Hi! Today it is my great pleasure to have Claudia Gray visiting as part of a blog hop for her wonderful historical paranormal romance Fateful (Quite the mouthful of genres). She has an entertaining and informative post to share. :)
Switching from Port to Starboard - From Vampires to Werewolves
by Claudia Gray
When
I first thought of writing something on the Titanic, I was still
finishing up AFTERLIFE, and beginning to plot BALTHAZAR. So my natural
first idea was, I’ll put a vampire on the Titanic!
Only later did I realize this was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.
First
of all – in the EVERNIGHT world, as in many traditional legends,
vampires find it extremely tough to cross running water. They can do it,
but it’s difficult, and it hurts them, and if they’re above (or in)
water for too long, they become completely incapacitated.
The Atlantic Ocean = running water.
Would
it have been possible for a vampire to board the Titanic? Well, sure.
Back in those days, if you were going to travel from Europe to North
America, you weren’t going to be able to do it any other way. But
EVERNIGHT vampires would feel sick as soon as they got on board. They’d
immediately go to their cabins, lie down and pretty much pass out.
Someone would ultimately wake them when they got to port, at which time
they could stagger off the ship, take a few deep breaths, and feel all
better (and probably quite well rested.)
Vampires napping = not a fascinating, drama-packed adventure.
Also,
as we know, the Titanic would not peacefully make port. She sank in the
North Atlantic. Would the vampires even wake up during the sinking?
Maybe not!
Napping through the sinking of the Titanic = just sad, really.
Instead,
the vampires would probably wind up coming too when they were no longer
above running water, but actually on the ocean floor. They’d still feel
rotten (running water all around), but they’d probably at least come
to. And man, would they be ticked off. Their cabin is wrecked. Their
luggage is ruined. There are tons of dead humans around, but their blood
is too cold to drink. And they’re still hundreds of miles from where
they want to be.
And then there would be the thrilling
conclusion, in which a vampire in a bad mood trudges through the silt on
the ocean floor and walks to New York City, there to clamber up on the
pier and mope while soaking wet.
Yeah, I wasn’t going there.
But then I thought – werewolves.
You
see, a werewolf would have a serious problem aboard the Titanic.
Whether you are the kind of werewolf who is trying not to eat people, or
the kind of werewolf who is trying not to get caught eating people, you
have one big priority: Privacy. You need to be alone to change. You
need to be contained while you’re all wolfy. And you need your secret to
never, ever come out.
But on the Titanic, privacy would
be hard to come by. Those cabins were all right next to one another –
and even in the finest accommodations, like the promenade suites taken
by John Jacob Astor (in reality) and the Marlowes (in FATEFUL),
neighbors would probably be able to hear. Yet, once again – it was the
fastest way to make that trip, if it had to be made.
So
now I not only had a great supernatural creature to work with, but I had
plenty of suspense to sustain the story. And fun questions to answer as
I looked at ship blueprints, like, “If I were a werewolf, what rooms on
the Titanic would I try to lock myself into?”
Yes, it was time for the switch, and I never looked back!
******************************
Here are all of the Fateful Blog Hop Tour Guest Posts!
The Book Heist: Sinking Into Titanic Research
Hippies, Beauty and Books Oh My!: Tip of the Iceberg: Climax Themes and Challenges
Songs and Stories: Switching from Port to Starboard – From Vampires to Werewolves
Live to Read: On Board with Tess Davies
The Book Cellar: On Board with
Alec Marlowe
Bellas Novella: On Board with Secondary Characters
Mundie Mom's Book Reviews: More on the Unexplained: Why Claudia Gray Always
Loved the Titanic
**************************************
Fateful
A novel by Claudia Gray
Eighteen-year-old
maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, troubled family
she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of
the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But
now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the
ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess
plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.
Her
single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome
first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets
of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the
ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the
French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously. . . .
Soon
Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they
face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now
her, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and
fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.
In
Fateful, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray delivers
paranormal adventure, dark suspense, and alluring romance set against
the opulent backdrop of the Titanic’s first—and last—voyage.
AUTHOR INFO
If you would like to read my review of Fateful, go here.
