“I am a werewolf in L.A.” is how Young Adult (YA) author, Maggie Stiefvater, started her latest novel, Sinner.
Released on July 1, Sinner is a stand-alone book that continues the story of Cole St. Clair and Isabel Culpeper, characters in her most well-known series, the Shiver Trilogy. Cole, a part time werewolf, former drug addict, and full-time singer/songwriter of the extremely popular band, NARKOTIKA, has returned to Los Angeles and to his life of fame for one reason: to get Isabel back.
At first, Stiefvater had no intentions of continuing the Shiver Trilogy after the final book, Forever, had been released in 2012. However, that first sentence: “I am a werewolf in L.A.” was stuck in her head for so long that eventually she wrote Sinner.
“Sinner marries my love for music and playing music with my love for writing,” Stiefvater said at the first Sinner book signing stop in Charlottesville, VA. “And I can really relate to Cole and Isabel, even though they are/were terrible people.”
During a Q&A session at the beginning of the event readers asked questions, like what her inspiration to write the Shiver Trilogy was and what the most important aspect of writing is.
Her answers were: “I really just wanted to make people cry like little girls.” and “Researching setting is most important because if a book can take place anywhere then the setting isn’t strong enough. A story’s roots are in the setting.”
Over 50 people attended the book signing event at the Barnes & Noble in Charlottesville and Stiefvater graciously signed everyone’s books, no matter how large their stack. Everyone who attended the book signing also received a signed custom book wrapper that she drew with Sharpies specifically for her new book Sinner.
In addition to the book signing and Q&A session, a signed and Sharpie-doodled guitar was also given away to one lucky attendant. Two more similar looking guitars will be given away during her tour: one at her last stop in Los Angeles and one through a Scholastic/This Is Teen online contest.
You can follow along with Stiefvater as she tours across the country by visiting www.sharpt33th.com.
“Books are how I learned what kind of hero I wanted to be,” Stiefvater said. “And I hope my books help readers find out what kind of hero they want to be.”
The 32-year-old author lives in Virginia with her husband, two children, three dogs, one cat, nine miniature silky fainting goats, and a blue 1973 Camaro.
The first books Stiefvater published were Lament and its sequel Ballad in her Books of Faerie series in 2008. The third and final book of this series, Requiem, is still under construction and the release date has not yet been decided.
In addition to her Shiver Trilogy, which contains the books Shiver, Linger, and Forever with Sinner being a companion book, Stiefvater has also written The Scorpio Races, which is a stand-alone novel and her personal favorite book.
Now that Sinner has been released Stiefvater’s main focus is on The Raven Cycle series which is currently in progress with two out of four books published. The Raven Boys kicks off the series with paranormal adventure and mystery surrounding the legend of the dead Welsh king, Glendower. The next book, The Dream Thieves, delves deeper into the unknown and the abnormal that can be abundantly found in the small town of Henrietta, VA. The third book, Blue Lily, Lily Blue is set to be released in late October.
Stiefvater has also written the second book in the Spirit Animals series, Hunted. She wrote this book, which is meant for a younger audience, so that her two children could read one of her books.
In order to experiment and improvise with their writing, Stiefvater, along with Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff, wrote a collection of over 250 short stories in which they critiqued and commented on each other’s work. Some of these stories they published into a book called The Curiosities. However, all of their stories can be read for free at www.merryfates.com.
For more information about Maggie Stiefvater and all of her books, goats, and fast cars, visit www.maggiestiefvater.com. You can also find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MaggieStiefvaterAuthorPage and follow her on Twitter @mstiefvater, Instagram@maggie stiefvater, and Tumblr at maggie-stiefvater.tumblr.com.
Article submitted By Sara Swann