Yasmyn and Kaitlyn Interview Marianne de Pierres

Marianne De Pierres

Some time ago, I reviewed Burn Bright on this web site. Here's a link to it: http://suebursztynski.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/burn-bright-by-marianne-de-pierres.html

If you haven't read this series, hopefully the review and this interview will tempt you to give it a go. 

Retra, who becomes Naif, lives in the Puritanical community of Grave, from which she escapes to find her brother, who has gone to the island of ever-night, Ixion, where teenagers party all night and hardly sleep at all. The only problem is - what happens when you're too old? 

In the tradition of Great Raven author interviews, I would like to welcome my guest bloggers, Yasmyn and Kaitlyn, members of my book club, who requested to interview the wonderful Marianne De Pierres, whose book Burn Bright has been on our Literature Circles lists for two years now. They told me they would love to go to Ixion because of the lively club scene! I'm not sure if this is what Marianne intended, but I can see the appeal to teens. Away you go, ladies!

Y/K: Hi, our names are Yasmyn and Kaitlyn and for the last couple of weeks we have been reading Burn Bright. We are very intrigued by your book and we would love if you could answer a few questions.

MDP: Hi Yasmyn and Kaitlyn  - thanks for interviewing me! Best wishes Marianne

Y/K:What inspired you to write this book?

MDP: It was a combination of a number of interests. I was fascinated by the concept of humans not needing to sleep, and I love Gothic architecture - to add to that, I had been reading about the lifestyles of nocturnal animals. Suddenly this mysterious world sprang into my mind. The more I thought about it, the more compelling it became

Y/K: What are all the names of the badges and what do they look like?

MDP: If you go to this page on the website you can see the gang badges and what the look like: 

http://www.burnbright.com.au/extras/badges/

Y/K: What are your 2 favourite Ixion names? Ours personally are Naif and Suki.

MDP: Suki is definitely one of my favourites, but I must admit I love Lenoir. It sounds so good when you say it!

Y/K: What was Brand looking for or doing when she attacked Krista-Belle and Retra/Naif?

MDP: Brand had developed an attraction for the Young Ones (which was forbidden!). While she fancied Krista-Belle, it was also about spiting Lenoir and showing her followers she didn’t care for his rules

Y/K: What do the Night Creatures look like?

MDP: You know they are quite hard to describe – they are very primitive. Something like this: 

Y/K: Why did you choose Latin as a 2^nd language?

I’m not quite sure actually. It seemed to fit with the Gothic feel of the novel. Also, Yunyu tends to play with language in her music. I knew she’d have fun with Latin. **SB: Yunyu is a musician who composed a song, Angel Arias, which is mentioned in the book, You can actually buy it on marianne's web site!**

Y/K: Where did you get your inspiration for the title?

MDP: Burn Bright was easy – it was in my mind from the start. Angel Arias was picked out by my editor because of the song in the story. And then we threw around ideas for Shine Light until we agreed on one.

Y/K: Why was Modai so affected by Leyste’s death?

MDP: Like any species, they have a capacity to show preference and develop intimacy towards others of their kind. Leyste was once his brother.

Y/K: What are some of the things we can look forward to in the next book, Angel Arias?

MDP: Angel Arias reveals a lot about Grave and Naif’s life there. It has the answers to many of the questions Burn Bright poses – but it also throws up new questions which are answered in Shine Light. 

Thanks very much for the great interview, Marianne! To anyone who hasn't read this series, what are you waiting for?