On Old Friends and New Beginnings

I was halfway through writing A CONJURING OF LIGHT when I realized I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. 
My characters were on a boat in the middle of the sea, en route to a floating market, when I called my editor, Miriam, and said, “I’m not done.” 

Miriam asked if I needed another book in the Shades of Magic arc—an idea we’d floated once or twice, when trying to decide if the series was a trilogy or a quartet—and I said no. There was a story I was telling in Shades of Magic, a story that started with a simple black stone, a story I wanted to finish. 

CONJURING was the book where I was supposed to tie off all the threads. Closed the doors. Write the end. 

And I did.

But I also took a chance. 

As I wrote, I starting weaving in a few new threads. Not many. Just enough to catch the lock, keep the door from closing all the way.

By the time I finished Shades of Magic, I’d started Threads of Power. 

I knew I wanted to tell a new story, one that included the cast of Shades of Magic without focusing exclusively on them. I envisioned a set of three interconnecting books, each with its own protagonist—a tinkerer who can pull the threads of magic, a noble who has her birthright stolen, a con artist born with a lucky streak but no power—their lives intertwining against a backdrop where a prince has become king, a thief has become a pirate, and new dangers are beginning to threaten the three Londons. 

And here we are. 

I couldn’t be happier to announce that the story that began with a peculiar coat and a picked pocket will officially continue. Not because I dreamed it, but because readers have loved Shades of Magic enough to force it on their friends, neighbors, colleagues, because my agent believed and my editor believed and my publisher believed and you believed it was possible. 

The first three books in the new deal will be Threads of Power. The fourth will be a project tentatively titled BLACK TABS–about a female assassin in futuristic NYC. Additionally, I’m writing VENGEFUL, the sequel to VICIOUS, and a stand-alone story called THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LA RUE, about a girl who makes a Faustian bargain to live forever, only to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Needless to say, lovelies, it’s going to be a busy few years ❤

On the end of a series, tour, Target, and more.

It’s real. 

As I sit here writing this, I keep sneaking sidelong glances at the finished copies.

A set. Something with a beginning, middle, and end.

I’ve never been so proud of anything in my life. I’ve never had a harder time letting go.

People keep asking if this is The End, to which I say it is the end of This Story.

And in less than 2 weeks, it will be here. In less than 2 weeks, I will go on tour and get to share this book with readers!

Here’s the official tour schedule:

And this time, we are doing something special.

These life-size cutouts of the ADSOM gang will be going with me! Readers at every stop will be able to sign the backs, take photos with them, and have the chance to win their own at the end of tour.

Meanwhile, I’m hard at work on OUR DARK DUET, which comes out in 5 MONTHS.

*cue nervous laughter*

And while I sit in my edit cave, a weird little life goal has come true!

THIS SAVAGE SONG is in Target!!!!

Until the end of February, you can find a copy of my strangle little monster book in the book aisle!! If you do, please take a photo.

Now, I must go back to work. Have a picture of Alucard Emery in my kitchen. 

This book is broken, and other things I tell myself while writing

I am currently writing/attempting to write/failing to write my 13th book.

Authors often talk about murky middles or needing to stick the landing, but I’m going to be honest. For me, writing a first draft is one long doubt-ridden roller coaster, punctuated by brief moments of hope and long swells of you-suck-you-suck-you-suck.

This isn’t a matter of self-doubt and self-loathing.

This is a matter of being WILLING to write badly. To let yourself fail over and over again, to resist the urge to hold down delete and get. To. The. End.

For me, writing a first draft is an exercise in controlled failure. Or at least, controlled falling.

The dilemma is that, the more books you write, the more aware you become of when things are Not Working, but no matter how many books you write, you don’t become magically capable of fixing something until you have something to fix.

The amount of time I spend resisting this, the time I spend trying to nail a landing without ever hitting the springs, is astonishing. 

It’s also compounded by the fact that, while trying to write something good instead of letting myself write something bad, I’m ALSO usually doing the final read on a book I’ve already written, and revised, and seen through every painful step. So not only am I faced with an inferiority complex born of other writers’ work, I’m faced with my own evident decline, since there’s no way I’ll ever write something that good again.

Ignoring, of course, the fact it wasn’t good when I first started. The fact that at some point I had to simply let go, enter that controlled fall that is a beginning. 

This isn’t a post with any advice. It’s simply a post to say that no matter how many books you write, some voices don’t go away. Some voices even get louder. And the only way to shoulder past is to remind yourself over and over and over again that the only thing you can’t improve on is a blank page.

Yours from the trenches,

V

My San Diego Comic Con (and Non-Con) Schedule!

Hello, lovelies!

 

As I head home today from the wonderful SAVAGE SONG tour, I am getting ready to turn right around and head to San Diego for SDCC! Below is everything you need to know about where to find me. ALSO, if you’re NOT attending SDCC, please note that there’s a special coffee shop date set up just for you!

THURSDAY, JULY 21ST:

1:30-2:30PM: NERD TRIVIA–PANEL! Horton Grand Theatre.
Nerd Trivia Challenge is a one-hour game show featuring three teams of today’s biggest authors competing for the chance to be the champions of nerdy knowledge. Authors Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle), Pierce Brown (Red Rising), Romina Russell (Zodiac), Chuck Wendig (Invasive), Sam Sykes (The City Stained Red), Cecil Castelucci (Star Wars: Moving Target), V. E. Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows), Camilla D’Errico (Pop Manga, Pop Painting, Pop Manga Coloring Book), and Duane Swierczynski (Revolver) test their knowledge of everything from Marvel Universe characters to Harry Potter. Moderated by Brandon T. Snider (What Would Captain Kirk Do?).

3:45-4:45PM (I THINK): NERD TRIVIA–SIGNING! I know that it’s after the panel, but I don’t know the EXACT time or Autograph Area, so check back, but they will definitely say at the panel.

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SATURDAY, JULY 23RD:

9-11AM: NON-CON EVENT! The amazing Kevin Hearne has organized an informal signing/chatting date at Upstart Crow Books and Coffee. Come by at 9am and you can hang out and get books signed by Kevin, Chuck Wendig, Richard Kadrey, and ME!

2PM: IN-BOOTH SIGNING: I’ll be at the Tor booth, 2707, signing free copies of VICIOUS! They will also have copies of ADSOM and AGOS for sale, and of course, you can bring your own.

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SUNDAY, JULY 24TH:

11AM-12PM: WHAT’S HOT IN YA– SIGNING. Autograph Area 09. Please note that the signing for our panel is BEFORE the panel, not after.

3:45-4:45: WHAT’S HOT IN YA–PANEL! Room 5AB.

Strong protagonists, engrossing romance, humor, action, and angst! Join us for this popular annual chat about the hottest new titles and trends in YA fiction. Moderated by Nathan Bransford (The Jacob Wonderbar series) and featuring Renee Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn series), Victoria Aveyard (The Red Queen series), Michelle Hodkin (The Mara Dyer Trilogy), Lauren Oliver (Vanishing Girls), Brendan Reichs (Virals series), Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer), and Adam Silvera (More Happy Than Not).

My Mental Illness is a Storm

I’m always searching for the right words.

For my stories. For my life.

After all, words are the form we give ideas, a way to make the intangible tangible, conceivable, real. Words confess, they admit, they ground.

I’ve always been an anxious person. Neurotic. Hyper-vigilant. I have high walls, struggle with change, emotion, vulnerability. At some point, it tipped. When I get overwhelmed, my body shuts down. I start shaking, in that teeth chattering, heart stuttering, flushed and sick to my stomach way. I try to mask it, to pretend I’m okay, and sometimes that works, and sometimes it gets worse and worse until I’m sitting on a bathroom floor, wishing I could find the plug and pull it.

It’s always been a war, mind versus body, mind over body, body over mind.

For someone who’s pretty good with words, I’ve struggled to find the right ones for this. For myself, but also for my family and friends, who wanted so badly to help, to understand, the storm in my head.

A storm.

It’s taken me a long time to settle on that word. But the more I think about it, the more it fits.

Sometimes my mind is so cloudless and blue that it’s hard to imagine there ever was a storm, let alone that I’ll see one again.

Sometimes there are dark clouds in the distance, I can see them, but I’m able to skirt the weather. Other times I can’t, and I’m forced to watch the weather roll in.

Sometimes every day for weeks the forecast is dark, and I have to keep my umbrella handy, shuddering at every distant piece of thunder.

Sometimes whole seasons are made of lightning, hail, turbulent winds.

Sometimes the storm is so bad that all I can do is hunker down somewhere safe and remind myself over and over that storms pass. It’s what they do.

One of the most insidious things about mental illness is that it lies. It tries to convince you that this–how it is at its worst–is how it will always be. That the storm in your head is the new constant. That because all you can see is bad weather, that’s all there is now.

All there will ever be.

You will never see the sun again.

But that’s not how storms work. Which is why this metaphor is so important.

Because no matter the weather, the most important thing for me to remember–for anyone to remember–is this:

Storms pass.

Sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes without any damage and others with wreckage in their wake.

But they pass.

I guess I’m putting this here as a reminder–to myself and anyone else who needs it–that storms are meant to be weathered.

THIS SAVAGE SONG makes the Indie Next List! And an important reminder about preorders……

A couple of weeks ago I got the wonderful news that THIS SAVAGE SONG, which comes out in just 6 weeks, made the Summer Indie Next List, a pretty hard-to-land-on list of new and upcoming titles that will be featured in independent bookstores across the country. And as someone for whom indies have been absolutely vital, I couldn’t be happier.

Here’s the review that landed me on that list:

This Savage Song, by Victoria Schwab
(Greenwillow Books, 9780062380852, $17.99, available July)
“August and Kate live in a broken world where violence breeds actual monsters. Kate wants to embrace her monstrous side, while August would do anything to be human. This Savage Song takes the darkness of the world around us and gives it form. Schwab has gifted readers with a fascinating — if gory — urban fantasy world, a pair of unforgettable protagonists, and a question that will linger long in the minds of readers: What does it mean to be inhuman in a world where humans do such monstrous things?” —Nicole Brinkley, Oblong Books & Music, Millerton, NY

And while we’re talking about indies, now’s a GREAT time to remind you that if you pre-order THIS SAVAGE SONG through either Parnassus Books or Books of Wonder (two of my favorite indies), you will receive:

–A signed/personalized hardcover!

–A set of limited edition HUMAN/MONSTER tattoos!

–My undying affection!*

*Pre-ordering a book is like a gift from present you to future you. It’s also one of the best ways to show a publisher there’s excitement for a book/series. It’s not a necessary thing, by any means, but it really does help.

On Little Gods

I’ve been thinking a lot about control. As a writer, you sculpt a world from scratch, populate it with people, with stories, and control them all. From the geography to the folklore, the smallest details to the largest plots. It’s in your hands.

In that sense, as a writer, you become a ‘little god’.

But in publishing–that business side of the art, your control dissolves.

You don’t control whether the book sells.

You don’t control the marketing budget if he does.

You don’t control the publisher’s investment.

You don’t control your place in-house.

You don’t control the sales plan.

You don’t control the cover art.

You don’t control the jacket copy.

You don’t control how the book is portrayed, publicized, given, sold to the world.

You don’t control anything.

Or at least, it can feel that way.

Because, of course, you still control one thing.

The words.

The content between the front cover and the back.

In the cyclone of publishing, it’s easy to forget how important that is. Easy to feel like the words don’t matter as much as a six-figure marketing campaign, a national tour, a lead title push.

They can feel like big gods.

It can be terrifying, if you let it.

(Sometimes I let it.)

But it can also be freeing, if you let it.

(I try.)

Because marketing is fickle. Publishers are fickle. The industry is fickle. And in that cyclone, the solid ground–the only patch of solid ground–is the story you want to tell. Your words on the page.

Yes, marketing matters.

Yes, a good cover helps.

Yes, you’re fighting an uphill battle to be seen, to be heard, to be read.

But.

The single greatest thing you can do–the only thing you can do–is write.

The big gods will throw around money and mountains, but the little gods with their delicate sculptures, those are the ones that matter. Those are the ones that last.

So go.

Pick up your pen.

Tune out the noise.

Focus on the thing in your control.

And write.

Behind the scenes of the ADSOM TV deal!

Hi lovelies!

So, it’s a well-known fact that publishing is 90% waiting, and a large part of that waiting for me lately has been waiting to share a piece of news! I hinted at it now and then, mentioned working on a script, but yesterday, Deadline finally broke the news…

You guys.

You guys.

ADSOM is being developed for TV! Not just for TV, but for a limited series. Think Game of Thrones, or Daredevil, or any of the incredible shows rocking the 10-12 episode format.

I’ve been sitting on this news for the last 6 MONTHS. 6 months of working hand in hand with my producer Danielle as she showed me the ropes of script-writing, and worked tirelessly with me to get it right.

Here’s what Danielle had to say:

“Victoria is the ultimate world builder. I knew I had to be a part of this project when I started dreaming in Red London. Schwab’s writing is so vivid you start to see it and imagine it all around you. She has a very special gift. We are thrilled to be a part of helping her bring ADSOM to life.”

Excuse me while I draw hearts around that quote.

I actually went out to LA in the fall to meet with Danielle and talk through the project, and she surprised me with an ANTIQUE MAP OF LONDON. You guys. We’re meant for each other. I think Danielle has read ADSOM even more times than *I* have.

Now that the news has broken, there are a few things I want to address:

Q: You’re writing the script?!?!

A: I am indeed. When the producers asked me if I wanted to write the pilot, I thought long and hard about whether it was the right decision. One of my primary reasons for agreeing to adapt the material was the creative control, the opportunity to dictate the aesthetic and story. My producers have involved me in every decision, and promise to continue doing so, and I’m immeasurably grateful. This means that if ADSOM comes to TV, it will do so with my seal of approval. 🙂

Q: Have you already written the script?

A: I’ve been working on the pilot script for the last 6 months! It’s buffed and polished and almost ready to conquer the world. Or at least LA.

Q: Please don’t mess this up.

A: I am trying very hard not to.

Q: Does this mean that ADSOM will definitely be airing on my TV?

A: Of course not, nothing is that simple. As with most high-risk, high-reward pursuits, there are many doors left to unlock. BUT ADSOM is off to an incredible start, and we’ve got a lot of people on our side, including YOU. The best thing you can do for the series is keep reading it, so those people in Hollywood know it’s worth the time and money.

 

 

 

 

Everything you need to know about the GATHERING OF SHADOWS tour!!

Hey there, lovelies.

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC just came out in paperback this week, and it’s hard to believe we’re little more than a month away from the sequel hitting shelves!!

It’s also hard to believe that Tor is sending me on my first ever official, national tour.

This post will serve, as the subject suggests, as a source of EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW.

First, the official tour schedule on my site looks like this:

What that list DOESN’T tell you is all the AMAZING authors I’m signing WITH. So, a breakdown:

Friday, January 22nd
Livonia Barnes and Noble @ 7 p.m. (with Susan Dennard, John Scalzi, Wesley Chu, Max Gladstone, Greg van Eekhout, Lawrence M. Shoen, Tom Doyle, Cherie Priest)Livonia, MI

Tuesday, February 23
Parnassus Books @ 6:30 p.m.
Nashville, TN

Wednesday, February 24
Blue Willow Bookshop @ 7 p.m. (with Rachel Hawkins)
Houston, TX

Thursday, February 25
One More Page @ 7 p.m.
Arlington, VA

Friday, February 26
Rediscovered Books + Downtown Boise Public Library @ 7 p.m.
Boise, ID

Saturday, February 27
Borderlands Books @ 3 p.m. (with Margaret Stohl and Stephenie Kuehn)
San Francisco, CA

Sunday, February 28
Barnes & Noble @ 2 p.m. (with Gretchen McNeil and Marie Lu)
Los Angeles, CA

Monday, February 29
Mysterious Galaxy @ 7:30 p.m. (with Kiersten White and Cecil Castellucci)
San Diego, CA

Tuesday, March 1
Third Place Books @ 7 p.m. (with Jason Hough, Kerry Schafer, and A.R. Kahler)
Seattle, WA

Wednesday, March 2
Old Firehouse Books @ 7 p.m. (with Brenna Yovanoff and Emily Hainesworth)
Fort Collins, CO

Thursday, March 3
Poisoned Pen @ 7 p.m. (with Sam Sykes and Rae Carson)
Scottsdale, AZ

Saturday, March 5
Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café @ 3 p.m. (with Jessica Khoury, Delilah S. Dawson, and Ryan Graudin, moderated by Beth Revis)
Asheville, NC

Tuesday, March 8
Joseph-Beth Booksellers @ 7 p.m. (with Gwenda Bond and Julie Kagawa)
Lexington, KY

Next…

this past week I also revealed the super exclusive fifth AGOS card, available only to those who come to see me on tour. Here is the two-sided RHY IN TORMENT/RHY IN MAJESTY.

Onto some FAQ:

*All answers are about my personal preferences and don’t apply to all authors.*

NOTE: Most bookstores understandably require you to buy at least one book at the event, but it doesn’t have to be mine (I am signing with some AMAZING authors), and I am more than happy to sign as many books as you bring with you, too.

NOTE: Please don’t record an event without asking.

NOTE: I often get asked if people can bring me things (it’s a very sweet gesture), and while I LOVE presents, I will ask that you please don’t bring homemade treats. My favorite things, if you’re so inclined, are: fanart, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, hugs.

NOTE: I am more than happy to take photographs!

NOTE: The thing about authors to remember is that we’re as scared of you as you are of us. Don’t fret about being nervous, or awkward. We are nervous and awkward and most certainly not judging you.

Give the Gift of *MAGIC*

“Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside them. And it’s much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world.” ~Neil Gaiman

I’m always talking about how books make wonderful presents, and I’m of the (admittedly biased) belief that ADSOM makes a particularly nice one. That’s why, this holiday season, I want to reward people for giving the gift of MAGIC.

And so, to that end…

If you:

-Buy A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC for someone on your holiday list, &

-Send proof of purchase* to viciousveschwab@gmail.com by Dec 18th, along with a mailing address and the name of the recipient (even if it’s you)…

I will:

-Send you a signed/personalized bookplate to put with your book under the tree!

*Proof of purchase can be a screencap of an online order, a picture of the receipt with date, or a photo of you standing at a cash register holding the book and making a thumbs up.

*Open internationally.

And in case that’s not enough tinsel for your tree…

REMINDER: If you pre-order A GATHERING OF SHADOWS and send proof of purchase to viciousveschwab@gmail.com, you’ll receive these gorgeous AGOS art cards illustrated by Victoria Ying.