Signing and Some Winners!

It's the post-Christmas lull. The space of days between Christmas and New Year's always strikes me as a bit odd. It's a time of winding down and reflecting on the year - but also of anticipation, looking toward what's to come in 2011.

If you're looking for something to do and happen to be in Northern Wisconsin, you can stop by Stage North in Washburn (on beautiful Lake Superior) for my reading and signing tonight at 7.

I also have some winners to announce from last week's contests. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by!

The winners of Catherine Fisher's giveaway are:

Lexie

and

Ammy

The winners of Lisa Desrochers' giveaway of a signed copy of Personal Demons is:

Libby

Congrats to the winners! You'll be getting an email from me in the next few days asking for your mailing deets.

Guest Post: Catherine Fisher!

Today I'm delighted to welcome Catherine Fisher, author of Incarceron and Sapphique!

Twists and turns.

I don't know if this goes for everyone, but as a reader I enjoy being made to work. I like books where things are going on that I can't quite grasp, and I have to stop and muse a bit sometimes. I like it when the writer plays tricks on me. One brilliant example is a book I really admire, Christopher Priest's novel The Prestige. About a third into it I gradually began to sense that I was being hoaxed, or manipulated by the author. Read it, and you'll see what I mean. If you manage to work out what's happening, you, as reader, feel good about yourself and about the book too. And if you don't even notice, and the author completely floors you with some revelation later on, there's a strange pleasure in that too, I think.

With Incarceron and Sapphique I wanted to set up parameters and then blow them up. I wanted to place a few small explosive charges that would stun the reader as they travel through the book. If you've read them, you might guess which things I mean. Sometimes even I can't see these coming, which is good, as it means I can't give them away by leaving clues. What Attia announces about Claudia is one of those. I was as surprised as I hope the reader is.

It's probably quite perverse to enjoy leading the reader down one path and then whisking the very ground from under his/her feet, but it's fun.

The danger is that there's a fine line between being pleasantly puzzled or surprised and being totally lost and therefore bewildered. I know I tread that line sometimes, maybe at the end of Sapphique. I just hope readers still with me by then will be prepared for anything. I really

think that books should be an adventure, and challenge the reader and make them engage. That things which seem true may not be. That the boy tied across the transit lines may actually be part of the ambush. That the writer, who seems so nice, and to be telling a straightforward story, may be spinning you a whole sticky web of lies. Just like Finn.

Catherine Fisher

I've got a lovely Christmas gift for you, dear readers! This week I'm featuring author, Catherine Fisher. Catherine has penned some truly fabulous books that I'm so happy to talk about - as well as featuring two of my favorite book covers!

If you weren't paying attention in the early part of 2010 you might have missed the release of Incarceron (maybe not though - considering it did hit the NYT best seller list). But if you're Team Jacob you've surely noted that the film version of Incarceron will star no other than one Taylor Lautner!

Incarceron is a fantastic tale that weaves mystery and suspense in a world that features a living prison with dangers, rules, and societies contained in its ever-changing walls and a world outside the prison that boasts incredible technology side-by-side with strange trappings of the past. I don't want to describe the book to much as I think losing yourself in this fascinating world is one of the best parts of the novel.

If you haven't read Incarceron yet, now is the perfect time because the second book in the series - Sapphique, will be what you want to pick up with your bookstore gift cards post-holiday. Sapphique will be available December 28 (cough - same day as Nightshade's UK release - cough).

Catherine will stop by the blog Wednesday and Friday. I can't wait - be sure to check in for a chance to win her book!!