Author Interview – Cassandra Joy

In the past year, I have had the privilege of getting to know some awesome authors. I have found people that support one another not just in their writing but in life in general. Cassandra Joy is one of those people… Let’s catch up with her.

What inspired you to start writing?

I’ve been writing since I was a little girl. I always loved telling stories, and I am just happy to be paid to tell them now!

How do you handle writer’s block?

Take a break. I get up and exercise. I spend time doing creative things that aren’t writing. I “fill up” on inspiration by reading and watch tv/movies (youtube!!). I spend time with my family.

Describe your writing space.

My laptop is very mobile. I’ve written in many different places.

What does success mean to you? What is the definition of success?

Right now, not losing money on a release is my biggest goal! LOL. Next up will be making $1,000 or so with each release. After that… $2,000 every month would be the big step.

How do you deal with poor reviews?

I don’t actually look at my reviews. I have people to do that for me, and they send me the best ones for marketing purposes.

What was your favorite part, and your least favorite part, of the publishing journey?

I loved getting to hold a book with my name on it for the first time. I hate marketing. LOL.

How many books have you published? Which is your favourite?

Under this pen name? 4 plus an anthology. Total across all my pen names? I believe there are about 50 publications with my work somewhere in them. (I used to do a lot of magazine articles back in the day)

Where do you get your inspiration?

For my CJ’s Neighborhood series… from my neighborhood. I’d wave at neighbors as I walked each morning, and then I’d make up stories about them in my head. They’d probably be appalled to know that character was based on them…

Where can readers purchase your books?

All major retailers. Coming soon: Kickstarter and my own website.

Name one author that you always 1-click

Mika Lane, Laura Navarre, Lauren Blakely, Lexi Blake, Michelle Notaro, Jordan Hawk. There are more, but those are the core ones.

Favorite quote (doesn’t matter the source)

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Paint, sing, swing in my hammock, curl up next to my fireplace. And then the boring stuff like parenting. 🙂

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Introspective, determined, stubborn.

Click on the pictures to find Cassandra Joy

Author Interiew – Leslie Ayla

Today’s Interview is with Leslie Ayla. She is a South African author with who I have become fast friends! Here’s what she has to say!

What inspired you to start writing?

NaNoWriMo – and wanting to read what I want and not being able to find it

What comes first, the plot or characters?

Both. Rough idea, flesh out the characters then continue on from there

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I don’t really do. LOL. In all seriousness I guess maybe after a year when I’ve proved to myself this isn’t just another phase

Describe your writing space.

Oh, chaotic. Dining room table with a desktop pc. Two screens and about 2 cups at any given time.

What are the tools of the trade?

For me? Google. All of the Google. I use dabble, canva and a PA too though

How do you deal with emotional impact of a book (on yourself) as you are writing the story?

I guess I’m not doing it right because it hasn’t impacted me that severely yet.

What was your favorite part, and your least favorite part, of the publishing journey?

Favourite – meeting all these amazing authors who are on the journey with me. Least favourite – never being able to please everyone. And the endless amounts of PR. I suck at it.

How many plot ideas are just waiting to be written? Can you tell us about one?

Hahahaha I have a spreadsheet. With lists and lists and lists. I have a shared world series with a best friend that I’m very excited about. Omega’s that are different to the usual ones.

What’s your favorite food?

Chocolate. Yes its a food.

Would you rather be in a room full of snakes or spiders?

Spiders

Click on any of the images below to find out more about Leslie Ayla and her Work

Author Interview – Rose Wulf

To kick off 2023 I have a great interview with my dear friend Rose Wulf. We have become close friends this past year and I can’t for all of you to get to know her better!

What inspired you to start writing?

Reading! More specifically, I was raised by a mom who read all the time and I was encouraged to read as much as I wanted from a young age. So I did. This, and watching a variety of fantastic and fun shows on Saturday mornings, spawned an uncontainable imagination. For me it was a natural progression from there to think up my own plot lines and want to put them on paper!

What comes first, the plot or characters?

That depends on the story. I know, I know, it’s a terrible answer! But it’s true. For example, with my 2020 release “Hansel & Gretel,” it was the plot that hit first (and hit hard). I was overcome with this idea, and the idea was very quickly followed by a concept of what kinds of characters I needed to guide it, and the book was born. In contrast, my more recent release “Orchid’s Heart” was the opposite. The characters came to me first, and I understood their personalities and their basic drives and relations, and from that I was able to build the world in which they lived. Only then was I able to uncover the right plot for that story. So… it depends.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Oh, this is a good question! I’ve been writing in some form for as long as I can remember, but of course the early years were amateurish and I more considered myself an aspiring writer. I probably first considered myself a writer sometime after opening myself to public criticism by posting fanfictions online, when I was in my mid-teens. I definitely felt like a writer by the time I made the decision to pursue writing-related courses in college. So, my best estimate would be seventeen or eighteen.

What is the most difficult part about writing for you?

Every story poses its own challenge, of course, but overall the most difficult part is being able to focus. Currently I’m designated to writing in the only living space in my home, and things going on in the background can be quite distracting!

How do you deal with emotional impact of a book (on yourself) as you are writing the story?

There have been times I’ve needed to take breaks! Sometimes the characters have to go through some unpleasant and draining things, and I need to put it down for a little while and refresh myself to regain the energy I need to push through. This might just mean detouring to YouTube for a short video, or it might mean calling it a day and picking up again the next day. All of that said, I do usually try to push through those scenes in one go and take my break after.

What was your favorite part, and your least favorite part, of the publishing journey?

Honestly? Being published is my favorite part of the journey! Some days it still feels a little surreal to think my stories are out there in the world for anyone to buy and hopefully enjoy, despite that I just recently celebrated my 10 year “authorversary!” As for my least favorite part, I suppose that would have to be the trouble I had with my first publisher – who is no longer in business. For most of my books I was told things like “your book is live now,” so I had no way to build up hype for an upcoming release because after the editing stage there was just silence until “here’s your cover, and it’s live.” But my relationship with them fell apart shortly before they folded, when I questioned the royalties I had been paid. They terminated my contracts without notice, suddenly pulling my books from the shelves (Amazon, etc) and reverting my rights. I was quite upset and put out by this, though it did ultimately work out in the long run! But that has definitely been the worst experience I’ve had on this journey.

How many books have you published? Which is your favourite?

I have 24 currently available titles, with 2 more under contract and expected soon! In addition to those, I have 3 other titles which were previously published but are no longer available. As for which is my favorite, wow. At this point I have to say it’s “Orchid’s Heart,” but there are two or three close contenders!

Where can readers purchase your books?

My books are available from many different ebook retailers, as well as directly from the publisher! They’re available through Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and many other places.

How many bookshelves are in your house?

By my quick, rough estimate, approximately 25.

Share something fun your readers wouldn’t know about you.

I was in a movie once! Technically. It was a made-for-TV movie being filmed in my area, and I was like 4 years old, so I was an extra. And I’m pretty sure my scenes were cut. But I do have a vague memory of the part where I talked to Laura Dern about Barbies between shoots.

Room full of spiders of a room full of snkes?

Snakes

Click on the image to follow Rose Wulf

Final Round of Voting

It is my privilege to be part of the Top 8

The voting closes in just over a week and I would appreciate your vote!

Link: https://forms.gle/mgwAQgmMAKoeorCK6

GRAB IT

Drowned in Temptation is LIVE!

>>>Night Shadows Book 7<<<

Blurb:

Long ago, infamous vampire Enforcer Jasen Hawthorne was merely a man who loved a woman. On one tragic day, they were both brutally slain … only he woke up again, facing eternity alone. So he embraced his rage and became the force feared by even the monsters. When the Vampire Queen’s estranged, bitter brother came forward with plans to dethrone her and destabilize all of vampire society, it fell on Jasen to find and eliminate him. But defeating the Original vampire is easier said than done, and when Jasen realizes the scope of the rising rebellion around him, he has little choice but to accept the help of an unlikely ally.

Indisputably the strongest water witch of her time, Rhea has long been ostracized from her community. She’s the witch her superiors call in when a situation is too dire for anyone else. This is why she was sent to Seattle, to investigate and put a stop to a string of vampire attacks. But she could never have anticipated the scope of the battle ahead, or everything it would dredge up.

Jasen and Rhea have to put aside their inherent differences and find a way to work together if they’re going to defeat their ancient enemy. What neither of them anticipated was the connection that already bound them, and just how significant the fight against the Original would become. If they survive when the dust settles, they’ll have choices to make that will change more than just their lives.

Buy Link: https://books2read.com/DrownedInTemptation

Who doesn’t love prizes?

Epic Book #GIVEAWAY !!

Enter to win a pile of signed books, Amazon.com gift cards, and more—and discover your next favorite author in the process!

https://www.subscribepage.com/discoversffauthors

#GiveawayAlert #EnterToWin #BookGiveaway #GiftCardGiveaway #DiscoverAuthors #Sweepstakes

Massive Book Fair!

Are you looking for your next read?

Look no further…

We have a massive book fair for all your book needs!

Sales, Freebies, and more! Multiple genres!

>>>Find it here<<<

C.L. Cannon’s Fantasy & Sci-fi Book Fair

CURRENTLY READING

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS COVER????
I am sooo in love! Reading this is definitely not going to be a chore!

CURRENTLY READING!
WICKED, an all-new standalone book in the Sicko world, by @thatcrazykiwiauthor is coming November 7th!

Make sure to preorder this all-new mafia/MC romance TODAY!!

PREORDER TODAY for $3.99!

Price will go up on release day!

(Will go into Kindle Unlimited on November 7th)

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QOgBFd

Apple: https://tinyurl.com/yptt8kx2

Kobo: https://tinyurl.com/5dmyrwpk

B&N: https://tinyurl.com/mpamctv2

Blurb:
I remember the day he walked through our front door, bloodied and broken with the kind of torment that breeds, but never dies. Papa had one rule for him. Stay away from his daughter.

He didn’t.

Years later, he crashes back into my life and tears down all of the walls I built up around myself. We’re both hiding secrets, but when the mafia world collides with the MC world, the shrapnel could destroy everyone around us.

Now the president of the Chicago chapter, not even I was prepared for his return. He’s going to see that I’m no longer the precious princess of the Cosa Nostra, and I won’t play his games anymore.

He’ll play mine.

This is a story about two souls destined to be together, but who are trapped in bodies that hate each other. It’s what happens when you both let love kill you.

CoverReveal #Wicked #AmoJones #MCRomance #MafiaRomance #ComingSoon #Standalone #Preorder #CandiKanePR @candikanepr

Time for a Giveaway!

𝕄𝔸𝕊𝕊𝕀𝕍𝔼 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚

Kick off the holiday season right with this MASSIVE giveaway! One lucky winner will WIN ALL these signed paperbacks from every participating author to help build your romance library AND a $200 Amazon GC!

𝑩𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 you are joining each author’s newsletter.

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔 for following each author on their social media of your choice!

All you need to do is 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 → https://bit.ly/3sMWSeM

#bookgiveaway #winallthebooks #signedbookgiveaway #bookishgiveaway #readromance

Release Parties!

The next 3 weeks are going to be insanely busy! I have 3 releases coming out back to back. That means more for you to read but it also means RELEASE PARTIES! I have joined with some awesome authors to help me celebrate these releases.

Here are the details if you want to join us: