Thanks to a blogger (Liyana!) whose fabulous interview forced us to think through our ideal Another Faust playlist, we now have 13 songs (yes, 13… mwahahahaha….) that we have carefully chosen for each character in the book.  There are six major characters (including the devil governess) and Daniel and I both got a turn at picking the songs.  Below are both of our picks. Plus, a playlist where you can listen to them right here.

Daniel’s Playlist:

• Nicola Vileroy – Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria
• Victoria – Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton
• Valentin – The Feel Good Drag by Anberlin
• Christian – All that I’ve Got by The Used
• Bice – Heaven Forbid by The Fray
• Belle – Flashing Lights by Kanye West

Dina’s playlist:

• Nicola Vileroy – O Fortuna by Carl Orff
• Victoria – Shove it by Santogold
• Valentin - Gives you Hell by All American Rejects
• Christian - All Apologies by Nirvana  OR   Nothing Like You and I by Perishers
• Bice - Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
• Belle – Love Game by Lady Gaga

I wanted to give you a quick update on how Another Faust is doing, and share 4 ways that you, the fans of Another Faust, can help it become a success, so that Daniel and I can continue to create retellings of wonderful works of classic literature through  Another Series! 

First, the update:  Another Faust is in its THIRD printing in as many weeks!! AAHH!!!  And also, it has been picked for several top new book lists by Borders, Philadelphia Enquirer, Hudson News (top 100), Association of Booksellers for Children, and various blogs. Funnily enough, in the airport channel we are already a bestseller (I’m not sure why… maybe through the karma generated by all the hours I spend in airports), and we are working our way up other lists too! 

Early Reviews:

“An unusual urban fantasy…The writing is clever and stylish…an absorbing, imaginative read, with a tense climax.”  Publishers Weekly 

“The teens’ story is told in detailed, gothic language. Faustian references abound…By switching character viewpoints often, the authors keep the pace moving to an ending full of action, revelation and horror.”  Kirkus

“Dark like so many of the current teen horror fantasy novels and stylish like Gossip Girl, the brother and sister writing team work hard to create characters who struggle with insecurities of the past, the successes of the present, and the pain of both…the context and dark tone will surely find a solid readership.”  VOYA

“A reimagined gothic classic with heavy prose and dark underlying themes: the confliction between good and evil in the human soul and the pitfalls of greed and ambition.” Fantasy Literature.com

“I found the action and events of the story to be compelling, suspenseful even, wondering what Madame Vileroy would do next, when the teens who were in the dark would figure out what was going on, how the more desperate teens would turn on one another next.” Readspace

The three weeks since the debut of Another Faust has been a whirlwind.  Even though I (Dina) have been out of the country, I’ve been bombarded with pictures and notes from everyone who has read the book and has seen it in bookstores. Another Faust is doing fabulously in stores (it’s already on its third printing in as many weeks!). Below are some of the pictures I have been sent by you, our wonderful friends and blog followers!  And since it’s been so long since we did a post, stay tuned for two more updates:  our review round-up and the Another Faust playlist.

The first four pictures of my favorite shots of Another Faust sightings all around town.  The first is at the Harvard bookstore, the others are in Barnes and Nobles and Borders in various cities on the east coast.  The last four shots are of my recent reading in the Hague (note to all Netherlands residents: next reading will be October 3rd at 1pm at ABC Amsterdam). 

Finally, before signing off I should mention that Daniel and I will be going on an east coast tour of schools and bookstores between October 22 and November 20.  Stay tuned for more information, or click here.

It’s finally here!  Today is the big day when Another Faust hits bookstores! Naturally, we’re super excited and can’t wait to hear what you think of our story.  Please post your thoughts here or on Amazon. We love discussing our book with readers, so you can chat with us on twitter (DinaNV and DanielNayeri). As for the big day festivities (which in our family usually means overdosing on sugar, cream, and chocolate from all over the world), well, Daniel must be having some fun, but since I  live abroad, I can’t see the book in stores today.  A little sad, but I’ve been living vicariously through friends who are spotting the book all over the place.  Speaking of which, if you see the book in a store, send me your pictures!  Here’s one from Rachel, which I just had to include because of the fabulous red nails in the shot!  

Sighting of Another Faust in stores!

Before I sign off, I should give you a quick update of our Another Faust plans and activities. Daniel and I will be traveling through the east coast and Texas to promote the book and to do readings and talks in October and November. We’ll be going to bookstores, high schools, and libraries, and some colleges.  Please let us know if you want us to come to your school! We’re very excited about going on the road and talking about all things Faust.

Last week, I was standing in an old stone balcony in Sicily, looking out over the beautiful horizon, when I got a creepy, tingly feeling, like someone looking over your shoulder.  I turned, and the only person there was my husband. I turned back to the view and thought, I’m imagining things.  Then I felt something rubbing up against my cheek, then moving slowly down to my jaw. I slapped at it and pulled away a mosquito, tangled up in my hair. I caught myself thinking, maybe it’s a spy. Then I laughed and turned back to the scene. When the breeze picked up, I turned to leave. When I glanced back, I saw that I had been standing right above this.  I’m still creeped out by the coincidence:

Nicola and Valetin. Clearly, this has nothing to do with Another Faust, but Nicola is the name of Madame Vileroy, the devil incarnate, and the beautiful face of all evil. Valentin is one of our main characters, who sells his soul because of a deep, desperate need to be loved by all. In the book, they have a strange and inappropriate relationship. She’s a mother figure, but uses his misguided attraction to her to corrupt him.

The winner of the signed ARC of Another Faust with a handwritten cut scene is: Kim!  

I don’t know Kim’s last name, but I have her email address, so she’ll be hearing from me soon. Congrats Kim!! Thanks for pre-ordering the book and we’re dying to hear what you think. This is a picture of us whispering tales of  your awesomeness and, as you can see, Daniel is blown away!  You rock! 

As for the rest of you who entered: THANK YOU.  

Another Faust releases on August 25th, and we are very excited to hear what you think. Every pre-order sale counts toward our first week, so your order has been incredibly helpful! 

Also, we are going to do a second round of this contest until the publication date of August 25th.  So go to Amazon or B&N and place your order! All those who entered the first round will be automatically entered.  The rules are the same as before:

The winner will get a free galley copy, signed by both of us, that includes a hand-written excerpt from a cut scene which appeared in the very first draft!  

1. Place your order. Here’s the amazon link.
2. Come to this blog-post and enter the contest by adding a “comment” that you have bought your book. Make sure to include your email address (no cheating, because we will know if you ordered). Once the winner is selected, we’ll ask for an order confirmation, which matches the date you entered the contest.
3. We will select a winner every few weeks depending on number of entries (so tell all your friends). If we have a lot of entries, we’ll do two, or maybe three winners, with each one selected every few weeks.
4. Post your early comments on Amazon! We’d love to hear what you think of the synopsis and the book cover, both on this website and on amazon.
5. Join our facebook page! Just go to facebook and search for “Another Faust” or you can join here.
6. You can follow us on Twitter: Follow Dina here and Daniel here.

Congratulations Kim!!

D&D

The highlight of our appearance at BEA was the galley signing on Saturday morning, when we got to meet some of our earliest readers and talk with book sellers, librarians, and bloggers who had read the book in advance. It was so much fun!  The next few pictures are from the signing.  As you can see, the line is so encouraging! (and of course, we can’t wait to hear what all of you who got early copies think of the book. Feel free to post your comments here).

In the end, we were lucky we had enough books, because we screwed up a few copies from confusion, jet-lag, and okay, sometimes we were just plain dumb (especially when we had requests like, “please sign one for my friend Jess who broke her leg, and one for my mom Jen, who is having a birthday, and then one for me, Jill… but spelled with a G.”  Actually, those kinds of personal requests were the most fun, but we did mess up a copy or two trying to get it right… =) 

As an added bonus, Another Faust was selected as one of the featured books for 2009 by ABC (Association of Booksellers for Children) and Publishers Weekly included it in their BEA wrap-up! Check out the article here.

So what’s next? Another Faust launches on August 25th!  After that, we will be attending the Texas Book Festival on Halloween (a perfect day for a book about faustian bargains) and will have a series of events in New York and Texas around that time (October 2009).  More details soon! 

This is the official promotional trailer for Another Faust!  Let us know what you think (we think it’s awesome)!  Coming soon: an update from our launch at Book Expo America.

Hi everyone,

As you know, Another Faust releases on August 25th, and we are very excited to hear what you think. The book is now available for pre-order and every sale counts toward our first week, so please go on Amazon and place your order now!

Here’s the link to pre-order!

As an added bonus, we are running a contest/drawing for everyone who places an order (on Amazon or B&N or any other retailer) before August 25th. The winner will get a free galley copy, signed by both of us, that includes a hand-written excerpt from a cut scene which appeared in the very first draft! For those not familiar with publishing lingo, a galley copy is a pre-release copy of the book which is unedited and distributed almost exclusively to people in the industry. It is unavailable anywhere for sale, and it still has typos and things, which can be a lot of fun to compare to the final book!

Here’s how this works:

1. Place your order. Here’s the amazon link.
2. Come to this blog-post and enter the contest by adding a “comment” that you have bought your book. Make sure to include your email address (no cheating, because we will know if you ordered). Once the winner is selected, we’ll ask for an order confirmation, which matches the date you entered the contest.
3. We will select a winner every few weeks depending on number of entries (so tell all your friends). If we have a lot of entries, we’ll do two, or maybe three winners, with each one selected every few weeks.
4. Post your early comments on Amazon! We’d love to hear what you think of the synopsis and the book cover, both on this website and on amazon.
5. Join our facebook page! Just go to facebook and search for “Another Faust” or you can join here.
6. You can follow us on Twitter: Follow Dina here and Daniel here.

That’s it for now!

D&D

So, it’s no secret that we get into a lot of fights while writing. During one of our editing sessions, Daniel’s friend videotaped us. This is one of many embarrassing tidbits…