

Is there any specific place you like to go to write, or can you write anywhere? Do you have any rituals or foods/drinks that you simply must have in order to write?

I can write anywhere, for the most part – though that also depends on how I’m feeling on any particular day. Sometimes, nothing is better than a coffee shop. Other days, I drag my computer to bed. No rituals, either. I need to be physically comfortable, but that’s not much of a surprise. When you have a job that requires hours sitting in one spot, comfort matters!

Out of all the books you've published, which two characters are your favorite and would consider revisiting in the future?

Hard choice. If we remain just within the Dirk & Steele series, then I can honestly say that I already did revisit my favorite couple: Lannes and Lethe, from The Wild Road. Those two – a gargoyle and his human wife – reappear in Within the Flames in a rather meaty role.

Can you give us a peek into the life of author Marjorie M. Liu? When you are not writing a book what does your typical day look like?

When am I not writing, that’s the question! Typically, a normal day involves a couple hours of work in the morning, a break for lunch, more work – and then an evening spent reading, watching television, or just daydreaming.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Be true to yourself. You’ll receive a lot of messages, good and bad, about what it takes to succeed as a writer. At the end of the day, however, the key is simply to write and tell the story of your heart.

What can fans expect next from you? Any teasers?

I’m very excited that I was finally able to tell Eddie’s story in Within the Flames. He’s a character who has been around from the very beginning of the Dirk & Steele series, and in some ways is its heart. He’s young, earnest, brave -- wary of his ability to control fire -- and the kind of hero who won’t win the heroine’s heart with grandiose gestures, but instead his thoughtfulness and kindness.

Another upcoming release is the next Hunter Kiss novel, The Mortal Bone, which finds Maxine in a fight for her life when Zee and the boys – those demons who live as tattoos on her body – are forcibly stripped away from her skin, leaving her defenseless and alone for the first time in her life. I can safely promise that Maxine’s life changes forever after this book.

As a bonus, an original, brand-new Hunter Kiss short story will be released online in December, bundled with the e-version of a formerly published Hunter Kiss novella, “Armor of Roses.” The short story is called “The Silver Voice” and is told from Grant’s point of view.

So today I have a copy of In the Dark of Dreams to giveaway.

She could never forget the boy with the ice blue eyes . . .

She was only twelve when she saw the silver boy on the beach, but Jenny has never stopped dreaming about him. Now she is grown, a marine biologist charting her own course in the family business—a corporation that covertly crosses the boundaries of science into realms of the unknown . . . and the incredible.

And now he has found her again, her boy grown into a man: Perrin, powerful and masculine, and so much more than human, leaving Jenny weak with desire and aching for his touch.

But with their reunion comes danger. For Perrin and Jenny—and all living creatures—their only hope for preventing the unthinkable lies in a mysterious empire far beneath the sea . . . and in the power of their dreams.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF IN THE DARK OF DREAMS?

{November 29- December 13, 2011}

• Only residents of the U.S. are eligible to win
• No P.O. Boxes please
• Giveaway copies will be sent directly to winners from the publisher
• 1 Winner will be randomly selected using random.org and contacted via email
• Please check my Contest Policy before entering

To enter:

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