Author Marie Lu is the best up-and-coming young adult author to hit the shelves since Suzanne Collins. Lu has a fun, energetic style all her own, crafting an original storyline in her Legend series while making the futuristic society and characters almost tangible. A Beijing native, Lu now lives in Pasadena, Calif., with her husband. Lu shares her personal tastes as well as influences on her writing with The Bite.
What was it like being an art designer for a video game company? Did it influence your vision for the dystopian society in Legend? What led you to leave your job?
Working in games was a fantastic job; it could be hectic, as the games industry almost always is, but it was fun and creative, and I worked for great people. It definitely influences my writing, as I have a tendency to put game-like elements into my stories. In Legend, for example, there are street duels called Skiz fights that were totally inspired by Street Fighter. Champion (Legend #3) also has a chapter talking about a gamified society. I had to leave games because I needed to write full-time (and writing full-time requires a lot of travel).
It’s interesting in Legend that you narrated the story from two POVs. Are June and Day different sides of your personality? Do you favor one character over the other – in terms of writing or personality?
In the beginning, I definitely favored Day because he is a character that has been in my head since high school. I was comfortable in his voice, and I knew his personality inside and out. However, by the time I finished the trilogy, I favored June more because I found myself putting bits and pieces of my personality into hers – not that I’m in any way logical or analytical like her, but we have similarities when it comes to romance, dealing with grief, and so on.
How do you feel about the ending of the series in Champion? Are you satisfied or sad to let your characters go? Did you see it ending in different ways?
I saw several different endings for the series, and I feel kind of wistful about the ending I finally went with. On one hand, it’s a relief to know that I’m done with the series – but at the same time, I’m sad to leave my characters and the world I’ve come to know so well. I suppose I’m both satisfied and sad.
We know the Legend movie is underway: what’s your opinion on book to movie? How do you feel about the screenplay – were you involved in the creative process? We’ve seen your character drawings on Devianart, how accurate are you hoping the movie casting will be in comparison to these drawings?
I think book-to-film translations are incredibly challenging because the two creative mediums are so different from each other. I didn’t write the screenplay, but I think the screenwriters did a great job, and as long as the characters’ personalities stay true, I really don’t mind if there need to be plot changes. As for the characters’ appearances, I don’t have any specific actors in mind, so I have faith that the casting directors will be able to find the perfect people once we get to that stage.
You are currently working on a new series, The Young Elites. How does this compare to Legend and what should fans expect?
The Young Elites is similar to Legend in some ways and in other ways quite the opposite. It is set in a fantasy world that is reminiscent of Renaissance-era Italy and follows three societies of young people with dangerous powers. The main character, Adelina, is essentially a teenage girl version of Darth Vader, someone with powers who gradually falls into doing terrible things. I wanted to write a story from the point of view of a villain. While Day (Legend) is a boy who walks in the light, Adelina is a girl who walks in darkness.
