Something Wicked This Way Comes

Last Monday, Wicked author Gregory Maguire was in town with his book tour to promote his latest release and final chapter in the Wicked book series, Out of Oz. The signing was held inside a renovated church-turned-theater which had a lot of interesting art work.

Left: Promotional Oz Artwork    Right: Theater Artwork

The podium before Gregory took the stage...

And here's Gregory

Gregory read a passage from each of the 4 Wicked books, plus a passage from Confessions of a Wicked Step-sister (note to self, must read!). He was a very animated and engaging speaker and confessed that he drew a lot of his speaking skills from his background as a school teacher and church music director. Gregory shared that he had decided to write about the Wicked Witch of the West because he wanted to "write what he knew", although originally he thought the Wicked Witch would be more of a Hannibal Lector type of character. He also shared that he was not upset about the changes to the storyline made in Wicked the musical and that originally Wicked almost became a film starring Demi Moore.

Here I am with Gregory Macguire after he signed all of my books!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening despite the rain and earthquake aftershocks. If you're a fan of Gregory Macguire and/or the Wicked series, check out Gregory Macguire's website and see if he is coming to a town near you.