Interview: Maggie Stiefvater
Jul
16
categories : Interview
In honor of the release of Linger I am totally stoked to have had the opportunity to interview the awesome Maggie Stiefvater. Seriously, look at these answer can there be any debate about the fabulousness? Please join me in welcoming Maggie to Galleysmith.
—-
Q: Your fans are aware of your love for all things artistic. If you couldn’t be a writer what type of artist would be your “next best thing”?
A: Mmmm, well, I’ve already done the fine art thing; it’s how I made my living before I went full-time with my writing. Once upon a time, I really, really wanted to be a book illustrator. In fact, that was my first love, and I remember it shocking the snot out of me when someone wanted to buy a piece of my art to hang on their wall. I thought you had to be dead and possibly Dutch to have a career in fine art.
Anyway, I would love to go back to that. One day I will do a graphic novel — I love Shaun Tan’s work dearly and love the idea of doing an illustrated novel for teens.
Q: Art appears to play a huge role in your career and life. Do you come by that inclination naturally, is it genetic, are you classically trained?
A: Here is a confession: I am very bad at classical training. I was thrown out of preschool for standing on my cot and refusing to nap and it all sort of went downhill from there. I’m one of those people that refuses to learn from anyone else’s mistakes, so I do better learning on my own.
But my mother, in particular, is very artistic, and she always drew very well — she also put us at the piano very young. I think most people probably are quite creative but they aren’t raised with it as a priority.
Q: Out of all the books you have published which two characters would you like to see crossover into a kind of “mash-up” novel and why?
A: I’d like to take James from Ballad and put him in any other book. He’s just terribly fun to write. I also really, really love Beck. But I don’t think a Beck-James mash-up would really do much for anyone, sadly.
Q: What is the craziest fan encounter you’ve experienced?
A: There was this girl at my first BEA who ran up to me and said “OH MY GOD YOU’RE MAGGIE STIEFVATER” and then she did this weird shimmy thing and I thought she was going to fall down. There have been other strange experiences since then, like getting accosted in an elevator and recognized in bookstores — but that first one stands out because of that — it was the first. I really did think she might pass out.
Q: Sam and Grace have this very epic Romeo and Juliet quality about them. They too are quite tragic at times. You’ve made some very daring choices with these stories, can we expect to see more of the same in the last?
A: Oh, it’s only going to get worse. *grin* I’m a big fan of consequences and I’m also a big fan of balancing the dark elements of novels with light. So I can promise that there are happier moments in FOREVER than in either SHIVER or LINGER. But that also means that there are darker moments than either.
Q: The Wolves of Mercy Falls series has a very distinct visual style. Any indication of what we can expect for the cover and color scheme for the last book?
A: I can tell you that there will be trees. And probably my name on the front. But that’s about all I can tell you.
Q: The addition of Cole into Linger brings in a bit of an edgier character to partner with an already angst-ridden Isabel. Any potential for a spin-off series continuing on?
A: I’m really pleased with how well readers are taking Cole — I was afraid they’d hate him. I remember, at one point, telling my critique partners: “readers will never forgive Cole for this.”
I love writing about him and Isabel, but no, I think their story line will get wrapped up in FOREVER as well. SHIVER was just never intended to be an epic series. Hopefully readers will like where it ends!
Q: What is the one thing you want readers of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series to walk away from it with after they finish that final page?
A: Tissues.
—-
Thanks for stopping by Maggie, I’ve got my tissues in hand and ready to go when FOREVER hits the shelves (**sobs** it’s so far away!).
If you want to check out more about Maggie, join in on the awesome Twitter Party she and Kristi from The Story Siren are throwing on Thursday, July, 22nd from 8pm-9:30pm EST. Here are the deets:
- Be sure to follow Maggie @mstiefvater <http://twitter.com/mstiefvater> and Kristi @thestorysiren <http://twitter.com/thestorysiren> before the party!
- Join the fun! No one expects you or your tweets to be perfect; we’re just happy you made it to the party!
- Anyone who tweets during the party using #Linger is entered to win a limited edition Linger tank top!
- Watch for questions from @thestorysiren and win awesome prizes including an iPod Touch, Maggie’s artwork and gift cards!
- To join the party, you can use our official party tweetgrid <http://is.gd/dprSe> or just search #Linger on Twitter.
- Ask Maggie questions or chat with other partygoers—just use the tag #Linger in all of your party tweets! (This is added automatically in TweetGrid.)
- Please don’t post any spoilers and don’t forget to pay attention to the time zones, the party starts at 8:30pm EST.

Today on Galleysmith I’m excited to interview Thomas Randall author of The Waking: Dreams of the Dead. Welcome Thomas!
Kim: If you could give up your day job and be a book blogger full time (meaning, your work as a book blogger could support the lifestyle you currently enjoy), would you? What sorts of things would you do differently with your blog if you were a full-time blogger?
Recently, I was fortunate enough to read and review Kensington Books’ The Lost Sister. I enjoyed it a great deal and feel quite honored that the author, Megan Kelley Hall, took time out of her busy schedule to chat with me.