Books

A Chat With Best-Selling Author Maggie Stiefvater on “The Raven Boys”


In the Fall of 2012, best-selling author Maggie Stiefvater released The Raven Boys, the first of four novels in her new series The Raven Cycle.

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ABOUT THE BOOK: The Raven Boys follows Blue Sargent, daughter of the town psychic, who has been told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. Being practical, Blue Sargent does not believe in true love. To make matters easier, she also stays far away from the rich private school boys also known as the Raven Boys. One of these boys, Gansey, is on a quest to find Glendover, a vanished Welsh king who is rumoured to grant one wish once he is found. When Gansey and the Raven boys come into Blue Sargent’s life, Blue begins to question the validity of the fortune. And her disbelief in true love.

Faze caught up with her to discuss her new novel and what it takes to write a best-seller.

Maggie Stiefvater

In your novel The Raven Boys, what inspired the quest in the story?

I actually started writing this book years ago. I can’t recall the exact moment of genesis. I remember that I was always in love with Welsh myths. I had started out by reading Susan Cooper’s the The Dark Is Rising series. It is all Welsh mythology set in the real world. I always wanted to write a book that was like that.

We see multiple perspectives in the novel. Why was it important to write it this way?

Except for one of my books, I’ve always used multiple perspectives in my novels and that’s because I really think it’s interesting to look at a situation from the outside.

Can you switch between writing from different perspectives in the same day?

Ideally, I like to write just one scene each day. If I write one scene that is amazing in a day then I am super-happy. But then, as I get closer and closer to my deadline, it becomes this juggling [act] and now I seem to have lost the ability to write my books in order… I don’t even write the scenes all the way from beginning to end, I just jump around.

While writing your book, did you ever have doubts that you would be able to finish it?

I have to have an ending [in mind] or I know I’ll never get to the end. With this one I have to say it’s the first book in a long time that I thought I really can’t do it by my deadline. I had to go back and revisit and write it completely out of order in order to finish it.

Is there anything in particular that you like to do to get yourself back in focus if you ever lose it?

Definitely music. While I was on the plane [coming here] I had my playlist on, my headphones on. I only listen to those songs while I’m writing or thinking about the book and so that way when I want to get back into the book, I put that on instantly and bring it back.

To learn more about Maggie Stiefvater’s novels, check out her website.

Maggie Stiefvater

 


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