P. C. Cast

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An Interview with P.C. Cast

If you could be any other person, animal, plant, etc… for a day, who or what would you be and why?

I’d definitely be my horrible cat, Patchy Poo the Pud.  I’d love to stalk around the neighborhood, being the big cat on campus, terrorizing birds, dogs, and lesser cats (which means all other cats).  I’d finally really know what the Scotties do when no one is home.  After I bit the obnoxious kid on the corner I’d come inside and nap for the rest of the day on “my” desk – hopefully watching someone else meet all my deadlines.

What book, movie, TV show, or album has changed your life, and how?

Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight and Dragonquest changed my life.  I read them when I was thirteen, and not only was I completely mesmerized by Pern and its dragons, but the books began my lifelong love of fantasy and science fiction.  More importantly, at that time in my life my parents were going through a terrible divorce, and Ms. McCaffrey’s heroine, Lessa, helped me to be strong.  And somewhere in the middle of Dragonquest I remember sitting straight up and realizing that not only could women star in fantasy/sci-fi novels, but women could write them.  It was then that my thirteen year old self said Someday I’m going to be an author like Anne McCaffrey and create amazing fantasies.  Funny how things work out, isn’t it? 

Who’s your present celebrity crush? Name a past celebrity crush.

Well, I call James Marsters my “boyfriend.”  At first I thought I only crushed on him when he was playing Spike (especially Spike from Buffy season 6), but I’ve seen him in things since and I’m still crushing…must be true love!

Past crush – oh, jeesh.  I used to be in love with Mighty Mouse.  Seriously.  I thought the mouse was real.  My dad fed my obsession by calling the house, especially when I visited my grandma, and asking for me and then chatting with me in his Mighty Mouse voice.  Every birthday and Christmas the doorbell would ring and when I’d answer it no one would be there, but there would be a lovely wrapped present on the porch.  The card always said: To Phyllis, Love, Mighty Mouse.  Actually, now that I think about it, I’m still a little in love with that mouse.

What was the worst job you’ve ever had?

This is easy: detasseling corn.  What an absolutely gross job!  In the summer, at dawn, a big truck would pick up a gaggle of kids and take us out to the corn fields.  We’d get on huge machines that had giant iron arms stretching out from both sides of a tractor.  The arms had baskets on them.  We stood in the baskets and, as the tractor lurched forward, plucked the tassels off the top of the cornstalks.  It was awful!  First it was cold and wet in the morning, then the sun rose and started to boil us.  There were bugs and corn yuck and sweat and dirt and corn cuts.  Ugh, it’s making me itch just thinking about it.

What’s the last totally selfless thing someone did for you—be it emotional, monetary, or just telling you that you had toilet paper stuck to your shoe…?

My daughter (and fabulous coauthor!) Kristin does selfless things for her “mam” quite often.  For instance – before she went away to college she’d know I was having a tough day teaching, and be under a tight deadline, and I’d come home, totally stressed out, to find a box sitting on my bed with a lovely new pair of shoes inside.  She’d buy them for me “just because I heart my mam!”  She doesn’t live at home anymore, but her campus isn’t far away so she’ll often call me at school and say she’s bringing by lunch for me. I think of her as The Best Daughter in the Known Universe.

A Q&A with P.C. and Kristin Cast

What’s it like writing as a mother/daughter team?
PC: It’s fun!  Knowing that Kristin is going to go over everything I write gives me freedom to focus on plot and development of the series without freaking out about not always sounding like a teenager – because I know Kristin will fix it!
KC: I like it!  It’s the only time I can tell my mom that she’s wrong without getting in trouble!

Kristin, what’s it like being a 21-year-old bestselling author?
KC: I love it!  It makes me feel that if I’ve already achieved something so massive, anything else is possible too.

How are your vampyres different than others?  What made you decide to include original details, like their tattoos, and not classic facts, like being averse to garlic?
PC:  Our vamps are a lot different because the vampyrism is triggered by biology and not mysticism or the supernatural.  Of course there is a definite mystic element to our vampyres, but that only happens after they are Marked as a fledgling.  I brought in the tattooing because I am intrigued with ancient goddess cultures, and in some of those cultures it is believed a priestess was marked with a tattoo when she committed herself to her goddess.  I like being unique and creating my own version of the vampyre mythos!

Which of your characters do you most identify with?
PC: Aphrodite!
KC: Zoey!

What’s the hardest part about writing the House of Night series?  The most fun?
PC:  The hardest part is the first 2/3 of the manuscript.  In the last third it’s like I’m on a rollercoaster and I zooming to the conclusion.  The most fun is getting to travel and share all of this with my fabulous daughter!

Who are your favorite vamps in pop culture, other than your own?
PC:  Well…Spike (from Buffy) is my “boyfriend.” 
KC: SPIKEY IS SO MY BOYFRIEND!!!!
PC:  HE IS NOT!
KC:  IS SO!
PC:  You’re grounded.
KC:  (Sigh) He’s your boyfriend…

In the books, you write that Shakespeare, Jake Gyllenhaal, and some of the world’s greatest artists are vampyres.  Who else could be a vamp, and why?
PC:  In my imagination the best and the beautiful are all vamps!
KC: I agree with my mom, but I would just like to say that if it wasn’t for me none of the beautiful actors we have today would have even entered our fabulous books.  (pause for applause)  Thank you. 

There are a lot of Cherokee references in the books.  Do you pull from any other culture or mythology as well?
PC:  I definitely pull from Wicca, as well as Celtic Shamanism and ancient Druid beliefs. 

What inspires you to write?
PC:  My bills!  Okay, seriously, writing YA is fabulous.  I’m frequently inspired by my high school students as I create characters and conflicts for the characters.  Often I write about issues I see kids struggling with, especially those that deal with intolerance and bigotry. 
KC: My mom.  Or maybe that’s just her yelling at me… hmmm.

Why set the House of Night in Oklahoma?
PC:  Aren’t all vampyre novels set in Oklahoma? 
KC: Because it’s the coolest!  Ever.

Why is vampire fiction so big right now?
PC:  I get asked this a lot and I’m always perplexed by the question.  People have been enthralled by the vampire mythos as far back as the last 1800s when Bram Stoker published Dracula.  Ann Rice’s vamps have been cult icons for decades, as has Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s Count Saint-Germain.   So, I don’t think our fascination with vampires is just big right now – I think it’s longstanding.