Last night I braved the impending (and now fully fledged) snow storm to head to Politics and Prose to see Marissa Meyer speak, and Rebecca Soler, the voice actress who narrates her books, read from “Cress.” It was a fun night, although I didn’t really talk much to any of the other DC-based bloggers who were there (I hope to get to meet more of them soon). Soler is a fantastic narrator (for anyone interested in the audiobook), and Meyer graciously answered questions from a packed house that included girls as young as 10 and up (and I mean up!). Here are 10 things I learned from the event.
2. The idea of a cyborg Cinderella stems from a dream Meyer had in which Cinderella leaves her whole foot behind instead of just a glass slipper.
3. Meyer doesn’t have a favorite character or couple (lots of young girls asked), but she does enjoy writing the funny characters Iko and Thorne, because “they practically write themselves.” Her favorite non-romantic relationships are Cinder and Thorne’s sibling-like banter and Cinder and Iko.
4. If you had to ask Marissa Meyer which of her heroines she’s most like, the answer is easy: Cress, because she also spends a lot of time in her own imagination and is a sometimes naive optimist that thinks things are beautiful.
5. The cocksure and funny Capt. Thorne is a mix of Han Solo and Mal Reynolds (Marissa Meyer is also a huge “Firefly” fan; too bad Nathan Fillion is too old to play Thorne in the adaptation).
6. Speaking of adaptation, yes the film rights have been optioned and a script for “Cinder” has been written, but the production company (which she didn’t name) is still looking for a director.
7. “Winter” is based on the fairytale of “Snow White.” So is it safe to assume the seven dwarfs are Cinder, Kai, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, Thorne, and Jacin?
8. After “Winter,” Meyer has a standalone retelling called “Heartless,” a prequel to “Alice in Wonderland” about the Queen of Hearts. It should hit bookstores in 2015.
9. What is she reading? Meyer said she had just started “Star Cursed” by DC-based author Jessica Spotswood (who was in attendance) and had loved reading the ARCs of “Winterspell” by Claire Legrand (a retelling of “The Nutcracker”) and “Plus One” by Elizabeth Fama (a futuristic love story). She had not, however, read “The Lumatere Chronicles” (I asked).
10. Marissa Meyer is lovely and has a colored streak in her hair that makes her look like she could be Stephanie Perkins’ sister.
We loved Marissa when we met her! http://www.weheartya.com/2012/01/author-event-cinder-by-marissa-meyer.html
And we love getting to attend this even vicariously through you. Thanks!
Yay, looks like you have a lovely time meeting her too. I forgot the picture of me with her. I’ll have to add that to Instagram. You guys have had such wonderful author experiences too!
I would totally go out in a snow storm to see Marissa Meyer, especially if Rebecca Soler was there too. I’ve listened to Cinder and Cress, and loved them. I read Scarlet. I think it’s awesome that Cress is most like Marissa, because I feel the same way about myself.
Also, I hadn’t heard of Winterspell but now I MUST READ IT! I love The Nutcracker.
Yes, Rebecca Soler was great. I hope she keeps getting good audiobook gigs! It was a great event!