When I was sixteen I worked at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma, Washington, affectionately termed “The Spag.” (Random factoid: This is also the restaurant where my parents met some 25 years before.) I attended Pacific Lutheran University where I sorted mail that came to the dorm, carted tables and chairs around campus, and took writing classes, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature. As Alicia Blade, I also had a novelette, “The Phantom of Linkshire Manor,” published in the gothic romance anthology Bound in Skin (CatsCurious Press, 2007). Writing fanfic turned out to be awesome fun and brought me in contact with an amazing group of fanfiction readers and writers. Those so inclined can still find my first stories at. When I was fourteen my best friend introduced me to anime and fanfiction-over the years I would complete over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the penname Alicia Blade. One of my first spoken words was “story” (right along with “bath” and “cookie”), my favorite toy as an infant was a soft, squishable book, and I’ve wanted to be a writer since I first realized such a job existed.

She lives near Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and twin daughters.

In addition to writing, Marissa hosts The Happy Writer podcast. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University and a MA in Publishing from Pace University. Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles, Heartless, The Renegades Trilogy, and Instant Karma, as well as the graphic novel duology Wires and Nerve.

Gilded by Marissa Meyer