On our way to New York City!

(This is a picture of the Flatiron Building in NYC, which is also known as Headquarters of St. Martin's Press, the Most Awesome Publisher in the Known Universe!)

So Kristin and I got a call this afternoon from our lovely publicist, Katy, who informed us we're coming to New York City tomorrow (Wednesday) to tape a segment on the Rachael Ray Show! Oh, baby! We're not sure when it'll air, but stay tuned for more news...

XXXOOO
PC

Quick link to a Toronto story

Thought you guys would get a kick out of reading this article from a Toronto paper. It totally cracked me up! We do heart us some Canada!

http://www.thestar.com/Entertainment/article/609729

Answering questions - #1

Since we're finally back from our tour (tours are fun, but really make you tired - and apparently give you bad hair, too, as you can tell from any number of pictures of us) and I have to hermit myself up AND FINISH TEMPTED BEFORE ALL OF YOU AND MY PUBLISHER KILL ME DEAD, I've decided the best way to answer the barrage of email questions I'm getting would be to post some of them and answer them in groups.

So please try and understand if I'm not being super good with my email/facebook/myspace responses. I'm focusing on TEMPTED, which means I have to limit my on-line procrastination (grin) time.

Here we go:

Question: I'm a parent/step-parent/aunt/uncle/grandma, etc., of a twelve year old (you can really insert any age from ten to fifteen or so here), and my child wants to read your series. Could you please tell me if it's appropriate for his/her age?

P.C.'s answer: First, this question really makes me crazy. As a long time teacher, from a family of teachers, perhaps I'm jaded, but I DON'T UNDERSTAND NOT READING WHAT YOUR KID IS READING, TOO! As a mom, I don't understand asking someone else what's appropriate for your child. So my short answer is: read the books yourself (not just mine, any author's books) and decide whether or not your child is mature enough to read them. I can't possibly know that. The longer answer is: Kristin and I had in mind kids sixteen years old on up when we began writing the series, and that still holds true. That said, when I was a kid I read everything I could get my hands on and would have devoured this series when I was a pre-teen. I'm the kid that got in trouble in 8th grade for reading a book my hag of an English teacher decided was "inappropriate." It was Eric Segal's LOVE STORY. I tried to tell the teacher it was okay with my mom that I was reading it. She didn't believe me and marched me down to the principal's office to call my mom. Mom said, "I know what she's reading. Leave her alone." Thanks Mom! Hees. So you see why this question is personal to me? I truly believe each family should decide for their children what THEY believe is appropriate.

Special note: please don't post defensive, hateful responses to this as you assume I'm passing judgment on your parenting. I'm not. You came to me asking my opinion. I'm giving it. That's all.

Question: HUNTED doesn't have a page in the back of it that announces the next book! Is HUNTED the last book? Help! Please say it's not the last book!!!!

P.C.'s answer: Of course HUNTED isn't the last book! I would never leave y'all hanging like that and just quit writing. We've sold twelve books to St. Martin's. I'm not sure how many will follow Zoey and how many will follow Stevie Rae (and Kristin and I have a cool idea for a new YA series not set in the HoN world, too). I promise I won't drag out the series - nor will I cut it off. I'll just tell the stories and see where that takes us. TEMPTED is the next book, and it will be out in the fall, probably around Samhain, which means around Halloween.

And I have no clue why my lovely publisher - who usually is freakishly close to perfect - didn't put a page in the end telling you TEMPTED will be out this fall. I think it was just an oversight, and I forgive them because Kristin and I heart us some St. Martin's!

Question: Do you know there are mistakes in HUNTED on page(s) ____________________ (fill in with a list of pages on which there are screw-ups).

P.C.s answer: YES! I KNOW! Okay, thank you guys for telling me, and I've forwarded the page numbers and mistakes to my lovely editor. They're being fixed in subsequent prints. But now you don't have to tell me anymore. THE MISTAKES MAKE ME CRAZY. I have no clue why they happened. I actually remember correcting several of them during the publishing process. All I can say is mistakes will happen, no matter how hard my publishing team and I wish they didn't. I mean, please. I taught English for fifteen years - you know I'd like to take a red pen out and go nuts on the book...


Question: While I'm waiting for TEMPTED (hurry up and write Ms. Cast!) can you recommend any other good books?

P.C.'s answer: I do have a list of some of my favorite books and authors on my website, www.pccast.net. But, again, I'm not just listing YA books - so if you're really young, be sure to follow your family's standards and keep in mind your maturity level. Of course I'm going to recommend my Goddess Summoning Books, written for Berkley: GODDESS OF THE SEA, GODDESS OF SPRING, GODDESS OF LIGHT, GODDESS OF THE ROSE, GODDESS OF LOVE and WARRIOR RISING. But they are ADULT paranormal romances - so there's lots of sex in them. My Partholon fantasy books, published by Harlequin's LUNA imprint: DIVINE BY MISTAKE, DIVINE BY CHOICE, DIVINE BY BLOOD, ELPHAME'S CHOICE and BRIGHID'S QUEST, are sometimes hard to find. Several are out of print. BUT the good news is ELPHAME'S CHOICE and BRIGHID'S QUEST are going to be repackaged and re-released next year in Harlequin's new young adult imprint - so just be patient for those. I think y'all will LOVE those books!

As for other authors: I adore anything by Robin McKinley, Anne McCaffrey's Pern books made me want to be an author, especially DRAGON FLIGHT, DRAGON QUEST, and THE WHITE DRAGON. I love Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' HAWKSONG books. Christopher Moore is the funniest man on this earth, and I devour all of his books - just finished FOOL and couldn't love it more. I think everyone should read Ray Bradbury's FAHRENHEIT 451. I heart me the OUTLANDER series by the amazing Diana Gabaldon and WISH SHE'D WRITE FASTER! And Dean Koontz is also a favorite of mine. The list goes on and on...check out my website for more...and happy reading!

Okay - that's it for now. Back to writing TEMPTED. I'll post more Q&As next time I take a break/procrastinate.

Great to see all of you out on tour!

XXXOOO
PC

Schaumberg Borders! Fun!

Two kids made seriously cool shirts. The fronts had HoN class emblems and the back had quotes from the books. Hilarious!


Cool henna!

Us with some of the lovely Borders ladies! We heart them!


Here are some pics from our Schaumberg, IL signing. What a great crowd! I'll post pictures from our other stops as soon as the bookstores send them to me. Can't wait to show you the fun crowd at Changing Hands in Tempe!

We're home now for a few days and then off to Canada. I'm getting my voice back - finally. See y'all there!

XXXOOO
PC

Tulsa Launch of Hunted! Pictures!

Can you see the henna on our hands?!


An early shot as they were setting up one of the treat tables. Yum, Merritt's bakery!



Thought you guys would like to see some pictures from the fabulous launch of HUNTED Tuesday night. Thanks to everyone who came out to make release day so great! I'm amazed that Kristin and I don't appear to have the plague...

We are feeling, better, by-the-by. I'm actually getting my voice back.

We're taking off for the tour starting tomorrow! So hope to see you in: Norman, OK, Chicago, Dallas, Tempe or San Diego!

Oh, and YES there will be books after HUNTED. We're working on TEMPTED right now - due to release in November.

XXXOOO
PC

Full Moon Release!

The release day of HUNTED is finally here! Kristin and I are so excited! We had a lovely midnight party at the Borders right down the street tonight - thanks to our fabulous fans who came out late on a school night, and special thanks to amazing Borders who stayed open past midnight!

Our launch is at the 41st Street Barnes & Noble in Tulsa, starting at 7:00, then off we go on our tour Monday. Can't wait to see everyone!

Isn't it magical that our release coincides with a full moon!

Brightest full moon blessings to you all, and hope to see you soon!

PC

Final Video - Zoey!

Only seven more days until HUNTED!

Stevie Rae Video

Erik Video

New Neferet Video!

Tour info!

Inside HUNTED!

I thought y'all would like to see the cool mini-poster of Zoey that's going to be inside the book jacket of HUNTED! I love this artist's rendition of Zoey's tattoos! It's always so interesting for me to see different interpretations of what Zoey, the tattoos, and the House of Night gang in general look like.

As we count down to the March 10th release of HUNTED my publisher will be posting new videos as well as excerpts from the book. To be sure you're up to date on everything you can sign up for the HoN newsletter by going to: http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/enroll.html

Brightest Blessings to you!
PC

P.C.'s advice on writing

I’m getting lots and lots of questions from aspiring authors, so I thought I’d post a blog entry on my advice for those of you who would like to be published. Yes, I’m going to be blunt and honest with you, but please know I wish each of you the best of luck in attaining your dreams. Remember, dreams are realized through tenacity and hard work.

P. C. CAST’S ADVICE ON BEING AN AUTHOR:

1. If you want to be a professional author you need to approach the career like you would any other job. RESEARCH THE WRITING PROFESSION. You can begin by reading: BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott, HOW TO GET HAPPILY PUBLISHED by Judith Appelbaum, THE WRITERS MARKET, and THE AGENTS MARKET. Ignore the romanticized ideal that says being an author is something magical and mystical – that you lay around, waiting for your Muse to whisper in your ear, or for your dreams to coalesce, and then you’re simply the vessel through which all the stories flow. Ugh. Being an author is a job. Writing is work. Period.

2. Speaking of work – please remember that whatever you write represents you. No one is going to correct your errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. That’s not an editor’s job. Your editor is there to guide you into honing an already well written manuscript into the best work it can possibly be, and not to be a remedial writing coach. You need to work on the mechanics of writing and be as perfect as possible BEFORE you submit work to an editor or agent. Spelling counts! Even in emails. Get serious about that or no one will take your writing seriously.

3. What do I do to overcome writer’s block? Answer: I don’t believe in it! Again, writing is a job. When I was teaching there were many days I didn’t particularly feel like showing up at school and teaching 100+ teenagers, but it was my job and I did it (and did it well) whether I felt like it that day or not. That’s what writing is, too. Some days it’s a pleasure to be an author. Some days it’s hard as hell. Actually, most days it’s hard as hell. But I write whether it’s a breeze or whether it’s sloughing through mud, and so will you if you’re a real author.

4. Should you ask me (or any other published author) to read your work in progress, idea, summary, essay, poetry, etc.? NO. Okay – here’s the truth: another author can NOT get you published. Agents and editors can. Focus on them. Oh, and regarding allowing tons of people read your work as you write – my advice is DO NOT. If you need feedback get into a writers’ group, or a creative writing class, both of which you can find by searching the internet.

5. For the record – no, I don’t read unpublished work. First, I can’t read your work and still have time to write my own. Second, my opinion doesn’t mean anything. I can’t get you published!

6. How can you get published? That’s a question you need to research and work on yourself. See #1 above for more info. Here’s the deal: you wouldn’t walk into a dentist’s office and say, “Hey! I want to be a dentist, so could you tell me how to drill on that guy’s teeth and let me have a whack at him?” Same thing about being an author. I can’t tell you how to do it. I can’t tell you how to write a book. Those are things you need to research and then do for yourself.

7. How do you start writing? JUST WRITE. Sometimes doing an outline helps. Sometimes drawing a chart helps. Sooner or later it all comes down to the writing. There is no magic pill that makes it suddenly happen. Read a lot. Write a lot. That’s all you can do.

8. Go to book signings and buy books signed by someone with a pulse. Don’t ask anything of the author – just go. It builds up good Karma and it helps support the career to which you aspire.

9. Don’t ever download a pirated copy of any book. It’s stealing from an author and her publisher. Yes. It’s seriously bad Karma, whether you ever want to be published or not. If you can't afford to buy a book visit your public library.

So, in summary: writing is a job like any other. Educate yourself about it. No, that doesn’t mean you have to be a literature major in college. It means you need to read writers’ resource books and become knowledgeable about how the publishing business works. Yes, it’s a lot to know. Just like in any other job. No, there are no shortcuts to being published. Yes, you have to have a completed, rewritten manuscript – in an acceptable format – before you begin looking for an agent or an editor. No, an “idea” won’t sell unless you’re a celebrity, and then it’ll be ghost written anyway, and that’s a whole other issue. Oh, and be careful of Karma...

I wish you much luck in your quest!

PC

Getting over jet lag

I'm back from my lovely research trip to Italy and am seriously fighting jet lag. I'll post more pics as I recover, but thought y'all would like to see proof that on Capri I really was thinking and researching!

XXXOOO
PC

Merry Yule to all!

Today we celebrate Yule, which is also called Solstice. Tonight is the longest night of the year, and it is traditional that the sun be greeted at dawn, and then at dusk a Yule log is burned to keep the spirit of fire and light (in other words, the sun) alive so that it may be reborn with the next dawn, and then grow anew and lengthen our days from there. Ancient peoples saw this as honoring the god (represented by the sun) being born of the goddess (represented by the earth). I had a lovely time today lighting my candle in the morning, and then treating the wild birds and squirrels with cranberries, peanut butter sandwiches(a huge hit with the squirrels), fruit muffins, and various other goodies I left in the lovely old redbud in my back yard. This evening I will burn my Yule log and watch for the sun's return.

Here's wishing you all a merry Yule and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

PC

Fun in London!

Kristin and I spent a lovely (but wet and cold) week in London meeting with our wonderful UK publishing team at Little, Brown (Atom). MARKED, BETRAYED, and CHOSEN will be released there Jan., Feb., and March, so we went over for some early promo. Except for the food poisoning I got from our hotel restaurant the night before we left (don't even ask...it was so awful), we had a wonderful time.

Check out some of the Brit kids at a bookstore outside London - Kristin and I read chapter 1 of MARKED to them and answered lots of questions. We heart them!


Naturally, Kristin and I had to do some dorkish tourist stuff. (Actually, we heart some dorkish tourist stuff!)

Here's our lovely Beefeater guide at the Tower of London. This guy was mega-cool.


Of course we saw the changing of the guard (in the rain). Oh, check out Kristin getting way too close to this large odd bird that was in the park outside Buckingham Palace.



Us being morons:


Oooh, we saw Le Cage Aux Falles (the play the Birdcage was based on) in this theater. It was fabulous. I may have had too much champagne. Good thing Kristin was there to help me stumble back to the hotel.


Speaking of our hotel - we stayed across the street from Trafalgar Square. Here's a wretched picture of me at the Square.


All in all we had a great time! Stay tuned for a full report from my trip to Italy later this month! And a Happy Holiday and Merry Yule to all of you!

XXXOOO
PC

A salute to Will Rogers H.S. in Tulsa!

The amazing English teachers (Hey there Mrs. Mears, Mr. Pillstrom & Mrs. Smith!) at the beautiful Will Roger High School here in Tulsa have adopted MARKED in their freshmen accelerated reading program - thanks in large part to their brave principal, Mr. Burr. They've integrated the novel as a basis of a unit they teach on prejudice and intolerance. Kristin and I spoke to their classes last Monday and had a blast! So she and I salute the teachers and the kids there, AND we discovered there are tunnels under the school!!! Hummm...possibilities...

Free Book Friday!

Jessica Brody, author of THE FIDELITY FILES and founder of Free Book Friday, has made us the featured author(s) of the week on FreeBookFriday.com.

Head on over to listen to her exclusive podcast interview with us, and to sign up for the chance to win one of two SIGNED copies of UNTAMED!!

Our Author Interview

HUNTED Cover!

Hey Guys! Check out the new cover for HUNTED (March '09). Inside this lovely hardcover you will find an exclusive poster of Zoey. Very cool!