I might write for Suvudu every day but I also moonlight as an online signed book store owner with a penchant for finding rare debuts.
By rare debuts, I mean books that will be loved and increase in first printing value. What are some of the previous books that became huge? The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. The Magicians by Lev Grossman. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin (I knew the first printing would sell so quickly it would be worth a great deal on the secondary market almost immediately.
I classify The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern as one of those books!
It has been touted as a cross between a literary Harry Potter, Twilight, and a few other books but the hype around it is all too real. It sold Hollywood movie rights before even being published, and dozens of foreign publishers have already acquired the rights to translate and publish the book. It’s a buzz that is warranted because the book is that wonderful, featuring an unusual setting, great characters, and writing that will keep you up late at night.
Here is a bit more about the book:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
I met Erin on Monday. She stopped by The Signed Page to sign 50 books that I had ordered for the occasion, books my customers will nab up as quickly as they can. Then we sat down for a video interview where Erin talks about the book, how it came to be written, what she compares it to, and what she is currently working on.
Here is that video. Enjoy!
VIDEO INTERVIEW: THE NIGHT CIRCUS BY ERIN MORGENSTERN
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is in fine bookstores now!
