Maggie Stiefvater Signing Report

Today, I went to see Maggie Stiefvater at BookPeople. Other bloggers in attendance, based on bookmarks or business cards I received, include the ladies of Girls in the Stacks, Mystical Lit Lounge, Windowpane Memoirs, and Project 52.

Maggie started off with a few anecdotes about the most common questions she receives about LINGER: "Did you do any research, like reading werewolf books?" and "Why werewolves?"

She said that she did quite a bit of medical research as well as research on dead German poets (for Sam's point of view), but didn't read any werewolf books. After all, she knew what werewolves were. Long anecdote short, she chose werewolves because of childhood phobias and Teen Wolf.

Then came a short reading, of Cole's first narration. Maggie wrote an earlier scene first and didn't like Cole's personality and had plans to cut him from the book. Then she wrote the first chronological Cole scene and couldn't abandon him. Answering a later question, she admitted to having trouble with Cole's snark as well as Isabel's tendency to not say what she means.

During the Q&A, Maggie was canny about some of her answers - she wouldn't discuss happy endings or hook-ups. The secret novel comes out in Spring 2012 and contains both beaches and kissing. She's seen the cover of FOREVER, but won't reveal the color yet. (I'm hoping for yellow with goldenrod text.)

Other questions she elaborated more, sometimes with her trademarked anecdotes. Kraken are the New Vampires goes viral more than anything else, although apparently the story of her hearing about being #1 on the NYT Bestseller list is being oft repeated, with embellishments in the case of the Hungarians. Also, there is a third Book of Faerie, titled REQUIEM, and is told through the point of view of an already introduced character and finishes Dee's story. It got pushed to the back of the line and may get pushed back again. SHIVER has been optioned; the screenplay is written (not by Maggie) and is currently undergoing rewrites. Maggie has a small consultation role, but no real power over the movie.

Then came the signing! There were lots of people at the event, but the line moved quickly.  I was toward the front of the middle and this photo was taken after I got my books signed.

When I told Maggie who I was, she drew an adorable Thorn King in my copy of BALLAD. Look at his billowing cloak! It was a very fun event. Maggie's even funnier in person than she is on her blog. Tomorrow I'll post my review of LINGER.

Rachelle Knight Recommends . . .

Rachelle Rogers Knight is the author of bibliobabe.com as well as READ, REMEMBER, RECOMMEND and the recently released READ, REMEMBER, RECOMMEND FOR TEENS. Rachelle is hosting a contest for each of her Traveling to Teens stops. Be sure to check out her page for In Bed With Books - the contest ends 5/12. In addition, be sure to stop by later today for my review of the journal.

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The theme of the READ, REMEMBER, RECOMMEND FOR TEENS Traveling to Teens Tour is "Great Summer Reading". For each of my guest posts on the tour, the blog host and I will both recommend a book we feel would be worthy of some sunny weather, summer reading.



Have you been missing tales of furry, cuddly wolves - who might also make great boyfriends? If so, Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver series is the ticket to some exciting summer reading, without the worries of a pesky vampire to spoil the fun.

Grace is a cute, smart, slightly introverted seventeen year old girl in chilly Minnesota. She is completely normal, except for her obsession with the wolves that live in the Boundary Woods behind her house. When she was six, she was pulled from a tire swing by these same wolves and bitten. A horrible death was barely avoided by an aggressive male wolf - with beautiful eyes. Since that time, Grace watches for 'her' wolf, taking pictures, leaving scrapes of food, and watching for any news concerning the welfare of the pack.

When another teen turns up missing (and ultimately dead), Grace's hometown reacts by hunting the wolves. When a wolf is shot, Grace's questions about her wolf are answered. In that moment, Grace not only gets a new cute boyfriend, but that boyfriend is the human form of ‘her’ wolf. What happens next is an exciting romance, filled with suspense, longing and fear.



Sound like the 'stuff' of a good summer read? Good news! SHIVER continues with the July 20th release of LINGER, the next in the story of Grace and Sam - a werewolf love affair to remember.

Accolades for SHIVER:

• Indies Choice Book Award Finalist
• ALA Best Books for Young Adults
• ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
• Amazon Top Ten Books for Teens
• Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2009
• Border's Original Voices Pick & Finalist
• Barnes & Noble 2009 Top Twenty Books for Teens
• CBC Children's Choice Awards Finalist
• SIBA 2010 Book Award Finalist
• Junior Library Guild Selection (Shiver and Linger)
• Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Nominee
• Glamour's Best Book to Curl Up With

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Now for my part!



Since Rachelle recommended SHIVER and LINGER, I have to recommend Maggie Stiefvater's LAMENT and BALLAD. Both are available for paperback, which makes them more affordable and more transportable than SHIVER, for those who want their summer read on the go.

Stiefvater's modern faerie tales will particularly appeal to music lovers. And for those who are tired of weak-willed paranormal romance heroine's, BALLAD's Nuala will be a welcome relief. I know it's sometimes harder to find Flux books in a brick and mortar store, but these two are usually in stock due to SHIVER's success.

Maggie Stiefvater on Happiness

Maggie Stiefvater is the author of LAMENT, which I loved. I cannot wait for the sequel BALLAD, which comes out this year. Plus, her new series is beginning with SHIVER. Check out her el jay and the Merry Sisters of Fate comm because this is one author you'll want to learn more about. Her blog posts are always entertaining and informative.





I like the new cover since it gels with the contents and will match the cover of BALLAD, but I loved the old one. The charcoal details shown throughout the book were lovely.



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Liviania welcomed me to do a guest blog on happiness for her in honor of her birthday and her blog's anniversary. Happy blogbirthday, Liviania! I'm going to try my best to keep it vaguely book related, so here goes nuthin'.

1.Happiness is, first and foremost, sweet tea and cookie dough. Let's be serious here.

Shoot. I broke my book-related promise with the first item on the list.

1a. Happiness is, first and foremost, sweet tea and cookie dough while reading a good book.

2. Happiness is a year of books that I am dying to read: THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, by Carrie Ryan, THE DEMON'S LEXICON, by Sarah Rees Brennan, AS YOU WISH, by Jackson Pearce. Zombies, demons, and genies, respectively, all with love involves. So after your boyfriend is bitten by a zombie you can sell your soul to the devil in return for a genie who can grant three wishes: 1) eliminate the zombie threat, 2) give your soul back, and 3) give me the sequel.

3. Happiness is also a year of books that I've loved being made into movies that will hopefully not suck: HARRY POTTER, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, and THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE. Okay, wait. TTW doesn't come out until 2010, but that's still enough fun movieness for happiness. I am currently trying to stop watching the Harry Potter trailer on repeat so that I can continue on to #3.

4. Happiness is Melina Marchetta. I have read SAVING FRANCESCA and JELLICOE ROAD in quick succession and I'm about to start in on FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK. She writes such wonderful reluctant love stories into her redemption stories. They entertain even a reader such as myself who is more often entertained by novels that involve supernatural creatures popping people's heads off.



5. Happiness is having two books coming out this year that I'm really proud of: SHIVER, on August 1 (a girl and boy fall in love; the boy must become a wolf each winter), and BALLAD, on October 1 (the sequel to LAMENT where James must choose between saving his best friend-long term crush or the faerie which is making him change the way he sees himself). SHIVER has been so exciting -- the German, Italian, and Dutch rights all sold right away based upon the first 77 pages (we didn't even have the full manuscript ready for them to look at) and BALLAD has this absolutely drop dead gorgeous cover with FIRE on it.

6. Happiness is having finally amassed a nice pile of young adult book review blogs that I regularly check for recommendations. This one, YAreads.com, Reviewer X, Guys Lit Wire, The YA Mansion amongst others. . . it's taken about a year and a half for me to find my way around the YA book world, but it's a great community. Great for procrastinating on writing.

7. And finally, happiness is finding good books in unexpected places. Like under a pile of clean laundry that you'd avoided folding for a few weeks. Why, hellloooo, John Green!

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It may have broken her rule, but I can get behind tea and cookie dough. (Though really, coffee is better than tea.)

Maggie's offering one lucky duck a signed copy of LAMENT. You wanna be the lucky one? Follow the rules.