First of all, congrats to the winner of May ARC Giveaway #1: Way to go, Shalayna W.! She’ll be receiving copies of WAYFARER by R.J. Anderson, EARLY TO DEATH, EARLY TO RISE by Kim Harrison and STRANDED by J.T. Dutton.
Speaking of the fabulous J.T. Dutton, she was kind enough to talk with me about her writing process, STRANDED and dancing in her snowboots in Alaska. Take a peek!
Just wanted to announce that I’m taking part in the awesome Do the Write Thing, in which several authors, agents and bloggers are chipping in for a charity auction to benefit flood victims in Nashville, TN. Check out the details here:
http://dothewritethingfornashville.blogspot.com/2010/05/lunch-surprise.html
Basically, if you’re the winner, I’ll fly to the nearest big city in the US or Canada to have lunch or dinner with you and up to three people you choose. (Which means a few people can go in together on the bid — just a hint!) Sorry to limit it to those two countries, but much farther than that is cost-prohibitive for me, plus a little far to go for lunch. We can talk EVERNIGHT, or writing, or publishing, or “Vampire Diaries” — whatever you like! So check out the auction details and bid, bid, bid like crazy. I’m really looking forward to meeting the winner!
Finally, to answer today’s “Writer’s Block” question:
You guys know by now that I love it, and I was going to say why at length, but Cat Valente has done so better than I ever could. Great link — check it out.
Hello everyone! We’re just one week away from my May tour dates in Ohio, so this seemed like a good time to remind you guys about exactly where and when you can come talk about the books/get your copies signed/etc. in the next two months.
MAY
Tuesday, May 18, 7 p.m.: Joseph-Beth, 2692 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH
Wednesday, May 19, 7 p.m.: Books & Co., At the Greene, 4453 Walnut St., Beavercreek, OH
At both events, I’ll be appearing with the fabulous Ellen Schreiber of VAMPIRE KISSES fame, so how can you resist us both? Also, I’ll be a guest on the “Cover to Cover” radio program on May 18, so tune in.
JUNE
June 3-6: Madrid Book Fair in Madrid, Spain! I don’t have specific dates/times for this one yet, but stay tuned; I’ll share more as I learn more. I’m really looking forward to my very first trip to Spain and, hopefully, to meeting plenty of you there.
Sunday, June 20, 10 a.m.: Un Mare di Libri festival in Rimini, Italy! I don’t have more specific location details at this point, but I should closer to time. So, Italian readers, wouldn’t a weekend by the seaside be perfect?
**
Also! I’m going to be doing some ARC giveaways the rest of this month. First batch: the mysterious STRANDED, by J.T. Dutton; the scary EARLY TO DEATH, EARLY TO RISE by Kim Harrison; and the magical WAYFARER by R.J. Anderson. How do you win? Just email me at evernightclaudia at gmail dot com with the subject line “May ARC Giveaway #1,” and include the name and address I should send your books to if you win. One winner gets all three books, when I pick that winner at random on Monday, May 17! (But don’t despair if it’s not you, because there will be more giveaways this month, plus more to come in future.)
I hope to do some interviews with the authors of these ARCS, and sure enough, I got started this week — though I cheated a bit, as R.J. Anderson is a friend of mine from way back. Instead of an interview, we basically had a conversation, which is either due to our long-lasting friendship or my inability to stop blabbing. We talk about her books, how we write, why love can never be perfect, and more. Hope you enjoy!
OK, fun fact: There are limits to the number of times you can tweet in a day, and you guys asked so many questions at today’s chat that WE BROKE TWITTER. But I wanted to answer as many as I could, so I’m putting the rest of the questions I got (and their answers, obviously) in this post.
First of all, for those of you who weren’t able to be with us on Twitter earlier, a link to what I got to answer in the chat itself: a transcript!
NOTE: Both parts of the chat inevitably contain some spoilers for HOURGLASS, though in this section, I’ve moved the spoilery ones to the end and put in a line, so you can stop reading there if you need to.
Now, the rest:
I wanted to let you guys know about two very fun projects I’m taking part in this fall, both essays I’ll be writing for BenBella collections about a couple of my favorite shows. First, I’ll look at the complicated Civil War history in the TV show (as opposed to the completely different but equally complicated history in the books) of “The Vampire Diaries” in the anthology A VISITOR’S GUIDE TO MYSTIC FALLS, which you’ll be able to buy in October. Then, I’ll be writing about all the baby-daddy drama on “Glee” for an anthology called FILLED WITH GLEE, which will be out in November. As you can imagine, doing all the research for these — by watching tons and tons of TV — is so difficult, but I soldier on. You guys know you’ll want to check these out!
Also, speaking of the Q&A — you guys are emailing me about it, but you’re mostly emailing to ask for live chats! So we’re going to get started via Twitter. Next Tuesday (April 27), I’ll sign on to Twitter in the early afternoon US Central Time, and I’ll be answering questions, well, pretty much throughout the rest of the day, off and on. Keep checking in on Twitter and Facebook for more details!
I wanted to let you guys know about two very fun projects I’m taking part in this fall, both essays I’ll be writing for BenBella collections about a couple of my favorite shows. First, I’ll look at the complicated Civil War history in the TV show (as opposed to the completely different but equally complicated history in the books) of “The Vampire Diaries” in the anthology A VISITOR’S GUIDE TO MYSTIC FALLS, which you’ll be able to buy in October. Then, I’ll be writing about all the baby-daddy drama on “Glee” for an anthology called FILLED WITH GLEE, which will be out in November. As you can imagine, doing all the research for these — by watching tons and tons of TV — is so difficult, but I soldier on. You guys know you’ll want to check these out!
Also, speaking of the Q&A — you guys are emailing me about it, but you’re mostly emailing to ask for live chats! So we’re going to get started via Twitter. Next Tuesday (April 27), I’ll sign on to Twitter in the early afternoon US Central Time, and I’ll be answering questions, well, pretty much throughout the rest of the day, off and on. Keep checking in on Twitter and Facebook for more details!
It’s time to announce the winner of HOURGLASS Contest #6 — in which you guys told me your favorite scenes from HOURGLASS, and the victor (chosen at random) gets to name a character in an upcoming book. Before I do, though, let me clarify; some people who won’t be able to read the book until later were unhappy that they wouldn’t get to take part. But I plan to do this again later this year (maybe the top of fall?), so that pretty much everybody can join in that time. So hopefully nobody will get left out in the long run.
(Another fun thing: We’ll be having contests year-round this time, mostly for smaller prizes like ARCs, but you never know what might turn up next.)
Without further ado, the winner of HOURGLASS Contest #6 is Melanie S.! She’ll be appearing (as herself) in Balthazar’s book, context to be determined. 🙂 Thanks to everyone who sent in a letter; I loved reading your entries.
We’re not starting another contest yet, but I have two things to throw out there:
We’re doing a Q&A in two weeks!
On Tuesday, April 27, I’ll answer as many questions as I can from those you send to evernightclaudia at gmail dot com. Please make your subject line "Interview Questions for April 27." You can ask me questions about the EVERNIGHT series, my upcoming books, writing advice, you name it. You can even ask for spoilers (though I don’t promise to tell all … just a little.) Between now and then, I’ll answer a couple of questions I get in advance on Twitter and Facebook; however, the big A part of the Q&A will all be out on April 27.
The other thing I want to throw out there:
Would you guys be interested in a live chat?
I’m not sure exactly how I could do that yet, but I could find a way if you guys were into it. What do you think?
First of all, I wanted to remind everyone about tonight’s reading/signing in Illinois — I hope to see plenty of you there!
April 1 @ 7 pm
Borders
1 N. LaGrange Rd.
LaGrange, IL
Second, it’s time for me to make an important announcement, one I’ve been mulling over for some time. As I complete my final-final edits on AFTERLIFE, the fourth book in the EVERNIGHT series, I’ve had to ask myself where I want to go from here, and what’s most important to me. And that’s why I’ve made the decision to put my writing on hold for six months to continue my education here:
http://www.OhioCollegeClowningArts.com/
I feel as though my work on Balthazar’s (still unnamed, but not for long) book and the SPELLCASTER series, not to mention the book about werewolves on the Titanic (same thing re: name), will only be enhanced and deepened by my study of the clowning arts. So I hope you’ll all give me your support and understanding during this challenging time.
Howdy all! First of all, thanks to each and every one of you who helped HOURGLASS debut at #4 on the NYT YA Series list — I am very happy and very grateful. If you guys did not invest in these characters and put up with my wild, cliffhanger-loving ways, I would have a lot less good stuff in my life.
And just to reiterate, because a few people have wondered: Yes, there is a fourth book — AFTERLIFE — and there will be no cliffhangers there. Bianca and Lucas and company still have the most important part of their journey ahead of them. Also, no, I can’t make Harper publish it any faster. If I could, I swear, I would.
But now, let’s look toward the future — specifically, future tour dates. Whenever I make a post about touring, people want to know why I’m coming to one place and not another. I think the image is of me lounging around in a gold-sequined caftan, receiving a shoulder massage from the French cabana boy and stroking my pet ocelot with the jeweled collar, and going, “AHAHAHAHAHAA, I despise Ohio, so I shall not tour there! I spit on Ohio! Work the lower back, Jean-Claude.” Except for the ocelot, this picture has nothing to do with reality. Basically, I mostly go where the publishers think it would be good for me to go, and I trust their judgment. I am setting up a few dates on my own, too, but right now, the publisher-chosen places alone keep me pretty busy — as you are about to see!
UPCOMING TOUR DATES (set):
April 1 @ 7 pm
Borders
1 N La Grange Rd
La Grange, IL 60525
Then, just to prove that I do not spit on Ohio:
May 18 @ 7 pm
Joseph Beth
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati OH 45208
May 19 @ 7 pm
Books & Co
4453 Walnut Street
Dayton, OH
UPCOMING TOUR DATES (maddeningly vague):
This was announced previously, but just to reiterate — I will be at the Madrid Book Fair in Madrid, Spain, June 3-6. I don’t have any specific events/times to report yet, but I’m sure I’ll get them in advance, and in time to announce.
Much later in the year — in November, in fact, probably the Monday before Thanksgiving — I will be appearing at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi. Specific time as we get closer to the event!
And finally, though I have no specific dates to report yet, I can say that, YES, I am coming to Australia! It looks like I’ll be arriving in the Southern Hemisphere’s late winter/early spring, but I don’t know any more yet about specific dates, cities, anything like that. Rest assured that I will keep you guys updated.
Meeting you guys on the road is one of this job’s greatest joys; I had such a wonderful time seeing you all in Naperville, Houston, Austin and Atlanta week before last, and so I can’t wait to meet even more of you. Thanks again for all your amazing support.
Now, because somebody on Twitter asked, the recipe for crockpot egg drop soup!
We’ve finally made it to the end! If HOURGLASS isn’t already in your local (US and Canadian) bookstore, then it will be as of tomorrow. I am so hoping you guys are going to enjoy this one, and terribly excited to head out on the big tour where I will get to meet so many of you in the Chicago, Atlanta, Austin and Houston areas.
Before I go any farther, though, I should warn you about one little thing with HOURGLASS: