Blog Tour: Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Welcome to Day One of Claudia Gray's Blog Tour! We'll be kicking off this tour with a interview with Claudia Gray on her newest Evernight book, Hourglass!

Synopsis:

Hourglass (March 2009) After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, an elite group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend--the vampire Balthazar--all her secrets threaten to come out.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas have orchestrated Balthazar's escape and are on the run, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they run, Bianca can't escape her destiny.

Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything--but can it survive what's to come?

Order Hourglass at Amazon.com!

Get a sneak peek at the Hourglass prologue and chapter one!

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Interview with Claudia Gray:

Tainted Poet: What should readers expect in HOURGLASS, the third installment of the EVERNIGHT series?

Claudia Gray: As you will remember, STARGAZER ended with Bianca and Lucas running away from Evernight Academy together – into the clutches of the vampire hunters of Black Cross. A few readers believed that Bianca had willingly joined Black Cross, which isn’t the case at all; she and Lucas are stuck with them while the group is in “lockdown” after the attack on Evernight but intend to get away, on their own, as soon as possible. But that’s not as soon as they had hoped; Lucas discovers that quitting Black Cross isn’t as easy as giving notice. Bianca has to disguise her true nature, because if any of the hunters realize she’s a born vampire, they’ll turn on her in a second. And then Black Cross captures Balthazar, which creates a crisis that’s going to test them all. Bianca’s very close to discovering her true destiny, and at the end, I would say that she and Lucas are facing their ultimate challenge.

I should warn you now: HOURGLASS ends on a cliffhanger, for which I sincerely apologize. When I was plotting the series out, the books were scheduled to come out once every six months. Six months didn’t seem too long to leave readers in the lurch, particularly since not everyone reads a book in its first couple of weeks of release. But then the publishing schedule was changed to once a year – and by then, I’d written too much to change my outlines. So I am sorry to leave you guys in suspense! Please trust me when I say that AFTERLIFE is not going to leave you hanging.

TP: What inspired you to start writing the EVERNIGHT series? What brought about writing a vampire series?

CG: I was trying to think outside the box, to come up with the most unusual school possible as a setting for a YA story. A vampire boarding school seemed to fit the bill. (Of course, EVERNIGHT sold right around the same time as the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series. Richelle Mead and I talked and were very, very relieved to discover we had two totally different takes on the idea!) After that, I came up with the idea of Bianca, in her uniform and with her telescope, and I tried to figure out who she was and who she needed to have in her life.

And, of course, I have always been fascinated by vampires. Even when I was a little kid, I would find the creepiest vampire books in the library and read them all. So I think writing about them someday was inevitable!

TP: Who would you say is your favorite character in HOURGLASS and why? Any favorite quotes?

CG: I honestly don’t have a single favorite character; the one I like best on any given day is the one who’s saying the most interesting things and giving me the most to work with while I’m writing. I think some characters who ended up having very strong scenes in HOURGLASS included Lucas, Mrs. Bethany, Balthazar, Raquel, Dana and, of all people, Ranulf.

This is a quote I really like, but I warn you that it’s not going to make any sense out of context. At one point, Ranulf says, “It is useful.” When you get to that part of the story (near the end), you’ll understand why I like it so much!

TP: Do you like reading about vampires?

CG: I love reading about vampires, but ever since I started work on the EVERNIGHT series, I’ve abstained from almost all vampire media – right now, honestly, it’s a little too much like work! I’ve made a few exceptions, though, namely Francesca Lia Block’s novel PRETTY DEAD and the TV shows “The Vampire Diaries” and “True Blood.” But as soon as I finish Balthazar’s novel, I hope to dive into all the amazing vampire book series and movies I’ve been missing out on. There’s going to be this whole treasure trove waiting for me.

TP: Can you tell us anything about AFTERLIFE, the fourth book in the series? (We love hints/clues!)

CG: Hmmm, I’ll have to be very careful here. I’ll give you five cryptic clues:

• Bianca will confront the wraiths in new ways, and in so doing, discovers amazing powers she could never have anticipated.
• Balthazar will ask Bianca to share something with him that she’s only shared with Lucas before.
• Lucas will be horribly betrayed by someone he loves dearly.
• Patrice returns – and proves to have a few tricks up her stylish sleeves.
• Mrs. Bethany will finally reveal why she used the human students to lure the wraiths to Evernight – and the answer to that question has the power to rock Bianca and Lucas’s worlds forever.

END

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Other great Claudia Gray links:

-Claudia Gray's Tour dates
-Claudia Gray's Website
-Claudia Gray's Journal