In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one…except the "thing" inside her.
When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch….
Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help—and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.
But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on—even if it seems no one believes her.
When Marlo Fauster claims she has switched souls with her brother, she gets sent straight to Fibble, the circle of Heck reserved for liars. But it's true—Milton and Marlo have switched places, and Marlo finds herself trapped in Milton's gross, gangly body. She also finds herself trapped in Fibble, a three-ring media circus run by none other than P. T. Barnum, an insane ringmaster with grandiose plans and giant, flaming pants. Meanwhile Milton, as Marlo, is working at the devil's new television network, T.H.E.E.N.D. But there's something strange about these new shows. Why do they all air at the same? And are they really broadcasting to the Surface? Soon Milton and Marlo realize that they need each other to sort through the lies and possibly prevent the end of the world—if Bea "Elsa" Bubb doesn't catch them first.
This page-turning debut novel will entice fans who like their paranormal romances dark and disturbing. It's a natural next-read for fans of Stephanie Meyer, Carrie Jones, and Becca Fitzpatrick. But instead of mythical creatures, blood magic has everything to do with primal human desires like power, wealth, and immortality. Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick—the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla. Amazon Exclusive: Maggie Stiefvater Interviews Tessa Gratton
Maggie Stiefvater is the author of the bestselling Wolves of Mercy Falls series for young adults, which includes Shiver, Linger, and Forever. Her newest book, The Scorpio Races, will be out in October 2011. She is also an avid reader, an award-winning colored pencil artist, and plays several musical instruments, including the Celtic harp, the piano, and the bagpipes.
Maggie Stiefvater: So, Tessa. Your nickname in our writing group is “Blood Bunny.” I cannot remember whether this delightful moniker pre-dates Blood Magic, but it’s irrelevant; it’s apt regardless. There is much blood in your debut. If I recall correctly, we begin with a double murder, proceed to a blood-stained journal, observe as our narrator spills blood in a cemetery, and go from there. The question that this begs is: Are you a fan of bloody novels? And is Band-Aid your sponsor?
Tessa Gratton: Considering The Scorpio Races is my favorite of all your books, and it’s also your most bloody by far, I’m going to have to plead guilty here. I’m a huge fan of fictional violence, especially the medieval kind. Though in my defense, my Band-Aids are all Hello Kitty– decorated. Speaking of cute things gone bloody, how long have you been wanting to write a novel about flesh-eating horses? Is this some kind of childhood trauma thing? Because all the horses I want to write about are shiny and magical and take me—I mean my characters—to castles in the sky.
Stiefvater: I grew out of my My Little Pony stage (and yes, I had one) very young. I never grew out of horses, though, and I actually attempted to write several novels about water horses before I landed on The Scorpio Races. The thing is, telling a pleasant story about horses that live under the ocean for part of the year and want to eat you for the rest of it is a sort of difficult task, and it took me quite a few years to figure out how to manage it. Somewhere along the way, I realized their fearsome nature would be more tolerated in a society that kind of needed them, too. Which is how I ended up with the vaguely historical Thisby, a tiny island that relies on the water horses for much of their income.
While we’re on the topic of historical stuff, I should talk about Josephine, one of your characters from Blood Magic. Some of my favorite chapters in Blood Magic are the ones from her point of view. They’re historical, vain, and certain of immortality. So, in other words, eerily similar to my college experience. Where did Josephine come from? Are you Josephine?Gratton: Josephine is one of the few characters whose core remained essentially intact from the first draft to the last—I wanted a character who loved the blood magic as much as I do, and who was merrily free of the moral constraints I grew up with. She’s fun to write because of her gleeful disregard for silly things like consequences, which makes her the perfect vehicle for bringing up the darker side of magic.
One of my favorite characters in The Scorpio Races is the American, a.k.a. George Holly. He’s a charming, virile Californian dandy, and not quite like anybody in your other books. Where did you dig him up?Stiefvater: I remember I was having problems getting Sean Kendrick, the taciturn hero, to open up to anyone, and I decided someone from off the island, someone new to the culture, might do the trick. I remember that he didn’t have a name at first; I just had Sean refer to him as “the American.” I was trying to think of something to call him, and this absolutely ridiculous and larger-than-life name—George Holly—came rolling out of the keyboard, and this huge personality with it. I remember wailing to you, “This man is taking over my novel!” So, no, I do not know where he came from, but he is hands down one of the favorite characters I’ve ever written. Some of my favorite parts of The Scorpio Races are his scenes with Sean. They provide a lot of levity.
In fact, I am a fan of witty repartee in general, which is why one of the other things I really enjoy about Blood Magic is Nick’s relationship with his stepmother. He calls her Lilith, the mother of all demons, but really, she mostly reminds me of Delia Deetz from Beetle Juice. You know, the sort of evil that can only come from an upper-middle-class upbringing and too many pottery classes. Do you have a method to writing witty dialogue? Or does it just come out of the faucet that snappy?Gratton: Now that you mention it, I’m thinking of several disturbing parallels to Beetle Juice. So I’m going to avoid that and say that witty banter requires daily practice, I’ve found. Fortunately, you’re always there waiting on the Internet, so we can exercise our banter muscles. Not that I’m suggesting I call you Lilith behind your back. (It’s actually just flat out Satan for you. Only the best.)
Stiefvater: I expect no less.
Gratton: Let’s talk about the opposite of witty banter: I remember when you were writing The Scorpio Races, and the dialogue was a focus. It’s very toned down and reserved and beautifully realistic, because of the characters, so what was it like being unable to let your funny bone have its way with your dialogue?
Stiefvater: Horrid. Absolutely horrid. I never realized how much I use humor as a crutch until I had scene after scene where I needed to measure it out like a precious metal. Actually, that’s really true of nearly every component of The Scorpio Races. Everything was very, very calculated. Everything in moderation.
Okay... but seriously. You’re Josephine, right?
Gratton: No, I’m George Holly.
Stiefvater: Ha. Double ha. So. In Blood Magic, I cannot help but notice that there are no creatures. By which I mean werewolves, vampires, fairies, kraken, mermaids, or elves. I believe there are some raccoons, but that’s it. There is just this: Blood. And Magic. And body switching. And a few possums. Why body-switching? If you could swap bodies, would you? (You may not have mine.)
Gratton: There are possums because possums are nastier and scarier than vampires and kraken— or even vampiric kraken. The body-switching was actually the genesis of the entire plot of Blood Magic, back when it was just about a brother and sister who could jump bodies, and the proto-Josephine went around stealing other people’s lives. If I could swap bodies, I’d definitely go the bird route—because all of my schemes to acquire magical power have just one goal in mind: flight. It’s a simple dream, but it’s mine.
The Scorpio Races is going to be one of those books where people talk about the setting being its own character—it takes place on Thisby, a pastoral, old-fashioned little island where everybody knows everybody, and it just happens to be the only place the water horses come for breeding and snacks. What drew you to that setting? Was it only an excuse to visit cliffs across half the world? I know you like to do hands-on research, so tell us about The Tea Experiment.
Stiefvater: Oh, you want to know about Benjamin Malvern’s tea. Malvern, a rich landowner, plays bogeyman and mentor in the novel. He’s well traveled—Thisby’s not his first home—and I wanted to hint at that with some exotic habits. I thought an interesting one would be to have him drink his tea in a Tibetan style, with butter and salt. Proper Tibetan Butter Tea requires a bit of work to prepare, and I can assure you, it tastes precisely like drinking a biscuit after you’ve dropped it on the carpet.
And why Thisby? I love miserable bits of rock jutting from the ocean. Call me sentimental. I also love it when it rains.
So, right back at you, Gratton. Your book is set in Yaleylah, which I can only assume is in the same part of the world you live in. I know you love the prairie. Was there ever a time when you thought the book would take place anywhere else?
Gratton: I know that on the East Coast it’s hard to remember that there are differences between Missouri and Kansas, but I promise it’s true. I do live in and love the prairie, and the companion novel to Blood Magic takes place right here in Kansas. But Yaleylah is in the more forested area of Southeastern Missouri on the edges of the Ozarks. I set it there mainly because I couldn’t think of a book I’d read that took place in Missouri other than in St. Louis, and I also drive through Cape Girardeau (the real city very near where I pretend Yaleylah exists) frequently and have camped out in that area. It’s got a flavor that’s part Southern Gothic, part Midwest, so it seemed perfect.
My final question: How did you manage to write a book with no musicians in it?Stiefvater: An iron will. I never thought it would happen, but it turns out that I can have either musicians or horses in my novels, and The Scorpio Races has plenty of the latter.
With Scatty, Joan of Arc, Saint Germain, Palamedes, and Shakespeare all in Danu Talis, Sophie is on her own with the ever-weakening Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. She must depend on Niten to help her find an immortal to teach her Earth Magic. The surprise is that she will find her teacher in the most ordinary of places.
It's been two months since Belladonna Johnson discovered she was the Spellbinder, and she's full of questions about her powers. When a ghost finds Belladonna and her classmate, Steve, and gives them a mysterious map, the friends don't know if they should be looking for or hiding from the one person who holds the answers to Belladonna's powers: the Queen of the Abyss. Throw into the mix that Belladonna's parents, who are ghosts, have disappeared and that her brand-new and maybe even sinister foster family seems to know more than they'll let on, and you have a sequel made of high adventure and intrigue, seasoned with affecting characters and topped with a dollop of wit.
Nothing is as it seems in a world where the living mingle with the dead and dreams can turn into frightening reality. Chaos is beginning to spread across the land and Dara is all that stands between the salvation of her beautiful homeland and its total destruction.
Together, with friends from past journeys and new allies who may not be what they seem, Dara must build an army to confront Chaos. But as she and her army prepare for the final battle, Dara realizes that the only person she can really count on is herself . . .
Includes original bonus novella, SAFE HAVEN, following the adventures of Dara's family
Dara has managed to save her people from one enemy but the cost has been high. While Dara struggles to come to terms with the loss of beloved friends, she finds herself thrust into the leadership role of an improbable army and learns that it is her destiny to unite her people as one.
To fulfill her destiny, Dara must embark on a treacherous journey to find her ancestors and unite her people in the face of the biggest challenge they have ever faced:Chaos. Dormant for almost two hundred years, Chaos has returned, intent on destroying Dara.
So when magic and mayhem return to Paumanok Harbor, and Willow is called upon to rescue the town, she enlists the local talent. Three magical mares are searching the Long Island village for a missing colt, and their distress is causing sleeping nights, bad tempers, and dangerous brawls among the gifted but peculiar residents.
Though the Department of Unexplained Events sends Willow a world-famous horse whisperer, Texan Ty Farraday seems more interested in whispering in her ear than in rescuing the kidnapped colt whose terror only Willy can feel. Even with help, she still has to struggle with snakes, drug dealers, tourists, hidden caves, a mad scientist-and the almost overwhelming distraction of that sexy cowboy...
The third book in the New York Times bestselling series by L.J. Smith.
The Craving is the third book in L.J. Smith’s bestselling Stefan’s Diaries series, which reveals the backstory of brothers Stefan and Damon from The Vampire Diaries series. This paperback features cover artwork from the hit CW TV series The Vampire Diaries, starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder.
Stefan Salvatore has come to terms with being a vampire. The events of the past few months have sobered him, and the fog of his own blood lust has begun to lift. He travels to New York City to start a new life—one that does not require him to kill humans to survive. Instead he feeds off of animals in Central Park. But the quiet life he envisioned is jolted when he runs into his brother Damon, who has convinced New York high society that he is Italian royalty. While Stefan is regaining his humanity, Damon has completely lost his. Stefan will do whatever it takes to protect Damon from himself—but there is another villain present. A vampire that seeks revenge for a death the Salvatores are responsible for. Stefan and Damon will have to work together to fight the greatest evil yet.
Full of dark shadows and surprising twists, the third book in the New York Times bestselling Stefan’s Diaries series raises the stakes for the Salvatore brothers as they face new loves, old treacheries, and unimaginable threats. Fans of L. J. Smith’s New York Times bestselling Vampire Diaries series as well as the hit television show won’t be able to put the latest Salvatore adventure down.
