窜辞毛 Marriott (Author of The Swan Kingdom)

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窜辞毛 Marriott

老虎机稳赢方法 Author

Born

in The United Kingdom

Website

Twitter

Genre

Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Member Since

January 2009

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窜辞毛 has known that she wanted to be a writer since she read 'The Magic Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton at age eight. She's never changed her mind in all the years since then.

She completed her first manuscript - a truly embarrassing romance novel - at age sixteen, and kept on writing books and submitting them until she had collected rejections from nearly very publisher in the UK and two in Australia. She eventually got her first publishing contract when she was twenty-two - but had to wait until she was twenty-four to see that book published (The Swan Kingdom). Her books have been longlisted for the Branford Boase Award, shortlisted for the Leeds Book Award and the Lancashire Book of the Year, and have won a Junior Library Guild Selection, a U ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

I have just finished reading Shadows on the Moon. This book has captured my heart. It had me on an emotional roller coaster. It made me cry, laugh, fall in love, and even through pillows across the room in excitement and anger. My question is if you are or will be writing a sequel?

窜辞毛 Marriott

This answer contains spoilers鈥� (view spoiler)[I'm so glad that you enjoyed the book - thank you very much for letting me know. But the answer to your question is: Nope. At least, not right now.

Although I do have a very strong idea of what happens to Suzume, Otieno, and Akira, after they leave Tsuki no Hikari no Kuni and travel to Athazie, that strong idea does not include any events interesting enough to write a book about.

Basically, in my own head (and of course, you are free to have an entirely different version of this, and ignore everything I've written here) they get to Athazie after a long sea journey and have a slightly awkward adjustment period for a little while. Suzume struggles with the feeling that she does not deserve happiness. She is not sure how to build a new identity that she actually wants to live with. But eventually, with everyone's love and support, she settles down. A large part of her own healing process is based in learning to heal other people like her - people who have been traumatised and left with scars on their minds and hearts - using her musical gift. She and Otieno stay together and eventually have children whom they love dearly and who fill their lives with laughter and a bit of craziness. Akira, in the meantime, becomes very famous because of her amazing dancing talent. She travels all over the country, performing to worshipful crowds. After a few years, she and Otieno's father admit that they have fallen in love. They, too, are very happy.

After reading that, you might be thinking - hey, that sounds pretty awesome to me. I'd read that. Why can't you write that?

Because it's a happy ending - not a story. The events I've described there wouldn't generate enough excitement to fill even fifty pages. There's no conflict. Nothing changes significantly. No one needs anything which they do not get. A book in which the only events are everyone quietly being happy and having peaceful, contented lives might sound soothing but in reality it would be the b-word. Yes, that b-word. BORING.

In order for me to actually write a book about Suzume and Otieno and Akira's lives in Athazie, I would need to have a revelation about what happens to them in their future. I'd need to wake up one day and realise that there was going to be a terrible plague, or a war, or that one of them was going to die and leave the others bereft. And you know what? I don't wanna! I don't want to take a wrecking ball to their contentment. I want these guys to fade happily into the sunset. I've already put them through enough, don't you think? They deserve to retire.

Having said all that, I have written a couple of short stories featuring the characters from Shadows on the Moon. One is basically a very short epilogue showing a slice of life in Athazie and you can read it here: There's also a short story in this anthology: /book/show/2... about Akira's early life and her famous dance at the Shadow Ball that won the prince's heart. And finally, I love the setting so much that I'm currently working on another fairytale retelling set in the Moonlit Lands, which hopefully will be published in the next couple of years. (hide spoiler)]

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I adore your book The Swan Kingdom, Alexandra is an awesome character and I loved the plot twists, the romance and especially your writing! But do you have anymore plans to write books based on hidden and not very popular fairy tales?

窜辞毛 Marriott Thank you so much! It's been over a decade now since I wrote The Swan Kingdom, and to hear that people still read it, and still like it, is humbling a鈥辞谤别Thank you so much! It's been over a decade now since I wrote The Swan Kingdom, and to hear that people still read it, and still like it, is humbling and uplifting.

Growing up The Wild Swans was always my favourite fairytale. I had a gorgeously illustrated picture book of the story which was (and is) one of my most treasured possessions, and when I started borrowing books of myths and folklore from the library, variations on the tale (a sister toiling to save brothers from a terrible, beastly or birdly enchantment) would crop up very often. So it never really occurred to me that it was considered a lesser fairytale, or that people wouldn't know it. I always wanted to explore it further and write my own version, and I was grateful that as far as I was aware no one famous had gotten there first, but that was all.

It was only when The Swan Kingdom was published, and I saw some readers praise it for retelling an 'unknown' fairytale, and different readers assume that I had plagiarised the work of another author (whose book was also based on that fairytale) that I realised how few people had grown up with this story as I did.

Since then, I've written two more fairytale retellings - Shadows on the Moon, which is based on Cinderella, and another one (yet to be published) based on Beauty and the Beast. Obviously, both of these stories have been made into Disney movies, which means everyone thinks they know what the 'original' version is, or should be. There's a certain flexibility in retelling a story which is very well known. You can feel free to make all kinds of changes to the plot and subvert the characters or invert certain parts and know that people will understand exactly the way you're bouncing new ideas off the old ones. But at the same time, there will also often be people who think you've ruined the best parts - even if those things were literally only added into the Disney version ten years ago.

The truth is that even extremely well-known fairytales are not nearly as well known as you might think. Most of us imagine, say, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast as a single story, a fixed thing with certain characters and plot points which are inviolable. But these usually bear at most a passing resemblance to the spoken versions of folklore which were originally transcribed by people like Anderson and Grimm. There are a million variations on every story, and the further you go back in time the darker and scarier many tales of this kind are. So when I choose to explore any fairytale, I'm most likely retelling a hidden, not very popular version of it - and I'm also remaking it anew, making it into something that no one else has ever seen before.

Having said all that, I have next to me now a copy of The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth, which is a treasure trove of tales that were basically lost to time until very recently. And I am still a fan of Celtic and Greek and Japanese mythology. So it's entirely possible that in the future I'll stumble across an obscure fairytale that will inspire me to explore it. I just don't know it yet.

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窜辞毛 Marriott鈥檚 books

Average rating: 3.81 · 15,996 ratings · 2,074 reviews · 15 distinct works 鈥� Similar authors

	The Swan Kingdom 3.75 avg rating — 4,912 ratings — published 2007 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shadows on the Moon (The Moonlit Lands, #1) 3.88 avg rating — 4,369 ratings — published 2011 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Daughter of the Flames (Ruan, #1) 3.75 avg rating — 2,340 ratings — published 2008 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Night Itself (The Name of the Blade, #1) 3.67 avg rating — 1,248 ratings — published 2013 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	FrostFire (Ruan, #2) 4.01 avg rating — 924 ratings — published 2012 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hand, the Eye and the Heart 3.82 avg rating — 851 ratings — published 2019 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Barefoot on the Wind (The Moonlit Lands, #2) 3.89 avg rating — 701 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Darkness Hidden (The Name of the Blade, #2) 3.88 avg rating — 296 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Frail Human Heart (The Name of the Blade, #3) 3.94 avg rating — 184 ratings — published 2015 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Book of Snow & Silence 4.31 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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窜辞毛 Marriott's Blog

The Moonlit Maze on Netgalley

Hello, Dear Readers! A quick update today and the title says it all:

My lovely publisher have made this rather gorgeous video to celebrate this moment:

So if you're a member of the site - or want to be - now is the time to sign up or login to get a digital proof and read away. I hope that you'll really enjoy it

Series by 窜辞毛 Marriott

The Moonlit Lands (2 books)
by

窜辞毛 Marriott (老虎机稳赢方法 Author) (Artist)

3.88 avg rating — 5,070 ratings

Ruan (2 books)
by

窜辞毛 Marriott (老虎机稳赢方法 Author)

3.82 avg rating — 3,263 ratings

The Name of the Blade (3 books)
by

窜辞毛 Marriott (老虎机稳赢方法 Author)

3.73 avg rating — 1,728 ratings

窜辞毛 is Currently Reading

窜辞毛 Marriott is currently reading

Regeneration (Regeneration, #1)

by Pat Barker

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May 02, 2023 12:16PM

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窜辞毛鈥檚 Recent Updates

窜辞毛 Marriott finished reading Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King (老虎机稳赢方法 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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窜辞毛 Marriott rated a book it was amazing The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Took me a veery long time to read this because I think I probably read most pages at least two or three times, then had to stop and just think for a bit. Rovelli's work is the place where philosophy, poetry and physics meet, and it turns out that the ...more
May 05, 2025 07:20AM · 1 like · like · see review
窜辞毛 Marriott has read The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue, #1) by Christopher Buehlman (老虎机稳赢方法 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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窜辞毛 Marriott has read Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3) by Tamsyn Muir (老虎机稳赢方法 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Jazz Bashara: IQ of a rocket scientist, emotional intelligence of a 12 year old boy, common sense of a honey badger. A self-destructive honey badger.
Apr 11, 2025 02:07PM · 2 likes · like · see review

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Quotes by 窜辞毛 Marriott (?)

“People trust their eyes above all else - but most people see what they wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really there”
― 窜辞毛 Marriott, Shadows on the Moon

tags: deception, inspirational, lies, truth

213 likes

“To ugly ducklings everywhere,
Don't worry about those fluffy yellow morons:
They'll never get to be swans”
― 窜辞毛 Marriott, The Swan Kingdom

tags: clever, cool, cute, funny, humor-inspirational, humorous, inspirational, self-image, sweet

133 likes

“I truly believe that if you have more friends than books, you have too many friends. Or not enough books. Probably both.”
― 窜辞毛 Marriott

tags: books, friendship, twitter-quotes

50 likes

See all 窜辞毛 Marriott's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Challenge: 50 Books: Michelle the Nerdy's 50 in 2010	2	19	Jan 17, 2010 04:39PM
Paranormal Romanc...: February 2010 Reading Challenge	1132	1353	Apr 01, 2010 11:15AM
Challenge: 50 Books: Mara's 50 for 2010	53	132	Jan 04, 2011 10:31PM
SOS: Serious Over...: JULY 2011: New Releases	13	59	Jul 01, 2011 07:00PM
YA Book Council: * Notepad for Future Books	63	442	Feb 23, 2012 12:24AM
You'll love this ...: What have you just bought? (CLOSED)	1027	364	Sep 20, 2012 09:39AM

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窜辞毛鈥檚 Quotes

“I want to sleep, I want dreams to pull me from this world and make me forget. To stop the memories from swirling around me. To put an end to this ache that consumes me.”
― Carrie Ryan, The Forest of Hands and Teeth

436 likes

“Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.”
― Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

tags: heroes, inspirational

2856 likes

“People trust their eyes above all else - but most people see what they wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really there”
― 窜辞毛 Marriott, Shadows on the Moon

tags: deception, inspirational, lies, truth

213 likes

“No one knows me. Not anymore”
― 窜辞毛 Marriott

tags: identity

11 likes

“It's as if people -- normal people -- are made of silver. Shiny to start with, but tarnished by time, by ill-treatment. Luca... Luca is gold. Nothing in the world could ever make him shine less brightly.”
― 窜辞毛 Marriott, FrostFire

tags: frostfire, gold, inspirational, love, romance

6 likes

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窜辞毛鈥檚 Friend Comments

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message 22: by 窜辞毛

Jun 01, 2017 06:18AM

Eilonwy wrote: "Awesome new pic, 窜辞毛! I love it!"

Thanks Holls :) Random selfie in the coffee shop, and it's nicer than any posed photo I've ever had taken! x

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message 21: by Eilonwy

Jun 01, 2017 06:12AM

Awesome new pic, 窜辞毛! I love it!

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message 20: by Kirsty (Amethyst Bookwyrm)

Sep 27, 2013 03:31AM

Thanks for the add!

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message 19: by 窜辞毛

Jan 22, 2013 05:02AM

Daph (Lvngbooks) wrote: "I can't believe I wasn't stalking you on every website yet.. But don't worry, I found you! >:)!

PS: thanks for making us friendsies <3"

Of course! We ARE friends. And you're very welcome to stalk away - I do it to everyone else, believe me!

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message 18: by Daph

Jan 22, 2013 05:00AM

I can't believe I wasn't stalking you on every website yet.. But don't worry, I found you! >:)!

PS: thanks for making us friendsies <3

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message 17: by 窜辞毛

Sep 19, 2012 12:16PM

Heather wrote: " So Hi.
Thanks for accepting my friend request. :)

Oh and I absolutely ADORE your books. I read them a few years back and WOW. :) X"

Thank you very much for friending me - and I'm so happy that I have a read who gives such good Gif. How I Met Your Mother and Doctor Who in one comment? Epic.

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message 16: by Heather

Sep 19, 2012 12:15PM

So Hi.
Thanks for accepting my friend request. :)

description

Oh and I absolutely ADORE your books. I read them a few years back and WOW. :) X

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message 15: by 窜辞毛

Jul 18, 2012 11:45PM

Lady wrote: "OMG! I loved Shadows of the Moon so much Miss. Marriott it was incredible it touched my heart. I will try to read your other books if I get the chance and I'm honored that you are my friend!"

Thank you, Lady - I'm honoured that you liked my book so much :)

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message 14: by Lady

Jul 18, 2012 11:14AM

OMG! I loved Shadows of the Moon so much Miss. Marriott it was incredible it touched my heart. I will try to read your other books if I get the chance and I'm honored that you are my friend!

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message 13: by 窜辞毛

Jul 27, 2011 01:56PM

Enna Isilee (Squeaky Books) wrote: "ZOE! Why did I not know you were on GoodReads?! Thanks for the friend request!!"

WHY didn't I know YOU were? Thanks for friending back :)

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message 12: by Renna Mira (AKA Enna Isilee)

Jul 27, 2011 01:46PM

ZOE! Why did I not know you were on GoodReads?! Thanks for the friend request!!

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message 11: by 窜辞毛

Jul 27, 2011 08:52AM

Jo wrote: "Hey Zoe!
Thanks for the friends request :)
Hope you're OK!"

I'm fine, thank you, Jo! Hope you are too 8D

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message 10: by Jo

Jul 27, 2011 08:35AM

Hey Zoe!
Thanks for the friends request :)
Hope you're OK!

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message 9: by 窜辞毛

Jul 24, 2011 12:21AM

Adrianja wrote: "I loved Daughter of the Flames :) I can't wait for the sequel. I haven't read swan kingdom or shadows on the moon but they are coming up soon on my tbr list"

Thanks, Adrianja! I really hope you like the other books when you get hold of them. I'm doing edits on the companion novel to Daughter of the Flames now (FrostFire) and hopefully that will be out in July next year, so that's something to look forward to as well :)

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message 8: by Sophia

Mar 19, 2011 11:57AM

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message 7: by 窜辞毛

Mar 17, 2011 01:17AM

~鈾ophia The Rain Dancer鈾 wrote: "OMG!I LOVEDLOVEDLOVED The Swan Kingdom I could NOT stop reading it! :)"

Ha ha - thank you! It's lovely to hear that.

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message 6: by Sophia

Mar 16, 2011 04:34PM

OMG!I LOVEDLOVEDLOVED The Swan Kingdom I could NOT stop reading it! :)

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message 5: by April

Oct 31, 2010 03:33AM

Thanks for the friend request! :)

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message 4: by 窜辞毛

Oct 04, 2010 05:33AM

Nicole wrote: "hey zoe :) i really like "daughter of the flames" because the heroine, zira/zahira is really strong, beautiful andf complex. And the story itself is good. I'm looking forward to reading "swan kingd..."

Thanks! I'm working on the follow-up novel to Daughter of the Flames now, so it's encouraging to hear from people that liked the first one.

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message 3: by Nicole

Oct 04, 2010 05:29AM

hey zoe :) i really like "daughter of the flames" because the heroine, zira/zahira is really strong, beautiful andf complex. And the story itself is good. I'm looking forward to reading "swan kingdom". :)

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message 2: by 窜辞毛

Jun 26, 2010 06:54AM

Thank you. Have you checked out my new blog, here: ? There's a giveaway on...

reply | flag

message 1: by Yaa

Jun 26, 2010 06:19AM

OMG!! I LOVE YOUR BOOKS!!!! Huge fan!! =D

reply | flag

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