Claudia Gray is the author of Balthazar, the final book in the ‘Evernight’ series (HarperCollins). Gray is touring Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in March and is a guest of the Somerset Celebration of Literature in Queensland. 

What would you put on a shelf-talker for your book?
It would be the tagline that appears on the Balthazar cover: ‘Finally, it’s his turn.’

What’s the silliest question you’ve ever been asked on a book tour?
Honestly, I haven’t been asked very many truly silly questions. The last tour I was on, though, people asked some very personal ones! I mean, stuff I would ask my best friends but not many other people. ‘Tell me about the first time you fell in love,’ that was one. I mean, before I start spilling stuff that intimate, you have to at least buy me coffee. At a minimum.

And the most profound?
Somebody asked what made a love scene truly good, which was thought-provoking, because I’d never pulled it out quite that abstractly before. It was interesting to consider. Ultimately I decided that it was about discovery, that great love scenes are about each person simultaneously discovering something about the other and about themselves. That they’re learning who they are together.

What are you reading right now?
My Place by Sally Morgan (Fremantle Press). I’m about two thirds of the way through, so I think I’ll finish before I leave for Australia.

What’s the last book you read and loved?
The Invisible Gorilla by Daniel Simons (HarperCollins). While I’m in the thick of writing, which I have been recently, I read much more nonfiction than fiction. The Invisible Gorilla is all about the limits of human perception and memory; we think we know and notice a great deal more than we do. It’s an entertaining, but sobering, read.

What was the defining book of your childhood?
There’s no one single defining book—I read so much, so avidly, that there are dozens that helped to shape my imagination. If there is one, it’s probably Mysteries of the Unexplained, a Readers’ Digest compilation of highly dubious ‘news’ about werewolves, hauntings, cryogenics, and anything else that could be considered weird. My grandparents had a copy, which I absorbed as though through my skin. That fascination with the bizarre is very much a part of me to this day. (And I now possess my own copy.)

What is your favourite bookstore?
What a cruel question to ask a book lover! During my childhood, the answer would definitely be Square Books of Oxford, Mississippi, near where I grew up. My dad would take me there to buy the occasional book as a treat; at the time, it was only on the second floor, and all the stairs were painted red with different genres lettered on each step. While I lived in New York City—specifically, during the heyday of Harry Potter madness—I developed a soft spot for Books of Wonder, which always had a big midnight bash for the books, to which they invited live owls. Yes, while waiting in line for your Harry Potter book, you got to see these beautiful owls, talk to their trainers, and donate to the conservation society. And, of course, because it was near midnight, the owls were wide awake! Spectacular.

Facebook or Twitter?
Both! And Instagram. And Tumblr.

If I were a literary character, I’d be …
… oh, dear, I think I’m Marianne Dashwood.

In 50 years’ time, books will be …
… around, for sure. I think we’ll see format changes that are hard to predict now, but we’ll never lose touch with the fundamentals of story.