Book Blitz: Marjorie Diaz’s Unfortunate Introduction to Magical High Society by Desdemona Wren

An interview with the author:

1. What inspired you to become a writer?
I guess the biggest thing that inspired me to become an author was my adoration for writing as well as my need to leave my name on the world. I felt like my writing was something I could leave behind. Not to mention, I wanted to write books with the LGBT representation I never got when I was a kid. As a child of the 90s who went to high school in the early 2000s in the deep south I felt so alone, and I don’t want anyone else to ever feel the way I did.

2. Why is LGBT representation so important in today’s literature?
Books are important. People will try to tell you’re they’re not, but they’re wrong. People who find themselves alone (the way I did when I was young) will often search for comfort in books and entertainment. So, writing LGBT characters (especially own voices works) is incredibly important so LGBT people don’t feel lost or alone in their communities. It also helps people who don’t understand these spaces to get an idea of what it’s like to be queer.

3. Why are you so vocal about Marjorie Diaz being asexual?
When I created Marjorie, I did it with my friend Michelle Clift in mind. Michelle Clift is the author of my favorite webcomic Suicide Noun and a close friend, she is also asexual. So, when she came to me one day, complaining about the lack of asexual representation in literature I felt the need to create a character who would represent her as well as my other ace friends. I’m very vocal about Marjorie’s asexuality because people have tried to erase her identity and tell me that she’s not ace because she ‘can’t be’ ace. They’re wrong and I will scream that from the rooftops.

4. What sparked the idea for the Marjorie Diaz series?
Marjorie Diaz is actually a rewrite of a rewrite that I did for a story I wrote during my last year of college. At the time it was based on a dream I had about a guy from my class that I had a crush on, and the first story felt unfair to me and the memories of my college career. So, I rewrote it with Marjorie and Lucian and created all of these LGBT characters to fill in these gaps, and I fell so in love with them I felt they deserved their own amazing story.

5. Who is your favorite character from the series?
Hands down Lucian Maravalle. She’s probably the best character I’ve ever created. And I guess Marjorie is alright too.

6. How much LGBT representation is in Marjorie Diaz Book 1?
Marjorie is an LGBT rep extravaganza. The main character, Marjorie, is asexual. Her best friend, Lucian, is a lesbian. Her love interest, Patrick, is bisexual. Lucian’s brother, Emmanuel, is bisexual. Patrick’s girlfriend from the beginning of the book, Adorara, is pansexual. Adorara’s girlfriend is transgender and a lesbian (though Cessily doesn’t get much screen time).
Pretty sure the only people in the entire series that are straight are uh…Marjorie’s sister Eliza and Marjorie’s mother. Maybe also Jason Maravalle (Lucian’s other brother), and Imani and Isaac Maravalle as well, but the jury is still out on them.

7. When is the second book in the Marjorie Diaz series scheduled for release?
I’m shooting for a tentative release date of March 2019.

8. Why did you choose to self-publish instead of pursuing a traditional publishing route?
Oh boy. I queried. I queried for months before giving up and publishing indie. My books kept getting rejected because of their ‘over the top’ LGBT content. Meaning, I had too many gay characters and that didn’t sit well with me. I had one agent actually say it is ‘unrealistic to have that many gay characters in one story’. I live in San Francisco. The place where the largest gay population in the U.S. is. This statement was laughable to me because pretty much everyone I know is gay and this agent wanted to tell me it wasn’t realistic. Boo on them.

9. What authors would you say are your biggest inspiration?
Malinda Lo, Scott Westerfeld, and Becky Chambers.

10. Do you have any projects you’re working on other than the Marjorie Diaz series?
Oh man, yeah. Tons. I’ve got my Monster Love Novella series (Fingers crossed I finish and release Nighthawks this year), my Untitled Reverse Harem series (M/M/F/F/E pairing), A City of Glass and Sand a science fiction book with a poly couple (F/F/M), Call Me Eli: a story about a trans man falling for a rock star, and The Incredible Origins of Suzie Q, Demon Hunter Extraordinaire about Suzuka Chiba, a girl displaced in time.