Tidewater resident Maggie Stiefvater is the author of "Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception," a young adult urban fantasy that features Celtic lore.

Set in Virginia, the story is about a musically talented high school student who falls for a soulless faerie assassin, not realizing that she's his next mark.

It is a book about the darker side of faeries, of which Stiefvater said, "My fascination with supernatural creatures of the homicidal variety speaks to my love of all things different and other and inexplicable."

Its sequel, "Ballad," set in the mountains of Virginia, will be released in the fall. Another forthcoming novel, "Shiver," about werewolves and first love, will be released by Scholastic in August.

Maggie Stiefvater answered a few questions about getting her books published and how she balances her work and family life.

Q: Do you believe in faeries?

I don't disbelieve in faeries, and since "Lament" has come out, I've met a surprising number of Virginians -- particularly in the Valley -- who believe in faeries in a very serious way.

Q: Do you have formal training in writing?

Not a whit. I tried, unsuccessfully, to get into a creative writing course at Mary Washington and couldn't because I was a history major instead of an English major. It didn't matter, though, because I proceeded to write about 1,000 pages of history papers on tight deadlines, which has served me very well in the past two years.

Q: Any thoughts on writing a story about the fairy stones local to our area?

I've always been fascinated with them. Every one of them looks different. Maybe they will creep into one of my faerie novels -- I do love setting my faerie books in Virginia, because it still has some very magical feeling corners.

Q: How did you get your first book deal?

I was utterly naive and unagented when I got my deal with Flux. Andrew Karre, the acquiring editor there at the time, took me on based upon three chapters and a belief that I could create a book that lived up to those three chapters. I had a complete novel, but I rewrote it from scratch for him.

Q: Has your life changed because of the book's success?

When I sold "Lament," life didn't change too much at first. But I kept writing and "Lament" just kept getting more and more great reviews. I wrote "Shiver," and I thought: This is the best thing I've ever written.

I was sort of filled with this mixture of fear that no one else would find it the best thing I'd ever written and excitement that I was going to show the best thing I'd ever written to the world.

I just can't describe what a wild ride it's been, and I can't wait for readers to get their hands on "Shiver" and "Ballad" -- I'm so excited about them.

Q: What is your most productive time of day for writing? Do you have a routine?

Oh, I definitely have a routine -- stuff some work in wherever I can manage it. The kids go to school three days a week, and as soon as I drop them off, I am firmly planted in my chair and I'm working -- replying to e-mails first, then tackling writing or revising or line-editing. School visits and book store events sometimes interrupt this delicate balance and make deadlines loom a little more quickly than I'd like them to. I can't complain though -- it's a revoltingly wonderful job to have.

Q: Do your children admire your work or do they just see you as Mom?

Well, right now, they are just small creatures -- Will is 3 years old and Victoria is 4 -- and for as long as they've been around I've been either a full-time portrait artist or author. I think they take it for granted that Mama's work involves being hunched over a desk next to the computer or lying on the floor listening to music while brainstorming over plots. Poor kids probably won't have any idea what to do when they get old enough to realize I'm nowhere near a normal mother. Victoria is getting old enough to be charmed at the idea that I do school visits and read to kids other than her.