You’ve got one of the biggest books of the year coming out in early August. You’ve got a huge fan base clamoring to meet their favorite writer. And you’ve got an author who’s taking a break from a grueling tour schedule, and not touring for the book. What do you do?
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| Mutual fans Furstenfeld and Meyer, who met for the first time last month. |
Well, if you’re Little, Brown, hoping to promote the August 2 release of Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling Twilight Saga, you come up with an alternative: a four-city concert tour. Beginning on August 1 in New York City, Meyer will appear in “an evening of story and song,” featuring a musical performance by Justin Furstenfeld of the group Blue October. The Breaking Dawn Concert Series includes stops at the Nokia Theatre at Times Square, the Harris Theatre in Chicago on August 5, Royce Hall in Los Angeles on August 7 and Benaroya Hall in Seattle on August 12.
In the concerts, Meyer will hold a Q&A with the audience, and will then be joined onstage by Furstenfeld. Meyer has cited several of his songs as having been inspirational in the writing of her books, and they are included in her playlists, which are popular with fans. She will talk about why she chose a particular song; Furstenfeld will talk about the process of writing it, and then perform it.
“Music played a major role in the writing of the Twilight Saga,” Meyer said, “and I’m thrilled to be able to incorporate my love of music into these special events for my readers. I’m a huge Blue October fan. To have Justin at these Breaking Dawn events playing songs that inspired scenes in the book is cooler than anything I could have imagined.”
After the concert, fans can line up for an autograph from Meyer; attendees in New York will get a limited-edition Breaking Dawn bookplate, while those at the other three events can bring a Stephenie Meyer book of their choice for her to sign.
Meyer met Furstenfeld recently in Austin, Tex., to discuss the event (he also gave Meyer and her publicist, Elizabeth Eulberg, a sneak preview of a few new Blue October songs he is working on). Meyer told PW, “Meeting Justin was very surreal because he’s so sweet and outgoing. I had to keep reminding myself that this was the lead singer of one of my favorite bands. We had so much in common as writers, which I never would have expected.”
Tickets for the series cost $20 and will go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m.; more details are available on stepheniemeyer.com and thetwilightsaga.com. Breaking Dawn pubs at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 2, with a 3.2 million-copy first printing. There are 7.7 million Twilight Saga books in print in the U.S.
