What Inspired The World-Building In 'Gilded'?

At The Gilded Academy, Ivy St. Claire was a ghost. To her husband, Julian Vane, she was a mistake, a "charity case" scholarship student he was forced to marry. For three years, she endured his coldness and his public affairs, waiting for the day her "trial" would end. On graduation night, Julian hands her divorce papers in front of the entire school to propose to his mistress. He expected her to cry. Instead, she laughed. When the "poor scholarship girl" returns as the CEO of the world’s largest diamond conglomerate, Julian’s world crumbles. He realizes too late that he didn't just divorce a nobody; he divorced the only woman who could save his empire. Now, he’s on his knees, but Ivy isn't looking down. She’s already moved on.

Many years ago, dragons discovered the supreme good that the Earth could offer to any of its creatures. A red gem, which the king of dragons named "The Heart of Magic" because of its shape, resembled a heart. The magic gem fulfilled their greatest desires. All the dragons in the world obtained a necklace with a small piece of the red gem that shone. All the dragons born afterward also carried the same necklace. Then, when the gem got stolen, this light went out of every necklace, and the dragons lost these magical abilities that the gem had given them. But before this could happen, after fulfilling these desires, the dragons used them against the humans, enslaving them, but when the gem got stolen, it was all over. Dragons are still looking for it, and humans wish never to be found so that they do not go through the same thing again. Princess Edith, after a family tragedy, she will be forced to go in search of the gem. Through the journey of investigation, she will discover that she possesses special powers that she did not know that she has until that moment. Drake is the Dragon King's son and will be secretly sent to help Edith seek the gem. Carrying his dark and heavy past on his back, he moves forward with his life with no regrets about his actions back then. Everything is about to change.

When heartbreak drives Luna into the wilderness, she doesn’t expect to cross into another world. A place where the seasons have kings, where beauty hides cruelty, and where a single human woman can tip the balance between peace and ruin. Drawn into the glittering court of the King of Summer, Luna learns that love and power are never what they seem—and survival demands more than hope. From betrayal and forbidden desire to war among the kingdoms, The Kingdom of Light follows one woman’s rise from broken heart to legend. Magic. Love. Revenge. Rebirth. The turning of the seasons will never be the same again.

Meera Rathore has spent her life fighting against the future others chose for her. Forced into an arranged marriage with the heir of a powerful dynasty, she finds herself trapped within the walls of the Singh Palace—a place of wealth, tradition, and unsettling silence. Beyond the palace lies a forbidden forest where, during a monsoon storm, Meera encounters Laila, a mysterious woman whose beauty is rivaled only by the sorrow she carries. Drawn together by an undeniable connection, Meera soon discovers that Laila is tied to the palace's darkest secret. As forgotten histories resurface and long-buried truths emerge, Meera uncovers the stories of women erased from memory and silenced by generations of power. But some names refuse to be forgotten, and some loves refuse to die. *The Palace of Buried Names* is a haunting gothic romance about forbidden love, forgotten women, and the secrets that survive long after death.

Anya Moore is a pop sensation with lots of people who look up to her, though her passion is something else. Sadie Ozoa wants to chase her dreams and doesn’t want to take no for an answer, but it feels like she doesn’t have a choice. But unexpected decisions they made had created unfaithful circumstances that have brought two different individuals together. Next unthinkable move: run as far away from the situation that could have led to their wishes. They don’t know how they ended up walking together and they don’t know why. But all they want to do is to escape from the environment they were surrounded in. Anya and Sadie thought they would be distant but with every step they took, they started to know so much about each other and what they have one thing in common: they hated how the world has become. They then thought what if they rebuild Earth where it is all ruled by them--and only both of them. The two then thought what if we start to make it a reality? As they go on the journey to create their own world, Anya sees that Sadie is more than an outcast and Sadie sees that Anya is more than just a star--they are each other’s world. But with the world that is against their odds, will they be able to show their truth? In this first debut comes a coming-of-age story about realizing that in order to survive the world, you must choose whether to follow the rules or break them for the sake of doing something right.

From a young age, Aurora wanted to be different than her domineering mother, Empress Zephyra. When Aurora unexpectedly inherits the throne, she is left behind with two words: be better. And she tries. But just as things seem to have settled, Empress Aurora of Valiant receives a vision: the entire world will be destroyed. Along with her friend Devrim, Aurora makes the bold decision to travel to the Fates in the land of magic to find the answers she seeks. To be better, the new Empress must place her own life on the line to stop the coming doom.