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.