Author Interview With Lorna Suzuki

What exactly do you write? (Fiction? Genre? Novel? Short story? Series? Technical or nonfiction? Articles? Reviews?)

I write YA fantasy (The Dream Merchant Saga) with my teenaged daughter and I’m proud to say this trilogy is fast becoming as popular with adult readers as it is with the teens! I also write epic adult fantasy (Imago Chronicles Series) of which the first three novels in this series are currently in development for a major motion picture trilogy.

How would you describe yourself in a short third person bio?

Lorna Suzuki is relatively new to the fiction-writing scene. Though wanting in stature, she casts a great shadow upon her peers; truly a literary legend in her own mind. After several failed attempts at world domination, she now resorts to writing fantasy novels where she rules supreme, smiting characters at her own discretion and going on the occasional killing-spree much to the chagrin of the fans of her novels and the film producers!

Do you have a day-job (other than writing)?

Thanks to the movie deal, I was able to leave my day job last November! Yay! When I’m not writing fantasy, then I do free-lance work ranging from writing biographies, scripts for TV shows and even scripts for themed fundraising events.

What made you initially want to write? Has your motivation changed since then?

I only started my fiction-writing career 10 years ago, but initially, I started writing stories for my daughter, for her to read when I’m dead and gone. I still write first and foremost for Nia, but when she and her friends asked if I could write YA for their enjoyment, my motivation has basically remained the same, but now, I write for a bigger audience than just one, plus my daughter now dabbles in writing too.

Tell us an interesting fact about you.

I’ve done a number of interesting things, but I’m really not that interesting. I suppose I can say by looking at me, you’d never assume I’m a 5th degree black belt whose specialty is bone breaking and muscle tearing techniques and until recently, all my students were men.

Do you prefer a physical book or an ebook? Why?

I’m old and I’m old school! I like the feel of a book in my hands and to see shelves full of books. From a practical point, when the apocalypse happens, ebook readers will eventually fail due to battery life while you can continue reading books (even if it’s by candlelight).

Are you a self-published author/indie author or did you go down the ‘traditional’ publication route? Why?

I turned down couple of publishing offers, including one from one of the biggest publishing companies in Canada, choosing to remain indie. I’ve had two agents in the past, but I found the traditional publishing route quite disheartening. I released my last agent, hiring an excellent entertainment lawyer to negotiate the film deal for me, so for various reasons I continue to remain an indie author.

How many books have you written?

I’ve written twelve novels and will be retiring my writing career with this last one. The movie optioned series consists of nine novels, of which Imago Prophecy and Legacy are prequels to the Imago Chronicles series. There are three novels in the YA series The Dream Merchant Saga.

Tell us a little about your Imago series. What are they about and who are they aimed at?

The Imago series is meant for an adult audience even though I’ve had parents allow their 13-14 year-old sons and daughters read the novels. It has an ensemble cast of characters, but the central protagonist is a female heroine, Nayla Treeborn. She is half human and half Elf, so she is shunned by one race and denied by the other, as she’s the only one of her kind in the realm. To make matters worse, she immerses herself in the male-dominated field of warriorship to prove her worth. What makes her unique from many of the other heroines featured in this genre is that she does NOT have any supernatural powers nor does she possess super human strength. She must rely on her years of training in the warrior arts to survive, as well as in her smarts and skills as a clever strategist when it comes to warfare. The stories are about self-acceptance, sacrifice for the greater good, the strengths of friendships and much more.

And they’re being developed into a major motion picture?

Yes, the first three novels in the Imago Chronicles have been optioned for a motion picture trilogy. It’s a co-pro with indie film producer Michy Gustavia and her good friend Ari Lantos, producer at Serendipity Point Films. Ari & his father, Robert Lantos are best known for the Oscar nominated Eastern Promises starring Viggo Mortensen and Golden Globe winners Barney’s Version and Being Julia.
The award winning screenwriter is Michael Bruce Adams and he did a magnificent job on the screenplay. Michael has extensive experience in the film industry. His credits include writing Reach For Me starring Alfre Woodard and as the story consultant on Sepia Film’s Shine of Rainbows starring Aiden Quinn, to name only two of many movies!
Imago Chronicles: Book One A Warrior’s Tale was pitched to the film industry as LoTR and 300 meets The Last Samurai and with such a great team behind this project, it holds a lot of promise! Casting is currently underway for the first movie.

Which projects are you working on at the moment?

I am currently preparing The Crack’d Shield, Book Three of The Dream Merchant Saga for release in October, just in time to get this out of the way so I can focus on the movie production as I’ve been hired as the creative consultant.

Have you ever written under a pseudonym?

Nope, I’m quite proud of my words so I don’t mind putting my name on my books. Maybe if they were crappy novels, I’d hide behind a pen name, but I’ve also heard of couple writers who use a pseudonym to trick people into buy their books. One I know of is a male author who uses a pen name that is very similar to that of Stephenie Meyer, stating he deliberately did so in hopes that readers actually looking for the Twilight series would stumble across his works first and buy one of his books. To me, it reeks of desperation and I think it’s a bit dishonest. A writer should be able to sell books based on the quality of their stories, not in having to use such a ploy to build a readership.

Where do you get inspiration for writing from? Do you listen to music whilst writing or have a ‘writing cave’?

Inspiration is all around me, but I do need the TV on or radio for background noise, as I cannot work in complete silence.

Is there a particular form, style or genre that you’d like to have a go at writing? Why?

I would have liked to tackle historical fiction, but with my bad heart and failing memory, I dare not attempt it at this stage of the game.

Do you think it’s necessary to have a degree (in English or another subject) in order to be a writer?

You can have several degrees in English or as many certificates in creative writing as there are out there, but if you lack the drive to write a novel to it’s completion, the resilience to endure rejection from numerous agents or publishers, fear public ridicule as not everyone is going to love your stories or you lack the imagination to create three-dimensional engaging characters, interesting plot twists, etc. it won’t matter how many degrees or certificates you have! You are hooped! I know some people who are perfect with punctuation, grammar and spelling, but they admit they are wanting in one or all of the four mentioned above. One of my friends uses her exceptional skills as a copy and/or line editor for a publishing company, but she claims she doesn’t have it in her to write a novel.

Favourite book and/or author(s)?

Too many to mention, but I must admit, my favorite books are those written but authors who have also been my writing mentors. These are bestselling writers I’ve met at a local writers conference and they include Diana Gabaldon, Jack Whyte, Donald Maass and Terry Brooks.

What would you say to those who want to become a writer?

Stay focused on getting that one novel done. When you finish that first draft, put it aside for at least 2 weeks to separate yourself from the work. When you’re ready to tackle edits and proofreading, print the entire thing out! Do not read from the computer screen. Also, read it aloud. You’ll be surprised how much is missed if you don’t do these necessary steps!
Before publishing or submitting to an agent, share the ms with beta readers. Don’t rely on family or friends. In all likelihood, they don’t want to hurt your feelings and will only extol the virtues of your book, not point of grammatical tense errors, gaping holes in the plot, etc. Turn to readers who can give you their honest opinion and feedback to see how well your story stands up. Just remember, once it’s out there, the book buying public will judge your work with much harsher eyes than the family and friends you know.

Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog for this interview, Madeline! You had some great, fun questions for me.

http://web.me.com/imagobooks