Starbucks at Utica Square

Well I was over at Starbucks the other day and thought I'd snap a couple quick pictures of it because this is the Starbucks at Utica Square - the one Zoey saw Heath at in BETRAYED, and where she had her birthmas cake with Grandma Redbird and her horrid mother. They're not great pictures and it doesn't do the store justice - it really is pretty. But here ya go! If it ever stops raining I'll run over to the real Tulsa Depot (which is now renovated and lovey as the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame) and post pictures from there, too.

Almost done with TEMPTED...yea!

Enjoy!
PC

Mary's Grotto - the real one!

I thought you guys might find it interesting to see the "real" Mary's Grotto on which I based the fictional one in HUNTED.
This really is at the corner of Lewis and 21st Streets in the heart of Tulsa's beautiful midtown.

My pictures really don't do it justice. You can't see the blooming Dogwoods and Redbuds all over.

If you double click on the pictures they get bigger and you can see just how lovely this statue of Mary is. The grotto is definitely a special place. Hope you can glimpse a little of its magic from these...

Brightest blessings to you,
PC

Rachael Ray Show

Here's the link to our Rachael Ray Show interview!


http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/motherdaughter-vampire-authors/

YALSA Top Ten Book for Teens Nominations!

Kristin and I are thrilled to have been nominated for the Young Adult Library Service Association's Top Ten Books for Teens list. We're honored to be included among so many amazing books. So now teens have 25 weeks to read the 25 books and then vote for their favorites. You can go to www.ala.org/teenstopten between October 18-24 and vote. The more teens who participate, the more accurately the winning list will reflect the reading tastes of teens all over the country! Which is really cool!

About the Teens' Top Ten

Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country. Nominations are posted in April during National Library Week, and teens across the country vote on their favorite titles each year during Teen Read Week. Readers aged twelve to eighteen can vote right here, online, anytime that week.

Check out: www.ala.org/teenstopten.

Happy reading, guys! There are some awesome books nominated!

Win Signed Books!

Want a chance to win a signed copy of HUNTED? Of course you do!

We revisited Free Book Friday and had an interview to answer some of your questions, so head on over to http://teens.freebookfriday.com/ for your chance to win 1 of 5 copies, and listen to the podcast too!

One quick question, so let's say this is Questions Answered 3 1/2

Recently I've been getting a bunch of questions about the research that goes into writing the House of Night, most specifically about the religions on which the worship of Nyx is based. I know it sounds weird, but I enjoy research, which is good because I do a lot of it. Actually, I find plot ideas quite often while I research. So, the short answer to the research question is that I do a lot of it, specifically about: Wiccan traditions, Celtic shamanism, druids, ancient goddess religions, and Native American lore. I thought those of you asking about research might be interested in a short list of some of my favorite starting off books. So, here you go:

THE SPIRAL DANCE by Starhawk (I like the 20th anniversary edition for Starhawk's updated commentary)
WICCA DEMYSTIFIED by Bryan Lankford (on whom Dragon was based!)
FIRE IN THE HEAD by Tom Cowan
DRUIDS AND DRUIDISM by T.D. Kendrick
THE BODY OF THE GODDESS by Rachel Pollack
A HISTORY OF PAGAN EUROPE by Prudence Jones & Nigel Pennick
THE WHITE GODDESS by Robert Graves
THE NEW LAROUSSE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYTHOLOGY

These are just a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

Back to TEMPTED...

Your Questions Answered #3

First, I want to reiterate that I’m under a very tight deadline right now, at the end of writing TEMPTED (which is a seriously good book!), AND I have construction going on in my home. In other words, I’m stressed. So if you don’t find your answer in this particular blog entry, scroll down and look through my archives. If you STILL can’t find your answer, then email me. I won’t respond personally, but I will probably use your question as the basis of a blog post. Please understand that my goal here is to slow down the deluge of emails I get so that I can finish TEMPTED on time. This goes for my facebook and myspace, too. This is basically the only place I’m posting until early June.

Okay, batch #3 of questions:


QUESTION: So, what’s going to happen with Erik and Zoey? And is Stark going to be in the rest of them? What’s up with Stevie Rae?

PC’s ANSWER: I’m not going to give away plot points, so please don’t email me with “what’s going to happen” questions. You’ll just have to wait along with me because sometimes things happen in the HoN world that surprise even the author.

QUESTION: I have a cool idea about what should happen in TEMPTED (or any of the next books). Would you email me so I can tell you about it?

PC’S ANSWER: No. I have more ideas of my own that I can possibly write in one lifetime. Plus, if I used your ideas about my world, then it wouldn’t be my world anymore. And here’s another great opportunity to mention how annoying fanfic is to me. If you want to be a writer, then you make up YOUR OWN WORLD and write in it. My world is copyrighted as MINE. Please, just leave it to me.

QUESTION: I have this book that I want to write and it’s about: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(insert long paragraph and/or attachment).
Could you help tell me how to write it? OR Could you tell me if it’s any good?

PC’s ANSWER: First, please don’t send your writing to people who have not asked to read it. It’s not polite. Second, I cannot get you published, so even if I were to read your ideas (which I don’t have time to do, so I won’t do), my opinion doesn’t mean anything. Third, if you want my advice for aspiring authors then check out the archive post in this blog in which I deal in depth about the subject.

QUESTION: I live in _________________(insert your city), and you never come here. Do you hate us? Would you please come here?

PC’s ANSWER: Authors don’t get to pick where we go on our book tours. Our publishers send us to different cities and countries. Their choices are dependent upon many factors, such as: volume of sales in the area, fan enthusiasm, bookstore locations and availability. Kristin and I don’t include or exclude locations; we don’t choose. If we did, I can promise you we’d be in : Australia, San Francisco, Japan, Italy, Chicago, New York City, Seattle (we’ve never been to the upper northwest and I’m dying to go), Alaska…the list goes on and on. Oh, and right now we’re not going anywhere. I’m writing. Then Kristin will be going through the manuscript. Then we’ll be turning it in and she’ll be taking semester finals. THEN WE’RE GOING ON VACATION.


Back to writing…

PC

Check out the Library Fun!

Okay, there's a cool thing going on with some of your libraries (and if they're not into it - get with your librarian and have her sign up!). It's called The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest! It's offering prizes and such from teen and youth librarians in the U.S. and Canada, which means scavenger hunts from more than 120 authors, and tons of free prizes! MARKED is definitely in the hunt! Want to find out more? Go to: www.kaycassidy.com/hunt

Let me know how it goes!

XXXOOO
PC

Questions answered group #2

(Cool HoN doodle by Jazmin Haque!)

We're back from NYC and I'm hard at work on TEMPTED. So, as I said in an earlier post, I'm going to back off answer personal email until the book's done and turned in. What I will do is post groups of questions with my answers. Here's another gaggle o' questions I get:

1. QUESTION: I have to write a paper/do a report and I need you to answer some questions for me about yourself and your writing and your books and your daughter and...

P.C.'S ANSWER: If I answered your homework questions, which basically amount to interview questions, I wouldn't get my own work done. So, no, I can't send personal answers to you OR, and yes, I've actually been asked this, do your homework for you - not even if your mom asks me to. Here's the deal - Kristin and I have given a lot of interviews that are easily found on-line with a little work and perseverance. And we don't answer personal questions, i.e., exact birth dates, places, addresses, etc., for obvious reasons.

2. QUESTION: Who is Zoey going to end up with? And when the heck is she going to settle down with one guy and be good?

P.C.'S ANSWER: Kristin and I don't know who Zoey is going to end up with because she doesn't know yet BECAUSE SHE'S NOT EVEN OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE, LET ALONE CHOOSE A PARTNER FOR LIFE! Jeesh. And give the girl a break. She can be interested in more than one guy. Girls are all the time - too many girls think they have to vow eternal love to some kid before they're of legal age. That's ridiculous. Dating is an interview process. Lots of guys need to be fired! And, yes, it goes the other way for guys, too. Zoey happens to be honest enough, with herself and her friends, to admit to liking more than one guy at a time. Besides that, you need to remember she's living in a matriarchal society where women are highly respected and valued, which means she shouldn't be judged as harshly for her boy issues as many of you are judging her because a lot of what she's doing is cultural for a High Priestess in the House of Night world.

Here's the bottom line about Zoey and guys - she has to be a mature, independent woman who knows herself and is okay with being alone BEFORE she chooses a life partner. That's impossible right now because she's only seventeen. That is, by-the-by, good advice for any young woman (or young man!).

I find it interesting and disturbing that Zoey gets called all sorts of names because of her boy issues. I think it's indicative of our society and the issues of inequality with which we still struggle, and it saddens me when young girls are so eager to take nasty swipes at Zoey, but think it's okay that Erik acts like a possessive jerk. Wow. Not cool at all.

3. QUESTION: How come you have gay guys as main characters but no lesbians?

P.C.'S ANSWER: Well, I don't know many "out" teenage lesbians, and in order for me to create a credible character, especially in a YA novel set in a modern world, I prefer to work from a framework of observation. Plus, my novels aren't social platforms. I'm telling a story, and it just so happened that Damien became part of that story. If a lesbian character shows up as part of the story - I'll write her. But I'm not going to fill some kind of character quota and stuff a gay girl in to weirdly "balance" things. Doesn't make any sense to me...

4. QUESTION: Where did the idea of the fledgling/vampyre Mark come from?

P.C.'S ANSWER: Ancient goddess lore. During my research I came across references of ancient peoples, from the Celts to the Egyptians, Eastern Indians to Native Americans, who physically marked people who where considered priestesses, or wise women, holy people or shamans. Many of those marks were tattooed into the skin. In Marion Zimmer Bradley's fabulous book, MISTS OF AVALON, she had her priestesses tattoo a a crescent with the two ends pointing up in the middle of their foreheads when they were accepted into the service of their Goddess. I just took it a step farther, and added my own spin to it.

5. QUESTION: Where can I get the shirts and/or jewelry you guys wore on tour?

P.C.'S ANSWER: You can get both in the campus store link on the house of night site. You can also scroll through my blog archives for jewelry info, or go directly to the lovely Fire Goddess's site, www.firegoddess.com. She is our exclusive jeweler and she creates all her wonderful HoN pieces with my input and by staying true to the HoN world. (They're not ridiculously expensive, either, but she will do custom work if you ask.)

Okay, back to writing TEMPTED! More later...

XXXOOO
PC

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!