Category: livejournal entry

I hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July, whether you’re celebrating in the U.S. or just having a great Saturday somewhere else in the world. Mostly I’m writing today, but I am making a celebratory meal tonight: soft tacos and refried beans, because Mexican food is a fabulous way to celebrate American independence.

My personal extra reason for celebration: this fun interview by the good people of YA Highway! Take a look, check it out and be rewarded with a few small spoilers for HOURGLASS, AFTERLIFE and the SPELLCASTER series.

I hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July, whether you’re celebrating in the U.S. or just having a great Saturday somewhere else in the world. Mostly I’m writing today, but I am making a celebratory meal tonight: soft tacos and refried beans, because Mexican food is a fabulous way to celebrate American independence.

My personal extra reason for celebration: this fun interview by the good people of YA Highway! Take a look, check it out and be rewarded with a few small spoilers for HOURGLASS, AFTERLIFE and the SPELLCASTER series.

YOU GUYS.

The awesome seanan-mcguire, an agency-mate whose wonderful book Rosemary and Rue debuts in September, decided that Evernight Academy needed a theme song. I love it! And the illustration is so perfect. Go and marvel! Figure out what tune it goes to!

Sorry I have been quiet here of late — I keep wanting to wait and post when I DL my pics from my trips to Seattle and Portland on the “Supernatural Summer” tour, which keeps on not happening b/c I’ve been sick ever since. But the alma mater will heal me. I can feel it. Yes.

The new HarperTeen anthology VACATIONS FROM HELL should be arriving in bookstores today! Those of you who have read the other books in the FROM HELL series know that each one offers a series of supernatural short stories on a various theme — in this case, summer vacations gone very, very wrong.

I will be particularly interested to hear what you guys think of my story, “I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend,” for one major reason: This is where the idea for the new series, SPELLCASTER, began.

There are huge differences between the two: The short story is more of a comedy, and the heroine, Cecily, is both younger and more lighthearted than Ivy, the main character of the SPELLCASTER series. But a few things from the story do survive in the upcoming books — like the idea of witchcraft as a secret female society. And a heroine who looks at her powers as a tool for good, more of a science than pure mysticism, and hates the secretiveness that comes with it. Who also dreams of finding a guy with whom she can share her whole life, and from whom she would never have to hide her power. And, of course, the bratty little brother. (You can’t leave out the little brother!)

So check out VACATIONS FROM HELL the next chance you get!

And don’t forget, this Thursday:

May 28 — The NYC Teen Author Carnival! Held at the Jefferson Market Branch Library at 425 Avenue of the Americas [at 10th St.] in New York City from 4-6 p.m. Hope to meet some of you guys there!

Sorry I am so behind on posting — I knew that I had some appearances coming up (and soon!), but I didn’t get all the dates locked down until recently.

First things first: Although I was late in picking (at random) the winner of STARGAZER Contest #7, the lucky winner has now been chosen. Congrats to Sarah W.! She posted about the EVERNIGHT series at “Twilight Teens,” and now she gets to name a character, either in AFTERLIFE (book four) or the spin-off Balthazar book, her choice. I look forward to finding out the name. 🙂

Now, upcoming appearances!

May 28 — The NYC Teen Author Carnival! Held at the Jefferson Market Branch Library at 425 Avenue of the Americas [at 10th St.] in New York City from 4-6 p.m. You’ll be able to meet tons of other YA authors; check out the full line-up at the event website.

Then comes the Supernatural Summer Tour! I’m on two stops, along with authors Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong and Aprilynne Pike:

June 5 — Portland, OR, at the Barnes & Noble on 2692 Madison Rd. @ 7 p.m. (This is a Friday.)

June 6 — Redmond, WA, at the Borders on 16549 N.E. 74th Street @ 2 p.m. (This is a Saturday.)

Then, it’s time to promote Vacations From Hell! All five authors in the anthology (which is coming out next week — where did spring go?) will appear: Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Mlynowski and yours truly. Where and when?

June 9 — New York, NY, at Books of Wonder. Time TBA, but I’m guessing 7 p.m. or thereabouts, and will update as necessary.

Finally, the fabulous Elizabeth Scott and I are doing an event together just outside of Washington, D.C.:

June 27 — Tyson’s Corner, VA, at the Barnes & Noble @ 1 p.m.

Whew! I am going to be very tired, but I hope I get to meet a lot of you guys there.

Well, I’ve been saying for months that I’m behind, that things are crazy, that I’m way behind on the reader e-mail: At last I can reveal why, and what I’ve been working on, now that we’ve reached this very happy result. This is what my super-duper agent, Diana Fox, will be sending in to Publishers Weekly today —

YOUNG ADULT: EVERNIGHT author Claudia Gray’s SPELLCASTER, the first in a three-book series in which a well-meaning young witch finds she must call upon darker powers to defeat a dangerous enchantress and break the curse on the man she loves; and BALTHAZAR, a continuation of the EVERNIGHT series that delves into the complicated past of the title vampire; to Zareen Jaffrey at HarperCollins, in a significant deal.

I am very excited about the SPELLCASTER series — and I think you guys will love Ivy and Mateo — but I imagine right now most of you are more hyped about BALTHAZAR. Well, join the club. 🙂 He has always had so much story to tell that he almost didn’t fit within the EVERNIGHT series, and now he’s going to get a book of his own. Although it will be set after the conclusion of AFTERLIFE, and involve many other characters you already know from the EVERNIGHT series, BALTHAZAR will have a lot of flashes to the bad ol’ days and be an independent book about his own journey from the boy he was to the vampire he’s become.

No idea at this point about release dates, etc., but I will keep you posted, of course.

And now that I have less to take care of — and, um, no more excuses — time to get cracking once more on AFTERLIFE (and all that reader e-mail).

Sorry I’ve been gone so long — the days leading up to my break were pretty busy, and then I spent one wonderful week in London. But you know what that means: