Today, I have the great honor of having Marissa Meyer here, author of The Lunar Chronicles. You can see my review of the second book in the series, Scarlet, here.
Hello, Marissa! Please introduce yourself with a short bio.
Hello! I'm Marissa Meyer, the author of The Lunar Chronicles and about 18 billion Sailor Moon fanfics from back in the day. I love wearing pajamas and costumes and I could eat peanut butter for every meal. Peanut butter addicts unite!
The Lunar Chronicles are all retellings, but how did you come up with the idea? Having who we know as "Cinderella" be a cyborg is awesome, in my opinion. Not to mention the fact that it's placed in a dystopian world where Earth and the moon are enemies.
Thank you! The idea started when I entered 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. My two prompts: set it in the future and include a fairy-tale character. My contest entry was a sci-fi version of Puss in Boots and I had so much fun writing it that I thought I would try to do an entire series of sci-fi fairy tales. So a couple months go by and then one night as I was drifting off to sleep I had a dream about Cinderella… as a cyborg! I crawled out of bed and spent about an hour brainstorming and jotting notes. Thus, The Lunar Chronicles was born.
I love that it not only came from a contest, but that it came from a dream. I personally believe dreams are some of the greatest story sources.
Did you have a hard time retelling these classic and well-known fairytales?
Ha! I love knowing how different the original ones are than the ones we know. Cannibalism, how lovely.
What is your favorite fairytale...and why?
Would you like to live on the moon if possible?
Was it hard to go back to Scarlet, a character in the same series who didn't know what was going on, after having the breakthrough with Cinder?
Every book has its own challenges, but usually getting started isn't one of them. By the time I finish with one book, or have wrapped up one character's storyline, I'm eager to move on to the next one. It's helpful that I had the entire series plotted out from the beginning, so I've always had a good idea of what was coming up next.
I would probably get along better with Cinder - we share a sense of humor, and I like how laid back she is about stuff. But Scarlet is a lot of fun to write about, in part because she's very different from me, and it's nice to put myself in someone's shoes who isn't afraid to speak her mind.
Of course, I have to mention Cress and Winter, both of which have such far away release dates. When do you think we'll be able to see Cress's cover reveal?
YAY!
Cress: Hacker, Mission Impossible, War.Winter: Luna, Revolution, Nothing could possibly go wrong...
I wasn't getting my hopes up that you would be able to give me short descriptions, but this made me incredibly happy. I jumped up and down in my seat and couldn't stop smiling like a fool.
Although Iko is a secondary character, will she have a romance or any "happily ever after" of her own?
I'll just take that as a yes ;)
I also was stalking Goodreads and saw speculations of there being a possibility between Cress and Thorne. Please tell my romantic heart it's true!
IT IS! *pumps fist*
What's one book you have recently read that you loved?
This is a strange one for me, because I'm usually all-YA-fiction all-the-time, but I just finished "Drop Dead Healthy" by A.J. Jacobs, which is a nonfiction book about a guy trying a bunch of different (sometimes contradictory) health tips over the course of two years. It's hilarius and informative at the same time. I'd forgotten how much I enoyed non-fiction, so I think I'll be picking up more of it in the coming months.Hmm, non-fiction. I wouldn't have guessed that, but it does sound interesting!
This or That:
Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
Ebook or paperback? Er - ebook, I guess, but I prefer hardbacks.
Star Wars or Star Trek? Firefly!
Brunette or Blonde? (of the boy variety) Why limit yourself? <--very good point.
Winter or summer? Winter. A rainy season here in Washington. :)
~*~
I would like to thank Marissa for agreeing to the interview and for giving such wonderful answers. If you haven't read either Cinder or Scarlet, you are missing out big time and can buy them down below:
Buy, read, enjoy!
Really great interview, can't wait to read Cinder
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteAwesome interview, Sunny! I had loads of fun reading Marissa's answers, and I can't wait for Cress!! :D
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSuch a great interview!! I have Cinder sitting patiently on my shelf. Must. Read. Soon. :)
ReplyDeleteYou do!
DeleteLove author interviews! I love the questions! Love how she makes her retellings so original and unique. I have read Cinder and loved it, but still have yet to read Scarlet!
ReplyDeleteAh, get on it!
DeleteReally good interview! I love all of the Lunar Chronicles books, and I can't wait for Cress! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteFirefly! LOL! Marissa sounds like a delight—such a great interview, ladies! Can you believe I still haven't read the Lunar Chronicles?? A tragedy, really... need to get my butt on the books right away.
ReplyDeleteShe is, I would love to know her more, she's a really nice author :) It is a tragedy, get on it!
DeleteI wouldn't mind taking a trip to the moon (actually, I would LOVE that), but I don't think I could live there either. ;) And I'd so love for Iko to get her own happily ever after! I am taking that answer as a yes too. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
YES :)
DeleteI just saw Marissa Meyer on Saturday and she was so sweet in person! Thanks for sharing this interview too!
ReplyDelete:) Oh, that's so nice to know! She really does seem super nice.
DeleteAw, what a fun interview! I had no idea Cinder started out with a writing prompt. Already a fan of Marissa's, but to hear she prefers Firefly over Trek and Star Wars? Fan for life. ;) Thanks for this post, ladies!
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
Fantastic interview, Sunny! Way to try to wriggle those Cress and Winter details out of her! But is it wrong that I kind of want there to be a chance for Cinder and Thorne? They'd be that couple that's always at each other's throats but also very passionate. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I thought that too at first but then I kept reminding myself of Kai.
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