Category: livejournal entry

Evernight gets the briefest of mentions in this New York Observer article about the popularity of all things teenage and vampire, most particularly Twilight. Although agents everywhere are groaning that they’re seeing too many vampires, this article speculates that the market isn’t close to saturated yet. Let’s hope not.

I can also announce that I’ve joined a second anthology; I don’t have a title for this one yet, but it will be a Borders exclusive — all YA, all vampires, all romantic, all scary. And it’s coming out just in time for Halloween! I’ll provide more info as plans finalize.

(I already know that I’ll be writing about the backstory of a character in Evernight, so I’m very excited about that.)

It’s after 1 in the morning. I’m still up. I finished writing more than an hour ago, but I can’t possibly go to sleep.

You see, I just killed a character.

I knew this was going to happen; I knew this person would die in the third book long before I’d even finished the first. It’s important. It’s necessary. And — as you might guess in a book about vampires — it’s also not the end.

That doesn’t change the fact that I feel intensely guilty right now.

Forgive me, character I cannot name in public! I swear this is for the best.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to lie down with my head under a pillow.

British government pays for exorcism.

I’ve known not one but two people who had “castings-out” of what they considered to be spirits in their homes. One was an aunt of mine who believed strongly that there was something Not Right on the little-used third floor of her old house. Several relatives who stayed there reported feeling extremely odd, and my grandmother (aka the least fanciful human being who has ever walked the face of the earth) was awakened in the night while staying there — she would never discuss precisely what happened, but she kept saying that everyone should believe my aunt and that a priest needed to see to it. A priest saw to it. Apparently there were still occasional bad vibes but far fewer and less often. Another was a law school classmate — funny, snarky and very down to earth — who nonetheless felt quite certain he was being watched in his house. He kept trying to ignore it until one day his wife confessed the same feeling, and coming from the same particular two corners that creeped him out. Then their young daughter innocently piped up and asked if they were talking about that thing with all the eyes. Again with the priest-calling. They had no more problems.

I don’t believe in ghosts, and yet I am not disposed to ignore those people’s experiences entirely. It’s interesting.

Who else has had known someone who had a “casting-out”? Or have any folks out there had them done themselves?

Is this bad news for the show or good news?

The showrunner has been fired, which is usually a sign of trouble, and as I was enjoying the show as-is, I’m not sure how “Moonlight” would be poised to change.

OTOH, does this mean “Moonlight” is being renewed for sure? Seems like CBS wouldn’t go to the trouble of firing the showrunner of a show they were about to tank.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I need my TV vampire fix!

I’m happy to announce that I’ll have a story in the upcoming HarperTeen anthology, Vacations From Hell, due in a bookstore near you for summer 2009. My story is unnamed right now, but thanks to you guys, its heroine is not: Cecily will get to have a few adventures of her own.

So much for all that “free time” I’ve had lately —

(::pauses to laugh hysterically::)

— but I’m really looking forward to writing this story. It’s going to be a little lighter and funnier than the Evernight series, and I personally always think a change of pace is a good thing.

The surly chicken is outside my office again.

He is a man about my height wearing a chicken suit that has presumably seen better days, although it is hard to know in what days the chicken suit would have been considered “good.” For one, it is made of yellow fur, which is less “chicken” and more “psychedelic Yeti.” But the big rubber chicken head on top leaves no doubt that this costume is intended for the impersonation of poultry.

For the past month or two, he’s been hanging around my block. I think he is promoting some local business, although he is never waving or being cheerful in the manner of most such mascots. Instead he loiters, shoulders slumped, turning his head that way and this as if daring anyone to to mention the yellow fur. Every once in a while, he will yell something at the passers-by, which might be an advertising slogan but might as easily be angry obscenities. The rubber mask muffles all words and ensures that the surly chicken will never, ever be understood. All I know is that his tone is not encouraging.

I mean, I guess he’s promoting a business. He could just be a guy whose tether to sanity has snapped, rather spectacularly, and this is his chosen method of crazy. But sometimes he seems to be clutching fistfuls of coupons. I really would like to take one, if for no other reason to find out what business could possibly believe that this is the best way to get themselves out there. But I am somewhat afraid of the surly chicken.

Today I went out to grab lunch, and the surly chicken was yelling at the Daily News guy. At least, I think he was, and the newsguy seemed to think so too.

Will I eventually get to see the surly chicken take someone on? I will report.

Next week: big announcements coming!

I just got this in e-mail from a friend, and — unlike 99.99% of all mass internet forwards I have ever received — it made me smile.

“Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl ‘Will you marry me?’ The girl said:’No!’ And the girl lived happily ever-after and went shopping, dancing, shopping (again), drank red wine, never had to cook, did whatever the hell she wanted, never argued, didn’t let herself go, traveled more, had many lovers, and had all the hot water to herself. She went to the theater, had high self-esteem, never cried or yelled, felt and looked fabulous and was pleasant all the time.

*The End*

Here’s to living pleasantly.”

So, on my website, it says I like hiking. When I wrote that, it would probably have been more accurate to say that I like the idea of hiking. It just seems like a pleasant way to spend time. Beautiful scenery! Fresh air! Reveling in health and vitality! Wearing casual-yet-fetching clothes made of natural fibers! And then you get into an SUV conveniently parked in the most scenic vista of all and drive home. Obviously most of my knowledge of this is taken from commercials.

However, I am calling my own bluff and have joined a local hiking club. I won’t actually go on my first hike until next month, but that’s good — that gives me a few weekends to tromp around in the park and break in my boots. I have a feeling that March in upstate New York may somehow prove less warm/sunny/radiant than my mental image. On the other hand, if I make it through that, I should be fine when the weather actually gets nice, right?

I have another reason for starting this now: A good friend and I are planning a trip to South America this fall. (I am insanely excited about this, but will burble about it later, ad nauseum, so am refraining here.) When we do that, there will be some hiking involved, and I’d rather be really in-shape and ready for it.

(Though when I read the vacation brochures, they helpfully explain that among the wondrous wildlife I can expect to see is the puma. I really do not wish to encounter a puma in the wild. It would be highly ironic if, after a life spent indoors as much as possible, I finally became outdoorsy and were eaten by a puma for my pains. If that DOES happen, though, I want that on my tombstone. BORN 1970, DEVOURED BY PUMA 2008.) (ETA: In fact, I think I want that on my tombstone no matter what.)

No pumas in upstate New York, though. I think.

I’ll report on the hike in March!

In claudiagray.com news, my wonderfab designer and I finally figured out what to do for wallpapers and icons. (We’d hoped to use elements from the book jacket, but legal considerations cruelly interfered.) So we ought to have something ready within a couple of weeks —

Thanks to Tez (hi, Tez!), I now know that the second book in the Evernight series, Stargazer, is now available for pre-order.

(Of course, so is Evernight, though I guess that goes without saying.)

Apparently the on-sale date is Nov. 18, although I’m learning that can change. (For instance, Evernight was slated for a June release until only a couple of months ago.) At any rate, I’ll be adding the link to my site as soon as I have some cover art for Stargazer, which the good folks at HC tell me should be soon. I can’t believe it’s already up there!

Hmmm, I wonder when the cover art will appear on Amazon?

I’m excited to announce that my official website is up and running! (And none too soon, either — the ARCs have just gone out, so I went right up to the wire on this one.) Please take a look and let me know what you think. We’ll be adding wallpapers, banners and icons for people to grab in the next few weeks, and I hope to have some fun polls up even sooner than that.

This weekend was just fabulous. Not only did I get to finalize so much of the website, but I also got to meet the delightful rj_anderson, whose first novel, Knife, is coming out from HarperCollins in 2009. Then, Saturday and Sunday, I spent working on Hourglass, the third novel in the Evernight series. I’m in the middle of a very enjoyable section, where the writing feels much more like play than work — which is a good thing, given that I did more than 8 hours a day both Saturday and Sunday. And the next few chapters promise to be even more fun. Darned day job — I wish I could stay with my manuscript right now. Alas, the bills must be paid.

A few of you have asked for review copies, but I haven’t been able to give any answers yet. I’m still waiting for final word on how many ARCs will be available. HarperCollins should let me know sometime this week, so I hope to be able to distribute to all of you then — and, hopefully, we can have a contest for an ARC here. So stay tuned!