Interview with PC Cast & Kristin Cast, Authors of The House of Night Series

Today I'm thrilled to feature mother-daughter writing team PC Cast and Kristin Cast, co-authors of the bestselling House of Night Series. The House of Night vampyre novels follow a group of teenagers as they are Marked by the vampyre goddess, Nyx. After being marked, a fledgling vampire will enter the school of the House of Night until they are ready to change into an adult vampire- that is, if their body does not reject the change first, causing them to (gasp) DIE!

PC and Kristin stopped by to talk about Tempted, the sixth book in the series scheduled to be released October 27th 2009.

The sixth novel in the House of Night series, Tempted, will be released in October. Without giving too much away, can you give us a hint as to what readers can look forward to in this highly anticipated series installment?

KC: TEMPTED will be told from six different characters points of view, and you should definitely pull out your Kleenex boxes! I cried three times!

Recently you both traveled to England to do research for the seventh book in the House of Night Series, Burned. Can you tell us about some of your favorite places you visited?

KC: I loved Culloden, the site where the Clans fought against the English. It was really moving and I learned a lot about myself.

PC: I adore the Highlands! Actually, I’ll be returning next month for more research, specifically at the Isle of Skye, where Zoey and the gang will be going in BURNED. Oh, and Clava Cairn, the ancient burial site of Celtic queens, was my favorite spot, though I also loved seeing Culloden.

Out of all the House of Night novels, has there been one in particular that was your favorite to write and conversely, was there one that was more challenging than the others?

PC: I think the easiest book to write was CHOSEN – all that drama just wrote itself! TEMPTED was more difficult than the others because of the shifting point of views, but it is currently my favorite in the HoN series.

The female characters in the House of Night novels are known for being strong, gutsy and intelligent leads. What types of feedback have you received from readers regarding the empowering roles of women in your novels? Has there been anything that really resonated with you in particular?

PC: I love hearing from young women that Zoey has helped them know that they can mess up and still recover and learn and grow. It’s also especially moving when I hear from gay teens who thank us for including them in the series in a realistic and positive way.

What other upcoming projects (solo or collaborative) are you working on?

KC: Right now, I’m working on a short story for HarperCollins, and, of course BURNED!

PC: Other than working on BURNED, I’m helping launch the new YA imprint of Harlequin TEEN with my fantasy books ELPHAME’S CHOICE (September 2009) and BRIGHID’S QUEST (March 2010).

I also have a paranormal romance for Nocturne titled THE AVENGER releasing Oct 1, 2009.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by PC and Kristin!

P. C. Cast is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author as well as an experienced speaker and teacher. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Prism, Daphne du Maurier, and Affaire du Coeur, as well as others. She lives and teaches in Oklahoma.

Her daughter, Kristin Cast, has won awards for her poetry and journalism. She also lives in Oklahoma, where she attends the University of Tulsa as a communications major.

Visit the Official House of Night website.