How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Visit Kate Manning's website.
Gilded Mountain is about the stark divide between rich and poor in a Colorado marble-mining town in the 1900s. The word ‘gilded’ implies wealth, as in the Gilded Age, but also hints at a superficial beauty: sometimes a shiny gold object is actually made of gold-painted tin. One contender for the title was Avalanche Days, because avalanches--real and metaphorical--feature in the story. But Gilded Mountain won out because the word ‘gilded’ carried hints of beauty and intrigue while ‘avalanche’ spoke only to disaster. In this novel, the young protagonist is tempted by luxury and must choose between a life of ease—and a daring adventure. I hope the title helps conjure a mountaintop outlined by the sunset in a rind of gold, while underneath that beautiful gilding of light is something hard, sometimes dangerous or...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: My Notorious Life.
Q&A with Kate Manning.
--Marshal Zeringue
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