Author V.E. Schwab Celebrates the Release of Her New Book Gallant at Local Bookstore
Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
By Katherine Plunkett
On Wednesday, March 2, the best-selling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V.E. Schwab, celebrated the release of her newest book Gallant, hosted by bookstore One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. Schwab has been celebrating book releases and various events with this bookstore for nine years now, so the bookstore was excited to welcome her back. Attendees of the event received a copy of the new book, listened to Schwab speak, and were able to talk to her in person as she signed their copies.
During the event, Schwab brought her long-time friend and editor Miriam Weinberg on-stage with her to have a conversation regarding the new book, discussing her writing process as well as her dreams to open a bakery that sells mini book-shaped cakes. She described Gallant as a fable for all ages, with its story revolving around the mysterious house called Gallant.
One of the biggest insights that Schwab gave into her writing process is that once she is done outlining, she writes the ending first. She said this method gave her an end point and that it helped her finish her stories by “having something to work towards.” In addition, she writes her scenes out of order, later piecing together phrases and dialogues chronologically.
Gallant, however, was different. It is the only book Schwab has written in order (aside from writing the end first); it was a process that served a specific purpose due to the way the story progresses and feels almost like a fairytale. Schwab’s books often deal with multiple perspectives, timelines, and locations, but Gallant is solely focused on its main character, Olivia, and time functions in a chronological way (though there is a side-story told through the journal of Olivia’s mother).
The writing process is one of the many ways in which Gallant is very different from Schwab’s other works, a departure from normality she discussed herself. Schwab is known for always producing unique stories that do not follow a specific trope, but she faced anxiety about writing following the immense success of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Eventually, she stated that she had to overcome that anxiety to publish a distinctly different book.
When talking about how she generates ideas for her books, Schwab used the metaphor of planting flowers versus trees. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was a tree that she planted and grew over the course of ten years, while Gallant is a flower she planted recently. Schwab also let the audience in on the fact that she has just planted an “Addie LaRue-like” tree, and in a few years we might see what it grows into.
Another major topic of conversation during the event was autobiographical characters. Schwab stated that she usually puts pieces of herself in many characters and ultimately creates new people around those pieces. In each book, there is usually one character that is the “most her,” with a notable example being Victor from another one of her books, Vicious. In Gallant, she is the Master of the House, the personification of death who is obsessed with what he creates. It is an interesting metaphor for an author. Schwab discussed this connection briefly by mentioning the concept of the death of the author – once her stories are published, she feels they don’t belong to her anymore, but to the reader. Weinberg also pointed out that Schwab is a bit like the character Matthew. The most autobiographical a character has ever been is Henry from Addie LaRue, which made him very difficult and emotional to write for Schwab, as he struggles with depression throughout the book in a way that is similar to Schwab’s own mental health struggles.
This event was a great way for Schwab’s readers to learn more about the process behind her stories and how the characters come to be, as well as experience her witty sense of humor. The talk was followed by the ability to briefly talk to her face to face, making it a great way for her works to come to life for the reader by interacting with their author.
Gallant is available in bookstores and on Amazon.
