Q & A

July 29, 2011 Ask any grade-school kid an innocent question about a Pseudonymous Bosch novel, and prepare to be stonewalled: Bosch’s books lure the reader into a conspiracy of silence, in which the author, characters, and plot are all secrets. In fact, Bosch’s entire Secret Series—the fifth and final installment, You Have to Stop This, will be published on September 20—is the apotheosis of what might be called the “reverse psychology” school of children’s literature: warning kids away from the dangerous book they’re presently holding is a surefire way to get them to crack its spine. Pseudonymous Bosch will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville.

July 27, 2011 This month the story of the Wolves of Mercy Falls comes to its much-anticipated conclusion. Maggie Stiefvater launched this riveting young-adult saga of humans and werewolves in the Minnesota woods in 2009 with a New York Times bestseller called Shiver. Linger followed in 2010, and the concluding volume, Forever, rounds out the trilogy. Stiefvater spins a compelling tale of humans and wolves both in love and at odds. Her characters make choices out of fear and hatred, self-sacrifice and loyalty, pain and grief. And after a while, it’s not so easy to tell the men (or women) from the beasts. On July 31 at 3 p.m., Stiefvater will read from and discuss her new book at the Nashville Public Library as part of the Salon@615 series.