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So now you've got a feel for Morganville itself, and for some of the people in it.  Here's some of the more ... unusual elements that found their way into a young adult story.

And, of course, the troubles they caused me, as a writer, along the way.

Physics.  Claire could have had any old hobby, but noooooooo.  I had to choose physics as one of her specialties.  Now, this actually stems from the fact that in college I was flat-out fascinated by applied physics; my favorite classes and labs had to do with how physics worked in the real world.  Theoretical physics wasn't quite so easy or fun for me, so naturally, Claire has to be fascinated by that.  Trying to get inside the head of a girl way smarter than me, who understands such things, is a real challenge, one I'm sure I occasionally fail.

Typical resources I've used along the way on the trail of physics knowledge include the reader-friendly The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory, Physics for Dummies, and Quantum Physics: A Beginner's Guide.  Although I had to step up to the highly entertaining book by Michio Kaku, Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel.  Then onward to the really tough stuff, which generally comes bound in textbooks or little chapbooks, and has no concept of "reader friendly."

Ouch.

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In the last post, I gave you an overview of the town of Morganville, and told you what you might need to get around town semi-safely.  (It's not your fault, you're not necessarily living dangerously -- even the locals have trouble running out for the occasional pint of milk.  Or O negative.) 

But to live in a tough town like Morganville, you need to know who your friends are.  And your allies.  And - maybe most of all - your enemies.

Not that they're not sometimes interchangeable.

 Claire Danvers.  When she first came to Morganville, she was sixteen, extremely bright, and more than a little naïve, not to mention stubborn.  Her first attempt to blend in with the Morganville cool crowd was, to say the least, disastrous; exiled to whatever off-campus housing she can get, Claire ended up finding three people who make up the core of her new life:  Eve Rosser, Michael Glass, and her heartthrob Shane Collins.  Claire didn't know that the powers-that-be of Morganville had a need for her, and a plan; she was just trying to survive, and do the right things along the way.  Now that she does know, she's not shy about using that information to keep herself, and her friends and allies, safe.

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Let's get the marketing out of the way:  CARPE CORPUS comes out tomorrow!  It's book six of the Morganville Vampires series.

So, you say, you've never heard of the Morganville Vampires series?  Fear not, my friend!  Let me give you a quick, very broad introduction:

When Claire Danvers' parents ship her off to Texas Prairie University at Morganville - a backwater town with a not-too-stellar university - they do it out of love.  She's only 16, and they're not ready to send her off to MIT just yet.  One year, they insist.  One year, close by.  Then you can transfer.

But there's a problem with moving to Morganville.  Claire quickly runs afoul of the meanest of mean girls on campus, and by moving off campus into a funky house of outcasts - Michael Glass, Eve Rosser, and Shane Collins - she transfers out of the normal curriculum, and into one where failure means death.

Morganville isn't like other towns.  Outside of the university borders, the vampires run the place, operating like the Undead Mafia; they own the businesses, collect protection money, and tax residents in blood donations.  Once you know the real Morganville, you can't leave.  Ever.

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Rachel Caine is our guest blogger during the week of June 1st. If you have any questions for Rachel Caine, add a comment to any of her posts.

Here is more information on Carpe Corpse (The Morganville Vampires, Book 6):

In the small college town of Morganville, vampires and humans lived in (relative) peace-until all the rules got rewritten when the evil vampire Bishop arrived, looking for the lost book of vampire secrets. He's kept a death grip on the town ever since. Now an underground resistance is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants-the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires ever be content to go back to the old rules, after having such a taste of power?