I had the chance to interview Maria V. Snyder, the author of one of my favorite book series of all time, Poison Study (check out our review here). She is a former meteorologist that found a passion for writing and decided to pursue a career in this. After graduating from Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, she went on to publish numerous fantasy novels including the Poison Study series and novellas, the Healer series, and the Inside Out duology. Besides writing books, she works as a professor in her alma mater, Seton Hill University, teaching other aspiring writers the magic of words and storytelling.
Without any further ado, here is my interview with Maria V. Snyder!
HCUPR: As a professor at Seton Hill University’s MFA program, what do you hope for your students to learn about writing?
Maria V. Snyder: I hope that my students learn how to tell a good story, meaning that they learn what elements are needed to entertain readers. I tend to focus on ensuring they are being authentic and focus on the characters. They’re the most important part of a story, and plot will arise from the characters’ desires and overcoming problems that keep them from reaching their goals.
HCUPR: You’re a big fan of research and learning as much as you can in honor to be as accurate as possible in your books. What is the best thing you learned and what was the craziest one? What is one thing you want to learn more about or learn for the first time?
MVS: I really enjoyed learning how to blow glass—it gave me a greater appreciation for the glass artists (it’s not as easy as they make it look), and also, I realized glass is the most useful substance on Earth; it can be melted down and reused over and over.
As for the craziest thing, that horses think they’re prey animals—they’re huge and have powerful muscles but will shy away from just about anything. The real Kiki was scared of mailboxes of all things!
I would love to learn more about living underground—there are cities in the world that are underground because it’s too hot on the surface. There’s one in Australia called Coober Pedy, and I’d love to visit and stay there a few days.
HCUPR: Why do you think researching in numerous topics is important in the creation of fantasy worlds and magic in books?
MVS: It’s all because I want my readers to immerse themselves in my world and not have anything jar them out of it by reading something that is wrong. For example, if I say the characters ride horses, then the horses must smell, look, and act like horses, and I need to know what that is or else horse experts are going to be emailing me (don’t laugh, they have!). But if I create something unique like the poison My Love, then I can make it do whatever I want—I decide what it smells like, looks like, and how it works. BUT I need to stay consistent, and My Love must be the same in book 1 as it is in book 5 or else I’ll jar the readers out of the world.
HCUPR: What was the writing process for the Poison Study series? Was there a specific piece of literature, music, role model, etc. that helped to push your creative muse?
MVS: I sparked on the idea for Poison Study when I was reading Orson Scott Card’s book, How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. In chapter 3, Card tells the writer to consider some questions before choosing the main character. He wrote, “Too often—particularly in medieval fantasy—writers think their story must be about rulers. Kings and queens, dukes and duchesses—they can be extravagantly powerful, yes, but too often they aren’t free at all. If you understand the workings of power in human societies, you’ll know that the greatest freedom to act in unpredictable ways is usually found away from the centers of power”.
This comment led me to think about a person who was close enough to the center of power to witness important events, yet not be the Prince or Princess. I thought about a food taster and a scene jumped into my mind. I saw a woman tasting food that was most likely poisoned through the eyes of the King. He watched her with heartbreaking horror because he had fallen in love with her. That led me to wonder about this woman. Who was she? Why was she there? Why would a King fall in love with her? And Poison Study was born. However, I knew there were a ton of fantasy books out there with Kings, so the Commander decided to assassinate my monarch and the rest is, as we say, history!
HCUPR: Nowadays, representation has taken a front-seat as a topic of discussion. With the Commander being revealed as a transgender character in Poison Study, why and how do you think this representation is important to you as a writer and for your readership?
MVS: I didn’t think of it as representation when I wrote Poison Study. I wrote the book in the early 2000s. The thing about my characters is that they decide who they are and what actions they’re going to take. I’m just along for the ride—I discover the story as I write, and I was just as surprised about the Commander as most of my readers.
I’m very glad that the Commander is such a complex character, and I think it’s very important that characters with gender diversity are becoming a front-seat topic in current books.
HCUPR: What motivated you to continue writing Valek and Yelena’s story after Fire Study? Can readers expect more of them in future projects?
MVS: My readers convinced me! They begged, pleaded and gave me big puppy-dog’s eyes asking for more. I resisted at first because I thought Yelena was at a good place. Her character arc was complete and, frankly, she was very powerful. But then I thought about Valek and how there wasn’t much about him or his history. Once I focused on Valek, I sparked on a ton of ideas for a new trilogy. I was able to flashback to his past and put him through the emotional wringer. Yelena also had many issues to deal with as well since I took her magic from her (or else she’d been too powerful). However, the new books are more about Valek’s character arc.
I don’t plan any more novels about them as I’ve tortured them enough! They need a break. I hope to write some short stories and fill in some loose ends. And maybe, just maybe (no promises), I might write about the next generation. “Might” being the keyword!
HCUPR: Yelena is a strong female character. She learns how to defend herself quickly and stands up for herself and her beliefs no matter what. Was she inspired by a strong figure in your life? Do you hope that young girls will be able to look up to her in the same way?
MVS: While Yelena is not based on me, she has many of my qualities. Growing up, I wanted to be independent when I graduated university—supporting myself, living on my own. I took karate and am told I can be quite persistent. I think it’s because my parents never told me I couldn’t do something because I was a girl. They supported me no matter what I wanted to do. (You want to help build sets for the school musical? Go ahead—take my hammer! Do you want to play softball? What size glove do you need?).
I already know Yelena has inspired so many teens and even adults! I’ve gotten hundreds of emails from readers that are inspired to take karate or kickboxing—and a few that want to learn how to pick locks, but I won’t say who ;). They’re inspired to paint and draw and write poetry. Even those who were victims of rape told me Yelena ’s determination to keep going helped them. It’s wonderful, and I hope she continues to be a role model to future generations.
Thank you again, Maria, for answering, and everyone please check out her books! You won’t regret it!