Mari Mancusi is the author of The Blood Coven series: Boys that Bite, Stake That, Girls that Growl & Bad Blood. (Bad Blood hits the shelves in January 2010) And also two stand alone titles: Skater Boy and Gamer Girl. This is Mari's second visit at The Story, you can see the guest post she did for the release of Gamer Girl. It's one of my favorites. Here's an interview I recently conducted with Mari!
What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Easiest?
The easiest aspect is coming up with ideas for books! I have a billion! I would never have time to write all the stories I would like to.
The most challenging aspect is to let go of the things you can’t control. You only have control over the book itself, not the cover, not the distribution, not the print run. You just have to write the best book you can and trust that your publisher will do right by it and it will get into the right readers’ hands. Also, it can be a challenge not to sweat the small stuff – like bad reviews. I swear, there’s some kind of weird writer mathematical formula where one bad review can snuff out the joy of ten glowing ones!
What’s the most rewarding aspect?
By far the most rewarding aspect is getting emails from readers who identify with the books. This was especially true with Gamer Girl, a book I wrote involving bullying. So many girls (and some boys, too) wrote to me confessing that they too have been bullied and that, after reading the book, they’ve decided to start standing up for themselves, just as my heroine Maddy does in the book. Those kinds of letters make me feel like I’m doing something right.
Is there a genre that you’d like to write? Is there a genre you’ll probably stay away from and why?
I’d like to do more post-apocalypse. I did a couple of books for Dorchester’s Shomi line (Moongazer and Razor Girl) that were futuristic and post-apocalyptic. It was really fun to imagine what life would be like in the future, after society collapses. And in Razor Girl I got to write about zombies! What’s not to love about that?
I’d probably stay away from straight historicals because I don’t have the patience to do the amount of research involved to create a totally realistic historical world and I wouldn’t want to cheat my readers. That said, I do enjoy reading them.
What's next for you?
Bad Blood, Book #4 in the Blood Coven Vampires series, is out in January. I also have a story in the My Zombie Valentine anthology, also out in January. I’m finishing up a book for Dutton called The Camelot Code, which is a YA Arthurian time travel. Young King Arthur comes to the 21st century and Googles himself and decides he doesn’t want to go home and fulfill his destiny.
Boys to Bite was first released in 2006. What did the recent make-over really entail? Was it just the covers or was there more to it?
I actually had the chance to update some of the pop culture references in the book, which was fun. It’s amazing the things that change in three years. And I put back the original cliffhanger ending to Girls that Growl that I had taken out when we didn’t know if there would be a book #4 or not. So I was happy about that. I also designed a website to go with the books, where readers could actually sign up to join the Blood Coven, which we advertised at the back of the books. (www.bloodcovenvampires.com) I’m all about making reading more interactive and this was one way I was able to do it.
Will Bad Blood be the last in the series? If no, how many books are slated for the series?
That’s actually an interesting question. My German publisher is ahead of my American one (they published Bad Blood back in July of this year) and they’ve already bought Book #5 as well. (Tentatively called Night School.) My American publisher has until January to decide whether they will publish book #5. That’s one of the reasons I’m doing a big publicity push for the revamped series – the more books we sell, the stronger case we can make to the publisher to publish Book #5 in the USA.
As for how many books there will be in the series, I’m not entirely sure. I have a lot of stories to tell about Sunny and Rayne and will keep writing as long as people keep reading! I know Germany has already talked to me about Book #6, but there’s no official deal in place yet.
Describe your writing in three words.
Funny, angsty, empowering
If you could travel back in time for one year, what time and place would you choose? And if you could only take 3 things with you, what would they be?
Ooh – good question. I think I’d go back to medieval England and live in a castle. As long as I could be a lady in waiting, that is, and not a serf. This way I could dress everyday in those beautiful embroidered gowns!
As for what I’d bring? Deodorant, bug spray, a fork!
Contest
One lucky winner will be the owner of the 3 newly repackaged books currently available from the Blood Coven series. That means you'll be getting a copy of Boys that Bite, Stake That & Girls that Growl!
Contest information:
- deadline is November 20, 2009
- only open to residents of the US
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Please feel free to leave a comment on this post as well, since Mari was active in the comments section last time with the readers who commented. If you enjoyed the interview, I'm sure she (and I) would love to know it!