Marisa Mohdi is a Malaysian writer who has lived in many places and has received her degree in psychology from a university in the USA. In this interview she talks about her passion for reading and writing, her cultural roots, and Shroud, a young adult novel about a fictional Southeast Asian country.
Inside the mind of a Malaysian writer
How did your passion for reading and writing start?
I was a bashful child. Reading and writing became my way of having many different characters as friends and bringing my imaginary friends to life. The books I read teleported me to numerous places and eras to experience adventures that would never have happened in real life. When the stories ended, I just wanted the adventures to continue, and so I started creating my own tales.
How has this developed over time?
I cannot forget the feelings I used to get when I was a child reading a much-wanted book. When I write, I try to recapture those feelings; the anticipation, the joy, the dread, etc. and try to project that into the story. If I can create a story that produces those unadulterated emotions for a reader, I’d be extremely happy.
Although you’re fro Malaysia, you are actually a writer of many cultures. How has this influenced your perspective on life and writing?
It’s definitely given me an advantage. I’m able to tap into my knowledge of the varying, (sometimes contrasting) ways people view and react to a situation. It’s helped me develop more realistic characters.
As a student of psychology, how do you apply your knowledge of the human psyche in your writing?
I’ve always been more interested in the more unsavory side of the human psyche. Even when writing about the hero or the heroine, I look for their weaknesses, flaws, and demons. It gives them more credibility, makes them more relatable and maybe more endearing. When I create my characters, the first thing I focus on is what drives them. It will explain a lot about how they behave or respond to things around them.
You’ve just released Shroud (2016), your first young adult novel. What’s the story behind its title?
Shroud is a story of innocent, unsuspecting people entering a hidden world that’s dangerous and cloaked in enchantment and trickery. The title came to me very early on. It fits the story well because the word “shroud” is always associated with mystery, secrets, and death.
How long did it take you to write it?
It took about a year of full-time writing and revising.
Has it been an easy process?
Honestly, no. There were days I doubted myself and the story, but I loved the characters and the world I had created enough to keep working on the novel. Some days it was hard to come up with even 100 words, and on those days, I revisited the background stories of each character. Their motives always got me back on track.
What are you working on right now?
I’m always coming up with new ideas, but there are three characters that keep whispering their stories into my ear. The first is a horror/mystery set in late Victorian times, the second is a contemporary tale of obsession, and the third is a dark fairy-tale. We’ll see which gets done first.
Watch the trailer of Shroud:
