DESTINED NEW RELEASE DATE!

Hi Guys,
Just coming up for air as I head into the climactic scene of DESTINED because I wanted to let y'all know the release date has been moved up to OCTOBER 25th! Oh boy! Yea for you guys - holy crap for me.

Oh, this is a pic of the "real" HoN. It's a lot prettier than this right now, as everything is green here in T-Town. I'll have to go by and take a more recent picture for y'all. Till then - happy reading!

Speaking of reading - have you guys read the George RR Martin books the HBO series GAME OF THRONES is based on? TOTAL ABSOLUTE AWESOMENESS! While you're waiting for the next HoN, check them out. Wow, what a fabulous author!

Back to work for me...
XXXOOO
PC
p.s. NO, I don't have a clue about our tour schedule yet. I'm still trying to get the book done... (Just as a shout out to our Canadian fans: Kristin and I would LOVE it if we could revisit Victoria this tour! Oooh! The brunch ferry from Vancouver! Yum.)

Dunkey Self Service...

I'm working so hard on DESTINED that the animals at the ranch have started feeding themselves! Now if I could just teach him to type...

XXOOO
PC

Book giveaway for DRAGON'S OATH!

GoodReads is hosting a fabulous giveaway for DRAGON'S OATH! Check it out at:
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/11750-dragon-s-oath

XXXOOO
PC

DRAGON'S OATH LETTER

Hey there to all our awesome HoN fans!

Kristin and I are so excited that the first of our novellas, DRAGON'S OATH, is nearing release time! To help get you ready for it I thought I'd give you a little inside peek at how these novellas came about.

Last winter I was in New York City having a fabulous meeting with my lovely HoN publishing team at St. Martin's Press. Happily, over the years we've become good friends with our SMP team. Kristin and I aren't being hyperbolical when we call them our family - we truly heart our publishing team! Anyway, during the meeting we're all chatting about the HoN because my publisher, editor, agent, publicist, etc., etc., are honestly huge HoN fans, so they always have lots of what you and I would call "fangirl" questions for me. Well, the conversation kept circling around to questions about the past. I think what set me directly on the path of the novellas was a comment someone made about how sad they were because Anastasia had been killed, and how awful it was that Dragon seemed to be unable to recover from her loss, which led to someone else chiming in and saying that they'd love to know how Dragon and Anastasia met. I remember saying that they'd met when Dragon was a fledgling, and that the story inside my head had Anastasia as a little older than him and not particularly impressed by the young Bryan "Dragon" Lankford.

Then questions were fired at me: "When exactly did they meet?" "Why didn't she like him?" "Where were they?" "When were they?" But mostly: "WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" I think it was then that I said something like, "Well, I could tell their story." And there was a resounding, unanimous "Yea!" from my publisher.

So then I got to reach into my imagination and pull out those mental back files I have on my characters. It was such fun to bring alive Dragon when he was just teenage Bryan Lankford, rebellious son of the Earl of Lankford. It was also a pleasure to flesh out the Anastasia of the past, who was the youngest vampyre to be made a professor at the Tower Grove House of Night in St. Louis, Missouri, in the early 1800's.

And what I discovered as I told their story was that their past was shaping the very fabric of what was happening today at the Tulsa House of Night. So, by reading about fledgling Dragon you will find keys to understanding adult Dragon's motives and actions in DESTINED.

Oh, and yes, I made myself (and Kristin) cry at the end of the novella...

Happy reading!

PC"

DRAGON'S OATH RELEASE DATE: July 12th!

Home and writing!

My research trip to New Orleans was wonderful! I have Lenobia's story totally outlined. Little hint: most of the action will be set in 1788 in the French Quarter.

I don't have the release date of this novella yet. I just know when I have to turn it in. But my guess is it'll be out early 2012.

It was my first trip to New Orleans and I loved the city! (I think I gained five pounds. Soooo much good food!)

So I'm back in Tulsa now. I'm over the 200 page mark in the DESTINED manuscript and all is well. Wait, let me rephrase that: all is well with me. If you're a HoN character, all might not be well...

Thought you'd like to see some pic from my lovely back yard and my view as I'm writing.

Back to DESTINED...
PC

New Orleans!

I'm in New Orleans researching for Lenobia's story (not sure of the release date for it yet - probably early 2012). I'm loving me some French Quarter! And the Garden District - FABULOUS! Oooh!

Writing...writing...writing...
PC

As promised HOUSE OF NIGHT KITTENS!

So out here at Rancho Cast we've had coyote/owl issues. Tragically I've lost three out of five cats, one the mighty Patchy Poo the Pud who was fifteen glorious years old and my favorite cat in the universe. I hope he gets tired of frolicking with the Goddess and decides to return reborn to terrorize Kristin for another fifteen years!

Speaking of Patchy Poo the Pud being reborn: not long ago a very sweet cat showed up at the ranch, which is not unusual because of ignorant folks dumping their pets in the country. Ugh. Anyway, I adopted her and, of course, she was pregnant. (Yes, I'm a responsible pet owner and she will be spayed ASAP.) Her kittens were born about three weeks ago. I'm going to give them all House of Night names - well, the ones I keep anyway. I have several friends who keep "dropping by" to "see me" but who really are scoping out which kittens they're going to stick in purses and pockets...

Here's the litter! With mom shortly after they were born, and today. Adorable!

XXXOOO
PC
p.s. Reminder: be a responsible pet owner. Spay or neuter your animals!

Cooling off from DESTINED

What do I do to cool off and relax between burning up the keyboard trying to get DESTINED in on time?? My water horse and I go for a swim! (I swear Anjo is half hippo. She loves to submerge herself in the water.) Also pictured is Janelle on David the Dunderhorse having an anxiety attack (David, not Janelle).

Next up - HOUSE OF NIGHT KITTENS! Oh boy!

Back to writing...
PC

Homework and interviews and such

Hi Guys,
Okay, it's obviously nearing the end of the school year here in the US of A, which means I'm getting a zillion requests to be interviewed for school projects, research papers, power point presentations, etc., etc. Here's the deal:

1) To successfully complete a research paper or homework assignment in general it requires the student to actually do the work and research. I know this because I taught English for fifteen years (at the above pictured school). So, believe me when I say YOUR TEACHER DOESN'T MEAN FOR YOU TO SKYPE OR EMAIL OR CALL YOUR RESEARCH SUBJECT AND HAVE THEM DO YOUR WORK FOR YOU.

2) All the information about me I want shared with the public can be found with actually very little effort through the internet. Anything else is private.

3) I don't give homework/research paper "interviews" because I need to do my job, which is writing my next novel.

4) For real interviews (this doesn't mean homework assignments) the requests need to go through my publicist, Rachel Ekstrom at rachel.ekstrom@stmartins.com.

5) Snail mail: You can send letters to us in care of St. Martin's Press, 175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Enclose a SASE. I'm way behind on my fan mail, but I do try to respond to everyone. No, that doesn't mean I write interview question answers. Please refer to 1-4 above for that.

6) To all those teachers out there who are thinking it'd be better to hurl themselves off a bridge than read another poorly written paper: hang in there. It's almost summer. I heart you.

XXXOOO
PC

German HoN! Ooooh!

So as y'all who are not from the US know, there is often a time difference in the release of the English written versions of the HoN books (as well as my other books) and foreign copies. Well, in Germany, where we have a zillion amazing fans, book 6, TEMPTED, is getting ready to release. Our super cool German publisher (wave at Julia, our editor!) hosted a giant HoN party in celebration. Kristin and I would have loved to have been able to be there, but deadlines are killing me. So instead we recorded a little hello and answered some questions. Here are some great pictures from that night! Ooooh! Love the Temple of Nyx and the "tattoos"! Also, here's the link to the recording of the evening. Uh, yeah, it's in German. Well, except for the part Kristin and I did. Still, it's fun to watch!

http://www.houseofnight.de/Bewerbung_Berlin

OK Magazine Article

Oooh! The issue of Oklahoma Magazine with the article on Kristin and me is out! It's a lovely piece. Okies - I just grabbed my copy from Petty's (grocery store) in Tulsa. Non-Okies, here's the OK Mag website: www.okmag.com.

Happy reading!
PC

CCBA/A Story Before Bed

Hi Guys,
I posted earlier about how honored Kristin and I are to be finalists in the Children's Choice Book Awards, and that I did a video recording of BURNED for the nice people at A Story Before Bed. Well, they've grouped some of the authors together. It's fun to watch!

http://www.astorybeforebed.com/ccba

XXXOOO
PC

Awesome photo shoot!

The fabulous Jeremy Charles (www.jeremycharles.com) just did a photo shoot of Kristin and me for Oklahoma Magazine. Here's one of the pics they aren't going to use. Just wanted to give Jeremy a big thumbs up! He was great to work with, and took beautiful pictures. Tulsa area people - I highly recommend him!

Oooh! Me reading!

Hi Guys!
Because BURNED is a finalist for the Children's Choice Book Award, the nice people at A Story Before Bed asked me to video myself reading Chapter 1 of the book. I did, and here's the link:
http://www.astorybeforebed.com/recordings/470dc0512f267b0e

Okay, yes, I'm dorky. Yes, MY DOGS ARE REALLY LOUD. (Sorry about that. They only bark once.) Oh, and sorry about the plane, too. It's a beautiful evening in Tulsa and I have all of my windows open...

Enjoy!
PC
p.s. Story Before Bed is a really cool idea and an awesome website! Check them out at www.astorybeforebed.com

Which one???

Hi Guys,
We're having a little debate here in the House of Night world! We're wondering which cover my fans like best. Can you help me out and weigh in with your choice? The purple cover is the US version. The blue/black cover is the UK version. Which one would you rather buy?

You guys are the best!
XXXOOO
PC

UK DRAGON'S OATH

Oooh! I just got this from my fabulous UK publisher! Here's the UK cover for DRAGON'S OATH. It's going to be published simultaneously with the US, which means it'll release July 12th. What do you think? I really like the blue!

XXXOOO
PC

Yep, a burro...

So, I promised y'all more pet pictures. You saw my majestic mare, Anjo the Wonderhorse, and the Snottie duggies, one ginger cat, and Cul. Now, for your viewing pleasure, I present Seoras's paint horse, Okie Dodger and Dunkey! Yep, I have a kinda crazy burro named Dunkey at the Cast Ranch. (Please note the Scotties scrambling out of the way in the Okie Dodger picture!)

I'm letting DRAGON'S OATH (release date July) sit for a little while before I do a rewrite, so I'm working on DESTINED (release date November)! Oooh, you won't believe what's happening!

Back to writing...
PC

Childen's Choice Book Award Finalist!

OH BOY! Kristin and I are honored to announce that BURNED is a finalist in the Children's Choice Book Awards!

The complete list of YA finalists:

Teen Choice Book of the Year:

Burned (House of Night, Book 7) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin/Macmillan)

Fang (A Maximum Ride Novel) by James Patterson (Little, Brown)

Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5) by Richelle Mead (Razorbill/Penguin)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Dutton/Penguin)

We're super excited! What great books! Y'all can find out more and learn how to vote for your favorite at: http://www.cbcbooks.org

Congratulations to all of the finalists and thank you so much to those of you who helped put us on the list!

XXXOOO
PC

Dogs!

So y'all already saw my wheaton colored Scottie, Cammy. Now Chloe and Cul want their turns! Chloe (also know as the Sapulpa Assassin) is my black brindle Scottie who is Boss of Everything. Cul, or if you want to be formal Cuchulain. He's just a puppy - only seven months old. He's a greyhound/deer hound mix. Chloe, Cammy, and Cul have epic mock dog fights, which Chloe always, always wins. Check out her Scottie sneak attack! (No, nae duggies got hurt!)

Next up: a burro! What? A burro at the Cast Ranch? Yep. I'll have to figure out some way to write him into the HoN...hum...

Back to writing...with or without burros!


PC

More animals!

Since y'all liked my post with my Scottie dog and ginger cat I thought I'd show you some of the rest of the menagerie at the Cast Ranch. This is my fabulous, amazing, incredible mare, Anjo the Wonder Horse! She's actually even more beautiful than these pictures, especially as she still has her fuzzy winter coat on. I heart her totally (even though in the picture with me on her she was not behaving very well and got in lots of trouble that day...).

Next, more dogs!

Back to writing!
PC