Marie Lu

I've always been interested in exploring the concept of child prodigies. When I was younger, I wrote a story about Mozart as a child, and I just always loved this idea of young people who are able to take control of their lives and bring a whole lot of change at such a young age.

A lot of the moments and experiences in 'Warcross' were inspired by specific moments that I remember as an intern working at Disney or having fun with my coworkers. A lot of it is very anecdotal.

I had an erroneous idea that writing a duology would be simpler than writing a trilogy because I would get to cut out the middle book. It turns out it was actually harder because 'Wildcard' became this combination of having to write a book two and three at the same time.

A really fun fan moment was when a fan gave me a copy of 'Legend' that he had turned into a functional clock!

In general, I write for ages 12 and up - although I've received emails from readers between the ages of seven and seventy. My books are science fiction.

When I was young, I couldn't process emotions well.

Writing is an extremely rewarding and humbling process, and I've learned to go with it, that even if it feels absolutely impossible, I will find a way to tell the next story.

I had a wonderful fan who once sent me an alpaca hat all the way from Peru, where he'd gone to volunteer in a remote village because he was inspired by 'Legend' to do good. That's probably one of the sweetest fan moments I've experienced.

I used to work in the video game industry before I became a full-time writer.