This Is My Secret: The Blog and Website of Writer Kristin Cashore

A note to my readers in the Chicago area that the event at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville is at 2 PM on Saturday, May 5, not 7 PM as I said previously. Sorry for the error!

Saturday, May 5, 2pm Anderson’s Bookshop 123 West Jefferson Naperville, IL 60540

Also, come back here on Sunday (and beyond) to read Secret Council Letters from the Spring of Bitterblue's Eighteenth Year.

It was raining like crazy today in Cambridge. Rain dripping from all the flowering trees. A perfect day to walk to my friend Titus's house and just hang.


Titus can't open the door by himself, but luckily, his butler was there to let me in. Titus is a problem solver (you can probably tell that by looking at him). As we hung out, my problems disappeared into the ether.

So, a while back, I mentioned that I'm going to be in Australia in May. I now have events, dates, and locations!

SYDNEY STUFF
Thursday 19th May at 17:30Galaxy Books, 173 York Street, Sydneywww.galaxybooks.com.au/I’ll be doing a book signing.
Friday 20th May at 18:00Kinokunyia, 500 George Street, Sydneywww.kinokuniya.com/I’ll be doing a talk, Q&A, and signing.
Sunday 22nd May at 11:30Sydney Writers’ FestivalSydney Dance Company, Studio 4, Pier 4/5, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay http://www.swf.org.au/I’ll be ‘in conversation’ with Judith Ridge, and will do a signing at 12:30.
MELBOURNE THINGS
Friday 27th May at 17:00Reading…

This morning, while running along the river, I saw that the recent rain had melted all the snow and ice that's been floating on the river for months -- except for these two round clumps of snow near the footbridge. Then their necks came out of the water and I realized they were swans. Welcome, swans! And just now, as I sit here dictating, the sun has broken through the clouds. I cannot believe it's March.

I am thrilled to report that I now have my German tour schedule to share. (ETA: the readings will be in both English and German, alternating. I will read the English. I will not read the German!)

Monday, March 14: Hamburg7:00 p.m.Reading at Allee-Theater, Max-Brauer-Allee 76, Hamburg
Tuesday, March 15: Erfurt8:00 p.m.Reading at bookstore Buchhandlung Peterknecht, Anger 28, 99084 Erfurt
Wednesday, March 16: Gustavsburg3:00 p.m.Reading at Buch- und Kulturzentrum Villa Herrmann, Mozartstraße 3, 65462 Gustavsburg
Wednesday, March 16: Rüsselsheim8:00 p.m.Reading at bookstore Bücherhau…

Extra points if you recognize today's title.

WARNING: Today's post is all business, so if you don't want to read about release dates, my blog tour, my regular tour, reviews (with stars upon thars), interviews, how to read the first 3 chapters of Fire online, etc., etc., please just skip this BORING post and scroll down to read about cool stuff like babies and translations or to vote in my extremely relevant birthday poll.

Okay, here goes! Firstly, I am proud to report that Fire has received starred reviews from The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal, and a gold star from the Romantic Times. *blushes* I've finally gotten around to creating a page of Fire review excerpts; see the link on the left or just click here. (BTW. If you notice that it or any of my other Quick Links are dated 2/28/08... that's just the date I randomly give Quick Link posts, so that they don't pop up as new posts and clog people's read…

First, a thank you to every single person who's emailed me. I read every email and I love every email. I wish I could respond to every email!
This post will be my first attempt to answer a few of the questions I've received.

FAQ disclaimer: I enjoy receiving questions about subtext, so I'm not saying don't send me questions about subtext. But just know this: I won't answer them. :o) The book serves as its own explanation; you come up with your own interpretations. Make sense?
Spoiler status: The following FAQs are, by most standards, spoiler-free for people who have not yet read Graceling. However, if you are psychotic about spoilers (like me) and haven't read Graceling, only read questions 1, 2, and 6.

1. I've always thought of fantasies as world-building books where the authors create the characters after building the world. But that doesn't feel like the case in Graceling, because the characters seem so real. Which came first: the characters or …

All dates are 2017 unless otherwise specified.

All of my events will involve an "in conversation," a Q&A, and a signing – and possibly also a very short reading (no more than two minutes! Because I zone out if it goes longer!). Details:

Tuesday, September 19th at 7 PM -- hosted by authorTui Sutherland!
Harvard Book Store
1256 Mass Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138

Wednesday, September 20th  at 6 PM -- in conversation with my very own editor, Kathy Dawson!
Oblong Books & Music
6422 Montgomery Street
Rhinebeck, NY 12572

Friday, September 22nd  at 6:30 PM
Parnassus Books
3900 Hillsboro Pike, Ste 14
Nashville, TN 37215

Saturday, September 23rd at 4 PM 
Barnes & Noble
12193 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033

Sunday, September 24th at 2 PM
Quail Ridge Books & Music 
4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road
Raleigh, NC 27609 

Monday, September 25th at 6 PM  -- with Stephanie Perkins!, author of There's Someone Inside Your House
Malaprop’s Bookstore
55 Haywood St.
Ashev…