Claudia Gray

I thought I was going to my hometown this weekend just to do some new-nephew cuddling, but no: It turns out I’ll be appearing at Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday, Aug. 2 at 4 p.m. We’re not doing any big event, as this is all rather last-minute, but I’m going to sign the store’s copies and meet-and-greet any readers who stop by for about an hour or so. I figure most of you are going to be slightly fried from a long, sleepless night spent reading Breaking Dawn after the big midnight bashes, but if any of you are awake and in the area, please stop by! I’d love to meet you guys.

I hope to have some more appearances to announce soon, so watch this space.

(BTW, the new nephew is indeed named Ari. As my digital camera is on the fritz, I will have to get his parents to forward me a few pics to share.)

If you’re in Spain or reading Evernight in Spanish (where it is known as Medianoche) or Catalan (!), you might want to check out this blog and this forum. Thanks to Idoia and Ginny for putting them together! ETA: And don’t forget this blog, put together by Amanecer! I speak no Spanish but trust you guys are having good times there.

I am mostly recovered from yesterday’s wild flood adventure, but wow, am I tired. It’s going to take me a while to bounce back!

Early Morning.

GUIDE: Okay, so, we see a few clouds up there, but usually they blow over without any trouble. Lots of water on the trail, so it rained last night, and let’s hope that’s all we get.

ME: ::is glad she brought rain poncho::

40 Minutes Later. Rain begins to fall.

GUIDE: Let’s hope this blows over quickly!

ME: Is that hail?

OTHER HIKERS: Yeah, that’s hail.

ME: ::puts on rain poncho::

Lightning strikes.

GUIDE: Oh, sounds like that wasn’t too far off! A couple of miles, maybe?

OTHER HIKER: I think it was at the other end of this field. The one we’re standing in.

ME: Uh, yeah.

Two Hours Later:

GUIDE: I haven’t seen flooding like this in 28 years!

ME: ::hangs onto tree branch for balance while wading through thigh-deep rapids that used to be a trail::

OTHER HIKER: This is the most fun I’ve had on a hike EVER!

ME: Me too!

**

Back home, safe, sound and finally dry. Incredibly exhausted. Pretty happy.

We have another review of Evernight up here at Reader Rabbit!

In other Evernighty news, I am still woefully short of submitted questions for the interview with Bianca. I’ll need a few more questions before I can proceed. Any question you wish you could step into the book and ask Bianca? Let me know!

The heat wave broke here today, and oh, I’m so relieved. Weeks like last week make me wish I could move to Iceland.

I have a boatload of goodies to link to today:

First of all, if you’d like to read an interview with me — and, just maybe, get a look at the first few pages of Stargazer, all you have to do is check it out at TeenLibris!

Second, we have some Evernight communities springing up here on LJ! I am tempted to join but would just end up spouting spoilers, which the publisher frowns on, so instead I’m going to simply show you guys where to find them:

evernightseries
evernightlove

New goodies! And it’s Friday! The only way this day could get better would be if it were suddenly 75 degrees outside instead of 95. Whew.

As of about three hours ago, I have a brand-new nephew! We think his name is Ari, but the parents are still wavering, so we’re unsure. But he’s 8 pounds and perfectly healthy; my sister-in-law had a home birth she was extremely happy with. In a couple of weeks I will be headed home to give him some quality cuddle time.

Mom, Dad, older brother Eli and wee one are just fine, but the dog (who has been the “baby” of the family for years now) is apparently very put out.

I am deep in Hourglass revisions. It’s sort of hard switching gears like this — I had been in the thick of working on some other ideas, and really making some progress — but at the same time, I’m grateful to get the chance to make Hourglass everything it can be. It’s the third book of the four, one in which so many important events happen. I would hate to shortchange a single one.

(Not coincidentally, this book is longer than the first two — which were, in turn, exactly the length my editor described to me as the absolute maximum allowable. Hmmm. Wonder whether I’ll need to make more cuts here, or if we can fly at this length? Stay tuned for more news as this develops.)

I have tomorrow off from the day job. Bliss.

ETA: The website has been updated!

I had thought this wasn’t out until October, but I was wrong!

Immortal, an anthology of romantic YA vampire stories, will be available as a Borders exclusive starting in August. I’m one of the authors taking part, and my story, “Free: A Story of Evernight” tells the history of Patrice Devereaux, Bianca’s friend and roommate in Evernight. Patrice’s life as a free woman of color in antebellum New Orleans allows her a very strange kind of freedom, one with definite limits and a definite end. Just as she prepares to take a tremendous risk for love, a mysterious man appears in town with very different ideas about liberation — and an obsession with Patrice that might cost her everything.

Other authors featured in Immortal include Cynthia Leitich Smith, Rachel Caine, Richelle Mead, Nancy Holder, Kristin Cast and Tanith Lee. I’ve checked out most of the other stories, and they’re fabulous — dark and sexy and full of all the juicy stuff you’d hope for from vampire romances. The anthology is edited by P.C. Cast. As you might’ve guessed from the phrase “Borders exclusive,” you can only buy at at Borders (which now has an online store, hint hint).

You can read an excerpt of “Free: A Story of Evernight,” as well as excerpts from some of the other stories, at TeenLibris. And if you want to win a free copy? There’s an Immortal contest right here.

Sorry to be posting so late, but I spent my day in the studio filming an interview that will eventually appear on the HarperTeen website. Very exciting, except for the part where I worried about my hair quite a lot. (When it goes live, I’ll let you guys know. Unless I think my hair looks dorky. Then you’re on your own.)

Upon getting home, though, I promptly put all the names together, chose one at random, and the winner is — Cristina! She gets a $100 gift certificate and the right to name a character in the fourth book of the Evernight series. Congrats to Cristina, and thanks to absolutely everyone who entered.

Now, today’s big announcement:

Character interviews are about to begin!

What do I mean by that? You send in questions for Bianca, and she will answer. Although you’re interviewing Bianca right after Evernight, when she has no idea what will happen in future books, feel free to ask her absolutely anything. I don’t promise that she will answer every question asked, but we’ll post a good interview with her here and on the website August 1. So, anytime between now and August 1, drop your questions here or by email at evernightclaudia at gmail dot com. I look forward to seeing what you guys come up with!