Thursday, October 13, 2011

Celebrating The 125th Anniversary of THE NIGHT CIRCUS

**waves to red scarf wearing reveur** In honor of today's 125th anniversary of the Night Circus, I am excited to share an interview with Erin Morgernstern...and a chance to win a copy of her fabulous, magical debut THE NIGHT CIRCUS! For those that have not read this masterpiece, if there is one book you MUST read and experience this year, I suggest this one!

Mel: What inspired you to write a story centered around a circus?

Erin: The circus came as a surprise, I was working on a different manuscript and got bored with the story so I sent the characters to a circus and the circus was immediately more interesting. I thought it had a lot of potential to explore as far as where it came from and who its inhabitants were, it was an imaginary place I felt like spending a lot of time in, even though I’m not a big fan of traditional circuses. Mine is more like performance and installation art encased in tents.

M: Everywhere I turn, I see your beautiful, descriptive writing mentioned. What was the most enjoyable part of The Night Circus to write?

I think the whole thing was enjoyable in a way, but the actual descriptions of the circus itself were probably the most fun since they involved the most unadulterated creative freedom, deciding how each tent was arranged, how things looked or felt or what they smelled like.

M: What do you hope readers take away from reading The Night Circus?

E: I hope after finishing the book readers might take away a renewed sense of wonder, I think it’s a sense that needs renewing once in a while.

M: Your book started out as a Nanowrimo project, do you have any suggestions for those taking part in a few months?

I think the most important part is to have fun with it and not worry about every little sentence, just keep moving on to the next and the next and the next. Never delete anything, and I don’t recommend re-reading until afterward. Also, stock up on caffeine and snacks. I am fond of things that hit the salty/sweet snack cravings in one go, like chocolate-covered popcorn.

M: What role would you take on if you were to run away & join the circus?

I don’t really have any good circus skills so I’d probably end up selling tickets or something like that. If I could join my circus I think I’d like to be a living statue, but I’d need a lot of practice.

A big thank you to Random House Canada and Erin!

Guys,  there is a Night Circus game!! Click here to check it out

For your chance to win a copy of THE NIGHT CIRCUS, please fill in the form below:

9 comments:

  1. Great interview and thanks for the giveaway! I've been dying to read THE NIGHT CIRCUS!

    - Megan

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  2. I am pretty darn fond of the "magic" systems that Brandon Sanderson created in his mistborn series
    You eat metals and then when your body burns them you have certain powers depending on the metal - people that have the power aren't common and when they have it they can usually only burn one metal. Sounds good huh? I love it!
    Pabkins @ Mission to Read

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  3. I don't think I've ever seen chocolate covered popcorn! I'm a big fan of chocolate covered pretzels, though.

    Thanks for the giveaway. =) I've heard many fabulous things about this one.

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  4. GREAT Interview :)

    I loved the Night Circus! I had no idea it was a NaNoWriMo project! (I've been a "winner" for the last 2 years, so I always love to read other books form NanoWriMo; feels like I have something in common. *lol* )

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  5. Awesome!
    And thanks for the contest.
    My fav magic = natural magic. When it happens in stories without the person really trying. A la Practical Magic.

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  6. My favorite magic is the magic world from Harry Potter--I would do anything for a letter from Hogwarts!

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  7. my favorite magic i think is the ability to fly. I wish i could fly or teleport

    Katie

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  8. My favourite kind of magic is faerie magic--it reminds you to be careful of what you wish for, and to rely on yourself more than a spell.

    Thanks for the contest Mel!

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  9. This book sounds really interesting, it's definitetly on my list of books i want to read, now! thanks for letting me know about it.

    i have started playing the game, i wrote a mini review for it on my blog.

    http://rosesandvellum.blogspot.com/

    i think it's interesting all these new interactive things people are adding. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has played it and what they thought.

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