rgz Seattle HOST: The Cassandra Clare & Holly Black Tour!

Hi readergirlz,

Earlier this month I headed out to see Holly Black and Cassandra Clare on tour promoting Red Glove and City of Fallen Angels at Third Place Books in Seattle. There was standing room only (see right), unless you wanted to pick your way through tightly packed knees and take the one seat deep in the middle, between the mom with the baby and the big pack of girls. I was eyeing it… but I chickened out.

A few highlights from Holly’s and Cassandra’s Q&A:

Advice for aspiring authors: Read outside your comfort zone; read a lot of nonfiction, because you’ll use it; write a lot; and find a critique partner who’ll tell you when your stuff is crazy.

For Shadow Hunter fans: Cassandra has a new trilogy in the works!

Holly’s favorite part of being an author is meeting other authors, and “not having to pretend [she's] not staring at them in a creepy way.” Love that, Holly! Except tonight, I was the one staring at you in a creepy way.

Cassandra’s favorite part of being an author is getting to talk about her characters with people who know all their quirks and foibles, just like she does.

It was amazing to see these two ladies in action -- they're warm and totally down-to-earth, with wicked senses of humor. Don't miss them if they hit your town on the tour.

See you soon, girlz! --Stephanie

Our Seattle Host, Stephanie Guerra, teaches children’s literature, young adult fiction and a seminar in writing instruction at Seattle University. She also heads a volunteer creative writing program at King County Jail, and researches and speaks about literacy instruction for at-risk and incarcerated young adults. Stephanie lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and children. Her debut young adult novel, TORN, will be published by Marshall Cavendish in spring of 2012.

Rgz Salon: Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments, Reviewed by Rene Kirkpatrick

René Kirkpatrick has been a bookseller and book buyer, specializing in children's and teen literature, for many years. She has a degree in elementary education and reads widely across all genres. She is currently a buyer at Third Place Books.

We're honored to have her here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where four of the top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Here's René!

I just finished up the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare! The books are City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass and are based in both the mundane world (the one most of us live in) and a world around us filled with Shadowhunters, angels, fairies, vampires and werewolves. Our main character, Clary, occupies both of these worlds, often with dire consequences. Clary is a human girl, as far as she knows, with the ability to see and hear those not-quite-human beings that surround her. This ability can be detrimental both to her health and to the health of others. When Clary becomes involved, quite by accident, in a non-human affair, those beings become very interested in the fact of her existence and her life as it was before is shattered.

The books are exciting and romantic, and there is a lot going on in them. Clary is friends with a boy who becomes a vampire, she is in love with a boy who is Shadowhunter, some of their friends are werewolves, and all of this is complicated by the fact that none of these supernaturals are comfortable with each other’s existence, but they are all bound by Clary and her needs.

Ooh…they’re good! You are all so lucky because you have all three to read at once, you won’t have to wait like the rest of us did! Except! I just heard that there is going to be a fourth book! There is more story to tell. I hate to use this tag-line but if you know any Twilight fans, they will devour these books, too.

Ages 14 and up.