Welcome to my stop on the Authors are Rockstars Tour hosted by Fiktshun, Two Chicks on Books, and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads! I have the extreme, superb and all around awesome pleasure of hosting Rachel Caine!!  Rachel was kind enough to not only explain why underestimating the science chick is a bad idea, but also to offer a signed copy of Fall of Night (Morganville Vampires Book 14--the penultimate book in the series!) to one lucky person.  Stay tuned for the giveaway!

Why Rachel Caine is MY Rockstar:

I admit I was a reluctant Caine fan.  I found the Morganville Vampires books only after book 3 (Midnight Alley) and only because my friend sent me the first three books and ordered me to read them.  When a tall blonde viking chick tells you to read something you read it without question,  I was hesitant though because I didn't want something to let me down like Twilight and was leery of long series because of my heartbreak over NIGHT WORLD not ending still hasn't ended.

I had scars okay?

Almost from the moment I began the book I knew I'd love Claire.  Timid, eager to learn, but lost in an unfamiliar place filled with older kids who'd rather party then study--Claire could have been me my first year of college.  Through no fault of her own Claire finds herself Enemy #1 of the Head Mean Girl (yeah they have them in college) Monica and unwittingly falls face first into the dark underbelly most out of towners avoid.

Vampires exist and Morganville is their fiefdom.


I finished the first three books then begged for the next one.  My friend didn't have it.  Scraping together my money I ran out to the bookstore and bought books 4 and 5.  I tore through them.  Caine had written a character who was a few years younger then me, smarter then me and making a love life decision I wouldn't have but who I adored beyond words.

My love isn't limited to Morganville, I'm also a fan of the Weather Warden books, the Outcast Season books, working my way through the Revivalist trilogy and I'm fairly certain Prince of Shadows will rock my world in February.  Guys its about BENVOLIO from Romeo and Juliet? You know the non-violent guy?  Other fish in the sea get over Juliet guy?  It's gonna be epic.

And if you see me crying in November because Daylighters has come out and I have to leave Morganville...don't mention it.  Because you never really leave Morganville, you just...take a short sojourn before Myrnin drags you back to do experiments on your brain.


About Rachel: She's super awesome cool and has iguanas.  Oh you want to know more?  Well I guess you can check out her website or if you want to see all about Morganville you can visit the town's homepage (watch out for Ada).  Check out all the newest info about the web TV series over here and some excerpts for Daylighters are up as well (spoilers for the OTHER 14 books of course)

Also to find all my reviews for her books use the tag "Rachel Caine" to search them out on my blog!

And now her guest post: Never Underestimate the smart chick--Claire's journey from the science chick to the girl who's helped save them all (okay and maybe doomed them once or twice...)

Science is cool.

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that the world has rules, and those rules and complex and interconnecting. Rules able to be replicated and reproduced on a regular basis. That riveted me even as a kid. I still remember having my first physics class, and being introduced (via a pool game!) to the concept of elastic and inelastic collisions, and potential and kinetic energy. I rode my bicycle around for hours, delighting in applying the idea of kinetic energy to how the bike actually worked. (Luckily, I did not explore any collisions, inelastic or elastic.)

So when I chose a main character for my Morganville Vampires series, I wanted something different. I’d seen lots of girls who were sassy and destiny-predisposed to being tough and badass … those are great characters, but I wanted to explore a young woman who was more thought, less action. She still had some advantages, but they were mostly advantages of curiosity and stubborn determination. She wasn’t a ninja. She didn’t have secret hidden powers. She wasn’t the last descendant of a secret society.

She was just a girl with entirely natural gifts – maybe a little brighter than normal, but not stronger, faster, or tougher. 

I like stories that allow characters to grow, develop, learn and change … and that means that they have to start from a place that allows that growth. Young Adult novels are particularly good at this, because when you’re sixteen (as Claire is, when she moves to the vampire-controlled town of Morganville) you are just beginning to self-select who you’re going to be – and that means making mistakes, learning, growing, gaining confidence. I wanted Claire’s fascination with science and puzzles to be a big part of what motivated her to stay in a town where (honestly!) most people would have run screaming … and become a big part of how she solves problems.

I also wanted her to be someone unusual in YA literature … someone who looks for the opportunity to compromise. All too often, people who seek to coexist and form communities are seen as the victims, or the problem … the hero comes charging in to save them from themselves. But in real life, it’s the people who create peace out of chaos who are so often heroes – quiet, steady ones who aren’t looking for glory, but only to make things better, day by day. 

I wanted Claire to embody that idea – that winning may not be the goal.

I thought it was fun that Myrnin’s special chaotic blend of science and alchemy – which shouldn’t exist, or work – forced Claire to re-evaluate what she knew about the world; that’s a process all scientists go through, constantly, if they’re any damn good at it. I also enjoyed pairing timid, shy Claire with her friends, who are extroverts – even Michael, who as a musician has to be outgoing even if it’s not his nature. And then there’s Myrnin … half-crazy and all drama, and it takes a special blend of strength, courage and patience to handle him. 

Claire changes a lot in fifteen books in this series – from the shy, terrified girl who doesn’t know how to stand up for herself in Glass Houses, to a confident young woman fully capable of delivering punches and punch lines with equal ease by Daylighters … but she never loses sight of the fact that while the fight may be necessary, the goal is to create, not destroy. To understand, not exterminate. 

Because, y’know, that’s science. It’s the reason people go into incredibly dangerous situations and do incredibly dangerous things … to advance knowledge. To understand the world just a little bit more, for the benefit of everyone.

And ultimately that’s why Claire stays in Morganville … and why she comes back to it. Not just because it’s her home, where her heart and friends are, but because it’s important to protect something unique. It’s important to learn.

And most of all, it’s important to know.

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• Ends: September 5th, 2013 11:59pm