The Gilded Ones

Forna stated that as a child she heard stories about strong women, such as Mami Wata, the goddess of water, and the Dahomey Amazons. She also heard stories about African civilization such as the Walls of Benin and Great Zimbabwe told to her by her grandmother and father to distract her from the Sierra Leone civil war.[5] She later found that western literature lacked African characters and black female heroes, and she was driven to change this.[5][6]

She stated in an interview that she first got the idea when she had a recurring dream of a girl in a golden armor walking in a field while she was still an undergraduate at Spelman College before writing the novel years letter using elements of West African Mythology and Sierra Leonean culture.[5][7][8]

The book originally titled Deadless was acquired by Penguin Books in a six figure deal after several rejections from publishers as the first book in a planned trilogy.[9]

The novel set in the West African inspired kingdom of Otera, 16 years old Deka lives in the village of Irfut with her sick father as her mother died of a redpox infection. She is filled with fear and anxiety because of a compulsory ritual for 16 years old girls called the Ritual of Purity that banish girls who bleed gold when cut instead of red from society. The ceremony is attacked by Deathshrieks－legendary monster who scream loudly. Deka chases the creatures away and after several attempt to kill her, her most nightmare comes to life when she bleed blood and is deemed impure.

She is throwned into a dungeon of torture, where she is killed several times but wakes up alive for two month until she is offered an invitation by a mysterious woman called White Hands who wishes to take her to the capital to join an army of Alaki －impure girls like herself, who are trained to fight Deathshrieks set by the Emperor. Deka agrees and along with a girl named Britta joins the army.

Deka trains hard and learns more about the kingdom and Deathshrieks. Soon she discovers she can communicate with the creatures, she begin to question the Emperor original intentions and seeks to know more about the true origin of the war.

The novel received several positive reactions from literary critics.[10] it entered the New York Times and Indie Bestseller lists.[3][4] A review from Publishers Weekly called the novel an "Abundant action drives the pace, while a nuanced plot advocates social change by illustrating the myriad ways in which society cages and commodifies women" .[11] The Guardian review states that it's "Action combines with an intense feminist story of sisterhood, where strength is found in female friendships and alliances".[12] Another review from Tor.com praised the lead character stating that "in Deka, Forna offers a driven and determined main character who wades through intense trauma and violence and comes out the other side fueled with righteous fury".[13]

A week after the release of the novel, Deadline Hollywood announced that it had optioned for a film adaptation by the independent film production company Makeready. it will be produce by Brad Weston, Negin Salmasi and Misha Green, the later who is known for her work on Love Craft Country. It also signed Forna to write the script for a film adaptation.[14][15]