Erin Morgenstern has not released a book since her debut, The Night Circus, which came out in 2011. Erin was in conversation with Liberty Hardy. Erin talked about how she is never going to be a book a year person and not to expect another book from her anytime soon. She talked about how last year she turned 40 and she received two gifts that she treasures. She received a cat and also a Nintendo Switch. The Switch became her research for the video game component for The Starless Sea.
When Erin writes, she brainstorms the space first. In The Starless Sea, she had the labyrinth library pictured in her head before she wrote about the character or the plot. In The Night Circus, she brainstormed the circus before all the wonderful characters. Erin mentioned about how she has to write something wrong before she can write it right. She explores space and narrative. She then chooses what will stay.
Erin graced us with a reading from her book. She had three tarot cards of the sword, bee and key. Liberty chose the Sword. It was nice to sit back and hear Erin read from her latest book. Erin even ordered a sword online so she can have one in her office. Liberty asked Erin what her favorite character is from The Starless Sea. Erin mentioned how “everyone is me.” Each character represents a part of Erin. However, she said that Zachary is the closest character that acts like her. She spends more time with Zachary compared to the others. In The Night Circus, it was more ensemble like. The Night Circus has a visual language and it’s a visual person. The black and white with the red are prominent as well as the Victorian era. The Starless Sea is dark, underground and dipped in gold. The book centers on the bee, key and sword along with the crown, heart and feather.
Erin talked about writing about what you want to read. That’s how she approaches writing her books. The Night Circus is what she wants to go to. The Starless Sea poses the questions “what do I want to write and why?” With The Starless Sea, she keeps going back to stories. The novel has a complex narrative. Fantasy is the genre that she gravitates toward because it’s interesting to travel to places. She has been curating ideal fantasy spaces and the ideal introvert space. Erin is a reader of sensory details.
Liberty asked Erin about Erin’s next book when she hears rumors that Erin has another book in the works. Erin said it’s “not fair to call it a book yet.” Things are in the works. She mentioned about cherry blossoms and mud. The Night Circus is an autumnal book, The Starless Sea is a winter book and she finds it fitting that her next novel is a spring book. She told the audience she has been rereading a lot of Shirley Jackson lately. Erin keeps a lot of information regarding her books in her head. She doesn’t use Post-Its. She sometimes uses Scribner to help organize her thoughts in her head.
Liberty and Erin talked about when a woman writes a book, people assume that they are going to write a fantasy novel. For children, fantasy is very whimsical. Eventually that whimsicalness ages out. Erin plays to the sweet spot for a book that is adult but has a crossover for teens. A book that falls under the Alex Awards category.
In terms of reading reviews, Erin does not read reviews of her books on social media. She stays far away from the reviews. She exclaimed, “It’s not for me. The book is done.” She mentioned how on social media, she doesn’t get treated as a person. And when she talked about that, she said how people forget that she is just a person that happens to write books.
Liberty asked about whether a sequel to The Night Circus will ever be written. Erin says no immediately. But then she takes it back and says “never say never.” She has no plans to revisit it. But then jokingly said maybe in 30 years ala the Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments. Liberty asked if Erin abstains from fiction when she is writing. Erin talked about how it’s hard to read while writing. She tends to read more graphic novels and watches movies or even plays more video games. Erin immerses herself in stories in a different media/format. She talks about Dragon Age, shapeshifting and her cat named Vesper. And for those who don’t know, Vesper has an Instagram account you can follow. Her cat is named after a cocktail. Vesper's mom is named Mint Julep.
Liberty does a mini speed round with Erin. Liberty asked Erin which tent in The Night Circus Erin is most proud of creating. Erin responds with the Cloud Maze because it was inspired by the Boston Children’s Museum’s vertical maze. It’s an extraordinary version. She would love to visit the Ice Garden the most out of all the tents due to its exquisite detailing. This is how you feed creativity. How can you make the experience more and how to you elevate it? Erin discussed harvesting the details of something she sees and putting it away. "Then you pluck from them. It’s visual, tactile and it’s feeling you are there. You borrow things like I did with the Children’s Museum.”
When asked if Erin read The Night Circus since it came out. She said no. She won’t ever read The Starless Sea. She needs to let go. Erin used to be a theater major in college. She did things and took risks because she didn’t know what she was doing. Someone asked if she would want The Night Circus or The Starless Sea out in graphic novel format or she wants to write one. Erin said yes that she is interested in this idea. She would love it if there is a different illustrator for each tent.
The talk with Erin in conversation with Liberty was fantastic. Rachel and I ended up meeting someone from Australia who is studying abroad at Northeastern University. She is super nice and we had a great chat. We waited in the signing line for maybe a little over an hour. It was definitely worth the wait to meet and to chat with Erin. I ended up talking to Erin about tarot cards. Erin was super patient to meet all of her fans. She signed all their books and let everyone take posed photos with her. Overall, the event was wonderful.
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