Today I'm happy to introduce Marva Dasef, a Muse It Up author with a number of books for teens. Her latest is a compilation of fantasy stories about a young girl's adventures with her genie called "Setara's Genie." Welcome, Marva!
When did you discover
you had a “sense of fiction?”
I’m still wondering whether I do. I spent many years writing
technical documentation, so I’m still learning (even after five years!) how to
write fiction. It’s deeper, more complex, but must entertain. It’s harder to do
than it looks.
What was your favorite
book as a child? As an adult? How did those influence you as a writer?
I loved Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series, so I’ll put
that at the top of the Kid-Read list. I was the horse-crazy girl and was owned
by my first horse when I was ten. I learned to ride on a 16-hand, black
saddlebred. I could easily pretend he was the Black Stallion in the Farley
books.
What I got from Farley and other writers of young adult
fiction was the ebb and flow of a fictional story. You have to include lots of
excitement, but you need quiet pools of introspection to give the reader a
chance to think about what’s going on in the story.
I got hooked on science fiction and fantasy as a teenager,
and that’s been my go-to genre since. I write fantasy because I can do anything
I darn well please in a story without worrying about the changes to the teen
experience. I couldn’t tell you what a modern teen does, says, or thinks in a
real-life setting, but give me a fantasy world, and I’m all set.
What inspired you to
write this book?
I’m really not sure what inspired the original short story
titled “Cadida and the Djinn.” I just thought it would be fun to turn a
mythology upside down and sideways. I wrote a follow-up story about the girl
and her genie, “Cadida and the Cave Demon.” After that, five more stories
developed.
To sell it as a whole book, I added the frame story of the
old story teller in the bazaar relating tales to a young spice seller. This is
conceptually straight out of 1001 Arabian Nights. Scheherazade left her violent
husband in mid-story every night so he wouldn’t kill her in the morning. Maybe
readers don’t know this, but the stories in 1001 Arabian Nights are from
multiple sources. Whoever puts together the 1001 stories (actually less than a
hundred) can pick and choose between many traditional tales. The trick is to
make all the stories come from a single voice. I hope my storyteller, Abu
Nuwas, does this when he relates the seven adventures of Setara (changed the
name when I decided to have all the character names to Arabic or Persian
names).
How would you describe
your writing process? What must you always have while writing?
I’m a plotter and have a fairly complete outline of the
story which may be a short description of what will happen or be a fully
developed scene. Then I go at it, changing the outline to fit where the story
takes me. The end product bears some resemblance to the outline, but I have
come up with entirely different endings on more than one occasion.
I couldn’t live without the internet for research. I like to
use existing legends, fairy tales, and myths as a basis, then twist them
however I please.
What has proven to be
your most successful marketing tool?
That’s something I have yet to discover. I rarely market my
best selling book. It just seems to sell on it’s own at a steady pace. I’m
looking forward to the Christmas sales running through November and December. I
always get a big bump in sales. I guess, then, the best marketing tool is to
have an appealing book.
What’s the best piece
of writing advice you’ve received?
The importance of point of view. I learned that lesson from
several terrific writers who’ve kindly read my work in draft stages. It’s a
common mistake of beginning writers to “head hop” even within a paragraph! Just
don’t do that. I’ve even seen some stories written in first person suddenly
jump out of the consistent POV into another character’s head. Resist the urge
to change POV. If you’re writing in first person, never leave that POV. It’s
too personal to suddenly hop to another character. That’s why I write 3rd
person. It gives me a little distance from the character, even if I’m using
close POV (showing the character’s thoughts).
Please provide a
favorite excerpt from your book.
I like this excerpt because it has several of the characters
from the book working together in a battle.
* * *
The pirates looked up, pulling out knives and swords. Setara
thought maybe she hadn’t planned this out well enough but drew her own small
knife and hoped for the best. A scimitar appeared in Basit’s hand. The two
demons bared their claws and fangs. Hasib puffed real flames with every leap.
Sheik barked furiously as he ran. Setara hoped they looked fearsome as they
dashed toward the thieves.
The thieves also had a formidable array of sharp weaponry
and did not appear afraid of the strange group attacking them. The two groups
met in a clash of swords, knives, howling demons, a diving eagle, a leaping
dog, and a flame-throwing horse.
“Let go of those horses!” Setara screamed and leaped at a
pirate. She slashed her knife downward, cutting a long rent in the thief’s
sleeve. He rounded on her with a sword, and she held her knife up to block. The
sword slid off her knife blade, but the man immediately drew back his arm
again. She was not ready with her knife, so she ducked her head, hoping to
evade the sword slash. She heard a scream and looked up to see the thief flying
away from her. “What the...”
A snort that sounded much like a laugh came from her left.
She turned to see Hasib with a horsy grin on his long face and his powerful
hind legs hitting the ground where the thief had been a mere second before.
All around, her friends were struggling with the thieves.
Those confronted by Azizah and Kairav lost their will to fight and went running
down the beach as fast as their legs could carry them in the loose sand. Setara
thought it was a wonderful thing to have demon friends.
Sheik had bitten down on the arm of one of the thieves and
was shaking the man back and forth. Basit laid about with swift strokes of his
scimitar, forcing the men back toward the ocean. Unfortunately, another skiff
had just come ashore with several more pirates. The thieves now outnumbered
them nearly three to one.
“Basit! You must do something,” Setara shouted. Basit didn’t
seem to hear her as he beat off the attack of one of the thieves. She wondered
why he didn’t use magic but had no time to think about it. She saw a thief
slash down on Kairav, sending the pool demon staggering back with a deep cut,
blue blood pouring down his brawny arm. Another smacked Azizah on the side of
the head, sending her reeling. Sheik yelped in pain, but Setara could not spare
a moment to look while she fended off a muscular thief wielding a heavy club.
Things weren’t going very well at all.
* * *
Where can readers find you and your book?
I hang out in Facebook and on Twitter (@Gurina). I keep my
website current with what’s new and I blog quite a bit. I’m doing a Halloween
is for Witches series of posts about characters from my Witches of Galdorheim
series. I’ll be giving away paperbacks (not just ebooks) to people who show up
at my blog on Halloween and answer a few simple questions. Cheating is allowed.
Setara’s Genie
A girl, a genie, a few demons. Would could go wrong?
MuseItUp Bookstore http://tinyurl.com/SetarasGenie
Blurb:
Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar telling stories to the
passersby he can tempt to pay. He relates the adventures of the bored daughter
of a rich merchant, Setara, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the
creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying,
fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family;
an evil genie hunting for the man who bottled him; and a merboy prince cast out
of his undersea kingdom.
I love that you were able to weave a number of short stories into one book, and the concept of a woman and her genie going on fantastical adventures together sounds so entertaining! Thank you for joining me today, Marva!
--KSR Writer
You certainly have the flair for fantasy. But then, I've read your other books also. You do well with them, too.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't say which one is my favorite. I enjoyed them all.
Readers, try them. You won't be disappointed.
Weren't there a bunch of comments here before? Well, I'll just have to leave one for good measure. Thanks for having me on Kathy.
ReplyDeleteI grew up devouring books about horses, too. I was a rider and loved the idea that I could conquer anything, just like the heroines in the books I loved (including The Black Stallion). A story with a genie? Can you make that come true in real life? Sounds wonderful! I've loved discovering new books, blogs, and writers through the blog hop. Thank you!
ReplyDelete