LITERATURE + LECTURES

Wow -- two YA authors at once! Friday, March 4 at 7:00 pm Blue Willow Bookshop present Sarwat Chadda and Rachel Hawkins. They will be in Houston to discuss and sign the second book in each of their series.

Sarwat will be on tour for Dark Goddess, the sequel to the amazing Devil's Kiss, which details a modern day Knights Templar. Rachel will be on tour for Demonglass, the sequel to Hex Hall, the very clever story of a boarding school for paranormal students.

Sarwat Chadda will discuss and sign Dark Goddess (Hyperion; $17.99). Billi's back, and it seems like the Unholy just can't take a hint. Still reeling from the death of her best friend, Kay, Billi's thrust back into action when the Templars are called to investigate werewolf activity. And these werewolves are like nothing Bilil's seen before. They call themselves the Polenitsy - Man Killers. The ancient warrior women of Eastern Europe, supposedly wiped out centuries ago.

But now they're out of hiding and on the hunt for a Spring Child -- an Oracle powerful enough to blow the volcano at Yellowstone -- precipitating a Fimbulwinter that will wipe out humankind for good. The Templars follow the stolen Spring Child to Russia, and the only people there who can help are the Bogatyrs, a group of knights who may have gone to the dark side. To reclaim the Spring Child and save the world, Billi needs to earn the trust of Ivan Romanov, an arrogant young Bogatyr whose suspicious of people in general, and of Billi in particular. Dark Goddess is a page-turning, action-packed sequel that spans continents, from England to the Russian underworld and back. This is an adventure of folklore and myth become darkly real. Of the world running out of time. And of Billi SanGreal, the only one who can save it.

Sarwat Chadda was brought up on the adventures of the great medieval heroes like Saladin and Richard the Lionheart. His passion for storytelling grew from his love for the history, culture and myths of Europe and the Middle East. Sarwat used to be an engineer, working on projects like the Channel Tunnel and Hong Kong airport, but now he writes full time. He has travelled widely, from China to India, from Nicaragua to the Yemen, but there's no place like home, and home is London. Devil's Kiss was his first novel.

Rachel Hawkins will discuss and sign Demonglass (Hyperion; $16.99). Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie's a demon, one of only two in the world - the other being her father. What's worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers. But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They're demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they're using Acher to do it. But it's not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

Rachel Hawkins was a high school English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Alabama, and is currently at work on the third book in the Hex Hall series. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree.

This is one event you will not want to miss. If you cannot make it, but want to get signed copies of Sarwat or Rachel's books, please give us a call at (281) 497-8675.

This event is free and open to the public. If you would like to go through the signing line and meet Sarwat Chadda and Rachel Hawkins for book personalization, you must purchase Dark Goddess or Demonglass from Blue Willow Bookshop.