Keira Gillett Author

Fierce Middle Grade Fantasy Reads

Zaria Fierce

Q: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

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A: Starting. I had several rough starts for the first book in the Zaria Fierce trilogy. I believe this was because I wasn’t fully invested in those first few ideas. The best part of each rough start was the description of Zaria Fierce. I honed her as a character and abandoned those early drafts. I wrote the prologue that would start Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest in May 2014. I didn’t pick it up again until late September. When I did Zaria’s story was at my fingertips and the rest was easy.

Q: How did you come up with the title for Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest?

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A: When I was world building for Zaria Fierce, I started a document to contain all of my ideas such as titles, plot bunnies, characters, places, and more. This document was centered around a now abandoned plot for Zaria, but the titles within were gold to me. Even as I abandoned the overall plot I kept returning to the titles and the titles spun little intricate webs until they gathered into a cohesive whole and inspired the current plot for the trilogy. As pulled from this original world building document, other possible titles that Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest could have been, include:

  • Zaria Fierce and the Mystery of Gloomwood Forest
  • Zaria Fierce and the Hart of Frostwood Forest
  • Zaria Fierce and the Glasswood Quest
  • Zaria Fierce and the Thornwood Torch
  • Zaria Fierce and the Banished Knights of Banewood Forest

Do you have a favorite?

Q: Do you listen to music when writing?

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A: Yes, I do! Almost always. The music I listen to when I write is generally free of lyrics such as classical music or instrumentals. I like listening to lyric-free music because it is not distracting and can enhance a mood of a scene. I imagine sometimes that the track I’m listening to would play in the background of a movie-version of Zaria Fierce.

To Quote Shakespeare

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You have to love mothers! They are the first to show up in your cheering section and always got your back. Look at the wonderful present mine got me to celebrate finishing the first book in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy:

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If the text is hard to read it says, “And though she be but little she is fierce.” The quote is from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Thanks, Mom! I love it!