Aw, shucks! Thanks so much for having me, Emlyn. I’m delighted that you enjoyed Cinder!

Ahaha, how clever! Let’s see. Cinder is most like the color silver, for the moon, the ball gown, and the steel plating on Cinder’s prosthetic hand! Cinder is most like a butterfly—is there a more poignant rags to riches tale than a caterpillar’s? Cinder is most like San Francisco, because it’s set in futuristic Asia and I think San Francisco probably has the best China Town. Cinder is most like a VW Beetle, because I’ll forever associate the Beetles with pumpkin carriages now. Cinder is most like a bento box: the concept may seem simple, but there’s unexpected depth of flavor.

I’ve always loved fairy tales and have played with the idea of doing a retelling for many years, but there are so many retellings out there (especially of Cinderella), that I knew I wanted to do something really different. Then one day I entered a writing contest with a short story adaptation of Puss in Boots, set in the future. It was so much fun to write, and it gave me my big idea: I’ll write a series of sci-fi fairy tales! As for Cinder being a cyborg, that was a lucky twist that popped into my head as I was falling asleep one night, and it just seemed to fit. I call it my “boy sparkling in a meadow” moment.

I can be neurotically goal-driven and have taken on so many writing challenges over the years (including one November in which I wrote 150,000 words in an attempt to win a contest), that I’ve been asked more than once if I’m actually a cyborg. I’m not telling if it’s true though.

Although Cinder uses her lie detector to great advantage, I definitely would not want that skill—I would always be on edge, waiting to see if a compliment or praise was real or not! Rather, I would take Cinder’s Google-in-the-brain function any day. Any information you need, any time! It would be like a hands-free iPhone that never needs charging.

Oh, definitely magic, though probably not the mind-control/glamour magic that the Lunars use. I would prefer a more traditional fairy-godmother-type wand, where I could turn pumpkins into carriages, rags into ball gowns, and make wishes come true.

Scarlet (a.k.a. Little Red) is a spitfire of a heroine who gets caught up in Levana’s evil plans when her grandmother mysteriously disappears, and the only person willing to help her is a suspicious street fighter named Wolf. Beyond that tidbit, I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out!

Thanks so much for the interview, Emlyn!