Marjorie M. Liu
New York Times bestselling and award-winning writer Marjorie Liu is best known for her fiction and comic books. She teaches comic book writing at MIT, and she leads a class on Popular Fiction at the Voices of Our Nation (VONA) workshop.
Ms. Liu is a highly celebrated comic book writer. Her extensive work with Marvel includes the bestselling Dark Wolverine series, NYX: No Way Home, X-23, and Black Widow: The Name of the Rose. She received national media attention for Astonishing X-Men, which featured the gay wedding of X-Man Northstar and was subsequently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Ms. Liu also wrote the story for the animated film, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher, which was produced by Marvel, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Madhouse Inc.
Her newest work is MONSTRESS, an original, creator-owned comic book series with Japanese artist (and X-23 collaborator) Sana Takeda. Published by Image in Fall 2015, MONSTRESS is set in an alternate, matriarchal 1920’s Asia and follows a girl’s struggle to survive the trauma of war. With a cast of girls and monsters and set against a richly imagined aesthetic of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS #1 debuted to critical praise. The Hollywood Reporter remarked that the longer than typical first issue was “world-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics.”
Ms. Liu is also the author of more than 19 novels, most notably the urban fantasy series, Hunter Kiss, and the paranormal romance series, Dirk & Steele. Her novels have also been bestsellers on USA Today, which described Liu “as imaginative as she is prolific.” Her critically praised fiction has twice received the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, for THE MORTAL BONE (Hunter Kiss #6), and TIGER EYE (Dirk & Steele #1). TIGER EYE was the basis for a bestselling paranormal romance video game called Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box.
Liu has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, MTV, and been profiled in the Wall Street Journal.com, Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. She is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker, appearing on panels at San Diego Comic Con, the Tokyo Literary Festival, the New York Times Public Lecture series, Geeks Out; and the Asian American Writers Workshop. Her work has been published internationally, including Germany, France, Japan, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
Ms. Liu was born in Philadelphia, and has lived in numerous cities in the Midwest and Beijing. Prior to writing full-time, she was a lawyer. She currently resides in Boston.
“Religion was no cure for dysfunction.”
“Miracles pass and I see. Great wonders speak and I listen.”
“Miri forced herself to remain very still. Never run from immortals, she remembered; her favorite line from a favorite movie. Never run.”
“Bai Shen did not move. He gazed down at Miri, and she could still see the fear, but this time it was mixed with guilt and deep raging sorrow that she could only guess had less to do with her, and everything to do with setting one's heart on a plan that had proven itself to be The Dumbest Move Alive.”
“The demon bowed his head. “There are many kinds of Hunts. It is what defines us, renews us. It is the same for you, Hunter. We are born in blood, and we will die in blood, but in the interim, we must put fire to our veins and find new paths to tread upon.” Tendrils of hair tapped his head. “Paths, up here.”
“Nothing so bad you need to be cruel. Tough, yes. You’ll have to kill, yes. But there’s a difference in the heart. One makes you mean. The other keeps you going.”
“The demon leaned in, the brim of his hat close enough to touch. “You think we are so different, but we are the same, Hunter. We are the raging hosts and the masters of the dead, and when we command men to follow, they obey. And so it is the men of the earth who kill and maim, like a flock of birds copper red with blood, while we dance upon this world as great and mighty shadows. But we are merely the sword, Hunter, and only the sword. We must have a heart to wield us. Those are the terms, and we keep our bargains.”
“I listened to the wind bury winter; and when I tasted his grace, his grace had no name; only, night became something else in his presence, as though darkness had a soul, here, swaying to heartbeats roaring.”
“Maxine,” Grant said, but I barely heard him. I was lost in that vision, in those emotions—the pain, and hunger for pain, forming the root of so muchagonized rage.“ ‘Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate,’” I muttered.“Yoda, from Star Wars?”“ ‘Hate leads to suffering.’” I met his gaze. “Yoda knows his shit, man.”Grant’s mouth crooked in a gentle smile.”
“I am not a total pervert. Although, to be honest, consider the night we’ve been having. First handcuffs, andnow this? Way more kinky than I expected.”“Please,” M’cal said. “Do not talk.”“You like the strong and silent type, huh?”“If you do not shut up, I will kill you with my voice.”“I love it when you talk dirty.”“Fine. Which would you prefer to lose first? Your soul or your testicles?”“You know, you’re just a bit obsessed with chopping off balls. Do you have issues with your masculinity?”
“Kidnappings, magic, long-lost love of my life. Nothing to rock the boat. All in a day’s work.”“Of course,” he said dryly. “Which is why you’re calling me in the middle of the night while I’m on myhoneymoon.”“Man, you’ve been married three months. The honeymoon is over. ““Not until we leave Russia,” Artur said. “And never even after that.”Which was like hearing the Incredible Hulk start talking like Gandhi.”
“Jesus, Dean. I don’t know why you have me around with her watching your back”“You’re just jealous. But don’t worry. One day you too will have your very own little Amazon.”“I’ll just settle for a woman.”“If you’re lonely, you can have the inflatable sex doll Blue gave me for my birthday. I don’t want the twoof you to miss out on an opportunity for love.”“You didn’t like her?”“I wasn’t man enough to satisfy her cravings. I’m sure you’ll be different.”
“How’s his appendix?”“Like crap. They almost didn’t catch it in time, and he’s still doing the ass-plant in a hospital bed, beingdoted on by an army of hot nurses. Makes me sick.”“Maybeyou should rupture something.”“Any more of these stories out of you and I just might. ”
“So what’s all the fuss?” he asked instead. “Where’s all the shit coming from?”Dean told him. He tried to make it concise, using flash words such as “fire” and “conspiracy” and “bigfreakin’ shape-shifter,” and told Roland, too, about Miri and Robert and Kevin. The red jade.“You’re both fucked,” Roland said. “Seriously. I’ll start arranging the funeral now.”“I want a happy boss. Where’s the positive reinforcement?”“Buried with Pollyanna in my backyard. Which is where you’ll be if you don’t play your cards right.”
“Come on. Let’s go and sit down. I need to have a beer and a nervousbreakdown.”“Talk first, then breakdown. I want answers, not drool.”“You used to love my drool.”“Ha. You funny.”
“Any of those priests even sniff at you wrong, you fuck them over until they see Jesus.”
“Expect the unexpected, my mother once said. Because the unexpected most certainly will be expecting you.”
“I've got a black-belt in crazy, and I know where you live. ”
“The good and the bad. It always happens together, and all you can do is press on. Press on. ”
“...she kept hoping Mulder and Scully would kiss each other well and good. Having a relationship vicariously through fantasy and excellent scripting was all Aggie had at the moment - and to be honest, it wasn't all that bad. Her imagination was always better than reality...”
“Moscow was, as some said, the most beautiful mistress a man could ever want, but never cross her: like any good woman, she might just cut off your balls for the hell of it.”
“He was a hot, hot former priest and she wanted to pull a Thorn Birds on his ass.”