7 Questions For: Author Marissa Burt

Marissa Burt writes middle grade fantasy and is the author of Storybound and the upcoming sequel Story's End. She grew up in Portland, Oregon, and drifted eastward, living in Colorado, Illinois, Tennessee, and South Carolina, before coming back home to the Pacific Northwest.

Along the way, she studied Sociology, Ancient Languages, and Theology and clocked hours as a social worker, barista, 5th grade teacher, bookseller, faculty assistant, and reference librarian. But not all at the same time.

Marissa now lives in the Seattle area with her husband and three sons where she enjoys time spent around family, friends, and good books.

Click here to read my review of Storybound.

And now Marissa Burt faces the 7 Questions:


Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

An impossible question for any self-respecting book lover.  ;)  I'm going to limit my selection to fiction, because otherwise it would just be too impossible.  My top three in no particular order would be: Anne of the Island, by: L.M. Montgomery (really, all of LM Montgomery's books would appear on this list, but if I HAVE to pick one of her books, it would be this one.  Such a friendly book!), That Hideous Strength, by: C.S. Lewis (I love the entire Space Trilogy, but this one has some imagery that is particularly meaningful to me.), and the The Return of the King, by: J.R.R. Tolkien.

Question Six: How much time do you spend each week writing? Reading?

I spend countless hours reading.  Seriously.  This is what I do with nearly every spare moment.  Even ones that I can't spare: I listen to audiobooks while I'm doing housework, sneak in some reading while my young sons have naps, and I always have a book in my purse just in case I'm out somewhere waiting in line.  Add to that the nights I stay up way too late to read "one more page", and I really can't give you a hard number.  

Writing is a little easier to pin down, though my writing tends to go in seasons.  If I'm working on a project, I'll often have several afternoons a week that I can devote entirely to writing.  But, for example, right now, when I'm waiting to hear back on a few things, I do no writing!!!  Such is the happy life of a writer who also spends a good deal of time taking care of her young children.

Question Five: What was the path that led you to publication?

Back in 2007, after the birth of my first son, I had the realization that this far-off dream I'd had of "writing someday" would never get any easier to accomplish.  I began to see that the less free-time I had, the more selective I'd have to be with how I spent it.  I began to write for one afternoon a week, playing with a story idea I had that was born out of my love for fantasy story-worlds - the book that eventually became Storybound.  

About a year later, I queried the book and was thrilled when Laura Langlie offered to represent me.  She has been such a kind and generous partner in navigating the debut-author process.  My wonderful now-editor Erica Sussman took a look at what was then titled The Tale of Una Fairchild and asked if I'd be interested in working on an exclusive revision.  Her investment in  the story was a huge gift to me, and I've so appreciated working with her and am happy that Storybound and Story's End eventually found a home at HarperCollins Children's.



Question Four: Do you believe writers are born, taught or both? Which was true for you?

I'm going to dodge your question a bit, and say that I suppose writers are grown.  I think all people have the creative impulse deep within them and carry the innate capacity for imagination and story-telling as part of their humanity.  I'd guess that whether this plays out on the printed page or not depends a great deal on environment and opportunity.   In my case, I think a good deal of how I see the world was given me when I was born, and my environment, the luxury of literacy, the influence of friends and family, and my education all channelled my story-telling into writing.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about writing? What is your least favorite thing?

My favorite thing about writing is the moment of inspiration - when the perfect scene pops into your head, or the solution of how to resolve a knotty plot-point appears out of seeming-nowhere.  There is great satisfaction in finding the right picture or character or symbol to translate into the story, and I love the abundance of creativity that keeps one guessing as to where a story might go next.

I think my least favorite thing is the flip side of that coin: not knowing where a story might go next. Sometimes this leads to a dreadful staleness, where I am just putting words on a page and wondering how in the world it will ever come together.  As I'm learning, though, this seems to be part of the process, and if I hold steady through the doldrums I inevitably end up back in a place of inspiration.



Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

I would suggest that aspiring writers read as much as they can and as widely as they can.  There really is no substitute for engaging the community of writers and readers in this way.  Additionally, I would encourage them not to wait for the perfect novel idea or some filled-out project to begin writing.  Write what you can - even if it is a scene, a character sketch, or a very short story.  I find that keeping a journal is excellent practice.
 

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

Oh dear!  This sort of question turns up every so often, and my answer probably changes depending on whose books I'm reading at the moment.  Today, I'd like to have lunch with C.S. Lewis, because I'm re-reading through many of his books, and I respect his work a great deal.  One of my favorites is his Letters to Children.  Any author who writes funny and warm replies back to his young readers - complete with doodled elephants and tigers - must be a lovely lunch companion.

www.marissaburt.com

Book Review: STORYBOUND by Marissa Burt

First Paragraph: Una often told herself that she was invisible. Perhaps that was the reason people passed her in the halls, their eyes skimming over her slight form as if she were part of the scenery: a desk, a book, a classroom, a girl. It could also be the reason why Ms. McDonough, perched on her musty old pink chair, talked to her cats about Una as though Una wasn’t there. “The girl sassed me today,” she would say, or “The girl is quite selfish and irresponsible.” But Una didn’t mind too much. The cats couldn’t tease Una like the kids in the other foster homes had. There had been five foster families so far, and Ms. McDonough’s was the first where Una could actually be alone. Even at dinner, as they sat together at the long mahogany table, the surface polished to such a gleam that Una’s big violet eyes looked back up at her, even there Ms. McDonough never acknowledged her, and Una was left to her own imagination.

Hey there, Esteemed Reader! We're doing something different today: 1. As promised, after this paragraph, we're only going to talk about this week's book (which means my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon will be the same as they appear here). 2. Starting today, I'm not only going to conclude with some of my favorite passages from the week's book, I'm also going to share the first paragraph with you. I figure I spend so much time talking about opening lines in these reviews, anyway, why not just make it a regular thing? Also, if I can't sell you on the merits of the week's book, why not let its author take a crack at it:)

Marissa Burt's Storybound is a wonderful fantasy middle grade novel kids will definitely enjoy, but that writers will absolutely adore. There are tinges of Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, but Storybound is very much it's own thing and the perfect bedtime story for authors everywhere:)

And now, the fantasy of every fiction writer who ever lived and most readers: Imagine one day you're in the library browsing for a book and you find one with your name on it:

“Curious,” Una murmured. She flipped the book every which way but found no inscription. It sat fat and heavy in her hand, and she paused for a moment before opening the beautiful filigreed cover. All the pages had the same pretty silver lining, and Una turned them with reverent fingers. Then she stopped. She stared hard at the first page. “The Tale of Una Fairchild,” it said in a sharp black script. She read the line again, wondering if she was imagining things. She was Una Fairchild. 
How many Una Fairchilds could there be?

What if that book was your story, Esteemed Reader? What if it and some creepy elf dudes sucked you into the book and you were not only the star of your own story, but you could help shape it? If you're a fiction writer (and you're here, so you probably are) I know that's your fantasy (elf dudes aside), because isn't that why we write in the first place? To be sucked into the story of our choosing and to craft it?

To be fair, that's not exactly what happens to Una. She gets sucked into the land of Story with Peter, the good looking hero, a snobbish lady, and a talking cat (of course there's a talking cat!). It's worth noting Burt is too smart to bomb the reader with exposition the way I just did. Instead, she sucks Una into the middle of an action-packed dragon battle and makes Una work to figure out where she is.

Before long, Una's enrolled in classes learning about genre dialogue, experiential questioning, and history, here called backstory (love it). All the characters are very much aware they're characters, but Una herself is a WI, or Write In (so much fun). Una gets into all kinds of trouble in Story, learning new details about her parents' disappearance and what it means to direct your own story. There's too much detail to get into in one review or one book as Storybound ends with "TO BE CONTINUED..."

I have no doubt kids will enjoy Storybound, but this story simply demands to be read by writers, who will love it the most. There are so many inside jokes for just us book lovers, it's as though Marissa Burt is sitting beside you with her own pumpkin latte, and you're having a fun chat about a mutual love of writing and craft. For what else can this paragraph be if not a discussion of characterization:

“But everyone can’t be a Hero or a Villain,” Una said. 
Peter pushed an overgrown branch out of the way. “Well, that’s not exactly true. Most characters in Story are pretty clear-cut. You either learn how to save the day or how to try and destroy everything.”
“But that’s not right,” Una argued. “In real life, no one is completely good or completely bad. People are mixed-up jumbles of everything.” She told Peter about one of the mean girls at Saint Anselm’s who made fun of kids for the clothes they wore but always gave money to the homeless man who sat at the bus stop. 
“Well, things are different in stories,” Peter said. 
“You’re telling me,” Una said.

Not all the discussions are aimed at readers. Burt does a nice job of inserting some truths for children along the way without ever preaching, such as in this discussion of the objects coveted by villains:

“Knowledge,” said a boy wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Una thought he was the same boy she had seen the night before in the Woodland Room. 
Professor Thornhill paused at that. “Why knowledge, Mr. Truepenny?” 
“Because knowledge is power,” he said. His dark hair fell over one eye. “An evil Villain controls knowledge, both what is spread about and what is withheld. That is how he can gain power.” 
“Very good, Mr. Truepenny,” the professor said quietly. She was looking at Una now. “Truth is one of the most powerful weapons against evil. And wisdom, which enables us to discern how to apply the truth. Without truth and wisdom, how would we be able to tell the difference between the evil and the good?

There's actually quite an undercurrent of conspiracy and shadow government throughout Storybound, hinting at a darker sequel. But the bulk of Storybound is humorous and fun. Burt's got some substance to share, but mostly she wants to show the reader a good time, and few things in fiction are so admirable. We all could use a good time now and again and I'm still laughing about the "Snow White" type character abusing the woodland creatures contractually obligated to do her bidding Fred Flintstone style. 

And that's going to do it. I hope you're digging the new review style, Esteemed Reader. Sorry I didn't have time to make it shorter:) 

I'll leave you with some of my favorite passages from Storybound:

"I basically saved your life." Peter looked very pleased with himself. "Like it or not, I'm your hero."

Una thought about what she had learned in class back at Saint Anselm’s. Governments that controlled what people read did it in order to control the people.

“And then they would whisk Una off to wherever they take those who disagree with them.”

"...You must remember that the roots of the tree are buried deep in Story’s soil,” she said, and leaned in so close that Una could see her toothless smile. “Schoolchildren should always learn their Backstory.”

“Besides, I don’t think characters have ever been big readers. Too busy doing.”

Here to show us she can act as well as write is Marissa Burt:

I can't read this trailer, but it sure looks good and I can't find an English version:)

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: All reviews here will be written to highlight a book’s positive qualities. It is my policy that if I don’t have something nice to say online, I won’t say anything at all (usually). I’ll leave you to discover the negative qualities of each week’s book on your own.