Author Interview and Giveaway: Marissa Meyer, Author of The Lunar Chronicles

Marissa Meyer, author of the amazing series The Lunar Chronicles, is coming to London for her first ever UK signing. To celebrate, and to help pass on the word, we have an author interview and a giveaway today!

1. Cinder and Scarlet are both very well developed characters, and very different. If you could choose one trait from each girl to have for yourself, which traits would they be?

I would love to be as resourceful as Cinder. She's like a girl MacGyver - able to fix things with floss and a piece of gum, or whatever. I, on the other hand, am not mechanically minded at all!

As for Scarlet, sometimes I wish that I could be as frank as she is. I'm one of those people that has trouble sending food back at a restaurant even if it's not what I wanted, but Scarlet has no trouble saying just what she thinks and feels. Of course, that habit tends to get her in trouble sometimes, so if I was the same way I would hope for a bit more of an on/off switch...

2. You're going to Bromley very soon. What kind of state is London in in Cinder and Scarlet's world?

London has some scarring from the war, but I don't envision it being quite as damaged as Beijing and Paris had been, and what was destroyed has been rebuilt by 126 T.E. (when Cinder takes place). It's still the home of the United Kingdom's royal family, who have returned to ruling power but with some checks and balances from a Parliament, and all of the UK plus Canada are now under the same government. Population wise, the UK is by far the smallest country in the Earthen Union, but its history as a global power has earned it a great deal of respect from the other countries.

3. Scarlet is one of my favourite YA heroines right now because she's just so kickass. Do you have any favourites of your own?

Thank you! One of my all-time favorite YA heroines is Fire (from FIRE by Kristin Cashore). She's brave and daring, but also sensitive - especially as her "kind" (she's a ridiculously gorgeous Monster) are treated with such scorn and hatred. Often, beautiful characters are treated as ring-leaders in fiction (the lead cheerleader, etc.), so I loved what Cashore did by turning that trope upside down.

4. I feel the need to express my love for Captain Thorne. He is such a charismatic, attractive, and funny guy. He is AWESOME. I must ask, if you had any control over casting, who would you have portray him in Scarlet, the movie?

Well, writers aren't supposed to choose favorites, but... between us, he might be my favorite character in the series. (Don't tell anyone!) I'm really, really bad at choosing actors to represent my characters, though! Some people have suggested the actor who plays Hook in Once Upon a Time, but I think he's too fierce looking. This is the inspiration photo I used for Thorne, so maybe we can track this guy down?

Except Thorne has blue eyes, so I don't know. I'm so bad at this!

5. Do you have another favourite fairytale that you would have loved to have covered, but that wouldn't have worked with the story you wanted to tell with The Lunar Chronicles?

I originally planned on including "Puss in Boots," which was going to be the fifth book in the series, and the identity of the True Lunar Princess wasn't going to be revealed until then. Obviously, this did not work out! I didn't get very far into the planning process before I realized that Puss in Boots needed to be cut out of the mix. There are plenty of other fairy tales that I think would be fun to adapt outside of the Chronicles, though. We'll see...

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Enter to win a swag pack with bookmarks, stickers, temporary tattoos, and signed book plates!

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And, if you live in the UK, I hope you can make it to Marissa's signing at Waterstones Bromley on the 26th March!