I’d say Serilda is probably the most like Cress from The Lunar Chronicles. I came across an old black-and-white photo of her when I was looking through albums with my grandmother last year, and as soon as I saw her name I knew I wanted to use it for my protagonist. I’m so happy you asked about her name! She is actually named after my great-great-grandmother, who was German. What is the genesis of Serilda in Gilded’s name andwhich of your previous characters is she most like, and why? Your stories are distinguished by, among other elements, your fascinating protagonists, particularly females. I’m tyring to be vague because I don’t want to spoil anything for readers who haven’t read the book yet! But there are lots of clues, and they are probably more obvious on a second reading, once you know to look for them. The scar, the lost memories… the fact that the dark ones have taken over Adalheid Castle and no longer live in Gravenstone. There are the more obvious ones near the beginning of the story – such as the necklace and ring she is given from the Moss Maidens, proving their conversation really did happen – and then there are smaller hints that tie back to the story of the prince and Perchta, the great huntress. These are really scattered throughout the book, and lead to a lot of big revelations from Serilda as she comes to see that all of her stories and “lies” carry more truth than she thought. Could you give an example of a clue that bridges the gap between fantasy and reality in Gilded? Those little clues left behind in a story that bridged the gap between fantasy and reality.” ( Gilded) Marissa, you express this idea well. “ Sometimes Serilda would spend hours thinking about evidence.

Young adult fantasy, subcategory of fairy tale retellings. There were others that were briefly considered, but those were the only ones that had any staying power. I think my first working title was “A Name Forgotten.” After that for a long time I was calling it “A Gilded Curse,” before it eventually got shortened to Gilded. I did consider a few other titles before deciding on Gilded. Did you play with any other titles and, if so, what were they? Your title Gilded captures the tale you are telling and is, at the same time, perfectly enigmatic and intriguing. Thank you for speaking to PaperbarkWords, Marissa. I have written a brief overview of several of Marissa’s books and interviewed her previously about another of her books Instant Karma on the blog.

Marissa meyer gilded