Question 1: Do Rakshasas actually shape shift or are they relying on illusion to fool their prey?

Rakshasas are spirits normally. They can take bodies when they choose, however, if they have saved up enough power. But there’s no requirement that those bodies should be human ones. They assume whatever form will best suit their ends.

Question 2: Do lampades have the same shape shifting/illusion abilities as Rakshasas?

Lampades don’t shape-shift, but they are skilled at illusion. They can look like anybody they choose–or anybody you want.

Question 3: Is Rian the “daughter” of Rosier? Does Pritkin think of Rian as his half-sister?

No, all incubi can reproduce and Rosier is hardly the only one doing so. Besides, for centuries he put most of his time into gaining himself a human child, so he actually has fewer children than some others of his kind.

Question 4: Cassie gets her power to see, talk, and control ghosts from her father. So I am a bit confused about how, in the third book, one of the Misfits, who is only clairvoyant, can see and talk to Billy-Joe. Could you explain this to me?

The short answer is, clairvoyants can sometimes see and even more rarely interact with ghosts. But what Cassie does, having a ghostly servant who acts as a friend/confidant/errand boy, is something entirely different. Her relationship with ghosts is explained in Tempt the Stars in detail, if it interests you.

Question 5: (this might be spoilery, lol) If Cassie’s father’s spirit was captured in some paperweight and taken into faerie, is he still in spirit form? In the second book, Billy became corporeal when he went into faerie, so would Cassie’s dad still be incorporeal?

This was answered in another Q&A. I basically said that Cassie’s father is a big subject, and will be addressed in the books. You learn a good deal about him in Tempt the Stars. All I can say on this particular point is that he is trapped in a magical snare, not free to move about as Billy Joe was. So the question of corporeal/incorporeal is moot until that changes.

Question 6: Do you take your short stories into account when writing your novels? For example, will the interactions in the Pritkin shorts somehow affect the characters responses & emotions in the future novels?

All of my stories are taken into account when I write a new one. So yes, the Pritkin shorts matter. They are free, so I don’t believe that this should cause a hardship for anyone. Although it wouldn’t in any case, since I try to give enough information within the novels to know what is happening, even if someone has missed the shorts.