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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Author Interview: Maggie Stiefvater

I'm thrilled to be featuring Maggie Stiefvater this week. Maggie took time out of her busy schedule to answer questions about her books. Her current novel Shiver which has a different twist on werewolves is in stores now. Maggie's debut novel Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception was released October 2008 and Ballad the follow up to Lament is scheduled to be released October 2009. Without further ado, I present Mrs. Stiefvater.

What inspired you to write the Shiver Series?
I'd like to say that I was inspired to write Shiver by some overwhelming belief in true love, but here’s my true confession. I wrote Shiver because I like to make people cry. I had just finished reading The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger for the second time, and I cried for the second time. I'm not a big crier at books; in fact, I'm kind of a serial career non-crier. And so the fact that this book had made me cry not once but twice, and not just cry but storm around the house doing the seven stages of grief for the entire evening, it really kind of inspired me. I wanted to write a book so emotionally poignant that I would ruin someone's evening too.

Which authors have been most influential to your own writing?
I would say Audrey Niffenegger, of course, but also Diane Wynne Jones, Melina Marchetta, M. T. Anderson, and Dean Koontz.

With all the books out today about Faeries and Shape-shifters, what makes your novels so different?
Hmmm, I think all faerie books share some of the same lore, but I think mine are different in that they focus on the human relationships instead of the faerie lore. There are faeries, yes, but the important part is the way they make the human characters change. And the same with my werewolf books -- there are supernatural creatures, but that's not the important part. Also, the logic behind the werewolfism in my books -- that they shift to wolves as the temperature drops -- is unique to SHIVER.

Which if any of your books were harder to write?
So far, the hardest book to write has been LINGER, the sequel to SHIVER. Without giving anything away, it was difficult because I was juggling four points of view and characters who were very unlike me. I was also trying to keep the conflict on a very intimate, personal level, instead of getting grandiose and genre-feeling.

Do you write more than one story at a time? If so, how do you keep them separate?

I usually work on two at a time -- one in rough draft form and one in edit stages with my editor. I don't think I could ever do two rough drafts at a time -- you have to throw yourself into a rough draft, everything you got, and having two would be like trying to have an affair. You have to love one at a time.

The closest I come to ever juggling two rough drafts at a time is when I'm writing a rough draft of a novel and a short story for my group fiction blog, Merry Sisters of Fate (www.merryfates.com), at the same time.

How many books can we expect in the Shiver Series?
Three.

Out of all the books that you have written, which is your favorite and why?
This is sort of like picking favorite children. I like all of them for different reasons, but I'm very proud of the snark and the character reversals in BALLAD and of the character development in SHIVER. There are things I also love in LINGER, but I can't tell you about them. I guess right now BALLAD is my favorite, but ask me again next week.

Where do you hope to take your writing in the future?
I'm continuing all my series that I've started now, but I have a standalone planned for a few years down the road. Also, I am dying to try my hand at a graphic novel. One day!


Thanks Maggie!

For more information about Maggie Stiefvater and her books, please visit her website here.

35 comments:

  1. I love that she wanted to make people cry...and correct the assumption that it ruins your night. A book that makes me cry is a GOOD book, and though I may not go around afterward with a huge smile, I often am very thoughtful and willing to preach the book to someone else.
    Great interview!

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  2. 1. Great interview.
    2. I adored Lament and can't wait to read Ballad and Shiver.

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  3. Awesome interview! I really enjoyed Lament and am DYING to read Shiver! Hopefully my library will have it ready for me tomorrow....I'm also really excited to read Ballad!

    shutupimreading.blogspot.com
    Jessica

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  4. Over the past few months, I've read at least 5 interviews with Maggie. Surprisingly, they've all been a little different and good. If I knew her personally, I would probably like Maggie.

    How these authors have such talent is beyond me.

    Wonderful interview. This book has been on my list (mental) for a while.

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  5. Wow, she sets out making me want to cry? Well, I am already a book crier, so no worries there!

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  6. I really want to read one of her books! I've never gotten around to it! I'll put them on the top of my list! :)

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  7. Great interview! I've definitely got to read Shiver soon. :)

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  8. I enjoyed Lament and can't wait to read more from her. Love the interview, I learned a lot - like her wanting to make people cry.

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  9. Oh man, I'm a total book cryer! Harry Potter (from book 4 on), Twilight (don't judge me), The Book Thief, (almost) {Catalyst, and many, many tohers. This is gonna be a wet read, but I'll keep my tissues handy. Sounds like an awesome book! :)
    Great interview!

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  10. I enjoyed the interview. This book looks so interesting!
    wandanamgreb (at) gmail (dot) com

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  11. I can't wait to read this! It's interesting that she wants to make us readers cry. I've only ever wanted to cry in the last HP book and A Chinese Cinderella. I guess that we'll see. ;)

    Thanks for the great interview from Maggie. Her book sounds amazing and I think I'm going to check out other stuff she has written also.

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  12. I like the way she wants to show human interaction and characterization than just lingering on the farie an werewolf lore. I also like that she challenges herself to write with so much emotion that she possible make someone cry that is reading her work.

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  13. I can't wait to read Shiver. I'd love to see a graphic novel from Maggie because her art is gorgeous.

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  14. This is a great interview!
    I just cant wait to read shiver!!
    I really enjoyed this interview
    -Liz

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  15. Nice interview. She had good answers to your questions. I really want to read Shiver!

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  16. I love Melina Marchetta too!

    I cannot wait for Ballad and it is a good sign that it is currently Maggie's favorite of her books - it must be good!

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  17. Great interview! I didn't know that there was going to be three books in the Shiver series! pleasent surprise :)

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  18. Great interview! It's interesting that she wants to make her readers cry because of the story. I'm not much of a crier when it comes to books - so, we'll have to wait to see if she was successful!

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  19. Great interview. Two books at a time, in any form is pretty intense!

    pepsivanilla14(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  20. I'm DYING to read shiver, I really want to read Shiver. I love your review with Maggie Stiefvater, I especially love the questions you asked :)

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  21. been waiting to read this one since i first saw the terrific cover!
    wheresmyrain

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  22. I love that you love making people cry. I have to admit that I also love to do it, especialy when you are in apublic place and start crying while you are reading and everyone kinda looks at you like wtf?... great feeling. ;)

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  23. I am a non-crier too! Now I want to read this book even more to see if it would make me cry!

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  24. Great interview. I have been wanting to read her books for a while now.

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  25. I love a book that can make me cry. It makes it memorable because it stays with me.

    Valorie
    morbidromantic@gmail.com

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  26. Awesome interview! I've actually never read The Time Traveler's Wife because I had a feeling it would make me cry, though after saying that you loved it enough to read it (and cry during it) a second time. I think I'll give it a try. :)

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  27. Great interview! I can't wait to read Shiver. It seems like such a good book! I'm excited to hear that it's going to be a trilogy!

    lol This made me laugh:
    "I wanted to write a book so emotionally poignant that I would ruin someone's evening too."

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  28. OMG! I can't WAIT to read this book!!!! Lament is one of my all time fav books!!

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  29. I'm so excited to hear that the Shiver books are a trilogy! Also, The Time Traveler's Wife is one of my all time favorite books. It's so cool knowing that was part of her inspiration for writing Shiver. It definitely worked. I cried during both books.

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  30. Shawna Lewis'
    weloveourdogs@juno.com

    Perfect you said it all. I cant' wait to read this book!!! Your interview just confirmed!! Thanks for the interview and thanks to Maggie too!!!

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  31. I love the fact that she wrote it to make people cry. I never cry in books... so when I find one that does make me bawl, I know it's a good book.

    I'm not sure if I like the fact that it's a series - then I have to wait around impatiently for about 2 more years, lol.

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  32. some of my favorite books have made me not just cry but snot cry!! i cant wait to read this book

    thanks

    Belladonna1975[at]pobox[dot]com

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  33. I love that she was inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife (I have it, just haven't had the time to read it!) and the emotions. That's a wonderful goal to have for a story. Great interview!

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