

UNITED STATES AUTHOR · FICTION · VAMPIRES
P. C. Cast
Also known as: Phyllis Christine Cast, P. C. Cast
Phyllis Christine Cast was born on 30 April 1960 in Watseka, Illinois, USA, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. She has been married and divorced three times. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her fabulous daughter, Kristin Cast, her spoiled cat, her adorable Scotties, and a bunch of not totally normal horses! Published since 2001, P. C. Cast also collabored with her daughter since 2007. She is a New York Times Best-Selling author and a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers Best, and the Laurel Wreath.
Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.
— from Marked
Most acclaimed

Destined
"Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet - which would be a whole lot easier if the High Counsel saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together - if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow... But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia's handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there's the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more - or possibly less - than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there's something strangely familiar about him... Will Neferet's true nature be revealed before she succeeds in silencing them all? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox's humanity in time to protect him - and everyone - from his own fate? Find out what's destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series"--

Marked
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampires have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampire Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampire friends.

Hunted
Caroline Wallace is one of New Orleans PD's top hostage negotiators, and she's never failed to get every hostage out alive. But this time, it's different. This time, the hostages include her boss, the chief of police, and the mayor. And this time, she's trying to negotiate with Reed Ware, a former co-worker who left the force disgraced, under investigation by Internal Affairs, and worst of all, considered to be volatile and extremely dangerous. When the chief of police and the mayor of New Orleans are taken hostage by disgraced former co-worker Reed Ware, top hostage negotiator Caroline Wallace allows herself to be taken captive by the handsome Reed only to learn that he is being targeted for his discovery of high-level government corruption. "Twas the night before Christmas, and dozens of rich, influential hostages are trapped inside a sprawling lakefront mansion in New Orleans. The perp? Detective Reed Ware, model cop turned outlaw. After receiving a panicked call from Hollis "Holly" Bayard, a teenage street tough with a penchant for amateur sleuthing who stumbles upon the scene of a drug-deal-turned- murder, Ware finds his and his friend's lives in dire danger. The crime Holly witnessed could be the biggest police cover-up this side of New Orleans -- and no one's talking. Driven to desperate measures to uncover the truth, Ware stages a coup at a Christmas party for the New Orleans elite, including the mayor, the council chairman, the sheriff, and the superintendent of police, who just happens to be hostage negotiator Caroline Wallace's estranged father. Cool, calm, controlled. That's Caroline's reputation. But when she's brought in to talk Ware off the proverbial ledge, she realizes no amount of false promises is going to placate this man, who looks even hotter than he did years ago when seventeen-year-old Caroline tried to seduce him. It was his duty to protect her family then. Now it's her turn. if she can think fast enough over the pounding of her heart. When Caroline becomes wrapped up in the drama, it's clear the sizzling tension she shared with Ware never let up. And the harder she tries to defuse the situation, the more she begins to wonder whose side she's really on"--