(This post was supposed to go up a few days ago. In some places, it did. But I’m still figuring out the shiny new website, so we have to try this again …)
I very much hope you’ve checked out my website’s new look in the past couple of days. Not only do I think it’s SUPER SPIFFY, but that’s also the only way (for now) you can check out the sneak preview of SPELLCASTER way before the March 5 release date!
If you have taken a look at the new home page, you’ve seen that my designer and I decided to tie together pretty much all of my social media: You can see my latest blog post, my latest news, what I’ve just Tweeted and the last few images I’ve posted to Pinterest and Tumblr. This has led to an unanticipated (though in retrospect inevitable) focus on James McAvoy on the home page … but the point is that now the main area of the site is hopefully a place to catch up on pretty much everything I’ve got going on. It’s not static; it changes almost hourly, and I like that a lot.
(Though for some reason, the Twitter can take a long time to update if and only if the last thing I tweeted is really embarrassing. Beautiful quotes about writing from Mario Vargas Llosa? Gone in a flash. Me horrified that I was accidentally flashing bra strap? UP ALL DAY. It’s like it’s blush-sensitive, or something.)
It’s a newer frontier to me than it ought to be, really. I’ve been online since before the beginning, tweeting away, so on and so forth. And when you publish your first books, that’s what you hear, over and over: “Get out there! Create a platform! Make yourself heard!” But the day to day of it — you know, it’s tricky. I never, ever wanted to be one of those people who refuses to tweet or blog anything except links where you can buy my book. This is not because I don’t want you to buy my book, but because I think that always comes across as both pushy and kind of fake. So I’ve tried very hard to be myself online.
However, you guys aren’t following me to hear more about my bra straps. (Or maybe you are. There could be a few of you out there. The internet is a strange place.) You guys want to hear more about the writing, about books I’ve read, and so on. Which means that I haven’t just changed how I’m presenting the information I put out there — I’m changing what I put out there.
All that said, some things will remain the same. Mr. McAvoy will continue to make a few tasteful appearances. I will keep on geeking out about “Hunger Games” and “Harry Potter” and the like. I will continue to do embarrassing things from time to time, and probably will continue to tweet about them before thinking better of it. And I will continue to have CONTESTS. Such as …
WIN LAUREN OLIVER’S REQUIEM!
Yes, it’s an ARC of the much-anticipated conclusion to the DELIRIUM trilogy. It won’t be in bookstores until March, but you could have your copy next week if you win. How do you enter?
1) Ask me a question either here at the blog or via Twitter about writing, about SPELLCASTER, anything authorial. (If you don’t already follow me on Twitter, you can now do so via my home page at www.claudiagray.com.) I want to put more of this info out there, but I want to answer the questions you guys are really interested in!
2) Do this before Tuesday, January 22, when I will pick a winner. The winner is the only person who gets the ARC of DELIRIUM; I hope to answer nearly all of your questions.
3) Yes, you can be from anywhere (I will ship internationally), but if you enter via the blog, be sure to include an email address where I can reach you if you win.
That’s it, and good luck!
(More is coming soon — for instance, my first forays into video blogging. Remember how I said I would still do embarrassing things?)
What keeps you coming back every day? That is, why do you write? What makes you return to pen/keyboard/typewriter every day? Where does that passion stem from? Thanks. 🙂
Love your sites new look!
My question is about writing. How do you balance family and writing?
Thanks, Sonya
What were the vital things you made sure to do to your first manuscript, before querying it? What do you wish you would have done differently, and what advice would you give to someone now, in that position?
Also, what is one book that changed your life, whether as a kid, or now as an adult, and why?
Thank you, Claudia! I’m a huge fan of your work, and I am not afraid of the video blog, I’m excited for it! 🙂
Hi Claudia!
I am an aspiring writer and I have all of these great ideas but I have trouble sticking to one start to finish. How do you stay focused on one project at a time? Also, what can we expect from The Spellcaster series?
Thanks for answering questions!
Whollybooks1 at gmail dot com
I’m curious, what’s the first real image that struck you from all of your books, assuming there is one?
If you could live in an alternate universe, how would you make your life out to be? Different profession? Live in another country? Change your gender? Anything? 🙂
When writing has a character ever done something that surprised you? If so, what was it?
Thanks
lilcrickit at gmail dot com
Lately, we have seen a lot of vampires and werewolfs in YA Books. Why did you decide to write something about witches?
I think that we need the witches to come back to our books 😀 It’s a great idea!
Love from Argentina, Leo (Sueños y Palabras)
Hello 🙂
My question is as follows;
When was the first time, when asked what you do for a living you replied with, ‘I am an author’ without a moments hesitation?
Do you become an author the moment the idea hits you? When you put pen to paper? Or when you see the finished work sitting there in all it’s glory and think, yes I am really am an author now.
I am curious to know when you turely believed this was your title.
Thank you 🙂
How do you come up with your characters? Not just names, but personality, hobbies, etc. How do you keep them from being “Mary Sue”s?
What was the most challenging part of writing a query letter? I’ve seen numerous ways from various resources. Is there a right way to do it, or does it just vary by author? 🙂
Is there a specific message or moral you want your readers to remember once they’ve finished Spellcaster or any of your other books? Perhaps more than one? And do you apply this to your own life?
Which of your characters from any of your books would you most like to spend the day hanging out with?
Hi, thanks for making this giveaway international. I was wondering how do you keep motivated when you’re writing? And also, is there an outlining technique that you use?
My email: atwfs@live.com
I have a couple questions for you.
Do you like writing about vampires or witches more based on your two series?
How do you balance, reading, writing, family, and other responsibilities?
How long have you been writing? What was the deciding factor for you to try to get published?
What is your favorite part of being an author?
Ooh, thanks for the chance to win!
My question: What do you believe is the best line you’ve ever written?
(I love all your books, so I’m interested to see what you say!)
Spellcaster sounds great what a unique plot what was your inspiration for spellcaster. and do some books take longer than others to write ?
I would love to know how you make everything come together at the end of a story? Do you ever feel like you left any loose ends? Do you ever go back and add stuff in during the story to make the ending that much more perfect? Is it hard to turn an idea of a story into a complete book, or series even?
I’m curious, do you ever write yourself into any of your stories? Such as maybe an event that happened in your own life, base your characters (or their characteristics) off people you know/knew (ie: the eyes of an old flame), or give them hobbies or interests based off your own?
Who is your favorite author and is your writing style similar to theirs? And how many hours a day do you spend on your writing?
Did you plot out your book before writing it, or did you just dive right in? Thanks! allaboutyanovels at gmail dot com
I think your new site is very cute and Spellcaster sounds great. What are your favorite scenes to write in your books? Is it the action, romance, day-to day, or sad scenes that you like best?
What inspires you to write?
Hi Claudia! Here’s my question w/c I earlier posted on Twitter: after writing Fateful, is there a particular era in history that you’d love to explore in the future? The 1940s perhaps?
What kind of research do you do before writing a book?
What is your biggest/best motivation when writing?
What do you read for inspiration?