Tucson Festival of Books Teen Author Spotlight: Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater is a YA author who specializes in paranormal and urban fantasy. She has a gift for lyrical prose, and her books are always rich with atmosphere. Luckily for us Tucsonans, Ms. Stiefvater is going to be attending the Tucson Festival of Books! If you've never heard of her or are a die-hard fan looking for more of her work, there are a lot of good choices.

Ms. Stiefvater's first book was Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception. In it, Dierdre Monaghan is a painfully shy musical prodigy. She is also a cloverhand--a human who can see faeries. She and her best friend James are about to become embroiled in an ancient faerie war; there are two faerie assassins on their way to kill Dierdre before her music captures the Fae's attention. The story continues in the sequel, Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie, and involves Nuala, a deadly faerie muse.

The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy is set in the icy winter of Minnesota. In Shiver, Grace has always been obsessed with the wolves that live in the forest behind her home. What she doesn't know, however, is that the wolves are actually werewolves, who turn human in the summer and wolf in the winter. One of the wolves, Sam, has loved Grace from afar for years, and a threat to the pack brings the two together. The story of Grace and Sam continues in Linger and is concluded in Forever.

 

The Scorpio Races is a standalone novel about the small island of Thisby. In the water around the island live the capaill uisce, bloodthirsty water horses that have ended the lives of many of Thisby's citizens. Every year, the Scorpio races are held, and competitors try to ride the capaill uisce and stay alive long enough to reach the finish line. The story follows Puck, the first female competitor in the races, and her rival Sean, the returning champion.

Her most recent book, The Raven Boys, is the first book in the Raven Cycle series. The story follows Blue, an ordinary girl from a clairvoyant family, who has been told since birth that she will kill her true love with a kiss. Every year she stands with her mother and writes down the names of spirits that her mother sees--these souls are the people who are going to die in the coming year. Blue has never seen a spirit herself, until the night when she sees Gansey, a rich Aglionby boy--the boy that Blue might very well kill.

Maggie Stiefvater is a master of intricate, fantastical stories, and she has something for everyone to enjoy. So grab a book and get ready to meet her at the Tucson Festival of Books!