Marissa Meyer "Heartless" Book Tour

New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer has a new stand alone book, Heartless, that was published last week. She is on a tour promoting her book and I was able to attend the fun event at the Provo City Library. It was a Mad Hatter Tea Party with an introduction to the book, a talent show, a Q&A, and book signing.

Author Marissa Meyer Heartless Book Tour at Provo Library

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If you read my weekly post about new books that are out that week, you will remember that I included Heartless as one of the hot new books last week. When I saw that Marissa Meyer had a local stop on her book tour, I knew I wanted to go.

Provo Library goes all out for their author events - decorations, employees dress up, they have a raffle for books and other swag, and provide tasty refreshments.

For the author event with Marissa Meyer for her new book Heartless, the ballroom at the Provo Library was packed with over 320 people. While we waited for the event to start, there was a table set up by The King's English Bookstore with Heartless and all of The Lunar Chronicles books by Marissa Meyer.

Marissa came out and told us a bit about Heartless. It is the back story of the Queen of Hearts when she was a teenager, just a normal girl named Cath. Cath doesn't want to be a queen, she wants to open a bakery and be the most wonderful baker in the kingdom. She flees the ball and meets the new court jester, who is quite mysterious. They meet clandestinely and she is swept off her feet. Things go downhill from there. Marissa said that one of her favorite parts to write was when Jest takes Cath to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and guests at the party have to entertain the other guests.

Talent Show with Marissa Meyer

That led to an impromptu  talent show where Marissa Meyer picked teens from the audience to participate. They recited poetry, acted, sang, and even had a thumb wrestling contest to get a goody bag.

Q&A with author Marissa Meyer

Then there was a Q&A segment to the night.
Q - Why do you like writing about the hierarchy and royalty?
A - Those people get to make the big decisions. Characters are in position of power and it causes conflict. Plus the get to attend balls.

Q - How do you keep writing?
A - It was always her dream. She goes through periods of self-doubt, but she pushes past the difficult days to get to the good days.

Q - Who do you love to read?
A - Right now reading Leigh Bardugo, Robin LaFevers, Rosemary Clement-Moore, JK Rowling, and Jane Austen.

Q - What is her favorite book that she has written?
A - It isn't actually out yet. It is her first graphic novel set in the Lunar Chronicles world and Iko will be the main character. It will be published in January 2017.

Q - What prepared her to be a writer?
A - She started writing Sailor Moon fan fiction. She learned to finish a story, take feedback, and build confidence.

Q - What hobbies do she have besides reading and writing?
A - She has 2 year old twins and takes them to the park, hiking, she cooks, and she used to enjoy road trips with her husband.

Q - Where does she get inspiration from?
A - When reading Sailor Moon, she entered a fan fiction contest. It was a Puss in Boots meets Star Wars. It was the first idea she had to do a mashup of fairy tales and sci-fi. Gregory Maguire - author of  Wicked is an inspiration.

Q - Do you like to write your own characters or embellish the backstory of known characters?
A - It just depends on what she is working on at the time. She is currently writing a new trilogy about teenage superheroes.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer and refreshments from the Mad Hatter tea party

After the Q&A, the library had a raffle for a few books, two necklaces, and a t-shirt. The library invited us to have refreshments at the Mad Hatter Tea Party.

Marissa Meyer signing books on her Heartless book tour

Then they showed the 1915 version of Alice in Wonderland while we waited for our group to be called for the book signing. Marissa was very nice and chatted with all of the people.

I started reading Heartless and so far it is really great! Look for a review of the book next week here on my blog. You can buy a copy at your local bookstore or order it on Amazon.


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