Marissa Meyer, one of my favorite authors, kindly allowed me to interview her for my blog. She is the author of The Lunar Chronicles, a spectacular sci-fi fairy tale retelling series. The first two books, Cinder and Scarlet are currently out and the last two books in the series, Cress and Winter will be coming out 2014 and 2015.
Without further ado, here's the Q&A!
Q1: Why did you decide to include the science fiction element in your fairy tale retellings?
Although I've loved fairy tale retellings since I was a teenager, I always knew that I didn't want to write one unless I could come up with a twist on the classic story that I felt made it truly unique. Then one day I heard about a writing contest in which the host had listed about ten random prompts and writers had to choose two of them to include in their stories. I chose to set it in the future and include a fairy-tale character. And I thought - hey, what an awesome combination! I felt like it had a lot of potential, and hadn't really been done before, so I ran with it.
Q2: How much research did you have to do to write Cinder and Scarlet? Did you have to study the culture of China and France? Did you need to read some original fairy tales?
Yes and yes. I researched so many things - androids, cyborg technologies, theories for brain manipulations, Chinese symbolism and language, French foods, the moon, satellites, spaceships, wolves, plagues and diseases... the list goes on and on. I wanted the world to feel as authentic as possible, and the research frequently gave me brand new ideas to include in the story, too.
Q3: Have you ever based one of your characters off of yourself or someone you know?
Not intentionally, although I think as authors we're constantly drawing on the real world for inspiration. There are definitely quirks in my characters that I can see in myself or people I've known (for example, Cinder and I share a very similar sarcastic sense of humor). But for the most part, I see my characters as their own unique people.
Q4: If Cinder was ever turned into a movie(fingers crossed) which actors would you want to be in it?
Fingers crossed, indeed! I'm certainly hoping that this happens someday. I don't really have any actors picked out that I feel strongly about, but readers have mentioned Shay Mitchell for Cinder and Emma Stone for Scarlet, and I love both of those. Also, I think Angelina Jolie would make a great evil Queen Levana.
Q5: Which books,movies,and/or t.v. shows do you go for inspiration?
Firefly!! I love the world and the characters of this show, and the dialogue is so witty and fantastic! I'll often watch an episode or two when I need help visualizing the world of the Lunar Chronicles.
Q6: Any advice for aspiring authors?
It isn't very original, but write as much as you can and read as much as you can. I'm amazed at how often I ask aspiring writers, "What are you working on now?" or "what are you reading?" and they make up excuses about not having time to read or write. Don't be that person. You have to practice to get better.
Q7: What hobbies do you have besides reading and writing?
I like to eat a great deal... and sometimes I cook before eating. And my husband and I like to go on roadtrips, where we go to baseball games and stop at wineries and usually get Dairy Queen blizzards. I also enjoy shopping antique stores and flea markets, hoping for that rare treasure!
Q8: Which book has been the hardest to write?
They seem to be getting progressively more difficult, especially as I add in new characters and storylines to each book. That said, though, I also feel like they're getting more fun to write with each book, because my favorite part of this series is putting all these different characters together in high-intensity situations and seeing how they react.
Q9: How has your life changed since Cinder was published?
Everything has changed! I used to live a quiet life as a freelance prooofreader, but now I'm constantly traveling for book tours, conferences, or festivals, or visiting schools or having Skype visits with book clubs. It's very exciting! However, my favorite days are still the quiet, relaxed ones where it's just me and my laptop.
Q10: What's your favorite part of being an author?
Working in my pajamas!!
Q11: What are you currently working on?
Right now I'm working on the second draft of Book Four: WINTER. It's a perfect example of how each book is more difficult than the last, and also more fun.
Q12: What's next?
I can't give specifics, but my publisher has bought a YA fantasy stand-alone for me that should be out in fall 2015. Then I have a possible YA action-adventure story in mind, but we'll see!
Thank you Marissa for doing this interview with me!
Piper
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