Have I mentioned how excited I am about this book?
To celebrate the release of ZvU, I’ll be appearing at the Baltimore Book Festival alongside editors Holly black and Justine Larbalestier, and fellow anthologists Carrie Ryan, Scott Westerfeld (both team zombie — hisssss!) and Kathleen Duey (Team Unicorn!).
And a little bird told me they’d have copies of Ascendant available. That’s PRIOR to the release date, y’all.
Be there or I won’t be responsible for what the zombies OR the unicorns do to you.
Friday, September 24, 2010, 5:30-700 PM
Children’s Bookstore Stage, Baltimore Book Festival
MOUNT VERNON PLACE
600 BLOCK NORTH CHARLES STREET
BALTIMORE, MD 21201
PANEL DISCUSSION: Zombies versus Unicorns Debate with Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld, Carrie Ryan, Holly Black, Diana Peterfreund & Kathleen Duey
Zombies versus Unicorns Debate
Team Zombie takes on Team Unicorn to prove which fantastic creature is superior. Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier lead their authors in a debate inspired by their new short story collection Zombies versus Unicorns.
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.)
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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
Today, I’m guest blogging over at the Booksmugglers with pal and fellow anthologist Carrie Ryan as part of their YA Appreciation Week. We’re attempting ot get the zombies and the unicorns to sit down at a table and talk out their differences…
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.)
Okay yes, winners. We’ll get to that. Tomorrow, I promise. We’re doing all this home improvement stuff around the house so I’ve been a little distracted.
First up, BEA.
So this was my second time at BEA (last time was 2006, in DC) and I was a LITTLE more prepared for what to expect. This time, I came prepared with canvas bags and comfy shoes. (Well, sometimes.)
I arrived in New York on Tuesday afternoon, checked into my hotel and hurried downtown to meet Angie from Angieville at Otto, a Mario Batali restaurant I like a lot. What I’ve learned from my many many trips to Otto is that it’s nearly impossible to go there for dinner, but off-hour lunches are actually fabulous. Angie is lovely (and much more blonde than I was expecting from her profile picture) and we had a long, chatty lunch and talked books, books, and more books, and I kinda sorta inadvertently spoiled her as to the entire storyline of For Darkness Shows the Stars. Oops. (But seriously, this is what one gets when one asks about an upcoming book while I’m in the middle of writing it.) But it was so nice to finally meet face to face since I’ve been enjoying her blog for such a long time. (You’ll note this is a running theme at this BEA — I met so many amazing bloggers!)
Here we are:
And here’s what we had for desert:
I was very big on desserts at this BEA. Especially ice cream.
After that we went to the Javitts Center to pick up Angie’s badge (I already had mine). It wasn’t too crowded yet, so I got a chance to enjoy the full glory of a promotion for Heather Brewer’s awesome Vladimir Tod series:
Angie also gave me a copy of an Ellen Emerson White book (because she knows I’m a fangirl) that’s out of print, about a Vietnam nurse. I was already devouring it on the subway ride home. Then, I called Julie Leto, who was at BEA to promote her new book Hard to Hold, which is actually based on a true story, and we had dinner at a little pub near Rockefeller Center. I ate salad, short ribs (actually, Julie’s daughter had most of my short ribs) and a brownie fudge sundae.
Tuesday tally: Ice cream: Otto’s olive oil gelato; Pub brownie fudge sundae Books: The Road Home, by Ellen Emerson White (OOP), and Beautiful Darkness my Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (ARC brought from home)
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The next morning (Wednesday), I had a few moments to wander around before I met up with my Harper editor and went to Children’s author speed dating, where I FINALLY met the awesome and snappily-dressed and hair-dyed Heather Brewer (and showed her the stairs picture) as well as Lauren Kate and Wendy Loggia. Apparently, Lauren and my editor Kristin used to work together. Speed dating was a lot of fun, if rushed, and my tables of booksellers and librarians could be categorized into one of three groups:
“Oh! Rampant! We love this book! We can’t keep it on the shelves!” (Hugs and pictures ensured, such as this one with Talya, a bookseller from Boston):
“Killer unicorns? Really? Well, I guess if Tammy Pierce liked it…” (puts bookmarks in bags)
“Killer unicorns? What the…”
I was so tempted to pull one on this last group. “Just kidding, I mean vampires!” And see what happened. Some people jsut won’t get on board with this concept. I’m learning to accept it. Philistines.
I also saw Mitali Perkins across the room, but I was not able to go say hi.
Afterward, my editor and I wandered around a bit more, and snagged copies of Nightshade, Matched, and Delirium. Then we went to lunch at this cool restaurant called Cookshop, where I ate shrimp tacos (on actual corn tortillas, bless them!) and then the most delicious dessert EVER — a strawberry float made with deep mauve homemade strawberry soda and vanilla ice cream. Wow, it was phenomenal. My editor and I also talked about For Darkness Shows the Stars and what my next project for her might be. (And I feel like I have to let y’all know now there’s no guarantee it’ll be a unicorn book.)
After THAT, we headed back to Javitts (ran into Richelle Mead in the bathroom) and got ready for my signing! I was signing at the table right next to Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier’sZombies vs. Unicorns signing, which means I got my very own copy of Zombies vs. Unicorns AND got to sign a bunch of copies for people who happened to be standing in line. (My story in the ZvU anthology is called “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn”) and it stands alone as well as serves as a nice segue into Ascendant.) Scott Westerfeld and Alaaya Dawn Johnson, also contributors, were there to sign as well.
In passing, have you seen Alaya Dawn Johnson’s new book, Moonshine? Vampires in 1920s Harlem. People, I’m in lust with this concept (and this cover). I can’t wait to read it.
And then, the Ascendant signing. A huge thank you again to all the folks who turned out for the signing. I really wasn’t expecting that kind of crowd:
Nor was I expecting the signing to go over by an HOUR. We had to move me to an overflow table so Melissa Marr, who was signing after me, could have her scheduled table and I kept expecting my editor (or Justine, who was waiting for me to finish so we could go party) to start telling me to stop talking to all the great readers I met. I met so many people whose blogs I read daily! I met so many Twitter friends. I met so many fans of Rampant. I love you all! Here are a few pictures:
Me with Cassandra:
(That’s Holly and Justine there in the background.)
After that, I went (walked) downtown with Scott and Justine to the Simon & Schuster cocktail party, where I met a bunch of other authors and got to hang out with Simon Pulse editor Anica Rissi, who it turns out I went to college with (though we never knew each other), as well as Sarah Beth Durst and Robin Wasserman.
In passing, are you all watching Robin Wasserman’s Seven Deadly Sins miniseries on Lifetime right now? If not, clear your schedules. It’s divine. I don’t know what I’d do if one of my books was made into a movie, let alone a whole series! No wonder she looked so glowing and happy on Wednesday night!
After that, Robin, Scott, Justine and I met up with Maureen Johnson and Daphne Unfeasible (whose name is really Kate Testerman, but honestly, I wanted to call her Daphne all night long) for dinner. Yes, I had ice cream. I had Mexican Chocolate, Corn, and Kahlua ice cream (different scoops). And a salad. Must save room for the ice cream! The corn ice cream was really much better than I’d feared, but the Mexican chocolate was my favorite.
So that was Wednesday.
Wednesday Tally: Ice Cream: Strawberry soda float; three flavors at Mexican restaurant Books: 18 free books, including Rot & Ruin, Zombies vs. Unicorns, Matched, Delirium, Nightshade, Sapphique, Vladimir Tod, The Enemy, a new Jonathan Stroud and many, many more! Lessons Learned: No matter how adorable your unicorn shoes are, they aren’t very comfortable and no one sees them under the booth anyway.
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Thursday was my “chill” day. My job was mostly to run around and see the sights of BEA. I didn’t do much running. I wore flat sandals. I carried lots of tote bags. I ran into Sarah Cross and Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Angie again. Angie took me to meet the stunningly gorgeous Deanna Raybourn, who really looks like the cover model on one of her books — and I know I get that all the time about Astrid on Rampant, but I don’t see it at all, and yet with Deanna, oh my gosh!), and then Angie and I stood in a VERY long line to meet Mary Roach, who was promoting her new book, Packing for Mars, which looks fantastic.
I also met Leah Cypress, who signed me a copy of Mistwood (yay!) which I hear is wonderful –even better than Graceling, which to me is high praise indeed! — and I can’t wait to read it.
And I also got a signed ARC of Firelight from Sophie Jordan, who I didn’t realize I’d already met.
Then I had lunch with my Random House editor, who had all kinds of great news about my October Ballantine release (it’s killing me not to talk about it, ya’ll. Soon, I promise!) No ice cream there, sadly.
After that, I stumbled across the Running Press booth and I snagged two copies of Kiss Me Deadly ARCS (my July release), hoping to give one away on the blog, but then I ran into a bookseller from Kepler’s and she had such nice things to say about both my book and Carrie Ryan’s that I gave her my spare copy, because it has Carrie and my stories in it (Mine is called “Errant.”) Sorry, guys. I’ll find an alternative giveaway. And then later, when I finally, FINALLY met the awesome and talented Rachel Vincent, after only knowing her online for years, I felt really bad, because they were out of ARCs, and not only does she also have a story in there, but her name is on the cover. Here’s me and Rachel:
Or, as I told Rachel and photographer Lenore I’d title the picture: “Diana Peterfreund with Kiss Me Deadly and Rachel ‘the Hobbit’ Vincent.” Nice framing, that.
However, I did get to meet Laurie Halse Anderson. And yes, I managed to type that without the emphatic expletives that I was thinking when I saw her, which was pretty much, “OMG, it’s ******* Laurie Halse Anderson OMG OMG OMG.” And then, y’all…. she HUGGED ME. Laurie Halse Anderson hugged me, and it was a really miraculous hug, too. Here is Laurie and me, post-hug (you can see how she made me glow):
There was a librarian standing in line with me for Laurie, and I failed to get her name, but she ran out of line to go to the bathroom and I got a copy signed for her and waited around but she never came back and eventually I had to leave. I feel really bad about that, but if you are that librarian — and you know who you are and where you’re from — CONTACT ME, and I’ll send you the ARC.
Ooh, and I finally met my editor of the Smart Pop books from BenBella, Leah Wilson, and we talked about the new cover for the Narnia anthology (isn’t it AWESOME?) as well as future anthologies that I may or may not be a part of (stay tuned)
I also got a copy of the much-acclaimed Shade from Jeri Smith-Ready, and the highly-anticipated Raised by Wolves from Jennifer Lynn Barnes. And oh, so many more!
Me and Jeri at the RWA booth:
Then, I met up with Lenore from Presenting Lenore, and her husband, the talented illustrator Daniel Jennewein, whose children’s book Is Your Buffalo ready for Kindergarten? will be out this month! This was a fabulous two-for one. First of all, I adore Lenore’s blog and was long awaiting a chance to meet her, and secondly, Daniel and I have the same editor at Harper, and I got a chance to read an early copy of Buffalo, which is seriously adorable and I highly recommend it to any kids reading this blog (or adults who are looking for picture books for kids). We went to a nearby diner and ate cake and lentil soup (Daniel and Lenore) and milkshakes (me, of course). We talked books and TV shows and blogging and illustrating and then Daniel gave me the best thing EVER (my editor is so jealous):
And, in close-up:
The caption reads “Buffalo the Great” btw. Clearly from our upcoming release, Is Your Buffalo Ready to Be a Unicorn Hunter?
How awesome is that? I am having it framed and hung in my office. I love it so much I can’t see straight.
One more time to the Javitts Center, this time to go to a blogging reception –which I couldn’t find for like half an hour, but when I did, I was rewarded with some very friendly faces, namely:
Laura Bowers! (who has a new book coming out)
The Booksmugglers! (we gossip gossip gossiped, and I totally volunteered Carrie and me to do something for their next Halloween week.)
Kristi the Story Siren! (I wish I’d gotten to talk to her more. We chatted about Rio and Xander, mostly. I love book people who are also dog people.)
And then after that, I ran across town and had Chinese food with newly-minted New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Simone Elkeles (who told me all about the incredible in-depth gang research she’s doing for her new book and we dished for a few hours about how much fun it is to research books). Also, I’m sorry to disappoint you Alex-lovers in the blog audience, but though I met the gorgeous model who plays him in the Rules of Attraction trailer, I didn’t grab a pic with him. He did shake my hand though. And then, later, drinks in a VERY VERY loud bar with Simone and her agent, Kristin Nelson.
No ice cream there, either. (Sad face.) If it hadn’t been for that milkshake with Lenore and Daniel, I might have gone into withdrawals!
Thursday’s Tally: Ice Cream: One little chocolate milkshake Books: Oh, so many! (Actually, only 18, including the ones listed above — sorry, getting lazy — as well as Halo, Shift, The Marriage Ring by Cathy Maxwell, Hold Me Closer Necromancer, and many, many more!)
Friday morning I was seriously wiped. Too many books, too much socializing, too many days away from my quiet little house with my manuscript and my garden and my puppy asleep on my feet. New York is nice to visit and all, and who doesn’t love book talk with the coolest people in your business, but I guess five years at this job are turning me into an introvert. I was supposed to catch an 11:30 bus home, but I was exhausted and impatient to see Rio and got a 9 AM bus instead. And seriously, wouldn’t you want to get home to this?
ZvU was recently featured on Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life. Though the article calls the collection a book of “essays,” do not be fooled. I think it meant that the essays were the connecting bits written by Holly and Justine, on the specific merits of the beasties of their choice. The actual contributions of all the writers are fictional.
Well, not my story, of course. As always, I am your faithful documentarian of all the human stories caught up in the fight against the growing unicorn menace.Yes, this is what I do for you. No need to thank me. Or, you know, if you do have the need to thank me, you can do so by buying a copy of Rampant. Or ZvU. Or Both.
I’d tell you to preorder it on Amazon, but then you might end up in the same boat as me, whereby you have preordered and paid for something on Amazon which they will now not deliver because they are in a little snit with the publisher and yet have not offered to refund your money. So I don’t recommend that. And I think it’s probably a tad too early to put in an order for ZvU at your local indie. Though you can order Rampant from your local indie here. I have a friend who was in the MIDDLE of reading a Macmillan book she’d bought and paid for on her Kindle and it vanished. That seems really wrong to me. And yet Amazon is painting itself as the wronged party! (Oh yes, they say they capitulated, but Macmillan print and ebooks have not been re-listed yet.)
Zombies Vs. Unicorns is being published by Simon & Schuster. I don’t know what their plan is regarding the pricing of kindle versions. Rampant is published by Harper Collins and yesterday, Rupert Murdoch, the big boss, announced he was having a sit-down with Amazon to renegotiate. We’ll see how that shakes out. I know I’m not buying a kindle, though. I like to own the books I buy, not rent them at Amazon’s pleasure. I’ve got a library down the street for that.
In other news, the killer unicorn takeover of the known world continues apace. At the School Library Journal, kidlit blogger Fuse #8 casts her vote in the ever popular “What supernatural beings are next?” discussion:
“Werewolves turn out to be the obvious answer, though there’s a surprising push for mummies, mermaids, and angels. My vote is for evil unicorns. And if Rampant is any indication, I’m on the right path.”
I am always surprised to see the question framed thusly, as if the point of any smash book is dependent on the type of supernatural creature that appears within its pages. However, Tea Cozy isn’t the only one to ask it. Publisher’s Weekly was doing so three months ago. I remember, back before Twilight ever came out, attending conferences where the industry pros inisted that vampires were played out. I know several folks whose vampire YA novels, out before the zeitgeist, withered on the vine, and others who chug along merrily, such as Scott Westerfeld’s Peeps books or the novels of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Christine Feehan has been peddling vampire romance since 1999, but it was Anne Rice who reinvented the genre in the mid seventies. Buffy’s cult-classic status revitalized the genre of urban fantasy. And vampires are still super strong. The saga may be over, but Meyer is still on the top of the bestseller list, and ongoing series, such as the Casts’ House of Night or Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy novels (I’m a huge fan of these!) keep her company there. Not to mention the reissues of LJ Smith.
Tea Cozy says, “First it was vampires, then zombies.” There may be a rash of zombie novels in the YA field right now, but the vampires haven’t gone anywhere, and for my money, it’s fairies that are all over the place. Fairies and boarding school girls. I can think of half a dozen fairy books that are either out or out this spring, and three times as many boarding school books. I heard a rumor that a large chain bookstore declared a few years back that “fairies would be the next big thing.” A few authors may have consciously responded, but in most cases, these books were written by people who were unaware of market edicts, and were just telling a story that spoke to them.
I don’t believe that ‘the next big thing’ comes courtesy of a certain strain of supernatural creature. People didn’t buy Twilight because it was about vampires. (In fact, it was advertised heavily as “a vampire book for people who don’t like vampire books.”) They bought it because the book spoke very strongly to them. After all, before it became popular, everyone was basing their opinion of “the next big thing” on a far younger series starring a boy wizard. Now of course, the people who may not have liked vampires are converted, and many will buy anything with a fang on the cover.
In the comments of the Tea Cozy post, some postulate that angels or demons will be “the next big thing.” If so, they should probably thank Cassandra Clare, who has been writing a bestselling series about part-angel demon hunters (a very few of the “demons” are, in fact, vampires) for years. People don’t love this series because it’s got demon hunters in it. They love it because it’s great.
Another thing people love: future dystopias populated by action heroines. But I’ve yet to see the article that credits the immense popularity of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series with helping to boost the enormously well-received The Hunger Games last year. (For the record, I loved both.) But instead of people going, “Oh, I think the next big thing is these futuristic female-focused thrillers,” they are still talking about “insert paranormal creatures here.”
HUNGER GAMES SPOILER WARNING (mouseover): Or does The Hunger Games count as a “werewolf” novel? END SPOILER WARNING
And sometimes, these “trend” books have very little in common. Take the so-called zombie trend. Generation Dead is a satirical metaphor about discrimination. You Are So Undead to Me is a humorous, Buffy-like approach to the topic of zombies, Soulless is a classic horror novel set up: “escape from New York’s zombie apocalypse”, and — my personal favorite — The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a literary exploration of human survival that doesn’t even mention the word zombie. (The zombie novel for people who don’t like zombie novels?)
I may be in trouble now for calling it that.
Seriously, though, “the next big thing” as defined by “what there will be twelve dozen books out about” may be based on a particular paranormal creature, as publishers scramble to recreate the Meyer magic. But the “next big thing” as defined by “what will capture the public’s imagination en masse?” That will not be so simply defined. I believe it is the love story that draws Meyer’s fans, not the bloodsucking. (There is, in fact, very little bloodsucking.) But the last big thing, Harry, had only very minor romantic elements, and that only at the very end.
Is the next big thing unicorns? I’m sure Bruce Colville Coville (sorry, curse my butterfingers!) would be thrilled to hear that. I, on the other hand, write unicorn books for people who don’t like unicorn books. (Or maybe, based on the stories I’ve heard of people who have refused to read the book on the grounds that the characters kill unicorns, what I write is books that people who like unicorn books don’t like? Hmmm… something to ponder.) When I sat down to write Rampant, it wasn’t from a position of “hmmm, what paranormal creature is next?” And that is probably because unlike many of the usual urban fantasy creatures, I’m not writing about something humanoid — they don’t blend (except for their fangs/wings/fins/tendency to howl at the moon). They aren’t magical creatures falling in love with mortals (or other magical creatures) and causing romantic/political/cultural/physical agony. It’s a gorgeous paradigm, but I’m not writing it.
The book I’m most excited to read this year* is Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, which I’m positive will start the alternative World War I living airship trend. It’s totally the next big thing.
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* Because I’ve already read the other two I’m most excited about: The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Justine Larbalestier’s newest. Yeah, I know you’re jealous.
Thank you for all the well wishes yesterday! I really appreciate it. As payment, Rio doing what we like to call “disco sleep”:
“Ahh, do the hustlezzzzz…
Aside from the plague, it’s been a big week chez Diana. I’m an aunt — yay! I’m also a fake aunt — yay! Rio lost one of her canines and got three new big-dog teeth. (They’re ENORMOUS. Like giant, craggy icebergs bursting through her gums.) My Rampant ARCs are going out into the world (my mother in law has already read hers and reported back to me), and I just saw a copy of my complete cover for Tap & Gown.
And yes, I did hear about the fabulous Zombies vs. Unicorns anthology that Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier are doing. I am so excited! I think it’s going to be incredible, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the collection has to say about that awesome beast, the unicorn. To set the record straight, I’m not the slightest bit appalled by the anti-unicorn sentiment going around the internet these days. A development such as this:
(This is Rebecca. Justine met her in Texas.)
is entirely appropriate and even prudent behavior. Say NO to unicorns, people! Unicorns are DANGEROUS. Like drugs! And not wearing your seatbelt. If you see a unicorn, back carefully in the other direction! (Do not run. The unicorn can catch you.) Climb a tree. Get away from open windows. Hide yourself in the middle of a crowd of more tender, delicious-looking people. If you don’t, this might be what happens to you:
I applaud both Rebecca and Justine for pointing out these important safety tips.
Let’s see, what else? Oh, I bought a stack of books — doing my part to save the world, you know. I also read some, being stuck in bed with little more than a warm sleepy puppy and a box of tissues to keep me company. I read THE HUNGER GAMES (believe the hype — it’s fabulous!) and Mari Mancusi’s newest, GAMER GIRL. I loved them both, though they are nothing alike. THE HUNGER GAMES was a riveting, harsh, horrific dystopian adventure, and GAMER GIRL was an adorable, light contemporary romance. Having spent several hours talking video games with Marianne, I was unsurprised to find her spot-on account of gaming, but I was impressed so much by her ability to turn the premise into an engaging real life love story. It’s like The Shop Around the Corner, but with MMORPGs. So cute. I think it’s my favorite book of hers and I’m wondering when Disney is going to snap up those rights. (There’s also a lot of manga talk in the story, but I know more about WOW than I do about manga or anime, so…)
Also, she makes fun of unicorns. Tsk, tsk, Marianne…
Right now, I sound like the chick from the Exorcist. I spent most of yesterday in bed, snuggled up with a gorgeous redhead.
“What, mommy? Your nose is stuffed up? Is it filled with mud, like mine? I was digging er, working in the garden. Are you sick? Do you wanna cuddle?”
Anyway, I’m far too sick to properly respond to this ridiculous assertion of Maureen Johnson’s, in which she compares unicorns to her broken bathtub drain. She also links to Lauren Myracle’s recent video defending unicorns. This is it:
Now, I’m sure Lauren Myracle is a very nice person (as much as John Green assures his highly trained corps of killer nerdfighters that I must be a very nice person), and she certainly seems to have quite a bit of time on her hands, what with the video-making and all — but she’s kind of missing the point. One is never going to win the zombies v unicorn debate by focusing on the mystical, sparkly, magical attributes of unicorns.
Unicorners: “Oh, unicorns, they’re so pretty!”
Zombites: “Yeah, but zombies will eat your braaaaaaaaaaaaains!”
It’s a losing argument. We gotta turn the page on this sparkly thing. Unicorns are tough. Who do they hang out with? Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great. Genghis Khan. Robocop:
Clearly, we’re looking at a creature that can easily overcome the relentless, drone-like abilities of the mindless dead. Unicorns have strength, power, military acuity, a ton of endorsements from some seriously scary warlords, and, as if that weren’t enough, a big sharp horn right at brain-piercing height that can easily overcome any zombie long before they get into biting range.
No contest, really.
Anyway, that’s the argument I’d be making if I weren’t to sick to do anything but stagger, zombie-like, back to bed. Here, Rio!
Zombies vs. Unicorns
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.” — 
