I am so happy to be kicking of the Cress blog tour today! The Lunar Chronicles is my favorite series ever, and Cress is a wonderful addition to a group of amazing characters. Marissa’s writing never ceases to amaze me. It’s no surprise that her books get better and better as she publishes them. I loved Cinder and Scarlet, but Cress is definitely my favorite. Here’s my review, if you’re interested. I can’t wait for you to read it!

I’m excited to have Marissa Meyer on the blog to tell you all about the making of Cress. I always love it when authors have behind the scenes tidbits to share with us, and Marissa has written a very fun post that I’m sure you’ll enjoy!

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Why Cress was First Named “Arugala”
by Marissa Meyer

Cinder = Cinderella.

Scarlet = Little Red.

Winter = Snow White.

It doesn’t take too much imagination, or fairy tale know-how, to figure out how I got the names for most of my heroines. But Cress and Rapunzel? That’s where a lot of readers get hung up.

So, allow me to explain.

The tale of Rapunzel opens with a poor man and his wife overjoyed at their first pregnancy. However, during her pregnancy, the wife begins to have some pretty intense food cravings. Not for pickles and ice cream, as a normal pregnant woman might have. Oh, no. This poor woman was craving salad. In particular, she really, really wanted a very particular kind of lettuce called . . . wait for it . . . rapunzel.

She wanted this lettuce so badly that she believed she would die if she didn’t get it. Unfortunately, the only place in their town that rapunzel grew was in the witch’s garden. So one night the husband hopped over the wall and stole some rapunzel and brought it back to his wife, who devoured it like a ravenous vegan.

This continued for a few nights until—dun dun dun!—one night, the witch caught the husband stealing from her. So she posed a compromise. The witch would kindly spare the man’s life, and even allow him to take as much rapunzel back to his wife as she wanted, if, when his wife gave birth, they would give the child to the witch as payment. The husband agreed and his wife got a nice steady diet of salad greens for the remainder of her pregnancy.

A while later, the wife gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. They give the baby to the witch who takes her and raises her as her own daughter.

And the witch names the child, you guessed it, Rapunzel.

The point of this story is that rapunzel is a type of lettuce. As it so happens, cress (a.k.a. watercress), is also a type of lettuce.

Bam.

On a side note, when I was first coming up with character names, I called my Rapunzel heroine “Arugula” (another kind of lettuce) for all of ten minutes, before I realized I’d never be able to say it with a straight face.

Side note number two: Another word that is sometimes used interchangeably with rapunzel is rampion. Also known as the name I gave my spaceship, thanks to the clever suggestion of a friend.

Lettuce greens FTW.

Lastly, while I’m on the topic of Lunar Chronicles names, I’ll tell you that both “Carswell” and “Thorne” have hidden meanings that relate to Thorne’s role in the books and fairy tale.

But I’ll let savvy readers figure those out on their own . . .

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Giveaway

The lovely people at Macmillan are offering a pretty amazing prize to the readers of my blog! One lucky person (USA/CAN) will win paperback copies of Cinder and Scarlet, as well as a hardcover of Cress and a special Cress comb! You know you want it! If you are brand new to the series, and are interested in learning more click on the book titles above to be taken to the Goodreads page.

(For a picture of the comb, click here!)

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Awesome Places to Be!

Become a fan of the Lunar Chronicles on Facebook!
Become a fan of Marissa Meyer on Facebook!
Follow Marissa Meyer on Twitter!
Become a fan of the Lunar Chronicles on Tumblr!
Pre-Order a copy of Cress to get a free comb! Details here. (US Only)
See Marissa Meyer on tour!
Join the Scarlet Readathon!
Get more fun Lunar Chronicles links and info on the MacTeenBooks blog!
Follow the rest of the Cress blog tour!

Welcome to my stop along the Painted Maidens tour! Terra Harmony is here to tell us all about her book, and the colors she thought of while writing it. Thanks, Terra, for keeping my love of colors in mind when you decided on this post!

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The Colors of the Painted Maidens
by Terra Harmony

The Rising, book one of the Painted Maidens Trilogy, will be released November 8^th.  Get ready for mermaids and werewolves everyone!  In every book I write, I try to bring a little ‘eco-awareness’ into them. For The Rising, the eco part is very subdued. In the first book of the series, my main goal is to really get readers to fall in love with the ocean and all the creatures in it. It is a whole new, amazing world – right on our own planet. The textures and even the colors can all come across as very unique, and beautiful in their own way.

I know how much Jana loves colors, so as a guest on her blog I wanted to talk about the colors of the Painted Maidens in my book, which reflect all the colors of the ocean itself. I’m going to share a few excerpts with you that hopefully conjure some awesome imagery in your own minds. Here is something from the second chapter, and it gives you an idea of the world Serena (our main character) lives in:

The entire journey home Serena works to block out the hyper, overactive vibe of her peers, instead concentrating on the world around her. She turns her head as she swims, emitting a series of whistles and clicks.

The vibrations ruffle the scales of those ahead of her. Some glance back, annoyed, but most have learned to ignore her by now. The sounds return to Serena, and the underwater world shifts from blurry, darkened forms into sharp, focused shapes.

Rockfish loiter in and out of the kelp forest along the shore while the plants move, occasionally allowing shafts of moonlight to pierce deeper into the ocean. Where the bottom shallows out and rock changes to powdery white sand, candy-striped shrimp dart among sea anemones, immune to the sting. A brown and yellow decorated warbonnet peers out with large eyes from behind soft pink coral. The skittish eel-like fish retreats as the caste column passes. Farther out to sea, Serena spots the silhouettes of a pod of orcas skimming the surface, their sleek, black dorsal fins slicing through open air.

A little further into the book, all of the mermaids (called Undine) are together in the Great Hall. This is where I really try to portray colors of the ocean through the Undine themselves, including the bioluminescence found in deeper waters:

The largest room of the kingdom is packed with the Undine. The expansive ceiling is bare, with most of the larger stalactites long since removed. Underneath it, a mob of Undine stand shoulder to shoulder. They smell as bitter as a kelp forest, the stench so thick in the air Serena could almost taste it. She watches Mariam run her tongue through her mouth in distaste.

Serena smiles to herself. Mariam is not used to crowds, either.

The amount of scales vary on each of the Undine, though most don their protective armor up to their necks because it is simply too difficult to remove. There are deep reds, pinks, silvers, golds, and the occasional green, like crowded corals packed onto a cliff, clamoring to reach the best nutrients.

Serena’s dark blue and Mariam’s brown help them blend in to the shadows of the cliff that hangs over them. Only Ervin’s scales stand out, if anything because of their modesty. They are light, dull brown, as is the same with most males, lacking the vibrant colors of Undine maidens.

The only family to sport orange – the Sunbeam family, aptly named – stand together, their collective color shining out like a beacon.

In the Great Hall, bioluminescent hair of most still glows like stimulated jellyfish. The radiance smolders out as the minutes pass after they’ve surfaced. An almost coordinated wave of dying embers, rolling through the crowd all the way to the back.

In Undine Society, only one merman sports colors other than light brown – the king himself. In fact, his tail is said to contain all of the hues of the Undine Painted Maidens. The next excerpt is a brief scene during the final battle, with the king making his grand entrance topside.

 Just as the tides begin to turn, a fresh group of wolves arrive. This pack is led by Alaric. Serena grits her teeth at the howl he emits. But Alaric’s call is answered by another. It is a deep rumble, moving in from the ocean. All eyes turn toward the water, Undine and wolf alike.

King Merrick sits on top of the whale rock, summoning the water. The sea obliges, rising up at his command.

The king looms above the water. His multicolored scales glisten in the sunlight, lighting up the rock and the water that surrounds it like a rainbow. The king rides the arched kaleidoscope of colors like he has done it his entire life.

I hope you have enjoyed the glimpse into my book. Please let me know what you think either by leaving a comment, and don’t forget to enter the contest!

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Thanks for stopping by, Terra!

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Giveaway (INT)

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