Interview: Marianne Curley

Friday, December 19, 2008

A few months ago, I posted a spotlight on an author that felt deserved a little bit more attention - Marianne Curley.

Curley is the author of Old Magic and the Guardians of Time series, which include The Named, The Dark and The Key.

For this week's Thank Goodness for Books, I was fortunate enough to chat a bit with Ms. Curley about her "Named," her favorite time periods and what we can expect to read from her in the future! (SPOILERS, BEWARE. You have been warned!

Hi Marianne! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us! First off, over here at The Reader's Quill, we love all sorts of books and music. We're curious, what are your top three favorite books? And top three favorite musicians?

There are so many it is hard to pick just three of each. I would have to say my long-time favourite books would be: “Katherine” by Anya Seton, “Hawaii” by James A Michener, and, “Mila 18” by Leon Uris. As for musicians, three of my favourites are: Celine Dion, Delta Goodrem and Evanescence.

How did you come up with the idea for Guardians of Time?

The spark for the idea actually originated when I was writing my first novel, “Old Magic”. In “Old Magic” I had toyed with the concept of what might happen to the present, or the future, if a figure from the past was tampered with or even killed. I took this concept further and thought of writing a story about organised manipulation of the past, and the potential havoc it would create.

Which is your favorite character in the series? Which was your favorite perspective to write, if different?

My favourite character kept changing over the course of the three years it took to write the series. Having said that, my first favourite character was Ethan, and by the end of the trilogy, it was Ethan again. In between, my favourite character had changed to Arkarian, and then Rochelle, but I came back to Ethan because of his strength, his belief in Rochelle’s innocence and his loyalty to the Guard. Isabelle was my favourite perspective to write, most probably because I spent a lot of time in her head and I thoroughly enjoyed her fighting spirit.

Are any of the characters in the series based on people in your own life?

I did not set out to base my characters on any specific person I know in my own life, except for perhaps the shape of a character’s eyes or the colour of his or her hair, but the people around me definitely have an influence on my life in general and it is quite possible I might have inadvertently used an aspect of their personality, incorporating it into one of my characters to make the character more charming, or funny, or simply more realistic.

If you were one of The Named, what weapon would we find you wielding at the final battle?

The weapon of my choice would be a sword. I’m not a very sporty person, especially since I injured my back in 2004, fracturing two vertebra, but the sword epitomises my idea of the elegance and romance of Medieval times; the symbol, one could say, that represents the quintessential fantasy novel.

A few technical questions about our beloved Named. When Isabel turns eighteen, will she stop aging? If so, will she go live with Arkarian? Do they marry?

Isabel will stop aging at eighteen and continue with her life in the human world until her unchanging youthful look begins to become obvious. Whether she marries Arkarian or not sounds like a prospective sequel. I imagine she would marry Arkarian, and the ceremony would be beautiful, with her brother Matt happily officiating.

At the end of The Key, Lorian falls at the hands of his sister. Does Matt take over as Lord or does Dartemis take up his rightful place?

Dartemis will take up his rightful place to give Matt time to enjoy his youth and be trained fully in the enormous task and responsibility of being the Lord and caretaker over all things.

We know that Arkarian has the ability to stop aging, however we were wondering, since Matt and Neriah are immortal, will they remain eighteen forever?

As immortals they will mature at the appropriate pace that immortals age, which means they will appear youthful for many millennia yet.

Ethan has lost so much in his life. First his sister, now Rochelle. Do you believe a person has more than one soul mate? Will Ethan ever find happiness in the form of love again?

I believe Ethan will find love again, and it will be with a girl who has also loved and lost deeply. Together they will make a family and enjoy lasting happiness. But neither will forget their first deep loves, and know in the corner of their hearts that they will be together with them in the afterlife.

If we look ahead five years in the future, what would we find happening with our characters?

To answer this question I might have to write another novel first! I imagine it is a time of great peace in the world, and our characters are all very busy making sure it stays that way, fulfilling their new obligations, and moving forward with their own hopes and aspirations.

History plays a big role in the series. What kind of research did you do?

The research I conducted was mainly through historical non-fiction books resourced from my local library and my own, very small, personal library. I also used the vast resources of the Internet and held discussions with my daughter Amanda, a history student with a wonderful comprehension of all things ancient.

Which period in history do you find most interesting? Would you be interested in writing about it in the future?

Lately I’ve been researching Ancient Egypt. And yes, I would be interested in writing about it in the future. In fact, I have done so already!

Are you working on any new projects? Any hints you can give us, if you are?

I think I just did that in the previous question. I have almost finished working a new novel, unnamed as yet, which I hope to be able to give to my publisher early in the new year. Sorry, that’s about all I can say at this time. All going well, there will be much more I can say about my new novel in the new year.

Check back on Christmas (Dec. 25) as we check in with a New York Times best selling author for Part II of this months Thank Goodness for Books. Who knows, Santa may have even dropped off something special for you guys over here at The Reader's Quill... Ho, ho, ho!

1 Comment
  1. Unknown Said,

    Does Isabel ever know that Arkarian is the one that saved from the grey world or underworld?

    Posted on March 17, 2015 at 9:21 PM

     

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