Latinka - Aku Bisa Mati

At 19, Kristin Cast found herself as part of a duo (with her mom, P.C. Cast) that had a NY Times and USA Today Bestselling series on their hands with The House of Night.  Since the kick start of the series, Kristin has embarked on her college career at the University of Tulsa as a Communications major. She's also won several awards, had the chance to write for anthologies like IMMORTAL: LOVE STORIES WITH BITE, and has editorial credits to her name. In her down time she's working to make her dream of creating a no-kill dog rescue/shelter in Tulsa a reality.

If you're interested in learning more about Kristin, her mom, or The House of Night check out http://pccast.net and  http://houseofnightseries.com!

I've had the pleasure of meeting P.C. Cast a couple of times, and each time I got to hear plenty of anecdotes about Kristin. In Atlanta, Kristin couldn't make it due to school, but as a consolation Gena Showalter filled in. The duo has come a long way since then, and I'd love the chance to meet Kristin in the future. If her sense of humor is anything like P.C.'s, I think a presentation by them would be top-notch. 

Back then, MARKED was about to hit shelves, and now The House of Night has got a following to match even the biggest "vampire" series. I believe having Kristin on the ground floor to plan and "fact check" the series is the reason it strikes a chord with tweens, teens and possibly even twenty somethings everywhere. By the growing number of titles, as well as media types available, it's clear to see that P.C. and Kristin aren't giving up without a fight in the sea of vamp novels. Plucky is an understatement for P.C., and from what I've heard Kristin is a chip off the block!  With publishing credits of her own, I think Kristin has a bright future as an author indeed!

Since MARKED hit shelves and started the House of Night following, do you think the upsurge in vampire novels have helped or hurt the series popularity? 

There have always been a plethora of vamp novels and I am a firm believer that the success of others can only help my mom and me.

What makes your fans different?

I think that are fans are beyond loyal! They span a wide age range: from about 11 years old to grandparents. Also, because our novels empower women I like to believe that our fan base is composed of strong, independent ladies.

As part of a collaborative team, what founding piece of info--boarding "school", rules, characters, etc.--did you insist had to be included? 

Well Mom and I pretty much agreed on this, but my main thing is that they have to be real. The books must depict high school life and teenage behavior accurately and I'm happy that we've accomplished that.

When the intensity shifted in CHOSEN, did you have a particular subplot you enjoyed setting up for future releases? Overall, do you and your mom have an overarching plotline to weave multiple elements into that keeps you on track?

Because I serve as mainly an editor, I don't know the overarching plot line or subplots. I normally don't see the book until it's complete, but I know that Mom has an ending planned for the series and I'm so not going to tell you what it is! Heehee!

If you hadn't ended up being instrumental in the creation of MARKED and House of Night, would you have become an author? Is there something else you'd rather be doing or a hobby you enjoy when you aren't "fact checking" your mom?

I probably would have never become as involved in the writing field as I am now.

Currently, I am in school and when I graduate next year I will be opening a no kill dog shelter in Tulsa. That's what I'm really passionate about doing. I've also recently gotten really involved in editing and am really excited about the 2010 release of a YA that I helped to edit by the amazingly talented Jana Oliver.

Out of all your travels and signings, is there any one moment that stands out from the rest? And when you sign do you have any must-haves--chocolate, bottled water, M&Ms?

On our TEMPTED tour when we were signing in Maryland I got really car sick and I know that I was a super weird green color and no fun at all but there was a cutie straight male fan (who are normally nervous to come to our signings but we heart us some male readers!!) who came up to me and was all shaky and he kept telling me how beautiful I am in person! We took a picture together and he totally made my night and made me feel better! Thank you cutie male fan!!!

My only diva must have thing is unsweetened, black iced tea. Gotta have it!!!!

With a slew of tasty morsels available at Thanksgiving what is your favorite comfort food?

STUFFING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will eat stuffing everyday. It's one of the only things that I can actually cook. Ha!

Recall that one lucky person who comments or asks a question below will win a copy of TEMPTED! If you don't have an e-mail associated with your profile or blog, please include you addie so we can contact you!

Technorati Tags:
boarding school, House of Night, priestess, vampire, vampyre, writing, YA
Flickr Tags:
boarding school, House of Night, priestess, vampire, vampyre, writing, YA
Del.icio.us Tags:
boarding school, House of Night, priestess, vampire, vampyre, writing, YA
Furl Tags:
boarding school, House of Night, priestess, vampire, vampyre, writing, YA