Australians sinking their teeth into vampire books

Australian readers getting their teeth into vampire fiction, with booksellers ordering 16,000 copies of the latest offering by US author Claudia Gray.

The demand for Stargazer - a sequel to Gray's bestselling Evernight - follows the runaway success of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and film.

Stargazer continues the doomed love story of teenage supernatural enemies, Bianca and Lucas, now in their second year at the eerie Evernight Academy, which turns out to be hiding more than vampires and vampire hunters.

Ghosts known as wraiths are attacking the school, singling out Bianca and leaving her to uncover the reason behind the attacks while also keeping her relationship with Lucas alive.

"Bianca is put in much the same position Lucas was the year before - living a dual life, hiding the truth - and it brings out some of her flaws that she has to wrestle with," the author reveals.

With a promise of new surprises, Gray adds, "Her relationship with her parents suffers under the strain of a secret they've been keeping too long."

Rather than being annoyed by constant comparisons to the Twilight books, Gray says she's grateful Meyer's books have left fans hungry to sink their teeth into more vampire fiction.

"But I think as the Evernight series unfolds, the comparisons will become fewer. Our series diverge pretty widely by the end."

The New York-based writer says it's no surprise that vampire fiction is the latest literary fad.

"I think they've been very popular for a long time - ever since Dracula!" she says.

"The modern era of the sexy, romantic vampire probably began with Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows and of course the Anne Rice books."

"They have all the things we're told to crave (beauty, immortality, strength) and yet are tragic figures, forever separated from the full joy of existence.

"We can envy them and pity them at the same time."

Gray came back to a long-time passion for telling stories after a succession of jobs including disc jockey, lawyer, journalist and waitress.

"For the longest time, I lacked the confidence to try for publication. I'm glad friends encouraged me to give it a shot!"

Currently, she's still working a day job and writing evenings, but she says she hopes to get into full-time writing by the end of the year.

Her projects of the moment include the fourth book in the Evernight series, Afterlife, which will follow the third, Hourglass, and a stand-alone spinoff for the Evernight character, Balthazar.

Also in the works is a three-book witchcraft series, Spellcaster, which will also sit in the Young Adult (YA) category.

Despite also being YA, Evernight has successfully appealed to all kinds of readers, raking up sales of 30,000 copies in Australia.

"I get email from much older readers (including a few grandmas) and some guys, too."

AAP

Claudia Gray is the pseudonym of New York-based writer Amy Vincent. She has worked as a lawyer, a journalist, a disc jockey, and an extremely poor waitress. Her lifelong interests in old houses, classic movies, vintage style, and history all play a part in creating the world of Evernight.

Book 3 in the Evernight series 'Hourglass' is coming soon!