Thank you to Marianne for the interview. The Gilded Crown is Marianne’s debut novel and is one to definitely check out.

Interview

What was your inspiration for The Gilded Crown?

The book emerged from a few ‘what if’ scenarios – what if Death was a fallible, cranky being? What if politics got involved with raising the dead? What if you raised someone from the dead, and then they just kept dying again and again? I wanted to write a book about a woman who has this incredible gift of bringing people back to life, but explore the pitfalls of that, i.e. the sacrifice she has to give each time, how such a gift would look like an opportunity to the elite, how it might start to feel like an obligation and a burden, etc.

What was your process for writing your debut novel?

That’s a tricky question, I’m not sure I had much of a process! I was working full time during the pandemic while I was writing, and I would section out the evening where I had no other obligations (or I’d ignore them) to focus on writing. It was a privileged position to be able to do this, but it became a bit feverish, where I was writing ten pages a day and into the early hours. It wasn’t overly healthy but I loved the buzz!

How did your main character develop over the course of brainstorm to actually writing the novel?

My protagonist, Hellevir, started off as a bit of a side character, secondary to Death, but then as the book emerged I started focusing more on her experiences in raising the dead, the politics she was becoming embroiled in, the love she starts to feel for the Princess of the realm. She started off as headstrong and confident, and slowly settled into quite an anxious girl who only ever wants to do the right thing, but often finds her good intentions spring back to slap her.

What was your process for character and world building? 

It sounds a bit hippy, but I honestly just spend a lot of time with my eyes closed wandering around the places I’m building and having chats with my characters. Sometimes I write little short stories which aren’t necessarily going to be a part of the book, but help me to get a sense of the scene/person more strongly. I also have a whiteboard at home where I put up ideas and work out plots, it looks like a spider diagram and my handwriting makes it completely unintelligible to anyone but me!

How would you describe The Gilded Crown in five words?

Death, queer love, doomed romance (and ravens, if I can have six!)

Did you have a favourite moment to write? 

I always enjoyed writing the spirits that Hellevir comes across throughout the book. It was a chance to let myself be weird and write something more bizarre, and I’m really pleased with how those scenes turned out. My favourite of those is probably the being Hellevir meets out on the Moors.

What was your favourite book growing up?

I loved the Books of Pellinor by Alison Croggon, they had the most wonderful universe and were written with a lot of love and poetry. My favourite was the second book in the series, The Riddle. I’d have loved to have been a Bard when I was a kid, and I absolutely had a crush on Cadvan of Lirigon.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

I honestly read most things that come my way! Epic fantasy is where my heart lies, but I’m a sucker for a good horror and clever, older sci-fi like John Wyndham. I try to read a lot of different things to stay inspired, from pop psychology books about octopus brains to writer’s guides to wounds and injuries. For The Gilded Crown I found myself reading a lot of books and articles on herb