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We’ve been getting a bunch of reviews in for the new anthology, ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS, which is edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier and includes stories by a rather awesome collection of YA authors. Publisher’s Weekly even graced it with a starred review:
 Zombies vs. Unicorns
Edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, S&S/McElderry, $16.99 (432p) ISBN 978-1-4169-8953-0
In this offbeat anthology, editors Black and Larbalestier embark upon a literary throw-down to determine which is superior: zombies or unicorns. To that end, each assembled a six-person team of writers and set them loose. Each story is prefaced by editorial banter as each editor (hilariously) makes her case. Highlights include Diana Peterfreund’s Rampant tie-in, “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn”; Libba Bray’s postapocalyptic tale of teens trying to maintain a semblance of civilization in “Prom Night”; and Maureen Johnson’s pointed take on celebrity fads in “The Children of the Revolution.” Meg Cabot’s “Princess Prettypants” skewers the image of unicorns as sparkling, rainbow-farting “symbols of pure happiness, hope, and awesomesauce,” while Carrie Ryan’s “Bougainvillea” acts as a prologue to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Scott Westerfeld’s “Inoculata” examines what happens when the zombie hordes finally win, while the zombie in Alaya Dawn Johnson’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” isn’t nearly as far gone. Without a clunker in the bunch, this anthology more than lives up to the potential its concept suggests. Zombies or unicorns? There’s no clear winner, unless it’s readers. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)
Mode a la Pie writes:
Now, after careful consideration, I’m kind of torn on the issue. I enjoyed an equal number of unicorn and zombie stories, but it was a unicorn tale—Diana Peterfreund’s “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn”—that I loved best. Maybe it’s because I was never allowed to have a dog and always fantasized about having a secret pet that I could hide in my closet or sock drawer.
Jessica at I Read to Relax! writes:
Some of my favorite stories in the book were “Princess Prettypants” by Meg Cabot, “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn” by Diana Peterfreund, “Prom Night” by Libba Bray…oh god, they were all good! This one book encompassed stories by so many of my favorite authors. There was tongue in cheek humor, there was chill-inducing realism, there was hope, and there was romance. This is a book that I would highly recommend to all fantasy readers. Even if you only read one or two of the stories, you would still be guaranteed a great time!
Cornucopia of Reviews writes:
My personal favorites were written by Meg Cabot (two words: Princess Prettypants), Carrie Ryan, Diana Peterfreund, and Garth Nix. I really enjoyed the banter between Black and Larbalestier as they introduced the book, and each story. They left me laughing, and attempting to get other people to read certain passages. I also loved that Ryan and Peterfreund wrote stories that actually tied into their other stories. Of course, I love both The Killer Unicorn series, and The Forest of Hands and Teeth . So, it was nice to read different perspectives from those two universes.
PipeDreaming writes:
Reading this book is like gaining exclusive access to a super-cool club of YA authors and personalities: Holly Black, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan, Scott Westerfeld, Alaya Dawn, Justine Larbalestier, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan and Diana Peterfreund. This is a list anyone who is ANYONE in YA wants to be included on. They are the beyond-cool kids at the party wearing t-shirts with the name of a band you’ve never heard of splashed all over the front laughing at something so urbane and witty you can’t possibly hope to understand, but you just want to be included in the joke anyway.
Okay, this is hilarious. I have NEVER been the cool girl at the club. Fun!
Janicu writes:
This is one of the better anthologies I’ve read in a while, although I would warn that much of it is grim and gory and there are only a couple of light stories. I tried to decide which were my favorites and really had a hard time. I finally settled on Meg Cabot’s for my favorite light story, Margo Lanagan’s for my favorite dark (and disturbing), and Diana Peterfreund’s for something in between. Uh oh, all unicorn tales… let the hate mail from Team Zombie begin.
First things first: Why are unicorns such an object of fascination on Regretsy? First there was the “Lady Gaga Devouring a Unicorn” situation the other week (full pic NSFW, necessarily), and now there’s the even weirder “You and Justine Bieber riding a Unicorn” post. Creepy, people.
I have never dealt with the question of “riding” unicorns in my novels, though it’s something the art department was curious about at first. I think it’s because a lot of the people who love unicorns are the kind of people who were also really into horses as a child. (I certainly see folks online who say they can’t imagine reading my book because it’s about killing unicorns and unicorns are fluffy and sparkly and besides they loved horses as a child. Um, huh? Actually, my books are about killer unicorns who are nothing whatsoever like horses. Only one of the unicorns in my book has ever been ridden and well, he’s still a little bitter about it, three thousand years later.)
And as for the “eating” unicorns bit, well, I do bring it up a few times in “Errant” and Ascendant. Suffice to say: not the best idea.
In other news, my second anthology comes out in a little over a month, and the bloggers have jumped on the ZvU bandwagon. It’s been interesting to watch these reviews come in, as almost every one is colored by the bloggers’ preconceived place on the zombies vs. unicorns spectrum. They come out of the gate saying “I’m so Team Unicorn” or “I’m all Unicorned out” and go from there. It makes me wonder how many readers of the antho will pick and choose among their monsters of choice.
Despite the fact that I am somehow made a general in this battle, I actually like zombies. so I read all the stories in the anthology. (Well, almost all of them — my neighbor stole my ARC and took it to California before I could read Cassie, Kathleen, or Libba’s stories.)
Here are some recent online reactions to this book:
“‘The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn’ by Diana Peterfreund (5/5 stars)
Loved this story. Those of your who haven’t read her book Rampant should because it is awesome. This story takes place in the same world and involves a young woman learning how to take care of a killer baby unicorn. Very well done, lots of fun, and a great story.” — Karissa’s Reading Review
“I am happy to report that Diana Peterfreund once again delivers. “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn” might sound like a playful, lighthearted title, this is a surprisingly moving story about a girl struggling with her terrifying new-found abilities, her family expectations, her relationships, and, of course, a baby killer unicorn. One of the longer stories in the bunch, “Baby Killer Unicorn” actually feels like more of a novella than a short story. I love that protagonist Wen is markedly different from the other female leads in this collection, and in fact from Ms. Peterfreund to date – she’s not as rough as Astrid (of Rampant) or as assured as Amy (of the Secret Society Girl books). Wen is quieter, religious (which stands out in a sea of usually agnostic/atheistic or religion-free genre stories), and confused – but when she does stand up for herself, it’s an awesome, empowering feeling.” — Thea of The Booksmugglers
(Please note: The Booksmugglers are giving away two copies of this book this week, so click through and enter!)
“This is a marvelous story! My heart raced when I read it! Wen experiences a deep struggle with her choice to save little “Flower”. She struggles with what her faith and her parents would expect her to do vs what her heart is asking of her. Beautifully written. It has made me RUSH to read Diana’s book Rampant.” — Fiction State of Mind
“”Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Alaya Dawn Johnson seems to be a Team Zombie favorite, while Diana Peterfreund’s “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn” – a spin-off of her Rampant series – is raking in the praise from Team Unicorn. When I said that Holly and Justine had used the creme de la creme for this anthology, I wasn’t kidding.” — Maria Meeps
In the week I was gone, it seems as if a lot of people discovered killer unicorns.
First up, we have Liz at A Chair, A Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy, (now an official School Library Journal blog — gratz, Liz!) who writes:
“Why did I not read this last year? The only good thing about reading it now is that I then immediately read the sequel, Ascendant (September 2010).”
Also:
“To reference Buffy one more time – Rampant is what Buffy Season Seven should have been. Different girls of widely different backgrounds, interests, living together, training together, trying to figure out their roles when there are very little rules. I loved it! Forget vampires, the CW should sign this up as the next teen series.
“What else? Peterfreund has created an entire mythology and manages to convey it all the reader without any info-dumps. It’s all woven into the story, helped by the fact that Astrid and her friends are also all discovering this anew. There are lots of real world concerns, like funding the whole boarding-school-for-unicorn-hunters, as well as people trying to figure out, hm, if unicorns are real, what else is real? Turns out there is also a mysterious “Remedy,” somehow made from unicorns, that can cure anything. The story in Rampant is so new, so fresh, so fun, so scary, I just want to keep sharing with you all the awesomeness “and there are five types of unicorns! And the einhorn! And…and…and.”
“And the battles! If part of you is thinking of My Pretty Unicorns and giggling at the thought of those pretty princess rainbow unicorns doing any damage, think again. There is blood and gore and death, and exhaustion and scars and recovery.”
And:
“So in one book: intricate mythology without any distracting dumps of information; scary adventure; family, friendship, love; and killer unicorns. What’s not to love?”
So that floated me through my first day at RWA. Soon after, I discovered this review of RAMPANT at Nymfaux’s blog:
“But if you’re looking for a bad unicorn story, Rampant is definitely your book. Um, wait, that didn’t come out right. What I meant to say was if you’re looking for a kick-ass story about unicorns gone bad…You’ve come to the right place.”
And
“This was definitely one my favorite new reads(I read it in one sitting)(sleep is moderately overrated), and I am eagerly awaiting its sequel, Ascendant. Why are you so far away September? Why???? Diana Peterfreund is definitely on my watch list!!! My watch, stalk-obsessively, find out any information possible at all costs, list.”
W00T!
Melissa Silva has had a chance to read Ascendant. Here’s her verdict:
“This book was extremely enjoyable. The continuation of Astrid’s story draws you in and takes you on the journey for discovery with her. I do wish that the book had more of Bucephalus because I enjoyed him in the first book, but the action, adventure and twists in this book made me forget all about wanting the elephant-sized unicorn. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys adventure, Diana Peterfreund did a fantastic job with this second book, and it left me wanting more.”
And so did Jessica Miller, young adult librarian and blogger at I Read to Relax:
“Astrid is achingly real in this book. She’s torn between wanting to be safe and feeling as if she must do her duty as a hunter. She never gives up trying to do the right thing, ever. Astrid is what I consider a true heroine and has officially sealed her position as one of my top favorite characters of all time. An astounding continuation in the series.”
Ain’t that sweet? And last, but certainly, certainly, certainly not least…. guys, I wrote something that the good folks at Kirkus actually liked. Behold, their August 1st review of Zombies vs. Unicorns (bolding mine):
“Forget vampires vs. werewolves: the hottest feud is between fans of the fiercely magical horses and the shambling, brain-eating undead. Adopting tones from humorous to haunting, tender to terrifying, and settings from the fairy-tale past to modern suburbia to dystopian day-after-tomorrow, twelve YA authors (both up and coming and superstar) explore the mythic potential of each otherworldly creature. Team Zombie offers up both sweetly creepy romances between the living and not-quite-dead and chilling examinations of adolescence after the Zombie Apocalypse. Standouts for Team Unicorn include an inspirational tale of the reluctant heroine born to slay monsters and the baby maneater she loves and a poignant, piercing analysis of the corrosive price demanded by the power to heal. A healthy does of graphic gore and plenty of love and lust (including same-sex and different-species pairings) push this collection into the older teen range. the editors chime in with wonderfully snarky cheerleading and a bit of insightful commentary along the way. Who is the victor in this epic smackdown? Readers, of course! (Fantasy/horror/short stories, 14 & up)“
Still a little giddy about that one. As I’ve mentioned before, this was my first short story written for professional publication. And I wrote it with a specific audience in mind — a cousin of mine that was a tad too young for Rampant when it came out last year, and is, like Wen (the heroine of “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn”) a young woman of strong faith. It was very cool to see it called “inspirational” in the pages of Kirkus!
 Here I am in Orlando, Florida at the annual RWA Conference. I spent yesterday evening with my roommate, Erica Ridley, as well as Team Castle-mate Jennifer Barnes and my new BFF Melissa de la Cruz (I kept the fangirllng to a minimum).
People keep saying to me, “Oh, what are you doing here at RWA?” Man, you skip a con for four years and this is what happens!
In other news, I was giddy with joy last night when I started seeing some reviews for my two upcoming books: Zombies Vs. Unicorns and Ascendant pop up on these here internets. The first is from Eve’s Fan Garden:
“Team Unicorn is Holly Black, Meg Cabot, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, and Diana Peterfreund. Even if all you know about Unicorns is that they come in the form of shiny, sparkly stickers, you will love everyone of these stories. My favorite one was “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn”, by Diana Peterfreund. I blazed through this story and was left wanting more and more! The Unicorns in these stories will change the way you perceive unicorns from those shiny, sparkly sticker images to something entirely different!”
The second is not so much a review as an interview with the powers-that-be behind the anthology, Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, for BWi:
BWI: If educators were asked to share one story to get teen readers interested in the debate, which one(s) would you recommend to lead off the discussion?
HB: Well, on the unicorn side, I would love to see people talk about Diana Peterfreund’s story with the baby killer unicorn, who is at once horrific and adorable; I would love to see people discuss Margo Lanagan’s reframing some of the traditional unicorn story elements; but mostly I’d like readers to pick the story they think they would like the best and read that.
The whole interview is fantastic, especially if you’re fans of these authors’ works. Check it out.
There have also been folks reading Ascendant. The first review comes care of Raila of Books out of the Bookshelves, a Brazilian reader who I believe discovered my work through Secret Society Girl (which is published in Brazil) and has now decided to try out killer unicorns (which is only published in North America so far). Can I just tell you how impressed and a little jealous I am that she can speak and read and write in Portuguese and English? I know I love writing these cosmopolitan characters who speak multiple languages (Gitta, in “Errant” speaks seven) and that is because I secretly wish that I was this amazing polyglot like Raila and the people in my books. About Rampant, she writes:
Two other different and amazing and creative aspects of Rampant that I sincerely liked and feel like I need to point out are: first, the story is nearly entirely settled in Rome, and we get to visit through the characters’ eyes and steps museums and places I would love to go someday; second, in Rampant, it’s not the guy who is the mysterious and dangerous, it’s the girl—and it’s such a sweet part of the story, something I could read again and again.
And about Ascendant:
Well, the whole story is basically written based on the surprises Astrid faces, therefore I can not tell much or I might (sorry about the language) screw it up for you—though I don’t even think it’s possible since I sincerely loved this sequel and now want more! Because the ending left me sad sitting on my bed, and wondering a LOT, period! Overall, Ascendant is brilliant. I had no idea I was going to enjoy it so much as I did, nor find what I found. Astrid keeps being such a strong female protagonist, who grows on me by every chapter. I’m sincerely super looking forward to see what comes next in the series, how everything is going to be solved… or not.
I know I have said this before, but one of the best parts of being a writer for me is the moment when you really feel like a reader has connected to precisely what you were trying to create — the kernel behind the words on the page. They may like it, they may not, they may be confused or hurt or inspired by it, but since the point of my job, beyond entertainment, is communication, it warms the cockles of my heart to get the sense that I really connected with the reader in the way I intended to.
Last, but not least, we have The Ravenous Bookshelf. I met this blogger at ALA, and gave her a copy of ASCENDANT. And here’s what she has to say (It begins with “Diana Peterfreund certainly doesn’t pull her punches” which I think I want on the cover of the book):
It is a tribute to Astrid as heroine that I felt compelled to stick with her throughout all this horrible mess, even as she screws up and gets lost and hurts people she cares about — I just couldn’t leave her. Because she was doing the best she could and being strong and smart and funny despite it all and let me tell you that is a kickass heroine.
It’s awfully risky to have your main character go through the wringer, mostly because as readers we want to identify with our protagonist and no one likes having Life kick the snot out of them. But Life Happens, and props to Diana Peterfreund for developing this story in the way it should happen even if it means a rougher ride.
This review put a major smile on my face. The choices I made in Ascendant won’t please everyone, I know. When I told Sailor Boy of my dire plans for Astrid, he was very scared for her. But it’s a matter of being honest with your story, even if it’s hard. And being a unicorn hunter is very, very, very hard.
In case you didn’t see me totally geeking out on Twitter yesterday, my pal Carrie Ryan discovered that the “sample” they are displaying of the Kiss Me Deadly audio book is a sample of my story, “Errant.”
Kiss Me Deadly Sample
I’m still giddy about it. I’ve never heard my work read professionally before, and I think I would have killed to be a fly on the wall in that production meeting, where they said, “Hey, I have an idea. Let’s read the narrative in an American accent, and then do French accents for the French characters, you know, because they are French.”
(Even though they are ostensibly speaking in French. I always think it’s weird that whenever they do historical pictures, no matter what country they are supposed to be in, everyone speaks in English accents. Although I suppose Tom Hulce didn’t. Right? Now I can’t remember. Mozart was not a unicorn hunter.)
The sample does not include a sample of Gitta’s dialogue, so I don’t know if they have decided to do a German accent for her, or if they’ve decided to do an accent that is a mix of German and French, since it’s made clear in the book that her French has a tinge of German accent in it. She speaks French throughout most of the story (a few lines of German when she’s speaking to the unicorn and once when she’s praying, which I know is unusual given that she’s a pre-Vatican II nun and should probably be speaking in Latin, but I decided that it illustrated Gitta’s emotional state as well as her own sense of spirituality). Gitta does, in fact, speak seven languages.
But how AWESOME is that? I called everyone I knew and made them listen to it right away. I can’t wait to hear the whole thing (apparently the audio isn’t releasing for another week — sad face). Given that this is an anthology, I am waaaaaaaaay down on the totem pole, so I had nothing to do with the making of this audio book. I am buying it when it comes out next week, just like everyone else. And then I’m putting it on my iPod, possibly on repeat.
There is an actress reading my short story. She was paid to do this. She was paid to give Elise an adorable little French accent that makes her sound like Jim Dale doing Fleur Delacour Weasely and though I have listened to this sample like ten times already, I don’t think it will ever make me stop giggling.
I don’t know if I’m just easily amused or what, but this is one of those cool authorial moments. My words, performed. With accents I never even imagined.
/geekout
Starting next week, I have a book (or two) out every month until November. Yikes! Four of these releases are about killer unicorns: “Errant” in Kiss Me Deadly next week, the Rampant paperback at the end of August (with new material! tell your friends!), “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn” in Zombies vs. Unicorns at the end of September, and Ascendant on October 1st). I am currently recording a podcast to promote Ascendant. My promotional world is all killer unicorns all the time, which is funny, because my creative world is all about celestial navigation and genetic engineering and post-apocalyptic societal structures.
If I thought it was hard to write series and to perpetually be one book ahead of my readers, it’s REALLY hard to get my head inside Astrid’s and killer unicorns when I’m writing a character that’s so very different from her and lives in a world so phenomenally altered.
But it’s a good problem to have, so I can’t complain. I’m excited that there’s so many killer unicorns descending this fall. I’m also excited to be writing this new book and this new world and these new characters.
And I’m super-super excited that I’ve got two short stories coming out, and that people are responding to them. Today, I saw Ana the Booksmuggler’s review of Kiss Me Deadly, in which she had this to say about “Errant”:
Part of Peterfreund’s Unicorn Hunters series, Errant is set in the 18th century France when a nun , sister Gitta (a Unicorn Hunter) , accompanied by her unicorn, arrives at a chateau just before the wedding of a girl named Elise. As part of the celebration, a traditional Unicorn Hunt is to be enacted with Gitta’s help. This story is excellent as it develops, quite well these two characters. Starting with animosity from Gitta’s side – her frustration with these people and this girl who know nothing about tradition and sacrifice, except yes, yes she does and Gitta slowly realises that and the relationship that builds between the two girls is incredible. There is a communion of spirits between them (and the unicorn) and I would like to use the author’s own words to describe this story: “18th century French feminist killer unicorn story about a nun and a bride and a forest full of monsters.”
Perfect. 8 out of 10
She loved a lot of the other stories, too. so make sure to check it out next month. I’ve only read Carrie Ryan’s and Sarah Rees Brennan’s so far, and I definitely agree with Ana’s assessment on those, so I can highly recommend this collection.
So I survived ALA, thanks to the support of my editor and author friends.Friday afternoon, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl took pity on me and called up, inviting me to come hang with them on the floor. We did. We snagged some swag. I also met their lovely editor Julie, and I may have accidentally sold her a book for $0.35 worth of parking meter change.
Oops. My agent’s totally going to kill me.
The next day, I left the house at 6:30 AM to make my early, early early morning breakfast with Harper Collins, where I met some other authors and a bunch of lovely librarians. Man, I love librarians. So knowledgeable! So passionate! So stylish!
Then, I headed back to the exhibit hall, where I ran into heaps of authors, attended a few signings, picked up even more swag — swag! Swag! How do I love thee? A few of the authors I hung out with: Malinda Lo, author of Ash; Danielle Joseph, author of Shrinking Violet; John Green, author of Looking for Alaska and PaperTowns and Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
Here I am with the beautiful Malinda Lo, whose moody, evocative debut ASH I read last year by firelight during a blackout. It’s also a great book to read over your air-conditioning vent this summer, though. Malinda’s next book is called Huntress. As you can imagine, I’m all over that. We had lunch and talked about researching hunting. She lives in Northern California, which is great for that.
I ran into Alaya Dawn Johnson ever so breifly — just long enough to tell her how much I love her story in Zombies vs. Unicorns (it’s awesome, ya’ll, even if it is about zombies). Speaking of zombies, check out this travesty:
She was so SMUG about it, too! To my face, y’all. To my face. Do you think Astrid would put up with that?
Actually, Astrid is afraid of zombies, too. She has no special powers to deal with those.
And, since I know y’all are wondering about the ice cream, I am so happy to report that at ALA, ice cream is free! Yeah, they were just handing it out on the street corner. Here’s Malinda, me, and Danielle Jospeh eating our free ice cream, in a picture taken by John Green. (You’d think someone who spends so much time filming could have snapped a pic where we were all looking at the camera, but whatever):
This was taken on our way to lunch with Pam Bachorz, author of Candor, Jon Skovron, author of Struts & Frets, Holly Cupala, author of Tell Me a Secret, and L.K. Madigan, award-winning author of Flash Burnout. Yeah, it was kinda a debs party I crashed. They’re very nice.
And yes, that means we had ice cream on the WAY to lunch.
After lunch, I rushed back to the exhibit hall for my signing. Yay, signing!
It went great — we gave away ALL my copies of Ascendant ARCs, and the unicorn horn lollipops were a hit. Killer unicorns FTW!
No matter what John Green says. (Also, I totally did the filming of the part where John steals the book.)
I’m feeling good this morning. First of all, I have some great news to announce about the secret society girl series:
Turkish rights to Diana Peterfreund’s SECRET SOCIETY GIRL, UNDER THE ROSE, & RITES OF SPRING (BREAK), have sold to Artemis, by Whitney Lee of the Fielding Agency on behalf of Elaine Spencer at the Knight Agency.
Savvy readers will note that this little deal does not include Tap & Gown. Yet. Savvier readers will be just as excited as I was by the name of my new publisher. Seriously, how awesome is that?
Next bit of great news: both of my anthologies out this year (Kiss Me Deadly and Zombies vs. Unicorns) are coming out as audio books! I’m so excited! I’ve never had an audio version of one of my books before.
Next bit of great news: I’ve received some advanced reviews of ASCENDANT and they have made me all happy:
April of Good Books and Wine says:
“Ascendant is a direct sequel to the super-awesome Rampant, which I actually really enjoyed. With Ascendant, the intros and exposition is pretty much out of the way so the book gets right on down to business. There is absolutely more sexual tension, more unicorns, more action, and a lot of moral dilemma. I loved it! What was so cool is how Peterfreund made her events grey areas. By this I mean things were taken out of a black and white context and given complexity and layers. I guess it’s awesome how we get to see two sides of a coin.
“I actually enjoyed Ascendant way more than Rampant. I thought Astrid really came into her own. Confession corner: After I finished I really had trouble finding a book to read. I mean, what’ll measure up to that kind of awesome?”
She also reviewed Rampant recently, AND she is giving away copies of BOTH right now! Go sign up to win!
Cassandra Yorgey of examiner.com also snagged an advanced review copy of ASCENDANT at BEA, and reviews it (along with a plea for a third book) here:
“[A] prominent theme throughout Ascendant is how we treat animals. Animal conservation and medical testing are issues that Astrid is on the fence about. She struggles with these things, often bordering each side of the fence trying desperately to reconcile necessities with human decency. And even if you don’t care one whit about those things, there are still killer freaking unicorns, which is awesome socks no matter how you wrap it up.
“Ascendant is one of those sequels that is so good I actually convinced myself it was part of a trilogy, even though there is in fact no third book under contract.”
Also on the rampage about the scheduling of the third book, we have Miss Havoc of Cry Havoc reviews, who was apparently so devastated by my 140-word tweeted reply to her about not having a third book under contract yet that she actually KNOCKED A STAR off her review of ASCENDANT ::sniff:: and prompted a few emails into my inbox on the matter: “First I just want to rant a little about how there ISN’T GOING TO BE A THIRD BOOK! At least not anytime soon. Which really upset me ’cause I love me some Killer Unicorns! That also had to bring Ascendant down to a 4 star, because if this is how it ends…it just isn’t enough. I think we need to start a petition so that we can get some more Killer Unicorns!
“OK, on to the review! Loved it! Want to give it 5 stars.”
Since I’ve gotten enough emails/twitters/blog discussions/random assumptions on the subject, I feel I should make what is as formal a statement as I can make at this time, namely: I would like to write a third killer unicorn book, and I currently have a two book contract with Harper Collins to write more YA books. The first book in this contract, which I am working on now and will be out in 2011, is a post-apocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The second book (which will probably be a 2012 release) is undecided as of yet. It may be killer unicorns #3. It may not.
No one is the “bad guy” here. I am not holding killer unicorn stories for ransom (I have three coming out this year!). Additionally, Harper Teen is hugely in support of Rampant and Ascendant. Rampant will be out in paperback this fall (for the low, low price of $8.99), along with the hardcover of Ascendant, which was featured prominently at BEA and is going to be featured prominently again at ALA this weekend. We also have a lot of cool promotional things planned for the fall.
So, to answer the questions I keep getting about what you can do to make sure there is a third unicorn book, all I can say is, tell your friends about Rampant. Tell your local bookseller to stock it. Tell your local librarian to order a copy for her collection. Buy a copy of the paperback (for the low, low price of $8.99) when it comes out this fall. And just be patient, and we can revisit this issue in six to eight months. Think of this like a TV show. I don’t know if I’m “renewed” — I’m still mid-season! (And yes, I am aware of what my options are, one of them being that I’ve got a blank book under contract.)
Back to the great reviews!
Rene Kirkpatrick, a bookseller at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington, is a fan of both books in the series:
“But, are the myths true? Are the unicorns all blood hungry, savage beasts? What about the people who are searching for the remedy, the cure for all disease? Who do you trust when those you want to trust have motives that don’t match yours? Were there nunneries filled with women warriors dating from the time of Diana who could keep the world safe from harm? Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a reason for them to still be viable? Man (and woman)-eating, not fluffy, no pink or purple manes or tales, unicorns; maybe not, huh?
“These books are really good. They are humorous and deal with a lot of the same questions that girls who aren’t unicorn hunters have to deal with. There is high romance, a little low romance, big questions about certain parts of life and how valuable these things can be, big adventure, strong and brave women. Good travel books, too, especially if you are on your way to Rome or France; good descriptions of the nightlife and tourist worlds. They are really good summer books. Ages 14 and up. (HarperTeen. $17.99. Rampant is available now, and Ascendant will be available in October! Ooh. October! Put it on your list, you’re going to want it when you’re done with Rampant.)”
W00T! I love booksellers who love killer unicorns.
And librarians. Seriously, this weekend at ALA, I must meet Betsy Bird (who apparently I know through two different degrees of separation?). Look what she had to say about ASCENDANT in her recent Harper fall 2010 preview:
“In an era of Zombies Vs. Unicorns, it seems appropriate that Diana Peterfreund’s killer unicorn book Rampant should get itself a sequel. Ascendant keeps up the fast pace of its predecessor and Peterfreund has been studying unicorn legends from around the world extensively for these books. Personally, I think Harper Collins is losing a huge opportunity with these covers. If you put a big, ugly, slavering unicorn with blood dripping from its mouth on the jacket, those copies will sell sell sell faster than you can print them up. Oh, and for those of you wondering what else Ms. Peterfreund has up her sleeve, I have five words for you: Post-apocalyptic retelling of Persuasion.”
Gotta say, Betsy, I too am disappointed they couldn’t squeeze a unicorn on that cover. But then again, prettyprettyAstridhair. It’s so hard to put everything that this book is on one cover. Maybe in a dozen years, when my series is recognized as a modern classic, I’ll get new gory covers. Then Roman ruin covers. Then chem lab covers. The possibilities are endless. 
And to wrap this up (and then go pick up my car which is finally ready, yay!) I have this lovely review of RAMPANT from a livejournaler called hamsterwoman:
“You know how, in about 90% of my reviews, I will get to the main character and say, “I liked [him/her] OK” or “Him/her I was ‘meh’ on”? Well, ha! Because I freaking LOVE Astrid Llewelyn. She is easily my favorite character in the book, my favorite thing about the book (and I really liked the book), and there isn’t even any question about it. Astrid is awesome!
“Astrid is a real scientist in training. Not only is she interested in science and actively going after becoming a doctor (volunteering in the hospital) even though she is just 16, but she is believable in this role. She has a scientist’s mind, analyzing inputs and details even in high-stress situations — e.g. noticing [snipped for spoilers]. And she thinks in terms of behaviour patterns and hypotheses, and she resents unscientific ideas, like that particular skills run in families, and is frustrated by the others’ reluctance to try an examine the unscientific but apparently true effects scientifically. And she stages actual scientific experiments with her fellow hunters, and uses words like “ambient unicorn influence.” (In retrospect, even at the very beginning her thoughts on her relationship with the douchy boyfriend feel kind of scientist-like — she is trying to maximize the benefits of dating him while minimizing how much groping she lets him get away with.
“I can’t readily express how awesome I find this, but it is. I’ve seen/read quite a few attempts to portray young geeks/science types, and so many of them end up feeling like caricatures to me or like shallow “my nerdness is pasted on” decals, or like someone’s fairly uninformed idea of what would-be scientists are like. And there’s none of that here — Astrid’s the real thing. She thinks and acts and argues in ways that are familiar and true to me. People talk about having different kinds of female heroines for girls to identify with, and there are tomboy types and girly girls and girls out to prove things to the world and girls looking to find themselves and to learn the meaning of love and friendship or whatever, but I don’t think I’ve actually encountered a female heroine before that I could identify with as closely as with Astrid. There have been plenty that I wanted to be like or think I was like, but for sheer identification, yeah, Astrid is pretty much it. And, yes, it’s quite nice to have that, even as an adult.”
I really need to start printing these babies out and pasting them up on my wall or something for those days when I feel like I suck and can’t write consistent characterization to save my life. Because one of Astrid’s core conflicts is trying to resolve the science that she knows is true with the magic that she must, as an astute observer, recognize. I hope with Ascendant that I’ve successfully evolved that inner struggle and kept Astrid a scientist, even if she happens to be a magical one. (I think Cassandra thinks I did.)
And now I’m going to shut up before I start in with the spoilers…
I’ve been a lazy blogger since coming back from vacation. probably because I haven’t been lazy in any other aspect of my life. We’re doing a lot of redecoration Chez Diana, I had houseguests, and I’m super busy with the draft of PAP. The blog, she suffers. However, I recently ran across a review of Rampant that reminded me of somethign I wanted to write about here: worldbuilding, sexual politics, and variations on a theme.
This review of Rampant by Aimee of To the Wolves, in which the reader is very interested in talking about the sexual politics of the novel (minor spoilers if you click through to the actual and more comprehensive review, but not here):
“Peterfreund remains faithful to the unicorn folklore that states that only virgins can tame them, and I loved how she used this; in the hands of a lesser writer, it’s the kind of thing that could potentially make me want to throw a book across the room. The topic of sex and virginity in YA novels can always be counted on to get folks raging on all sides of the sexual politics spectrum. Peterfreund’s unicorn characters are all discovering their powers – and how conditional they are – right at a point in their lives where they’re also discovering their sexuality, and deciding what they want out of their relationships with boys, and the confusion that all this causes is pitch-perfect.”
What is interesting to me is that as I see the different reader responses to Rampant, this issue seems to be the most polarizing. I’ve seen readers praise the approach and really dig into the ramifications of what happens to the characters and I’ve seen readers metaphorically (and perhaps physically, I don’t know) throw the book across the room.
My point of view on the subject, as it pertains to Astrid’s story in particular, is that the configuration of a unicorn hunter’s magic is something that we, in today’s society, would view as particularly misogynistic. In many ways, it mirrors the unbalanced valuation system that our society places on female virginity as defined, at times confusingly, by heterosexual sexual intercourse. It is young girls –not young boys — who are taken to “purity balls” and told that their virginity, specifically, is a precious gift. There are also a lot of young people today who are led to believe that “everything but” vaginal intercourse is a virginity-preserving option. Even as a teen, I knew people who would have anal sex in order to “preserve their virginity.” It’s rather bizarre, if you think about it. It doesn’t really have any benefits, either in the “physical intimacy” or the “disease” spheres. It’s an entirely artificial construct based around this definition of “virginity” (that the book’s magic mirrors).
As an abstinent teen, I dealt with a lot of the same questions and criticisms that Astrid does; this idea that a teenager (and especially a teenage girl) is not capable of making her own decisions on the subject, and must be shielded or kept ignorant of her options or terrified. The system in place trains people to think that teens aren’t capable of making this choice themselves without some outside force like shame or religion or etc motivating them. I don’t think that gives teens enough credit. Like me as a teen, Astrid just knows she’s not ready to have sex yet, and she really shouldn’t have to explain that to anyone. I also thought it was important that the different hunters have different reasons for the choices they make — and that all of these reasons are valid as well. If Rosamund chooses to remain abstinent because of her religious beliefs, that’s every bit as valid as Phil or Astrid choosing abstinence without the help of God.
The flip side of this is that the idea of abstinence has become such a polarized one that a lot of people have a knee-jerk reaction to it. If I discuss abstinence, that means I’m trying to control the minds of teenage girls and teach them that their desire for sex (if they have it) is evil and wrong. I have gotten this reaction to my book as well. I think sometimes, it’s because magical powers are so often presented as being the ultimate “good” in fantasy novels. It’s better to have magical powers than not to have magical powers. Therefore, the argument goes, it’s better to behave in a way that allows you to have magical powers. And therefore, the author is making the argument that this behavior is the better one.
Am I? That decision is, of course, up to the reader. Not everyone who reads my book is going to come to this website and listen to me say, “Oh, wow, no! The magic in Rampant sucks! It’s misogynistic and antifeminist!” I either succeeded in getting that across in the book to that particular reader, or I didn’t. I am interested to see how the opinion changes, however, when they read Ascendant this fall. (Or perhaps not, as I don’t think it likely that most folks who disliked Rampant will continue with the series.)
At the same time, that’s Astrid’s story, which is very much concerned with the role of the woman in today’s society and today’s sexual politics. In Ireland last year, a discussion with my soon-to-be editor Holly Black on this exact topic led me to challenge myself to write a story set in my world that wasn’t about those topics. The result is “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn,” in this fall’s Zombies vs. Unicorns, in which there is nothing about sexual politics whatsoever.
Later, fresh from finishing Ascendant, and in need of a breather, I took an entirely different tack on the world. If the magic is misogynistic in today’s society, what might it be in another society? In more ancient times, institutional virginity or the perception of it (Vestal Virgins, Catholic nuns, Queen Elizabeth I) was actually a form of feminine freedom. Retired Vestal Virgins had rights that no other woman in Rome did. Catholic nuns were some of the only female intellectuals of the European middle ages. Queen Elizabeth consolidated her power by not marrying a foreign head of state. Depending on the configuration of society, could a unicorn hunter actually have more freedom than the alternative? The result of that trail of inquiry is “Errant” my first historically-set story and my contribution to July’s Kiss Me Deadly anthology.
I have been thinking a lot about how different the three stories I have coming out this year are. They each explore a facet of a world I built for the purposes of one particular story — Astrid’s story. But as different as she and her situation are, Astrid has a lot in common with Wen, Gitta, and Elise, and I hope that I do each of them justice as young women who are trying to make the best choices they can for themselves.
John Scalzi and Justine Larbalestier are talking about “owning” your one star reviews on Amazon. I went to go look mine up, only to discover that, to my shock, I don’t have any one star reviews on Amazon. Given the angst I’ve felt over Amazon reviews in the past, I was sure that some of them had to be one star. No, apparently only two stars. I have my fair share of those.(Don’t worry, though, I have plenty of one star reviews on Goodreads!)
Yet none of them, I think, can possibly top the one I just received for Rampant. A snippet of its (two star) fabulosity:
“I felt as if the author is very self-impressed and narcissistic. Which I guess is fine until it permeates the writing. If you read the jacket cover – all about how wonderful and adventurous she is – and then realize she’s attempted to weave in the myth of Diana goddess of the hunt and that her name is Diana….well too much self homage for me. Nothing redeems this insipid tale.”
Finally, someone calls me out for making the magic system in my book something that was invented by a goddess whose name is the same as mine. I was wondering when that would happen.
Justine’s post is all about Jane Austen’s one star Amazon reviews for Pride & Prejudice. I haven’t read through them, but I sincerely hope that someone calls that chick out for naming her most beautiful Bennett sister Jane, not to mention that annoyingly perfect Jane Fairfax from Emma.
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