Friday, September 27, 2013

{Event} Maggie Stiefvater Signing at Half Price Books + Giveaway



On Wednesday night, I was lucky enough to attend the Maggie Stiefvater signing and Q&A session at the flagship Half Price Books here in Dallas.  For the last few releases of her books, I've pre-ordered Maggie-doodled copies from Fountain Bookstore, and the release of The Dream Thieves was no different. I own all of Maggie's books, though -- with the exception of the anthologies that her work appears in -- so I had quite a collection that wasn't signed.  And, well, we can't have that.

This was my first time to ever meet Maggie, so I was a lot excited and a little nervous.  But I had no reason to fret.  Maggie is just as personable and approachable in person as she is online.  She's this little ball of energy that just won't quit, and it's no wonder she writes some of the craziest, most unique books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  Oh, AND she recognized the name of my blog! Squeeeeee!!!  :D

Maggie read a scene from The Dream Thieves, with some help from the audience, and it made me want to read the book all over again.  I've just about determined that it's my new favorite Maggie book, barely squeaking past The Scorpio Races on its way to the top.

In addition to the signing and reading, Maggie also took questions, and here are some things that were mentioned:

  • Every character she writes starts from a blank human mold and then she changes it as she writes.  In fact, she and Ronan share some DNA...she based Ronan's character on herself at that age.  Except he has reasons for the way he is and she really didn't at that age.  =)
  • Kavinsky's character in The Dream Thieves was a challenge for her to write because she always tends to write her villains bad "but with a heart of gold" and he had to be all evil.
  • Maggie writes by scene count, not by word count.  If she sets out to write a certain scene for the day and it only takes her twenty minutes, she's done for the day.  Conversely, she'll still be pecking away at the keyboard until the wee hours of the morning until said scene is finished.
  • She had just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife for the second time when she decided that that's the type of book she wanted to write.  One that left you ugly crying no matter how many times you read it.  And soon after, Shiver was written.  Maggie is diabolical.
  • Her favorite scene to write in The Raven Boys was the one where "Adam gets the shit kicked out of him by his father."  She said it had "action and cars...what's not to love?"
  • She actually started writing The Raven Cycle when she was nineteen, and at the time, Ronan was the main character.
  • The Scorpio Races was the book she wanted to read as a teen.  Maggie says to write the book YOU want to read.
  • When asked if she'd ever write a sequel to The Scorpio Races, she responded that the characters got to the end of their story arcs so she has no plans to, but maybe in fifty years or so she'll revisit them if the whim hits her.
  • The Scorpio Races used to be Maggie's favorite book that she'd written, but that changed with The Dream Thieves.  (Seriously, it's that good.  If you haven't read it yet, well, you'll get your chance below.  :P)


Hope you learned something new about one of my favorite authors!  :)  It was rough rearranging schedules and such so both Mendy and I could attend, so I want to give M a big shout-out for coming with.  [She also wants Emily to know that she totally owes her for pretending to be her and getting her books signed so I didn't look like a total ass with like 20 books to get signed.  =)]

So, I was totally thinking of you guys while I was there, and I picked up an extra signed copy of The Dream Thieves to give away to one lucky reader!





Rules:
  • This giveaway is US only.  Sorry, international peeps, but I do have another giveaway open that's international.
  • One entry per household.
  • Entries will be verified.  Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
  • Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.  Please check your SPAM folder!!!
  • I am not responsible for lost packages.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope you all get the chance to meet Maggie one day.  She's so much fun and just so witty and weirdly charming.  :D

Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!

50 comments:

  1. Ohmygosh, Jen, I can only imagine your excitement at this signing. I know how much you love her and her books! :) I'm super eager to read The Dream Thieves. I enjoyed The Raven Boys, though not as much as I had hoped, but I'm so super excited to see everyone saying this one is even more amazing. I have such high hopes for The Dream Thieves and I to be the best of friends!! :D

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  2. I would LOVE to get to see Maggie some day! Thanks for sharing the high-lights w/us!

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  3. WOW! How exciting! I have only read her Wolves of Mercy Falls series so far and loved them. I have The Raven Boys on my shelf waiting to get my hands on The Dream Thieves. I like to have at least two books in a series before starting it. So hopefully I will start it soon.

    Thanks so much!

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  4. I haven't read a book by Maggie yet that I didn't like, but I loved The Raven Boys.

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  5. I loved the whole Wolves of Mercy Falls series and I'm falling for this one too.

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  6. I adored both The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves! I would LOVVEE to have a signed copy of it!!

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  7. I haven't read any of her books, but I'm dying to read The Raven Boys!

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  8. My absolute favorite would be the Wolves of Mercy Falls series! The Scorpio Races is a close second :)

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  9. Definitely the dream thieves!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  10. Sadly i haven't read one yet:/
    But I've been wanting to read shiver and now the raven boys

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  11. Although I loved the Wolves of Mercy Falls, The Raven Boys is my favorite. I just read it over the summer and it left me fiending for The Dream Thieves.

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  12. I haven't read any of Maggie's books yet and I'm ding to read her books b/c they receive such great reviews :) thanks for sharing!

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  13. I haven't read any yet but I've heard such good things recently!! I've particularly been dying to read The Dream Thieves. :)

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  14. Well I own three of them, but I'm really excited to start Raven Boys!

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  15. Actually, the one I'd like most to read is The Dream Thieves. Thanks for the chance.

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  16. I loved all of The Mercy a Falls books.

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  17. My favorite one is definitely The Raven Boys. I mean, how can you not LOVE the beginning of that book? ;D

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  18. I havent read any yet.. im missing Shiver from the Shiver series(but got the rest).. and my niece has Raven Boys that i plan on borrowing to read sometime soon!! I have heard so many great things about the author's books that i cant wait to read them!!!! The Author's signature looks awesome--i havent seen one like that before and its very pretty!!!!

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  19. Sounds like the event was great! I really liked the first Mercy Falls book, Shiver a lot. I also really liked The Raven Boys.

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  20. I haven't read any of them. Terrible of me, I know. I'm most looking forward to reading The Raven Boys. :D

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  21. I haven't read any of her books,but I'm looking forward to reading Shiver.Thanks for the chance to win.

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  22. My favorite book by her is the last in the Shiver trilogy - it was so amazing!

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  23. I got to see Maggie yesterday at the Austin Fest! I think she is so funny and energetic. I loved hearing about her goats. I really wish I could have one :-) I have really loved all of her books and think The Dream Thieves might be my favorite of all of them so far.

    My Friends Are Fiction

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  24. I'm just now reading my first one (I know, gasp!) The Raven Boys, or actually listening to it since it was a free SYNC read this summer. So I am most excited about reading Dream Thieves, but every one of her books is on my TBR list. How exciting that you got to meet her!!!

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  25. My fav was Ballad! :D Ty SO much for the awesome giveaway!

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  26. It's so close between The Scorpio Races and The Raven Boys, but I'd give a slight edge to The Raven Boys :)

    DYING for The Dream Thieves!!

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  27. The Raven Boys!!
    Thanks for the chance to win, I can't wait to read The Dream Thieves!!

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  28. Lol at the video. Those would not all make my list of why people should read the series, but interesting because I could almost predict that's what she'd say. Feels very like the humor and quirky acceptance in the books themselves.

    How cool! I imagine it must feel awesome to have Maggie know your blog - look at you, Jen :D :D. I've not gotten to meet her, but it doesn't surprise me either that she's a ball of energy and personable.

    Which scene did she read from TDT? Hmmm, I liked TDT, but it wasn't my favorite of hers. It appears that I am definitely in the minority when it comes to that o.O.

    Interesting. I didn't know that much about the series. Angry Maggie? Or good at Latin Maggie? I wonder what part of her fit into Ronan. The Gray Man is definitely a villain with a somewhat heart of gold. Kavinsky... Hmm, but Whelk didn't seem to have a heart of gold? And I like the idea of writing by scene count. Word count always gets me because half the times you end up erasing or repicking a few words, but it feels like you've made progress in that scene... but with word count, you wouldn't know. Hmmm, I haven't read The Time Traveler's Wife, but I don't know that that would've been the book to come to mind when thinking about Maggie and her work. And wouldn't have expected that to be her favorite scene in the Raven Boys o.O. Poor Adam--I can only imagine what will happen to him next!

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  29. Lolololol, I owe Mendy big. I'll buy her dinner if she joins us in NY. ;) Seriously, you made my life. <3 Thanks for being my friend, and allowing me to mooch off of you.

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  30. I love this recap so much, Jen--thank you for sharing it! Ronan's once being the main character explains so much about why TDT is so good. Nothing will ever surpass SHIVER in my eyes, but TDT is definitely my second favorite Maggie book.

    And MAGGIE. You got to meet Maggie! That is so awesome. <3

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  31. I've only read The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves so far, and TRB actually edges out its sequel as my top fave! I had a hard time with Kazinsky.

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  32. I haven't read any but I would like to read The Dream Thieves. Love the concept!

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  33. I love Shiver! Thanks! Such a great giveaway!

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  34. I haven't read any of her books but The Dream Thieves looks like a good story.

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  35. I've only read Shiver but I really want to read The Raven Boys.

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  36. I can't wait to read these books. Thanks for having the giveaway.

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  37. I have only read Shiver and enjoyed it, haven't really been interested in picking up the others because I know I would love them- so I'm savoring them. :) Thanks for the giveaway!

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  38. The Raven Boys is my favorite. I really enjoyed it once I got into the story. You are so luck that you got to meet her!

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  39. The Raven Boys. I'm dying to read the next book. What a great giveaway!

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  40. I haven't read any yet (alas!) but I've been dying to read The Dream Thieves!!

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  41. This is embarrassing but I haven't read any of her books yet and I would really want to win this book. :)

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  42. I've yet to read anything by Maggie, but The Scorpio Races intrigues me just based on the premise (write the book that you want to read). On the other hand, I love "The Time Traveler's Wife," so maybe I should try Shiver first?

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  43. Shiver looks mos intriguing ! I haven't read any of her books yet, unfortunately.
    But I plan on remedying that soon.

    Thank you so much for the giveaway !!
    <3

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