NOVELLA TALK #3 - NEFERET'S CURSE

I love the setting – Chicago (White City!) during the World’s Fair was a magical time and it was a pleasure to bring it alive again. But the rest of the novella was difficult for me to write. I went into this project knowing that I was taking on a lot. I wanted to show my readers the tragedy that had happened to Neferet when she was a teenager known as Emily Wheiler, and by doing so I wanted my readers to empathize with young Emily, to understand why Neferet turned to Darkness for solace, and to feel pity for Neferet/Emily, but ultimately to realize that even though Neferet was the victim of a terrible act, she made the choice not to heal. She decided to embrace vengeance and quest for power instead of loving herself and looking to others (her mentor, her High Priestesses, etc) to help lead her from self hatred and violence. There was another aspect of Emily/Neferet’s story that was difficult for me. When I was a very young teenager I was date raped. Back then there was no support system for women against whom that kind of violence was committed – the violence perpetrated against women by a “friend”. For a very long time I blamed myself. I disliked myself almost as much as I disliked men. Like Emily, I was broken. Unlike Emily, I found a path to healing and chose love and light instead of revenge and darkness. But I knew as I was writing Emily’s story that I would need to tap into a piece of my past that would be painful to relive. It was painful, but it was also cathartic. It made me sad for the young girl who was Emily, as well as the young girl who was, many years ago, me. It also made me understand Emily and Neferet. I disagree with Neferet’s choices, but I see how she could have made them. I hope my readers can also understand and see. It is for those of you who have also been touched by violence that I mention this dark part of my past. Please know that: 1. IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT, 2. There is help available today if you choose to seek and accept it, and 3. Choose love. Always love. For yourself and for others. Wishing you the brightest of blessings, PC

SUPER BOOK SATURDAY!

Super Book Saturday! Let’s talk romance! I love romance novels. I love to read them and I love to write them. The old line about romance novels being poorly written fluff for desperate housewives is bullshit. Today the genre is filled with incredibly talented authors, tightly plotted stories, and three dimensional heroes and heroines. One of my favorite romance authors is Jennifer Cruise. She’s witty (laugh out loud funny, actually!), insightful (she will make you cry), and she can write a delightful range of characters authentically. I’ve read a lot of her work and it’s hard to choose a favorite, but I do heart MAYBE THIS TIME very, very much. It’s a ghost story, a love story, and a second chance story. Give it a try; I don’t think you’ll be sorry! Who are some of your favorite romance authors? XXXOOO PC

More novella talk! LENOBIA'S VOW!

This novella was a complete delight to write! I began by taking a wonderful trip to New Orleans (met my Goddess Summoning editor, Christine Zika, there!) to research the history of that beautiful city. During my research I was intrigued by the historical record of daughters of French nobility being sent to marry highborn French men who had relocated to New Orleans. What an exciting, frightening time that must have been! Then I began to imagine what an excellent opportunity a faraway arranged marriage could be for a bastard daughter of nobility – and that’s how LENOBIA’S VOW was born! Of course I wove in the romantic, bittersweet story of the great love of Lenobia’s life, brining her full circle to today’s House of Night where her love does, finally, find her again! Some of you know that I am a horsewoman, and I love adding equine details to my novels. Travis’s Big Bonnie is based on my awesome Percheron mare, Bonnie. It was an added delight to be able to mention the foundations of my favorite horse breed, the Quarter Horse. I loved all the illustrations in this novella (by my good friend Kim Doner), but this one of Martin and Lenobia is special to me. Hope y’all enjoyed reading LENOBIA’S VOW as much as I enjoyed creating it! XXXOOO PC

Let's talk novellas! DRAGON'S OATH

Let’s talk novellas! I’ve begun working on the last HoN novella, KALONA’S FALL, and I thought it would be fun to talk a little about each of the preceding three, how they came into being, and my favorite parts of them. The whole thing began one evening when I was having dinner with my publishing family at St. Martin’s Press. SMP isn’t just my publisher – they are big HoN fans as well. We were talking about the series, and the subject of Dragon and Anastasia Lankford came up. I said something like, “Yeah, they’ve been together since before Dragon went through the Change. Anastasia was a professor at his HoN, and older. It took a lot of convincing for him to woo her!” My amazing publisher, Matthew Shear (who we lost to cancer last year – we miss him very much), said, “Wait, you know all the backstories for your adult characters?” I said, “Yep!” He said, “Could you write them for us?” I said, “Yep, if we can work them in between the HoN books.” And Matthew said, “Done!” From there we discussed the format of the novellas. We all felt very strongly about publishing them in a format that was different than the big HoN books. I didn’t want my fans to think they were buying a full-length book, and then get home and realize it’s just a novella and be disappointed (books are about 80,000-100,000 words – novellas are about 25,000-50,000 words). Matthew and I liked the small hardback format, and I insisted on the chapter illustrations to more fully set them apart from the big books. So that’s how the novellas came into being. Now you’ll understand why DRAGON’S OATH was the first of them to be published! I set DRAGON’S OATH in St. Louis, beside the Mississippi River. I used to camp with my family along the river as a young girl, and I’ll always remember the lovely train trip my grandma and I took up to Minneapolis, MN, that ran along the river and those beautiful bluffs. My favorite scene from DRAGON’S OATH was when Anastasia cast the spell that called forth the grownup version of Dragon. Loved writing that! And my favorite illustration was the one that showed Bryan and Anastasia’s hands side-by-side – his holding a sword and hers holding a sunflower. What’s your favorite illustration from DRAGON’S OATH? Favorite scene? XXXOOO PC

Super Book Saturday!

Ooooh! It’s Super Book Saturday again! This time I’m going to cheat a little and choose the first three books from the series I have loved since I was thirteen, DRAGONFLIGHT, DRAGONQUEST, and THE WHITE DRAGON by the irreplaceable Anne McCaffrey. (This is a copy of the edition of DRAGONFLIGHT I read when I was thirteen.) Not only is Pern a richly drawn, intricate world peopled with fascinating characters – IT HAS DRAGONS! I spent a lot of my teenage years dreaming that a golden queen would Imprint with me and I would fly to fight Tread a’dragonback! Sadly, I didn’t have the opportunity to meet Ms. McCaffrey in person. We lost her in November of 2011. She and I corresponded briefly after I’d written my first novel. She was gracious and kind, and I will be eternally grateful that because of her books I realized women could write and star in the science fiction/fantasy genre. Anne McCaffrey changed my life. If you haven’t read her books, you are in for a treat! I envy your discovery (actually, I think it’s about time I reread all of them!). What is your favorite Super Books series? What series changed your life? XXXOOO PC

FAVORITE HERO FRIDAY!

In honor of the AWESOMENESS that is Diana Gabaldon and her OUTLANDER series, I'm making this Favorite Hero Friday. My favorite hero choice is OUTLANDER's Jamie Fraser. Not only is he smart and witty and totally devoted to his heroine, Claire, but as Diana Gabaldon says, he's lickable. AND THE SERIES IS FINALLY, FINALLY COMING TO THE SCREEN! Starz is making it a mini series, debuting this summer. I am sooooo happy for Diana, who is a lovely person, as well as a great author. Check out the first trailer for the series! OUTLANDER FANS REJOICE! XXXOOO PC p.s. Diana, I'm looking forward to WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD. I have it preordered! So who is your favorite fictional hero??

Super Book Saturday!

Hey Guys! Let's make every Saturday SUPER BOOK SATURDAY and talk about our very favorite books! I'll start! One of my favorite books is Harper Lee's masterpiece, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. When I taught (fifteen years at South Intermediate High School in Broken Arrow, OK!), I liked to begin the year by teaching this book to my sophomores. I LOVED LOVED LOVED reading it aloud. Scout's point of view was hilarious and touching and insightful. One of my favorite quotes is near the beginning of the book, describing the southern heat: "Ladies bathed before noon, after their three o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum." XXXOOO PC

Element Symbols!

Hi Guys! Thought you would like to check out the element designs that are on the pillar candles. They were created by my awesome tattoo artist, Aura Dalian, who is also going to illustrate KALONA'S FALL, as well as a very cool HoN coloring book (that should release this spring)! Back to working on REDEEMED! XXXOOO PC

Kristin's Shirts on Amazon!

Oooh! Exciting news! Y'all can get your own version of the HoN logo shirt from Kristin's new tee designs on Amazon! This first one is an awesome scoop neck and the logo is in crystal shimmer text! Ooooh! It's so pretty and sparkly! The pics definitely don't do it justice. I hope you like it as much as I do (I just ordered five! I'll be wearing them everywhere - you'll definitely be able to recognize me!) Go to : www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HETZ8O8 for more! She also has the guy's style available at http://www.amazon.com/House-Night-Unisex-Logo-Shirt/dp/B00HETZ7VM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_a_1 Yes, Kristin will have XXXL and XXXXL available soon. She's also working as fast as she can on getting them on the overseas Amazon sites! And this is just the first of her designs! XXXOOO PC

Happy New Year! And THANK YOU!

I want to send a big THANK YOU to my fans who have been so supportive and excited about our HoN Ritual Candles! The feedback has been wonderful, and they've been selling like crazy! Despite the terrible weather in Oklahoma, we managed to get several shipments to Amazon, so you guys can order order order! Thought you might like to see how I have one of my sets displayed in my office. Again, thank you! I heart HoN fans! (p.s. We're working on getting overseas shipping.) XXXOOO PC HERE'S A LOVELY NOTE FROM MY CANDLE PARTNER,GABE, TO ALL OF YOU: "I, too, would like to thank all of the HoN fans. We have been overwhelmed with the response. I oversee the production of these candles. I can attest that these candles are individually hand poured here in one of the most historic parts of Tulsa (Cherry Street!), by a very small group of candle makers who are dedicated to helping en"lighten" the world. We infuse each and every candle with energy that is full of light and love. We meditate over every daily batch and ensure that you are all getting the cleanest, most pure candle that coincides with what PC and Kristin's fans deserve. We know…we are fans ourselves! The scent, color, wax, infusion and packaging are all assembled by human hands and charged with only the highest most positive vibrations. We have done everything in our power to keep the costs down and are working on getting them available internationally ASAP. We love that so many fans are loving them. We wish you all the happiest new year every!!!"