CHRISTMAS ADVENT SPECTACULAR #7: Marked by Laura Williams McCaffrey - INTERVIEW + GIVEWAY

Marked by Laura Williams McCaffrey

GENRE: YA dystopian/fantasy

GOODREADS ~ AMAZON ~ AUTHOR ~ TWITTER

Sixteen-year-old Lyla lives in a bleak, controlling society where only the brightest and most favored students succeed. When she is caught buying cheats in an underground shadow market, she is tattooed—marked—as a criminal. Then she is offered redemption and she jumps at the chance . . . but it comes at a cost. Doing what is right means betraying the boy she has come to love, and, perhaps, losing even more than she thought possible. Graphic novel–style vignettes revealing the history of this world provide Lyla with guidance and clues to a possible way out of the double bind she finds herself in.  


INTERVIEW WITH LAURA WILLIAMS MCCAFFREY

1) Did the idea of Marked come to you in an instant or was it developed over time?

Some aspects of Marked came to me very quickly. I started the process with Lyla and her sister Hope, along with their situation — Lyla has trouble following rules while Hope accepts and follows rules more easily. I also knew that Hope would feel pressure to help Lyla succeed. Gill, Lyla's childhood friend who frequently is in trouble, also came to me early in the process. I knew, too, that in this world, many end up trapped in poverty, with few opportunities. However, a lot of the rest of the story developed over time. I eventually realized Lyla becomes Marked, a person tattooed for breaking laws, and that she, therefore, loses any chance to attend university. Then I realized that she would be offered a deal to earn off the tattoo if she betrayed Gill. 

2) Did you always want to write?

I always wrote little stories, often what would now be called fan fiction. I went on to write stories in the style of the kind I liked to read. Yet I didn't really realize writing was something people did. I know that sounds silly now, but when I was a kid in the 70s and a teen in the 80s, we were a lot less aware of authors. No web sites. No email. No Twitter or social media.  I can't remember any fiction authors visiting my school. I wrote, but I didn't know what to do with my writing besides fill up notebooks. 

3) What was your favourite book as a young adult?

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley was a revelation to me. In the 80s, high fantasy mostly featured male protagonists. I didn't encounter Tamora Pierce at that time; I don't think my high school library had her books. And if your library didn't have a book, it was difficult to discover. No web sites or blogs. No online booksellers.  The fantasy genre, particularly books written for teens, has changed a great deal since then. Women are writing fabulous fantastical stories with strong female characters. 

4) The cover for Marked is fantastic. Do you think covers are important or should you never judge a book by its cover?

Thanks, though I had nothing to do with the development of the cover. 

I think covers are important because they grab the attention of potential readers, and a great book designer/art director will understand that a book's design, including the cover, will enhance the experience for readers. Every aspect — fonts, chapter headings, the amount of white space on the pages, the symbols for section breaks, etc. — can help create the world or the feel of the story. 

Still, covers and these other elements can be ugly or boring, while the tale itself is fabulous. And they can be beautiful, but the tale itself doesn't match their beauty. We've probably all had a piece of fruit, perhaps a strawberry or apple, that looks beautiful but tastes bland or sour. Books are the same.

5) Finally, what's on your bookish Christmas list this year?

A great question! I always have trouble narrowing down the items on my list. 

I'd like more of Brian Wood's DMZ, a dystopian comic that I love. I also recently read Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki's This One Summer. I loved it so much that I'd really like my own copy. I've very much been wanting to read Daniel José Older's Shadowshaper. I'm embarrassed to admit that I never read Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Witch, and with the sequel coming out, I definitely want to. A book I adore is Neal Shusterman's The Schwa was Here, and I want to get my hands on his Challenger Deep, which just won the National Book Award. Should I keep going? I could make an extremely long list...

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