Grays secondStar Warsnovel,Bloodlines, is coming from Del Rey in the spring.
We talked to her about that, as well as the construction ofLost Stars.
Youve talked before about being interested in being able to develop Thane and Cienas homeworld.
How did that begin?
It came primarily from two things.
Why is she staying?
Its not only about her loyalty to the Empire.
So that was the biggest cultural component.
The idea was sort of the Himalayas, some place that was really, truly mountainous.
They actually do that in the Himalayas because you cant bury people there.
You just cant do it.
I wanted them to feel like they came from a place that felt distinctive.
Another character that really struck fans was the Alderaanian Nash Windrider.
The idea is how many compromises do you make, and how does it change you?
Theyve completely gone over to that.
So that was the idea for Nash from the get-go.
At least that was my idea.
I have no idea if it actually worked.
What were the challenges to fitting your characters into the Original Trilogy scenes without making the cameos too blatant?
Were there any scenes where that was particularly challenging?
There were a few.
Originally, I had more stuff in the outline, and they said take a little out.
So it was balancing those things.
It was interesting, though.
This book is dark.
It deals with some abuse and emotional trauma.
Why was it thematically important to add these elements?
For Thanes father, the core of [Thane] is that he is fairly cynical about things.
Hes not somebody who believes in a lot.
He doesnt have friends.
Ciena has a wonderful relationship with her parents and all her life has been taught about loyalty.
Shes going to see that in a fundamentally different way.
That was the primary reason for that.
They should have lives and personalities rooted before that.
Were there any particular challenges in portraying the academy?
Did you reference otherStar Warsmaterial?
I didnt reference that much else.
It was really a question of figuring out how much is there to know.
So that was fun.
How did you feel when you were asked to write a secondStar Warsbook?
In all honesty, Im sort of like right now?
Its being written under a tight deadline.
But I was excited.
I knew that Lucasfilm was happy withLost Starsand generally hoped and they hoped that there might be something else.
I just didnt realize it would be so fast!
Is there anything else youd like to add about the book or aboutStar Wars?
Im going to see the movie, I think, with a group of people.
Im from New Orleans, and we have a Mardi Gras group called theChewbacchus.
Were getting a theater.
They offered for Chewbacchus members a separate screening.
Thank you, Claudia Gray!
Megan Crouse is a staff writer.
