Lu and behold
Text by Fiona Patricia S. Escandor Photos by Ruel Rosello
SCI-FI and fantasy novelist Marie Lu culminated the series of monthly tours of young adult fiction writers in the Philippines, hosted by National Bookstore. Following the streak that included, among others, Ransom Riggs, Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins and Jennifer E. Smith, Lu interacted with Cebuano fans and readers for a book signing event at The Gallery of Ayala Center Cebu last November.
Lu is known for her New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed Legend trilogy, a story set in futuristic, dystopian America, about 15-year-olds Day and June whose paths cross in the unexplained murder of June’s brother, Metias. The trilogy continues as the two attempt to uncover the Republic’s classified information, amid militaristic and political mind games.
Last October, she introduced a new series, The Young Elites, set in an alternate universe, centering on anti-hero Adelina Amouteru, a survivor of the blood fever who, left with scars and markings, discovers she has supernatural powers. It is a dark fantasy story that tells of Adelina’s eventual downfall.
Her works are certainly not the feel-good types, often stereotyped to YA fiction. In a press interview held during her visit, she said she has always been into science-fiction and fantasy works, and one of her favorites since she was a child is Brian Jacque, author of the Redwall series.
Certainly not the usual kind of YA protagonist, either—Adelina, the author revealed, actually started as a supporting character. “I had written an early version of The Young Elites, a 100-page version where the main character is a boy who’s bland and uninteresting, someone kind-hearted who finds outs he has superpowers and goes out to defeat bad guys. Then I gave it to my agent and she said she’s not feeling it, that that character is boring.”
And so began the transition of bringing Adelina, the story’s cunning villain, to the spotlight. This doesn’t mean, though, that it’s all dark and eerie in Lu’s fictitious worlds. To a certain extent, Legend and The Young Elites tackle the fight against personal battles and oppressors.
Recalling one of the most memorable messages a reader told her, she said, “I have this one lovely reader who was going through a hard time in his life, yet after he read the Legend series, he said it inspired him to do an internship in Peru. He said he wanted to do something good for the world like they did in the series. He went there for a year and worked in a tiny village, bringing awareness about immunization and the like.”
The 30-year-old novelist currently lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband (who’s Filipino, by the way) and pet dogs. She shared that she enjoys doing “all things creative,” like writing, playing the piano, photography and illustrating. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, she was a Flash artist and later art director for a video game company.
“I’m writing full-time but I definitely do still draw,” she said. “It’s part of my writing process. Before I write my characters, I have to draw my characters physically to get in touch with who they are. I would love to do something more professionally with it at some point in time.”
For the coming year, Lu said readers can look forward to the Legend trilogy’s graphic novel that will be out by April, and the second installment in The Young Elites series that will be out by September. She is also one of the authors working in a fantasy book series for kids, titled Spirit Animals, in partnership with Scholastic.
