Starred Publishers Weekly Review for THE QUEEN OF SORROW!
Eeeeeeeee!!! A starred review for THE QUEEN OF SORROW, the 3rd (and final) book of my epic fantasy trilogy The Queens of Renthia (coming 5/15 from Harper Voyager)! Thank you, Publishers Weekly! I'm so thrilled and so grateful and so excited!
Hmm, no, it wasn't a pet unicorn for my cat. She already has one.
Another guess? Did you say "a lovely review from Publishers Weekly for DRINK, SLAY, LOVE"? If so, you're correct!!! Congratulations, you are a skilled mind-reader. Or else you read the title of this blog post. Either way, check this out...
DRINK, SLAY, LOVE Sarah Beth Durst S&S/McElderry, $16.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-4424-2373-2
Having her way with the conventions of the genre, Durst (Enchanted Ivy) crafts a fresh, modern, and humorous twist on the vampire novel. At 16, Pearl adores life as a vampire; everything humans have to offer, from their cars to their blood, is hers for the taking. Out prowling one night, Pearl is staked by a unicorn, discovering soon after that she has a reflection and can bask in the sunlight. Sensing opportunity, Pearl's family sends her to high school so she can line up students as the main course for an important party, but Pearl develops a conscience and -- caught between her friends, family, and that pesky, sparkly unicorn -- tries to find the least bloody way out. Durst's snappy dialogue and vivid prose are entertaining (in the cafeteria, "The noise was nearly deafening, as if several flocks of seagulls were fighting over a whale carcass. It also smelled not unlike a whale carcass"), and the straightforward plot moves at a good clip, scattering enough clues to heighten anticipation without spoiling the fun. Lively characters and a sweet romance are icing on the cake. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)
Author Video, Books of Wonder, and Publishers Weekly
My Author Video is up on the Simon & Schuster website!!!
(If the video doesn't appear here, you can view it -- as well as an interview with me -- on my Simon & Schuster author page.)
Note that I'm wearing a polar bear necklace and polar bear earrings. One of the little-known side effects of writing a book about a polar bear is that your husband starts buying you all sorts of polar bear-themed presents. Next book will be set in a diamond mine. (FYI, I'm kidding. I'm totally expecting a pet tiger with my next book...)
I also wore my polar bear jewelry (and polar bear socks) to my book event yesterday at Books of Wonder. I love book events at Books of Wonder! This one was with John Connolly, Marissa Doyle, John Hulme, Daniel Kirk, Diana Peterfreund, Dan Poblocki, and Michael Wexler. My ever-awesome husband took photos:
Bookshelf of Wonder!!!
We prepare to dazzle the audience with wit and wisdom...
Signing books!
Afterwards I went out with Diana Peterfreund (fabulous author of Rampant) and Sarah Cross (fabulous author of Dull Boy) for hot chocolate that had an ice-cube-sized chunk of homemade marshmallow floating in it. Ended up eating the marshmallow with a fork. Yum.
Me, Diana, and Sarah
In addition to having a wonderful day yesterday, today I received some lovely news: Publishers Weekly (big important trade magazine) liked ICE!!! Here's what they said:
"Durst skillfully integrates a contemporary girl into an updated version of the tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, balancing the magical with the modern... [Cassie's] quest for self-worth, independence, maturity and love, is twisty, absorbing and satisfying."
I'm the author of nineteen fantasy books for kids, teens, and adults. Several of these have won awards, including THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, which won the ALA Alex Award, and VESSEL, which won the Mythopoeic Award. My latest book for kids is SPARK (HMH/Clarion), my latest book for teens is FIRE & HEIST (PRH/Crown), and my latest book for adults is THE DEEPEST BLUE (Harper Voyager). I'm very, very, very excited about this.
