An Author's Whisper

     Surprise, Surprise! Our April's whisper is the fabulous Claudia Gray! Claudia is the author of the much acclaimed Evernight series- Stargazer being out and about today April's fool. Along with two anthologies which names are Immortal and Vacations from hell.

     Claudia Gray lives in New York City. So far, in life, she's been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. Claudia especially likes to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, she enjoys writing.

Where did the Idea for Evernight come from? 

I was trying to think of the most bizarre school possible -- vampires only came into it after that. Bianca I first saw at her telescope, in her school uniform, so I got to figure her out from there. 

What are your feelings toward Stargazer?

I like it and hope you guys will too! In a lot of ways, I feel like I get to explore the characters much more in STARGAZER and take them to some new places. 

Why vampires? Why is vampires such a popular idea this days you might say?

I think vampires serve as a great metaphor for so many different things, which means they can be the anchor for many different kinds of stories. Vampire fans are able to enjoy so many books without feeling like they're all the same. 

Of all the characters in your book, which one is your favorite?

I honestly don't have one single favorite. It would be whoever is giving me the least trouble to write at the time! Some characters who come easier to me are Balthazar, Vic and Dana. I love them all, though. 

Do you always know where the story is going to? or do the characters show themselfs to you little by little?

Both, I'd say. I am a big outliner and always like to know the major beats of my plot, but the characters surprise me from time to time. 

Is there a sequel to Stargazer?

The EVERNIGHT series will have four books total -- EVERNIGHT and STARGAZER are the first two, with HOURGLASS to follow in 2010 and AFTERLIFE in 2011. 

Tell us a little about your day to day writing life.

I can't claim to have a day to day schedule. I still work a day job as well as write, so there are days I don't get to write at all. There are other days (on weekends) when I work from lunchtime until midnight. I write in airports, on trains, in hotels, when I have to travel. Basically, at this point, I have to be very flexible and very persistent to make sure I get to do everything I need to do. 

Why YA? What is so attractive about this genre?

I think that, while adult lives diverge pretty wildly, everyone can relate to being a teenager -- whether you are one or you remember being one. There is a real universality to the experiences that no other genre captures. 

How long does it normaly take you to write a book?

There's no normally to it for me, so far; they've taken very different periods of time. Ask me after book 10. ;)

Where do your ideas come from? 

Everyplace, I think. Anything that can make you ask the question, "What if?" 

Ta-da! And there you go! An interview with the amazing Claudia Gray, I had fun, and Claudia is a very nice person indeed.

If u wanna know more about Claudia you could go to her myspace page, or her Livejournal.

If you had a message to deliver to the new writers of today, what would you say to them?

Read everything you can get your paws on. The best writers are always avid readers. 

Favorite 5 vampire stories

Fledgling, by Octavia Butler

The Silver Kiss, by Annette Curtis-Krause

Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Interview With The Vampire, by Anne Rice

Vampire Kisses, by Ellen Schreiber

Favorite authors

This is a question no avid reader can answer easily! If I listed them all, that would be a book of its own. 

Ta-da! And there you go! An interview with the amazing Claudia Gray, I had fun, and Claudia is a very nice person indeed.

If u wanna know more about Claudia you could go to her myspace page, or her Livejournal.

And U can buy Stargazer at your nearest book store, or you could to amazon and order it ^^.