Postcard For Reader

Final Fridays - Maria V. Snyder

This month, I have the absolute pleasure of welcoming Maria V. Snyder to WORD! Maria is the author of the upcoming YA fantasy novel Inside Out [March 30, Harlequin Teen] as well as the author of the fantastic Glass and Study series. She's also going to be a variety of places - check out her list of appearances here - including BEA this May!

Which did you have more fun writing - Inside Out, the Glass series, or the Study series?
M: I had fun writing them all. However Inside Out was a really nice break from the Study and Glass books. I had been writing the Study series and had finished Storm Glass before working on Inside Out - so I had been writing about Ixia and Sitia for 12 years and really needed something different. And Inside Out is VERY different.

I'm a bit of a cover whore. Which one of your books do you think has the best cover? What's your favorite book cover in general?
M: I love all my covers for various reasons. But my favorite book covers for the Study books are the UK YA books. The artist, Henry Steadman captured Yelena's spirit perfectly for those three covers. For the Glass books, I like the colors and designs on the USA ones, but the model on the UK covers matched what I had imagined Opal to look like. I'm also loving Inside Out's cover - that's Trella ripping through the paper - she's intense and direct and determined.

If you had to come up with a catchy slogan for reading, what would it be?
M: Reading is brain food!

What's your guilty pleasure?
M: Donuts :) I can resist chocolate, ice cream, cakes and pies, but if we have donuts in the house - I'll wait until everyone's in bed and eat them with a cup of tea! Shhh... don't tell my family that it wasn't our dog who devoured that last dozen!

What character do you relate to most? Which was your favorite to write?
M: I relate to Opal the most. Her low self esteem and confidence reflects me when I was in middle and high school. Also I was more into art and reading and not into sports. Opal does learn how to fight - it just takes her longer to realize she needs those skills. Yelena just jumps into training wholeheartedly. I wish I was more like Yelena - she's braver than me :) My favorite character to write is Janco! I love that guy - his humor and the way he views the world, is so much fun. I had a blast writing Power Study - it's a short story from Ari and Janco's POV and it's posted on my website if anyone is interested in reading it. Here's a link: [link]

What is your favorite book to recommend to teens? Adults? Young guinea pigs?
M: This is a hard question! I'm a closet librarian and could recommend so many... Teens - I would recommend Glass Houses, by Rachel Caine - it's the first in the Morganville Vampire series and they are wonderful. The main character is 16, but smart and going to college in a town run by vampires who are not good, but aren't all evil either. Adults - I would recommend The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis - it's science fiction involving time travel back to the days of the black plague and it has humorous moments. (hard to believe, I know :) Young guinea pigs - I would recommend Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card - better than timothy hay and carrots :)

What fashions do you love? What fashions should be exiled from sight forever?
M: I live in sweat pants and comfortable tops. Exiled: Tube tops - I've never seen anyone look good in one.

If you could make a soundtrack for your ideal day, what would it be?
M: Lullabies and soothing songs - my ideal day would be in bed catching up on about 15 years of sleep deprivation! (in a strange coincidence my oldest child just turned 15 ;)

M: Thanks for having me on your blog!

And I loved having you! Okay, o'lurvely readers, don't forget to pick up Inside Out when it comes out, and check out her other books as well! Inside Out and her other books can be ordered via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Borders, or can be picked up at your local bookstore.