Interview: Marci Lyn Curtis

Hi everyone! Recently, I read The One Thing and I absolutely loved it, so I thought it would be awesome to do an interview with its author, Marci Lyn Curtis, and guess what? Here it is!  If you haven't read my review yet, you can find it here. Keep on reading to find out more about this amazing writer!

Hello Marci! First of all, let me thank you for answering my questions today. To begin this interview, can you introduce yourself and your novel?

Hi Laurence! Thanks so much for having me! Let’s see…I’ll give you the short version: my name is Marci Lyn Curtis, author of The One Thing, a young-adult contemporary story about a blind juvenile delinquent who hits her head and is suddenly able to see a boy. It’s a tough book to sum up, so let’s just say it’s a coming-of-age with a little bit of everything—laughter, tears, friendship, romance, family, music, sarcasm, tragedy, cupcakes.

Etc.

Translation: it’s a twisty little story. And if you held the book on end and gave it a shake, you’d probably rattle out an Everest’s worth of emotion. So people who like stories with lots of feels would probably enjoy it.

What inspired you to write this story?

I wish I could say there was this huge ah-ha moment that inspired the story. But the fact was, one day it was just…there—characters and all—and it picked at me and picked at me until I finally started to take notes, just to get it out of my head. Those notes grew to about a foot-high stack of papers that eventually became The One Thing.

Can you relate a lot to your main character, Maggie?

Well, I’m not blind, nor do I know anyone who’s blind, so writing this story required a lot of research. By “a lot,” I mean months.

And months.

On end.

Also, Maggie was a soccer legend, and the last time I was half-decent in competitive sports was never. I mean, unless you count obscure sports, like, say, Orange is the New Black marathons. With those I’m sort of a badass.

Anyway, as far as similarities, Maggie and I both lean toward the sarcastic side. I grew up in a smart-alecky family (you do one idiotic thing and you’ll likely hear about it for the rest of your life), so sarcasm and jokes are sort of second nature for me.

Who is your favourite character in your novel and why?

Ben—because he’s just so…Ben. Life has basically handed him his butt, and yet he’s made the best of it, without using anything as a crutch. Also, he’s hysterical, loyal, kind, and he makes a mean English muffin pizza.

So far, what's the hardest thing you've been faced with while publishing your novel?

Can I say everything? No? Well, if I had to pick just one thing, I’d have to say the most difficult thing about writing this particular story was the responsibility I felt to be a good representative for the visually impaired. I was constantly terrified that, even though I was spending so much time researching blindness, I was getting all the details wrong—that I was missing something critical in the technology, the daily life, the thoughts and emotions, the training, the parenting. It was just so much. And it required an amazing amount of balance. I didn’t want to marginalize visual impairment, but I didn’t want it to be the focus of the novel, either. Sure, Maggie’s blindness had tremendously impacted her life. But did I want to portray Maggie as a blind character? No. I wanted to portray her as a character. I wanted her personhood to always be the focus. I wanted people to experience her. So I had to really pick through each scene, each line, and each bit of dialogue to make sure that this always came first.

If you could have lived in any fictional world, which one would it have been?

The Harry Potter world. Without a doubt.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Oh man. Jandy Nelson. She’s a genius. I mean, I’d probably dig through her trash just to read her grocery list.

Kidding.

Sort of.

What do you like the most about being an author?

Sharing my characters with everyone. It’s like standing on a stage and introducing my friends to the world. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

This: just write. Write about the things that are important to you. Write to share a version of yourself with yourself. Write without thinking about trends, or about how readers might perceive you. Just write.

What are your future plans? Anything we could be interested in?

Currently, I’m writing a story about an orphan pickpocket forced to live with the uncle who betrayed her family. Like The One Thing, it’s a twisty little story, and it covers a topic near to my heart, so it’s been difficult to write. After that, I’ll be writing a companion novel to The One Thing, featuring a certain unmentionable character.

Once more, thank you for answering! I hope to hear more from you soon.

Thank you so much, Laurence, for this amazing interview!

Extraordinary Means - Robyn Schneider

Goodreads summary:

From the author of The Beginning of Everything: two teens with a deadly disease fall in love on the brink of a cure.

At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it's easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.

There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.

But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down. 

Told in alternating points of view, Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about doomed friendships, first love, and the rare miracle of second chances.


My review:

5/5

AWWW MAN THAT WAS SAD!!! But I loved it. 

I was instantly attracted to the illness part of this book, which sounded really interesting and futuristic to me (even though I know it isn't). It's scary, but I like to think about living such a sad life and being in this world, as similar as it is to ours, except for the illness. The sadness of these kids' destiny hit me really hard, with all the similarities to summer camp that their quarantine camp has. Comparing to opposite things like that makes the whole situation even more weird, desperate and tragic, which is why I could basically not sleep until I finished this book.

Although it wasn't the most important point in this novel for me, I really liked the romance in this book. I loved how Sadie and Lane pretty much always liked each other, which sounds very fairy-tale-like to me (I'm aware that it's pretty much the opposite). Their love provided them with comfort when they needed it the most, which is one of the reasons why their relationship worked so well, in my opinion. Their late-night phone calls are the most adorable thing ever, especially to me, who's basically a phone calls lover. It sounds really romantic and if a guy ever did that with me, you can be assured he'd be the one I'd want to marry. 

I think the most important theme in this book is probably growing up, in general. Lane represents those of us who live for good grades and won't have a moment to rest until we've done everything we could to succeed, which is really useless if you want to have a happy life, like Lane realized. This character development is amazing, because he went from someone who'd die instead of not applying to college to someone who spends hours on the phone with his girlfriend instead of studying. Also, making good friends and sticking with them is another lesson learned by Lane and the new friends he makes, especially for them, who never know when their last day might be. This tragic way to live reinforced their friendships, in my opinion, because they were forced to see how much their friends matter to them and spend as much quality time as they can. It's a nice philosophy, even though it's created by a sad situation.

I pretty much enjoyed everything in this book, so I'd highly recommend it.

Geek Girl - Holly Smale

5/5

Yes, this book is probably aimed for 13 year-olds. No, I am not a 13 year-old, but I did like this book. A lot. A huge lot.

Its characters are amazing. First of all, Harriet is funny, honest and, well, geeky. It made me love her very quickly, even though I didn't approve all of her decisions. Her dad is absolutely hilarious and he made me laugh so hard that my own parents probably think I'm crazy by now. Her stepmother is strong, serious and loving, which is why she's perfect for Harriet's dad. Seriously, they're adorable. Then there's Nick. Oh, Nick. You may be a tad bit younger than I am, I still think you're very, very, very hot. The descriptions worked really well for me, and my imagination took care of EVERYTHING else. Literally. And when he turned out to be amazingly cute at the end, I wanted to dance, cry and sing, all at once. Toby, the creepy stalker/geek, was a better character than I expected him to be, even though I think he enbodices every prejudice against Geeks. My favorite character was probably Wilbur, from the agency, because you juste CAN'T dislike him. He's adorable, hilarious and I just loved the way he talks in general. I want one for myself! I feel like I didn't get to understand Nat's character that much throughout the story, which is sad, because a big part of it is based around her.

I think the storyline is interesting, even though it's a bit cliché. Harriet's evolution is great and I think she's mature for her age, except when she's hiding under tables, obviously. However, I know I would too, if I could find there what she found...

I highly recommend this book, no matter how childish you might think it looks. I know I did, but it proved me wrong and I'm more than pleased! I can't wait to read the second book now...

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