New York Times and USA Today Best Selling author Rachel Caine will be at Borders Express in the Exton Square Mall on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. for a book signing, celebrating the release of her latest book “Fade Out” of the Morganville Vampire series, available Nov. 3.Caine is the author of the best selling “Morganville Vampire”, “Weather Warden” and “Outcast” series of young adult books. The Morganville Vampire series books include “Glass Houses,” “The Dead Girls’ Dance,” “Midnight Alley,” “Feast of Fools,” “Lord of Misrule,” “Carpe Corpus” and “Fade Out.”
Caine plans to publish five more books for the series before 2011.
Caine is also the author of the “Weather Warden” series, which includes “Ill Wind,” “Heat Stroke,” “Chill Factor,” “Windfall,” “Firestorm,” “This Air,” “Gale Force” and “Cape Storm.” She plans on publishing the final book of the series in 2010.
Her third series, “The Outcast” series, includes “Undone,” “Unknown,” “Unseen” and “Unbroken.” Caine says she has another series that is already planned to replace the “Weather Warden” series. When the “Morganville” series ends she will probably write another young adult series in its place but has no firm plans as of yet.
Along with vampire novels, Caine has also written paranormal romance action adventure novels, such as “Athena Force: Line of Sight,” which was a 2008 RT Reviewer’s Choice award winner.
In the fall of 2005 she also published under the pseudonym of Julie Fortune, “Sacrifice Moon,” an original novel for the “Stargate SG-1” television series. “My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding,” “My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon,” “Strange Brew” and “Many Bloody Returns” are among her best selling short fiction anthologies, as well as contributing to BenBella Books’ “SmartPop” anthologies of nonfiction essays.
Some may be surprised to learn that Caine is in fact a pen name. Her real name is Roxanne Conrad. She has also previously published under the name Roxanne Longstreet. Rachel Caine says she “started out writing under my maiden name, then changed to my married name when sales didn’t go so great. Then I had to change again, to Caine — but it looks like this time it’s worked out.” When asked if she has a favorite pseudonym to write under, she said, “I’d have to say that Rachel Caine is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had writing.”
She also has a full-time job as a Director of Corporate Communications at a worldwide company. “My professional career makes it hard sometimes — long hours and lots of stress. But it’s great to be able to dive into my writing when I get the chance. I try hard to keep my writing separate from my business life, but it can be difficult — for instance, I’m taking Friday off work to come to Exton for the signing!”
Caine says that she writes about a million words a year, working on one book at a time. She has already published 30 books.
She was born in White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, where her father was the “countdown voice” for missile launches. She now lives with her award-winning painter husband, R. Cat Conrad in Fort Worth, Texas along with their two pet iguanas, Darwin and Popeye.
Conrad did not intend on becoming a writer. Her dream was to be a professional musician, and she was for a few years.
Conrad played the clarinet with several symphonies, and played with famous conductors and composers such as Henry Mancini, Peter Nero and John Williams until she began publishing novels in 1991.
Caine says her book signing trip is very inspiring, “on days when I’m tired and don’t want to get up and write early in the mornings, I think about the great people I’ve met, and it helps me get moving. I especially love it when I meet someone who didn’t like to read, but now does.” Teaser sections of all of the “Morganville Vampire,” “Weather Warden,” “Outcast” series and other works by can be found on her website, rachelcaine.com.
She can also be followed on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Live Journal.
Joli McCarthy is a fourth-year student majoring in English and minoring in journalism. She can be reached at JM625940@wcupa.edu.