Young Adult Book Reading Challenges discussion
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Claudia Gray
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Q&A with Claudia Gray
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Angie, YA lovin mod!!
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Sep 25, 2012 09:50PM
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What inspire you to do the story The Fateful other than the titanic?
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I would love to know about what your next project is going to be? Going on a book tour any time soon?
What was your inspiration for the Evernight series?
What is your favorite YA book / book series?
Hello, Claudia!I was wondering:
How do you make such a strong, romance sub-plot to your novels and how do you put so much emotion into your novels?
How long does it usually take for you to finish your drafts?
Are you completely happy and satisfied with all of the books you have published? Do you ever think 'I should have changed that part' or something along those lines?
And finally, do you have any advice for aspiring YA authors?
What are you favorite books that mix up historical and paranormal fiction? What inspired you to have this book take place on the Titanic?
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What made you decided to make Fateful a stand alone book? How do you keep track of your world building? Also... romance seems to be a big part of most of your novels. How do you make sure that guys still want to pick up your books?
How was your experience researching and writing a historical story? Will there be more historical novels in your future or do you prefer to keep your stories more modern?
Angela wrote: "What inspire you to do the story The Fateful other than the titanic?"Honestly, the Titanic was the first and biggest inspiration - so much so that I wasn't sure how to answer this at first. But the other huge interest of mine that became important in this book was the life of people "in service" to great families in England at that period. "Downton Abbey" hadn't even come out yet, but I became fascinated with it after watching the original "Upstairs, Downstairs" BBC program. The idea of these people who were both totally at the beck and call of spoiled aristocrats and yet knew so much about their lives ... that's always interested me. Tess' relationships run the gamut of what was possible, from her loathing of Lady Regina to her friendship with Irene.
Angie wrote: "I am curious why you chose to use the pen name Claudia Gray? I have always wondered why authors/actors will use a different name?"The whole reason I decided to use a pen name: I thought it would be fun. (And it IS.) From the time I was a little kid and learned people sometimes used different names to write books, I thought it would be awesome to do that, and I did, the first chance I got!
That said, it's been useful to me in other ways; for instance, it's very helpful to have separate facebook accounts, email addresses, etc.
Monica wrote: "I would love to know about what your next project is going to be? Going on a book tour any time soon?"My next project is a witchcraft-based YA trilogy; the first book, SPELLCASTER, will be out in March! Right now I'm writing the second book, STEADFAST, and brainstorming other potential projects.
As for touring, my next stop is Ecuador, in November. But I'll be on a group tour this March - more details coming soon.
Kayla wrote: "What was your inspiration for the Evernight series?"Probably the single most important element I drew on was the high school I wished I went to -- in other words, the opposite of the one I actually attended. I loved the idea of someplace dramatic, old, located up north, and believed boarding school would be interesting and sort of romantic. (Those who have actually gone to boarding schools tell me this is not invariably true.)
Lucia wrote: "What is your favorite YA book / book series?"Hunger Games! (Unless Harry Potter counts as YA -- it's sort of MG meets YA, isn't it?)
Shaleezah wrote: "Hello, Claudia!I was wondering:
How do you make such a strong, romance sup-plot to your novels and how do you put so much emotion into your novels?
How long does it usually take for you to fini..."
Many questions here!
1) I love writing romance. I think it's a great way to explore character; in the end, who you love and how says more about you than almost anything else. (Though of course that's true for non-romantic love too.) And I get very passionate about my characters, so hopefully that emotion is what's coming through!
2) This varies widely. I've had it take almost a year; I've had it take a couple of months. Each book presents its own challenges, and of course every once in a while Real Life adds some new complications to the mix.
3) Oh, I'll never be completely happy and satisfied with anything I write. I'd be rewriting everything forever if I weren't stopped by force. But I think you'll find lots of writers feel the same way. This is why they give us deadlines.
4) The main piece of advice I have for aspiring writers is to read. Read constantly, read widely, read everything you can get your mitts on. Read what fascinates you. Read something you would never have imagined you'd read. Only through reading will you learn exactly what kind of stories engage you, and see how those authors drew you into their world.
Anthony wrote: "What are you favorite books that mix up historical and paranormal fiction? What inspired you to have this book take place on the Titanic?"I LOVE Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series (which only has a toe in paranormal, but it definitely counts); they're British cozy mysteries set between in England between the first and second world wars, and really beautifully done. Libba Bray is sort of the historical/paranormal master of YA, and for mainstream adult fiction, I've really been enjoying Katherine Howe's work.
Anthony wrote: "What are you favorite books that mix up historical and paranormal fiction? What inspired you to have this book take place on the Titanic?"I forgot the second part of the question! What happened was that I went to a traveling exhibition of Titanic artifacts and was completely entranced. Not only were there all these beautiful items from the shipwreck itself (jewelry, pieces of shipboard equipment, even postcards), but there were also re-created rooms. You could walk down a corridor exactly like the ones on the ship. You could look into a third-class cabin, or the first-class lounge. How could anyone help imagining they were really there?
And me being me, I thought, oooh, add werewolves.
Angie wrote: "What do you think of the Titanic movies out there... do you like any of them? What about any books about Titanic?"I tend to like most movies about the Titanic, even the ones that aren't objectively all that good, because, you know ... Titanic. It just fascinates me no end. But I particularly recommend A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, which is old and slow but very, very accurate to what was known about the wreck at that time. And Kate and Leo can sail across my TV screen anytime.
Katherine Howe has written an interesting book that at least touches on the Titanic, THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS. And there are tons of great nonfiction works that cover everything from history to ship design to the ethics of salvage to the menus for every meal ever served on board.
Eddie wrote: "What made you decided to make Fateful a stand alone book? How do you keep track of your world building? Also... romance seems to be a big part of most of your novels. How do you make sure that guy..."1) FATEFUL pretty naturally lends itself to being a standalone, I think; I mean, it's set on the Titanic, the Titanic sinks, and she's not coming up again. But I think I could do other stories calling on the mythology of the werewolves and the Brotherhood.
2) I keep notes on a lot of my world-building, but sometimes I'll trip myself up in the weirdest ways without realizing it. (This usually happens in sequel books, when I remember that I made a choice between two options in the first book, but can't immediately recall which one I chose!) But that's why God in his wisdom made beta readers, agents and editors. And why I reread each book before starting on its sequel.
3) I honestly think guys like romance more than they'll publicly admit.
Hi Claudia! *waves* Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions today. A couple more questions from me. 1. Do you think you'll ever go contemporary or do you want to stay with the paranormal genre?
2. Also, you've done vampires and werewolves and are now into witches. What other paranormal/supernatural creatures or legends would you like to tackle next?
Mary wrote: "How was your experience researching and writing a historical story? Will there be more historical novels in your future or do you prefer to keep your stories more modern?"I got spoiled with this one. Basically, there is no historical subject easier to research than the Titanic. Thousands of people have been fascinated with the ship and the disaster in the 100 years since it happened, and in many cases they've written books, made documentaries or put together web pages that detail virtually every fact anyone could want to know. I was able to find out exactly what they'd have eaten, look at swatches of the wallpaper, read up on where the laundries were, etc. So this was not only simple to research, but lots of fun.
I love the idea of doing another historical novel, but I don't have any specific ideas yet.
Claudia wrote: "Shaleezah wrote: "Hello, Claudia!I was wondering:
How do you make such a strong, romance sup-plot to your novels and how do you put so much emotion into your novels?
How long does it usually ta..."
Thank you so much for answering all of my questions! :)
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Angie wrote: "Thank you so much Claudia for stopping by today!!! It makes reading the author's book so much more fun!! We really appreciate you answering our questions."Agreed! I'm elated that you stopped by, Claudia(and I've totally put your next book on my to-read list because of it too). Thank you :)
