Interview with MARIANNE DE PIERRES

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Marianne de Pierres?

I’m an Aussie speculative fiction writer with about 17 published novels. A couple of my series have been released in the US, but mostly they are available in Australia and the Commonwealth countries. My websites tell more about me than I can coherently explain and not bore you to death, so go and check them out: main, Burn Bright and Tara Sharp Series. I tend to write across genres.

Your next novel, Mythmaker, will be published by Angry Robot. It’s the latest in your Peacemaker series: How would you introduce it to a potential new reader, and what can fans of the series expect?

It’s a real genre mashup. Think classic Western pulp fiction with a female protagonist, set in Australia, but paranormal! At heart it’s an old school Western adventure, a conservation novel, and a story about dislocated communities.

How were you introduced to genre fiction?

I can’t even remember what my first genre book was, but I fell instantly love with SF in my twenties after I read Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. The love affair never ended, though I occasionally misbehave with crime fiction.

How do you like being a writer and working within the publishing industry?

Honestly? Man, it’s tough! I love being a writer, but I hate the way our work is pirated, and how writers are so devalued by society. It makes me quite depressed. On the other hand, I love the opportunity to work with other creatives – it definitely gets me out of bed in the morning!

Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?

My brain works best in the morning, so I do the bulk of my writing then. I tend to read more in the afternoons as my brain gets tired. My main challenge the last few years (like a lot of writers) has been sitting still for long periods of time – my back does not like it! I try to exercise a lot to combat the stiffness. I also find that I work best in quiet environments, so I often go out to my desk at university, just to have that silence.

When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?

I had that desire from such a young age (eight or ten years old) that I can’t remember a time without it. I wrote the first chapter of my first book at about the age of ten. My mum was so sure it was going to be a bestseller. Hahaha. Her encouragement meant a lot.

What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?

I think it’s thriving as a storytelling medium. Unfortunately that seems to be more success for genre in television and film rather than books. Thank goodness for the YA market, which has renewed SFF’s weight as a genre with popular appeal.

Do you have any other projects in the pipeline, and what are you working on at the moment?

I like to have number of projects ruminating at once. I’m currently working on the 4th book in my paranormal crime series, and the feminist SF novel that I’m writing for my Master’s degree. Aside from that there are other creative things happening. I’m working on a graphic novel and some children’s picture books with a very talented Australian artist called Sunshine Herbert.

What are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?

I’m reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and Third Wave Feminism edited by Stacy Gillis, Gillian Howie, and Rebecca Munford. But like most readers, my desk is piled with books to read. Machine by Jennifer Pelland, Mappa Mundi by Justina Robson, The Just City by Jo Walton, and Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie. Grrls in SF!

What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?

I played basketball until the age of 53!

What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?

Visiting my son in New York and watching him play basketball, confirming my PhD, seeing my next Tara Sharp novel released, finishing a draft of my SF novel Pharmakon. Hanging out with my family. Coaching junior sport. LIFE!

**

Marianne de Pierres is the author of the acclaimed Parrish Plessis and award-winning Sentients of Orion science fiction series. The Parrish Plessis series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a roleplaying game. She’s also the author of a bestselling teen dark fantasy series entitled Night Creatures, and writes award-winning crime under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt. (Covers below.) She lives in Brisbane, Australia.

Peacemaker and Mythmaker are published by Angry Robot Books, and out now.

Visit Marianne online at her website, and follow her on Twitter and Goodreads.