First of all, Thing 1 wrote her first story today. It was this:

"A Princess"

And a princess
loved the prince.
The Prince
loved
the Princess.

The End.

So upon finding her writing this (she is five years old and very slow at writing so it probably felt like she'd written SHIVER by this point), I entered a motherly dialogue with her.

ME: That's a nice story.

THING 1: I skipped the Once Upon a Time. Because Once was hard to spell. And everyone knows that part anyway.

ME: True enough.

THING 1: It's a love story.

ME: A love story?

THING 1: In a love story, nobody figures anything out.

ME: *snorkles*

THING 1: But the prince loves the princess. And the princess loves the prince. I'm giving this to Grandma.

Anyway, I would like to point out that these views on starting the story where your plot begins (none of this Once Upon a Time stuff) and nothing but kissing going on in the way of plot is exactly how I came to write Shiver.

Out of the mouths of babes.

That aside, if you're in the Maryland/ D.C. area, I've been invited to sign at the National Press Club Book Fair tomorrow night from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in downtown D.C. With posh political luminaries. It is $5 to get in, but once you're in, there is 90 of us authorly types, including Chris Matthews, Gwen Ifill, a senator, Spike & Carla from Top Chef, and of course an author of werewolf kissing books. How can you stay away? I mean, seriously. if nothing else, it's the great start for a joke.

Back from AASL in Charlotte, NC. There's more to say on this, but I'm about to word-war with Tessa for my neglected NaNo novel. So we'll let some pictures and music say it all.

1. Music from the Ballad video is now up for download for my site. (up for down, did you catch that?)

2. Some sketches from the Sketchbook of Doom. These are from the way to and from AASL.


3. My current musical obsession: "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits. The whole album rocks. I can't stop listening to it. It's like if Vampire Weekend had babies with The Bravery. (also, if that happened, could I watch?)

So I am finally back from my absolutely brilliant UK tour for SHIVER and so much happened that I don't think i can even begin to be coherent, much less figure out what is interesting to everyone and not just to me. So let's go for photo spam instead, shall we? The business part of the UK trip was a whirlwind of efficient public transport, cups of tea made almost right but not quite right, hoards of folks with cool accents, and posses of schoolchildren in smart jackets. I would show you amazing photos of my library visit in Birmingham, my school visit in Derby, my vampire/ werewolf panel with Justin Sompers in Cheltenham, and my book signing in London, but . . . I don't have any. My publicists were snapping away, as were fans, so they're out there somewhere, but they are not on my camera.

Okay, so first of all. Scholastic UK treated me like the Queen Mum. They sent me flowers in my hotel room! (Exhibit A) They took me to lovely restaurants! They ordered me private cars after we missed our connecting flight, had to stay a night in New Jersey, and got to the UK a day late! (don't ask. I am still annoyed).

Anyway, the tour bit was fantastic. I had a signing at the Golden Treasury in London, where I got to meet folks I knew from Facebook. Witness the fact that people can spell my name right in other countries too:


I also spent a few hours with four teens who'd won a competition with Bliss Magazine; first we had high tea at a posh hotel, then we headed to the Absolut Ice Bar to have (nonalcoholic) drinks served in glasses made of chunks of ice. Yes, that is ice on the walls. Yes, it was below freezing in there, yes, they gave us coats and gloves, and yes, this is a photo of the author of SHIVER actually shivering.



We also spent a bit of time on the Tube in London -- both for the signing and also for meeting up with my art friend Katherine Tyrrell (who has a massively well rated art blog called Making a Mark). We met in the National Portrait Gallery restaurant, which had great views of the city. Apparently before I got there Katherine had told them that I was a Very Famous Author Who Shouldn't Be Killed, as they were very concerned about my preservative allergy and making sure I didn't ingest anything that would make me twitch. After we had dinner with Katherine, we got to see Vivaldi's Four Seasons performed at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, which was pretty darn awesome, even if I was falling asleep from jet lag during "Summer."

Anyway. Tube. I saw this advert on the wall and was forced to pull out my camera and snag a photo, annoying many people in leggings (everyone regardless of leg shape wears leggings in London, it's slightly troubling). Because, hello, it says "Beck's" and has a wolf howling. Get it? GET IT?

So all of the touring stuff was brilliant -- I think my favorite moment was when one of the school kids raised their hand and said "I don't have a question. I just want to say your accent is really cool!"

You heard it here first.

So after four days of traveling back and forth by train to events while my husband roamed free in London, my intrepid lover secured a rental car and we headed up toward Whitby in Yorkshire. As you may recall from an earlier post, I'd had a dream about Whitby Abbey so I wanted to go there, and my next novel (not FOREVER) is set on cliffs, so I wanted to go cliff hunting too. So onward. It was four hours from Cheltenham to Whitby, which became six, because we were forced to stop at Cool Things.

Like:


At random old churches, like this one, Breedon on the Hill (nothing like a specific name to make things sound important)(for instance, I'm renaming myself Maggie Who Points At Things).


Witness the pretty stained glass in this church. Also, witness the tombs. They had two ordinary ones with sculptures of recumbent medieval folks laying on top of them, but then they had this one, which for some reason featured what was on its inside on its outside:

( lj cut for massive photoness )

Because I am about to run out the door for my UK flight, I am not going to do a proper run down post on my Ballad launch party at Fountain Bookstore or my two days of panels and conferencing at James River Writers Conference. Both were great -- so many friends showed up at the launch, it was wonderful -- but I'm afraid a description would pale beside the real thing. It made me think about just how many friends I've made since last year when Lament came out. Has it only been a year? Sheesh.

Anyway, so instead of a pitiful rundown post, I will post some photos that my friend Susan took of me. She was going through them and said "IT'S LIKE A FLIP BOOK!"

Apparently, I move a lot while i'm talking. I do not remember making half of these faces, but the camera could not possibly lie. So here they are. In case you wanted to be at the Ballad launch and really couldn't, this is practically as good as the real thing.

THE FACES OF MAGGIE.



If a picture is worth a thousand words, this post is a freakin' chapter.

I know I just posted. But I wanted to keep this one separate as it deals with time sensitive stuff. First of all, BALLAD is now out! That means the awesome contest that involves a critique from the Merry Sisters of Fate and all kinds of swag is fair game.

Secondly, a reminder that the Ballad launch party is in Richmond, VA at the Fountain Bookstore, on October 8th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Not only will you have the added bonus of seeing my absolute favorite little indie bookstore (it looks just like an indie bookstore in a movie), but if you call ahead to reserve a copy of Ballad there, you'll get a signed frame from the trailer at the launch. This thing:


Their number is: (804) 788-1594.

And finally, yes, I finally have a bookstore signing for my UK trip set! I'll be at the Golden Treasury (tel: 020 8333 0167)) in London on October 15th, from 4:15-5:30. Please let them know that you're coming! I'll be bringing a couple Ballads, which aren't available in the UK, and I'll give them out to the first two people who reserve copies of Shiver at the store.

I think . . . I think that's it for now. Live long and prosper.

Time for my epic MBA rundown. Once again, mostly in pictures. Because I had to be lugging that giant camera around in my bag for a reason. Day 1 of MBA involved flying to Chicago late in the evening and staying in the lovely swank Westin Hotel, who bent over backwards to find me food without preservatives in it for dinner. Which was good, because dying or barfing is a terrible way to start a book trip. I would show you pictures of the hotel, but they are boring. I would show you pictures of the sunset out my window, but it is standard sunset fare. Moving on.


Day two involved two school visits, both of which were fantastic. Witness the signage up at the first high school (they also had blue and white and red balloons). And at the second school, not only did all 150 students wear blue to the talk, but they covered the library walls with Shiver and Lament posters! I didn't get a pic of the most ominous one, which was a syringe of blood squirting blood (that's not spoilery to say that, is it?) but needless to say, it will never be forgotten.





(Sadly, at this point in the blog post, I had to consult my itinerary so that I could remember what it was I did next).

( more photos under ze cut )

First of all, a reminder that tonight at 9 p.m. is the deadline for the Shiver/Ballad contest currently going on.

Secondly, I can't believe Shiver's on the NYT list for the 7th week. That stretches my brain into weird, unfamiliar parallelograms.

Third of all, remember that if you're thinking of coming to the Ballad Launch Party at Fountain Bookstore (Richmond VA, October 8th), call and reserve a copy of Ballad so that you can get a signed frame of the Ballad trailer art!

Fourth of all, if you are of the Chicago/ Minnesota persuasion, here are some dates for next week (everything bolded is open to public)(if you're at MBA, come see me!):

CHICAGO:

September 23rd, Wednesday, School visits.

23rd, Wednesday: 7:00-8:00 p.m. Anderson’s Bookshop, Downer’s Grove, 5112 Main St, Downers Grove, IL 60515, 630-963-2665

MINNESOTA:

September 24th, Thursday. School visit.

September 24th, Thursday, 7:00-8:00 p.m. The Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, 651/224-8320

at MBA conference : September 25th, Friday. Authors Moveable Feast at MBA Conference, St. Paul, MN

September 25th, Friday. Bookseller dinner.

at MBA: September 26th, Saturday, Author's Breakfast at MBA Conference, St. Paul, MN

at MBA: Saturday, inbooth signing at Flux's table, 2:00-2:45, formal autographing in audiotorium 5:00-5:30.

September 26th, Saturday, Signing w/ other Flux authors. 7:00-8:00 p.m. Barnes & Noble HarMar Mall, 2100 North Snelling Ave, Roseville, MN 55113


Okay, most exciting bit about this? Do you know what I'll be signing at the Barnes and Noble? BALLAD.

My publicist is checking in with the other two bookstores to see if they'll have Ballads as well as Lament and Shiver, but for sure, if you want a signed copy of Ballad, I'll have it on the last day of the visit. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Oh, and since this is a Ballad Thursday and I'm supposed to say something Ballad related, have the Booklist review for it that just came out:

So in honor of my Ballad Thursday post, I thought I would cheat slightly and link to all of the teasers I did for Lament, right before it came out. Do you guys remember that? There are several hundred more of you on ye olde f-liste since then, so I'll 'splain: I illustrated key scenes from Lament as teasers, but to keep from being spoilery, I replaced all the characters with animals. I included this one here because it has James in it, who of course narrates Ballad. Anyway, here are the Lament teasers. I like the one with Eleanor the crocodile, personally.

Okay, so, this weekend I was in Atlanta for both Dragon*Con & Decatur Book Festival. I was sharing a hotel room with Jackie Dolamore (fabulousfrock ) and hanging out with Jackson Pearce,(watchmebe ), an Atlanta native. And this is what happened.

Friday:
4:00 a.m. "Wake" up. Drive to airport. Daydream about FOREVER most of the trip. (I mean FOREVER the book, not forever as in how long it's taking me to write it)
6:00 a.m. Go through security. Get stopped for random security check. Get patted down.
6:03 a.m. Realize I've left my cell phone in the car. Contemplate living without it.
6:15 a.m. Get my cell phone.
6:25 a.m. Go back through security. Get stopped for a random laptop check. Tell the security personnel: "This is no longer random. It's personal."
7:00 a.m. Fly.
9:00 a.m. Atlanta. Wait for Jackie's flight to come in. Sketch a man who is staring at his hand with a magnifying glass. What is he looking at? I have no idea. Just that it was really small.



10:00 a.m. Sketch the terminal while listening to the conversation next to me.
Man 1: I think Marilyn has pawned her wedding ring and the diamond earrings I got her. All the stuff that was meaningful.
Man 2: That's a crying shame. How do you know?
Man 1: I went through her stuff while she was out.
Man 2: Clever of you. Not worth very much though, pawning stuff.
Man 1: I know. Such a waste. Marilyn always did just think of short term benefits. It's probably cash for her affair.
Man 2: She's having an affair!? How do you know?!
Man 1: Because she pawned her rings and diamond earrings, weren't you listening?


Noon: Jackie and Jackson Pearce! Whoo! We proceed to get lost in Atlanta because people have cleverly named every street 'Peachtree.' I was informed by at least 8 Atlanteans that this was because Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground and they had to rebuild everything, so it's not quite right yet. I was a British history major, not American, but would I be wrong in assuming that Sherman did said deed 140 years ago? Which makes Atlanta the Capital of Procrastination.

1:30: Head to my first event for the Decatur Book Festival, a talk for 150 teens. Met Terra Elan McVoy, author of PURE, who was helping to coordinate the madness of DBF. (Also insert random shout out to Joe here! Not that you read the blog, but if you did, thanks for helping organize!)

3:30: Successfully avoid swearing during library talk.

Then I spent the rest of the day frolicking with Jackson, Jackie, and Jessica Burkhart (jessicaburkhart )(author of one million Canterwood Crest novels), who I snagged at The Little Shop of Stories. We went to The Real Chow Baby, a make it yourself stir fry restaurant, which Jackson thought would be good for me, as I'm allergic to preservatives.
Manager: Welcome to The Real Chow Baby, where everything is real and natural and fresh!
Me: Great! Can I eat this?
Manager: I wouldn't.
Me: This?
Manager: Not unless you want to die in a twitching pool of drool.
Me: Is anything indeed real and natural and fresh here?
Manager: The brown rice. Also, the bean sprouts. Possibly parts of the broccoli.

I am not making this up.

However, the evening was salvaged as Jackson took us to a comedy club. Which made me laugh until my face hurt. So, a successful day.

Saturday (there are no hours listed on Saturday or Sunday as I lost all sense of time)

All of Saturday was spent in search of preservative free food, a search that did not culminate in actual food until 8 p.m. I supplemented my natural energy with caffeine, however, because safe tea is easy to find, which means that I basically jittered and rattled through this entire day. I'm sure it was exciting to watch.

This was the day of the massive Vampire vs. Werewolves Smackdown with Richelle Mead (blue_succubus ). I was feeling bad about this, both because we are friendly online and also because neither of us really write traditional vamps or weres, so I was hoping there would not be actual smacking down. The crowd was packed into the room and quite rowdy. I think that Richelle and I were probably too nice to each other (my only subversive act was to hold up index cards with things like 'pulse' written on them while Richelle was speaking), but it was huge fun anyway. I'm not sure there was a clear winner.

Plus afterward we signed books for an hour and I got to meet a ton of book bloggers, which was nice to put faces to the names. I also got author swag in the form of a DBF shirt (I loved DBF, by the way, it was SO well put together).


I then drank my 18th tea of the day while shooting the breeze with Editor Mixtape (David Levithan) and Aimee Friedman (author of SEA CHANGE). After a brief sojourn at an author VIP party (meeting more people, like Ally Carter -- I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU -- ) Jackson, Jackie, and I stole David to play spot-the-hooker on the streets of Atlanta and grab a preservative free taco from Chipotle before my DragonCon faerie panel at 8:30 p.m.

Yes, p.m.

DragonCon = insane. DragonCon people = insane people. Every hotel and street in Atlanta was packed with people in costume. I saw someone dressed as Ursula from the Little Mermaid. And also a man who was dressed only in a speedo with the superman logo on it. Unless you count a few gallons of body oil as apparel, in which case, he was practically covered up. Anyway, the high point of the fairy panel was meeting Steve Berman (mroctober ), who was a DragonCon person (read = insane person) but entertaining anyway.


Sunday
I had only a signing at DragonCon on Sunday, and spent the rest of the day in pursuit of a biscuit. Which I eventually got. Because I'm a big believer in following your goals.

I just realized that there were millions more people I met up with at DragonCon that I should've linked to, but I have totally run out of steam. I've already emailed most of you guys anyway.

I will leave you with a random cartoon Tessa did of Sam as a womb. Just because.

I'm leaving at o'dark thirty tomorrow morning to head to Dragon*Con & Decatur Book Festival in Atlanta. Here's the final schedule (ooh, also please note that the Ballad launch has been changed to the 8th of October in Richmond, VA).

FRIDAY
2:15-3:00 p.m. Decatur Library Presentation (I think this is closed)

4:00-5:00 p.m. YALSA Discussion with Teens at the Children's Pavillion at the Decatur Book Festival (not certain if this is open to the public?)

SATURDAY
11:30-12:30 Reading at Dragon*Con. Hyatt Regency

2:30-3:00 p.m. Vampires vs. Werewolves Smackdown with Richelle Mead (her standing up for the fanged half of the panel) at the Escape Teen Stage, Decatur Book Festival

3:00-4:00 p.m. Signing at DBF, Teen Stage, directly after

8:30-9:30 p.m. Faeries & Faery Tales panel at Dragon*Con. Marriott Marquis

SUNDAY
11:30-12:30 p.m. Signing at Dragon*Con, Marriot Marquis.


I'm going to get lost, aren't I?

I have been intensely remiss in not posting about my launch party details, but I was waiting on photos from various cameras not belonging to me. Now I think I have enough to go by!

The day began as a Friday (which, coincidentally, is how it ended as well). I was scrambling around all morning to make sure I had everything I needed, and also to make sure that tltrent had a place to sleep when she arrived. Worst case scenario: she sleeps in Loki. Best case scenario: the washer and drier conspire to make clean sheets available.

By the time she arrived, I had finalized her non-Loki sleeping arrangements, and off we sped towards Williamsburg -- two and some hours away. Much heckling occurs. On the way, one of my crit partners calls with insanely good but secret news that I cannot reveal. So I'm pretty much flying high as a kite by the time we get to Williamsburg. Tiffany uses her parking karma to find us a spot right behind the store (those of you who have visited Colonial Williamsburg will know that this Does Not Happen). And then we walk around the side of the store and find this:



A giant Window of Shiver!!! Please note, from left to right: Box of Shivers, Tiffany Trent, Maggie Stiefvater, GIANT POSTER OF MY COVER.

After dropping off the box of books, we meet up with Girl Reporter,kellyrfinemanand her two daughters, procure caffeine, and begin to explore. It is not a trip to Williamsburg without hitting up the toy store there, so I drag everyone in to admire the selection. I find a wolf puppet and cannot resist reenacting a Shelby moment.

Wolf: I want to kill your girlfriend!!! Me: Oooooh, bring it! etc.

( more photos under the cut if you have not been turned off by the admittedly graphic wolf puppet photo )

Okay, first things first. For anyone who didn't already know, I'm having the launch party for SHIVER on August 7th in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. And I would love for any and all to come. There will be a gift basket giveaway from Wythe's Candy (the candy shop I basically ripped off for the candy shop scene in SHIVER), a giveaway for a free school or library visit, and face-painting and play-doh station for the urchins. Also I will be signing SHIVERs and being rambunctious. And Colonial Williamsburg is gorgeous. Worth the trip. Also, Busch Gardens is there, too, if you're of the roller coaster persuasion (I recommend the Loch Ness Monster if they haven't changed its name).




I've mentioned it once before but as it draws near, I wanted to mention it again (specially since I have a lot of new readers in the past few weeks). Details and place to RSVP are here.




And to make up for talking about boring details of launch parties, I will do kittenspam. This is our new kitten -- well, technically, it is Thing 1's new kitten, but I don't think that counts as I'm the one doing the scooping of pooping and it's my lap she's sitting on right now -- accidentally acquired at a car show last weekend. Her name is Monkey and she is impossible to scare, very tolerant of being stretched by children, and likes our dogs.



She also stole a hamburger bun off the table the other day and ate it. That was after she stole a chocolate chip cookie the size of her head and ate it.



Those were interesting poos.



Also, SHIVER has been spotted in the wild at multiple Barnes & Nobles and indies. Kristina Springer, who wrote THE ESPRESSOLOGIST (which i have already pre-ordered long ago), sent me this photo of SHIVERs at Anderson's Bookstore in Naperville. I'd love for anyone who saw a particularly impressive display of SHIVERs to snap a cell photo and send it to me! Wow, the grammar in that sentence hurts me.



And finally, to conclude this Epic Post, I will be doing a BALLAD contest/ giveaway in the middle of next month. So stay tuned.



Colonial Williamsburg photo from Bill
Barber.

Okay. I am finally now recovered enough to do a Massive ALA Post, Complete with Photographs Stolen from Publishers Weekly. I didn't bring a camera as I was planning on scoring a few books that I really, really wanted, so I left my camera in Virginia.

So, first of all, my trip started on Friday afternoon. I headed up to my friend Marian's house in northern Virginia. She needed photos of a pony for sale and I needed a pad to crash in closer to the Baltimore airport, so I arrived with a camera and she handed me sweet tea and off we went. Isn't said pony pretty?

SATURDAY

Anyway. Bright and early on Saturday morning -- think 5:30 -- think there's a Visine for that -- I headed to BWI airport. I pass without event through the terminal and sit on the plane. In my head I am happily thinking about the fact that I am going to have lunch with both editor Yoda (previously at Flux, now at Carolrhoda) & editor Mixtape (Scholastic) at the same time.

Then the captain comes on.

CAPTAIN: I'm afraid there is bad weather in Chicago. We have a no ground order until the weather improves. We'll keep you posted.

CAPTAIN (45 minutes later): We were actually wrong. They told us there was bad weather and there really wasn't, so we could've gone. However, it's good that we didn't, because while we were waiting, we found a leak in the hydraulics. 1 in 500 planes, folks, and this is that plane.

CAPTAIN (15 minutes later): The mechanic has checked out the hydraulics and found that the leak is within legal limits. We're taking off anyway!

As I'm watching a glossy fluid travel over the wing I can glimpse from my window, I wonder why they didn't just stick with the weather story, which was simply and logical and had zero accountability for them. Say it with me, boys and girls. T. M. I.

Needless to say, I missed my editor lunch. I tried to let them know that I'll be appallingly late through a series of text messages which took me so long to punch in that the girl in the seat next to me started laughing at me. My texting speed is woefuly and willfully bad.

In the end, my editors had lunch with each other and I only got to share a cab from my hotel (where they were waiting, much to my eternal gratitude) to the convention center. Editor Mixtape gave me two finished copies of SHIVER, which were almost incomprehensibly beautiful. Best part? The text inside is blue. I really wanted to go back to the hotel and curl up with them and pet the shiny covers, but business called. I was forced to put them in my bag and pretend they weren't calling my name in icy blue tones.

So. Meetings of Editor Brian (who has yet to acquire nickname) ensued, as did signings of BALLADs until they were all gone. There was an almost slap-fest between a librarian and a teen boy for the last copy. Disappointingly, it was settled without coming to blows.

After the BALLAD signing, I hoofed it to the Scholastic booth where Tracy, the Scholastic publicist and all around awesome person, met me and whisked me into downtown Chicago for an interview with Booklist. It went well, as I mostly didn't swear. That I remember. Also, Ian (said Booklist interviewer) recommended STITCHES as the graphic novel to get. Tracy and I made a note of this.

Then off to see the Bean (note to self: try to procure photo Tracy took of me and her in the Bean). And then slipping into Little Black Dress for a Scholastic awards dinner. I met Elizabeth Bunce, the Morris Award winner, there and was totally charmed. Also met Arthur Levine, who I thought for some reason must be an old man, and is actually a very dapper Not Old man who forever wins points for knowing the Mom's on the roof joke. And Cheryl Klein, an editor at Arthur Levine/ Scholastic and the person who gave me my very first personalized rejection!

Basically, good times.

SUNDAY

Up brilliantly early for the YA Coffee Klatch. Basically, this was throwing thirty-something authors at thirty-some tables of librarians in a weird, geeky version of speed-dating. The list of authors here was rather star-studded and intimidating, but that turned out to be irrelevant, because the only time we managed to glimpse each other was when they put us together for a giant group photo, where we all smiled/ grimaced/ showed lots of gum in eighteen directions at once.

Right after that, I was whipped to the Scholastic Literary Brunch. This is Publisher’s Weekly’s take on it. My major observations were

a) it was very cold in there. I had goosebumps on my goosebumps. When I read from SHIVER for the audience, I had cool *shivering* effects to add to the ambiance.
b) I want the translator of Heartsinger to read SHIVER to me at bedtime, because she did a gorgeous job reading Heartsinger.
c) Editor Mixtape dropped yellow frosting on the shoes I had borrowed from a friend for that morning.
d) I was feeling like the shoes had gotten what they deserved, since the bastards had by that time given me four honkin’ huge sores.
e) if the shoes had been mine and not my friend’s, they would’ve died in a fire very shortly after this trip.

It was an amazing event. There was a group of great teens there that were hugely enthusiastic and made me forget my gaping shoe wounds and lack of sleep. There is photographic evidence of me forgetting about these things, as you can see.

Then we all went tearing back to the convention center for a group signing. I was sitting next to Mark Teague, who was so nice that I felt quite insane in comparison. In fact, Lisa Schroeder has a pic of us on her blog (don’t ask me what I’m doing with my hands, I have no clue and don’t really want to know) that sort of describes it all.

Ooh, and while I was signing, Tracy scored me a copy of STITCHES -- which I read since then and it is AMAZING. (review and generalized gushing to follow later this month).

Then a brief tear around the convention floor to score some books -- I only asked for things I really wanted, because they don’t do any good sitting on my shelf -- and then back to the hotel to get dolled up for the Newbery/ Caldecott Banquet.

While waiting in line to get into the banquet, I spotted Brian Selznick. I really, really wanted to go up to him, but I was convinced I wouldn’t be able to form actual words, such was the depth of my fannishness. Editor Mixtape, however, was kind enough to introduce us, and this is how the conversation went.

Mixtape/ David: Brian, this is Maggie Stiefvater.
Brian: Hi, Maggie.
Maggie: Nckgh?
Brian: Nice to meet you to.
Maggie: Ungh . . . gnucklick! mmmm!
Brian: Yes, I’ve been an artist for quite awhile. So you are too?
Maggie: Ngh immer asglhmmm!
Brian: Oh, David wants to know when I’ll be done with my next project too.

He was kind enough to pretend that my fangirl incoherencies were actual sentences. I appreciate that.

Then we got to hear speeches from the award winners -- Neil Gaiman’s was fantastic. He had this great line . . .something about how there are not books that are good for you and books that you enjoy, but just . . . good books. He was a lot more pithy. But it was a wonderful point.

Anyway, so I teetered off to bed insanely late and thus concluded day two of the festivities. Oh, and that's a random photograph of me, Editor Mixtape, and Holly Black, nicked from PW. Holly Black isn't the only author I ran into, either. I met Lisa Schroeder, Cynthia Liu, Susan Fine, and millions of others who are all running together into a stream of literary awesome.



MONDAY


Monday morning I had breakfast with Melina Marchetta. I am terribly in love with her writing and I was really excited to grab some tea with her one on one. We talked the book biz and chattered about each other’s books -- it was . . . um . . . THIS COOL to hear that an author that you absolutely love is also a fan of your writing. The best bit was finding out that she was a very thinking sort of writer. And also that she is playing in a literary world that I was very much hoping she’d go back to.

Then I sat in the convention center and started to write my monthly story for Merry Sisters of Fate (story is here).

Then to Anderson’s Bookstore in Naperville for a pre-publication visit and a video interview with Becky Anderson. I loved every bit of this visit, from talking with Becky (who was so enthusiastic about SHIVER I possibly peed myself). I signed a ton of books, talked with a ton of librarians, teachers, and teens, and ate the preservative-free pizza that they were so nice to order for me. (nothing has ever tasted as good as that pizza. Nothing). And the best bit? All the teens and other folks there signed a copy of SHIVER for me.

I can't wait to go back to Anderson's after SHIVER's come out.

TUESDAY

And finally, a four-thirty a.m. trip to the airport to fly to Detroit for a meeting at Borders’ offices in Ann Arbor. It was great to meet the Borders YA buyer, Liz, again. She was nice enough to give me some of her recs for good YAs about to come out, and Elizabeth at Scholastic made my day by a) catering the event with preservative-free food so that I didn’t die and b) shipping all my ALA and Borders’ books back to my house so that I didn’t have to lug them around the airport. Borders is so incredibly enthusiastic and supportive of SHIVER. If I was actually fully awake now, or during any part of the trip, I would probably be rendered quite useless by total amazement at the direction that SHIVER’s life cycle has taken, but the single most useful thing about sleep deprivation is that it makes fantastic and amazing things like TOTAL CRAZY SHIVER IS EVERYWHERE AAAAAAAAAAUUUGGGGHHHHH a lot easier to take in. So. That’s a good thing.

Then home again -- I was lucky enough to catch an earlier flight with no hydraulic leakage (at least that they told us about) and I fell asleep during take off. I awoke a few hundred miles outside Baltimore, and my mouth snapped shut.

Which meant it had been hanging open.

That’s sexy.

Thus concludes the highly abbreviated version of my ALA festivities. And then the zombies came, and everybody died.

1. I leave today for ALA -- staying with a friend close to the airport over night, and then flying to Chicago first thing in the morning. Okay. You know what I get to see second thing in the morning? My book. Editor MixTape has promised me a finished copy of SHIVER tomorrow. I know it's stupid, because I don't get nervous in front of crowds or while doing outrageous things . . . but I'm nervous about seeing a real SHIVER. Not about it being gorgeous -- I've seen the dust jacket, so I know it will be -- but because of some, amorphous feeling of GAH! AHH! EEEEEE!

etc.

2. YALSA is considering making the Best Books for Young Adult list a popular choice list. Please don't, YALSA!

3. I want this painting.

4. Those few of you who are waiting on contest critiques, I'm going to try to finish them this weekend. Typos may abound. Stay tuned.

5. Current musical obsession for the week: "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" by the Sounds. Also love, love, love their "Crossing the Rubicon." These babies are keeping me company on my drive to the airport.

Okay! I have waited far too long to announce my launch party for SHIVER, but I'm going to make up for it by posting one million details today, including the final cover image! Also, right after this, I'm going to post a SHIVER contest, with a chance to win ARCs and finished copies and music and fun things.

First of all, here's the link to the e-vite. If you do think you might be able to make it, it would make me exceptionally happy (and you do like me exceptionally happy, right?) if you'd RSVP there. And now here is what the e-vite says:

Location:
College of William & Mary Bookstore, Colonial Williamsburg
345 Duke of Gloucester Street
Williamsburg, VA 23185 US

When: Friday, August 7, 5:00PM to 7:00PM
Phone: (757)253-4900

I'll be signing books and reading from SHIVER (which may or may not involve me standing on a chair and/or reenacting scenes from the book with a guitar, depending on my caffeine consumption). There will also be drawings for two giveaways: one is a candy gift basket from Wythe Candy Shop, the candy shop that inspired one of the best-loved scenes from SHIVER*, and the other is a giveaway for librarians and teachers: win a free author visit for your library or classroom.

*one early review from a book blogger says "there's a scene in a candy shop that will leave you absolutely salivating. I dare you to read that one just once." It was also mentioned specifically in the offer letter from my editor. Said candy shop is a five minute walk from the bookstore where the launch is held. Coincidence? I. Think. Not. Don't miss it!

Refreshments will be in attendance. A play-doh and face painting station will keep kiddies occupied so don't feel shy about bringing them. (I have someone else lined up to paint faces, but, again, depending on my caffeine consumption, this may devolve into Maggie painting wolves on people's cheeks).

Please RSVP; the bookstore also recommends calling to reserve your copy of SHIVER (especially if you're planning on buying more than one) to ensure they don't run out.

You know you want to come. See you there?

Okay, I'm home! Well, technically I was back this morning from the awesome (and trust me, it was awesome) Gothic Girls retreat in Savannah, but due to crap weather in Atlanta and Fate's desire to play make believe with airplanes, I didn't get back to my house until 2 a.m. (it was supposed to be 4 p.m. originally, lest you think I just have really horrible taste in flight times).

Anyway, end result is that I am far too tired to be entertaining, so the full run down and further public appearances of my prose are just going to have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, I will leave you with a photo of us in one of Savannah's many gorgeous squares. Until later, peeps!

Left to right (standing): Maggie Stiefvater (LAMENT), Brenna Yovanoff (FE), Heidi Kling (SEA), Jackson Pearce (AS YOU WISH), Jackie Dolamore (MAGIC UNDER GLASS), Dawn Metcalf (SKIN & BONES), Carrie Ryan (FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH). (sitting) Tessa Gratton (AWESOMESAUCE*), Linda Joy Singleton (DEAD GIRL WALKING).


*where awesomesauce = just signed with agent.

This has been my longest trip away from home for at least a decade. And considering that I’m about to head off to Savannah in about 20 hours for the writer’s retreat, this will mean that I’ve spent more of this month away from home than at it.

I miss my teapot.

So through the beauty of the internet and uncensored blog posts, you get to hear all about it. Uncut, and with glowing technicolor photographs.

( more technicolor under the cut. )

Because I'm insane and because my April 1st deadline would be just too easy if I didn't throw in, say, five book store events and one library event (and one school visit not listed here), I went wild and took advantage of the vaguely Irish theme of LAMENT to set up a bunch of book store events in VA and MD during the Irish-y month of March (I have muchos experience exploiting what I regard as a silly holiday from my years of touring with Ballynoola).

Anyway, if you're 'round, and you want to get a book copy signed or chat with me as a captive audience behind my signing desk, I will be at each of these places with my harp Rory. And hopefully with my car Loki, if the snow melts and if Rory fits into the passenger seat. I haven't yet tried this experiment yet, but I have a feeling it will tax physics.

So here are the dates to everything but the school visit, since that's closed to the public.

March 6th, Potomac Yard Barnes & Noble (3651 Jefferson Davis Highway, Alexandria, VA 22305): 6:30-8:00 p.m.

March 7th, Short Pump Barnes & Noble (11640 West Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 23233): 1:00-3:00 p.m.

March 10th, Porter Library (2001 Parkway Boulevard, Stafford, VA 22554): "Book Chat on YA Urban Fantasy", 4:30-5:30 p.m.

March 17th, College of William & Mary Bookstore (345 Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185): 10:00-1:00 p.m.

March 17th, Richmond Barnes & Noble (5501 West Broad, Richmond, VA 23230): 3:00-5:00 p.m.

March 21st, Baltimore Power Plant Barnes & Noble (601 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202): 2:00-4:00 p.m.


Later today I'm going to try to find some time to post on my love-hate relationship with drafting, but not now. (casts danger eyes towards my WIP) NOT NOW.

A picture is worth one thousand words (which means if you had 75 of them, you'd have enough words for a young adult novel). See example A at right, a photo snapped yesterday by jenniferohcious  in a side street 1 mile from Creatures n' Crooks.

The tracking down and general procurement of a new tire during/ after the bookstore Bling event meant that I didn't get back from Richmond until 11:00 p.m.

Total angst-gravy, you'll agree, yes? Except, when I look at a list of the pros and cons for the day:

Cons:
1) 22 degrees outside one the sun went down. In layman's terms, I would put it as "colder than a witch's tit," which is anything below 28 degrees.
2) The bookstore closed early while I was waiting for my brother to arrive with the tire, forcing me to walk the streets like a waif until I found a coffee house.
3) A stalker-girl that I really had hoped to never see again showed up spontaneously (and if you are reading this stalker-girl, I meant what I said in my last voice mail - PLEASE stay away! *shiver*)
4) I have to buy a new tire and cross my fingers that the rim is not buggered from limping it to the bookstore.

Pros:
1) Got to meet tltrent ! She was lovely and funny and has more facial expressions than any person I have ever seen. Also got to meet silverton , who had a stack of books, which made me happy.
2) Got to sign books for a good cause!
3) Got to eat a really good apple turnover and that was microwaved to 60 degrees warmer than the outside air!
4) While lurking in coffeeshop, outlined the next four scenes in LINGER, including the first really emotionally zinging one. The equivalent of the bathtub scene from SHIVER. And the graveyard scene from LAMENT. And the swan scene from BALLAD. 

i vote the Saturday as an ultimate win. Good has triumphed over annoying and all parties involved shall live to ride again.

Because, as I've mentioned exhaustively, this Saturday (the 31st) is the Creatures n'Crooks Bookshoppe's "Bling" event, which is meant to save the store from a fate worse than death: closing and probably being incorporated into the Subway sandwich shop next door.

Don't let this happen to the best genre bookstore I've ever seen. There's gonna be prizes and at least 17 authors there (a list of most of them here) and I'll be giving away some homicidal faerie swag there and there is a French pastry shop three doors down.

I mean, duh. Right? It's 1-4 this Saturday. Even if you don't stay or you don't have a ton to spend or are afraid of authors (a very reasonable fear as we are scary people), just slide in, buy one paperback, and slide back out again.

Pretty please?

In other news, I got my writing mojo back (did I mention I'd lost it?), found out that Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is going to be a movie, and found out the weather is probably warm enough to take Loki-hot-car to the event on Saturday. Today was a Good Day in general.