M. K. Lynn

Hello, everyone. Today I want to present you an interview with the author of the book I have recently presented to you, so meet Maria Buboc, aka M. K. Lynn. She is a Romanian author which launched her first book over a month ago.

As I have said in my previous review, I consider her to be an author who has the potential to rise into something really good, so I decided to be among the first to praise her talent (and no, I have no interest in saying this, so bare in mind that I try to be as objective as possible and not be biased about friendships or nice behaviour).

So let me give you a glimpse into the life of the one who gave us the beginning of Feathers.

What can you tell me about you? What do you think it is important and you want others to find out about you?

My name is Buboc Maria Cătălina, but I prefer to be known by readers as M.K. Lynn. I am almost 24 years old and I am from the Republic of Moldova. I am passionate about too many things, including drawing, cosplay, digital art, piano and photography, but I mostly like to write, mainly dark fantasy.

When did you start writing for the first time and why?

The first time I started writing was when I was about 13-14 years old, when my father gave me the idea to create my own version of the Atlantis story. I wrote it in a 96-page notebook in two months, and in the end I liked the feeling so much that I immediately started a new story.

What was the first thing you wrote?

As I said, it was a story about Atlantis. Leaving aside all the mistakes of building a story (of which I had no idea at the time), I can say that it was about a girl, a teenager who goes through a portal and travels in time, reaching a kingdom in danger of war. At the end of the story, the main heroine lays the foundations of Atlantis.

Did you plan in writing a book, or was it just an inspiration burst that transformed into a very good story with the pottential of being shared to the world?

I’ve always wanted to publish, but that’s not why I’m writing. I like to write, because, as a good friend of mine said, “if you can’t find anything good to read, write it yourself”. I started the story of the Brown family at the age of 16, in 2012. At first I wanted it to be a break from fantasy, I wanted to try something new, I wanted to write a realistic love story. About halfway through the book, I got really bored, so I added the part with the angels. Because the beginning made no sense, I rewrote everything, and then I had a better idea, and so on. I continuously rewrote it until 2016, when I decided to bring the story to its final form. So yes, it was a continuous inspiration, to which was added the perfectionism that I cannot escape.

How was it for you, the experience of writing a book?

The most difficult part of writing a book is writing it. You can talk about it, outline ideas, schemes, characters, look for cover, inspiration and more, but these things will not write sentences for you. I have learned to not always rely on inspiration when it comes to a goal that I have set myself, in this case, to end the story I have been struggling with for eight years.

After finishing “Feathers” do you plan to start building some other story?

Of course. I already have the notes ready for another project, but I do not start it until I am done with Feathers.

How does the world of books fit into the world of electronics, which you are studying? Do you like any of them more, or do they actually complete each other?

I can’t say that I love electronics, it’s just another thing I set out to do. Being an engineer is much more profitable than being an artist, however romantic it may sound. But, because I had the chance to have amazing professors in physics, biology, chemistry and Romanian, I realised that science is fascinating, and the things that happen there, the laws and the principles, are a great source of inspiration for me. It’s easy to explain certain phenomena in fantasy if you know physics, for example. As I described in the novel “Feathers, flowers and tombs”, in that scene of the Guardian Ben fighting the Demons, and here I refer to the quantum tunnelling. If you point a wave at a wall about the thickness of the nanometer, there is a probability that the wave will pass through it. That is, by applying this principle in the book, if you have a too thin shield, applying a spell with a high enough energy from inside you can avoid the barrier altogether. So my passions, for the biggest part, complement each other.

What are your passions, other than writing?

As I mentioned before, I am passionate about too many things. Drawing and digital art come together, I also have a graphic tablet that I sometimes torment. Cosplay is relatively recent, I’ve only done this three times, in the last three editions of the East European Comic Con, which is organised every year in Bucharest. Photography is more of an exercise in capturing as many memories as possible. I did 7 years of piano, hence the passion for music. From all this I managed to make the trailer for “Feathers, flowers and tombs” alone in a week of vacation, and the result is OK-ish, if you allow me to praise myself 😀

What inspired you to choose the subject of the border between life and death?

Because it’s fascinating. Nobody knows what happens to us after death, why couldn’t it be something dark and interesting?

If you could turn back in time, what era would you choose?

Belle epoque. I would say 1858-1866, London. The largest skirts and the most beautiful dresses.

What is your favourite character in a book?

Sydney Sage, “Bloodlines” series by Richelle Mead.

What literary gender do you prefer?

Fantasy, with all its subgenres.

What kind of music do you listen?

Generally indie and dark / art pop, but it depends. I like the original songs, either as lyrics or as music. I recently discovered Melanie Martinez, whom I would highly recommend.

What foreign languages do you know and what was the context in which you learned them?

Russian, French and English. Russian is from the family background, because I am from the Republic of Moldova. I started learning French in school, from first grade. I know English from the internet.

How did the fact that you know these languages influenced your evolution?

I prefer Russian fantasy literature. It’s a completely different universe from what’s going on in the west and it’s original. If I were to compare, I would say that it somewhat resembles Naomi Novik’s “Spinning silver”. Imagine a whole literature like this.

If you could choose one single wish that you would know that it will definitely come true, what would it be?

I would like my texts to reach as many people as possible. This is the only thing I cannot control, everything else is easy for me to archive.

Would you like to add something else that you think it is important?

All desires can become real. If you strive hard for that absolute, if you give everything you can, you will get where you want. My dream came true. It’s yours that is left.

© picnicontheshelf, January 19, 2020