Thursday, June 25, 2015

Negril Buzzing ...

Slow Season in Jamaica?


This is SLOW season, but I swear, the last couple of days this little beach town seems busier than usual.

The music wafting across the beach up to my little studio was VERY loud last night, and more motorbikes were on the road outside my window. Maybe people are getting in Sumfest mood early.

Hmmm... gotta get out today to see what's going on.  Been hemmed up writing, writing, writing since getting back from Montego Bay outing the other day. I look forward to a quick jaunt this evening ...

Enjoy the rest of your day, and thank you for stopping by my author blog.

Cassandra Black
http://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Black/e/B005BU7Y44

Cassandra Black, Montego Bay,
June 2015

Chilling, having coffee after
Montego Bay trip to handle biz

Working on Finding Love in Sweetwater Cove, PART 3

Working on Finding Love in Sweetwater Cove, PART 3, out next week. Read Parts 1 & 2 now: http://www.amazon.com//dp/B00WTT3ZYI. Look for PART 3 next week. 

**POST UPDATE:  Finding Love in Sweetwater Cove, PART 3, has been released on Amazon & BN. 

See http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010MXJJOM for the Kindle book. 

See http://tinyurl.com/sweetwater3nook for NOOK Book on Barnes & Noble. 




**GET THE BUNDLE -- PARTS 1 & 2 -- at http://www.amazon.com//dp/B00WTT3ZYI.** 

SERIES OVERVIEW -- Finding Love in Sweetwater Cove 

Heather-Anne McCreary has moved back home to Sweetwater Cove, a quaint Alabama town, after a tragic loss in Los Angeles. An old land dispute rears its ugly head again, just as romantic feelings begin to blossom between her and the handsome Jake Coleman, her neighbor, who's fighting to recover from his own personal loss. 

Will Heather-Anne and Jake's new friendship, forged by their similar pasts, be too little to overcome the feud that drove their families apart? Or will their mounting passion and need for each other be enough to transcend age-old differences and family secrets as they fight to live and love again? 
__________ 

BOOK EXCERPT: 

As Jake Coleman walked toward her, she surprised herself even thinking about another man. It had been almost three years since her Robert had left this earth. And since then, she hadn't once considered anyone else in her life – not until today. Her eyes widened and her stomach did somersaults as the handsome, rugged man got closer. Thick waves of shoulder-length black hair were secured from his face by a chocolate cowboy. Her eyes immediately went to his ring finger. 

No ring. 

"Ma'am," he said, tipping the hat, as he almost strode past her. 

Her heart sank. "Good morning," she uttered, disappointed Jake Coleman did not recognize her. Foolish girl, she thought, feeling like a jilted teenager all over again. She chastised herself like she used to when she'd flirted in front of him and he hadn't noticed at all. 

Jake spun back around. "Heather-Anne?" he asked, pushing the hat back from his eyes. "My goodness, Little Heather-Anne!" 

"Jake Coleman," she said, smiling wide as she stood up from the bench to greet him. 

His pulse quickened as he took in her sensual frame. Letting his eyes travel over her pert bosom down to her narrow waist, he tried to control the rise inside of him. 

Heather-Anne noticed the slight whispers of salt-and-pepper strands at his temples, disappearing under the cowboy hat. He had gotten even sexier with age. She knew Jake couldn't be more than 42 or 43. He was only a few years older than she was. There was a noticeable, distinguished quality about him as a man that she hadn't seen as a teenager. 

Jake's eyes brightened and consumed her, knowing full well who she was from the second he drove up: the way she sat, with her soft, shapely legs properly folded, one dangling over the other; the way she pretended to be gazing intently at the newspaper in front of her as she was taking in everything in her peripheral vision; the way she fingered the wisps of soft, brown curls in her tiny, white-tipped fingers and pushed them gently from her delicately shaped face; and the way emerald eyes framed by long batting lashes seemed to dance when they landed on him. He knew Heather-Anne McCreary well. 

He'd pictured her many nights over the past several years. 

"Well I'll be," he said, instinctively picking her up and twirling her around. 

"Put me down," Jake Coleman, she laughed. "Jake Coleman, put me down!" Heather-Anne giggled some more, surprised at the sound of her own laughter. 

###

**GET THE BUNDLE -- PARTS 1 & 2 -- at http://www.amazon.com//dp/B00WTT3ZYI.** 

Cassandra Black
http://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Black/e/B005BU7Y44

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

UPDATE: Amazon Fixed Issue with Person Using My Name

**UPDATE**

Amazon Swift!

Hi again, everyone. Just a heads up that Amazon has taken care of the seeming fraudster I reported about using my name on their books. Amazon was responsive and swift.  Whew! I can breathe now. Remember, my books will always have "Stone Cottage Books" on the interior copyright pages.

Jamaica Travel and Writing

In the thick of a full day of travel, headed back to Jamaica today. Up since before midnight re: red-eye flight and long drive from small GA town middle of night to catch plane in ATL. In Florida now, on layover, writing (gimme laptop and a signal and I can work). God is good. Traveled wee hours without incident, and first leg was very comfortable. Should be hovering over Caribbean in a bit -- and not a moment too soon re: have Montego Bay and Kingston running around to do later in week re: writing and publishing biz. 


Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your day, and thank you for your readership. Have another hour of writing before boarding ... new releases coming soon!

Cassandra

______________________

Cassandra Black
Twitter: @stonecottagebks (http://www.twitter.com/stonecottagebks)

Monday, June 15, 2015

**Alert** Someone Appears To Be Fraudulently Using My Name -- Cassandra Black -- on Their Books

Alert -- Someone Appears To Be Fraudulently Using My Name -- Cassandra Black -- On Their Books (SEE NEW UPDATE BELOW.)

Hi everyone. I hope your week is going well.

ALERT -- Just a quick alert: Someone appears to be fraudulently using my name -- CASSANDRA BLACK -- on their books.  I've discovered what appears to be fraud on two of their short BWWM books. Please note, my books are ALWAYS copyrighted with Stone Cottage Books on the inside. One book in particular they've actually put "Beyonce White" as the author on the cover, but used CASSANDRA BLACK in the author section on Amazon, apparently so it shows up in the searches. I don't want you, as my readers, to think this is my writing. Amazon has been alerted as a first step to stop this practice.

Please look for my Stone Cottage Books copyright on the inside during your "Look Inside" sneak peek of books on Amazon. If there is no "Look Inside" preview so you can see this -- certainly a couple of days after a new release -- this is another indicator that this is NOT my work. Just a heads up so you get the work for which you're paying.

Have a super day, and thank you for being a fan of my books.   New releases coming soon!

Cassandra Black
http://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Black/e/B005BU7Y44


**UPDATE**



Amazon Fixed Issue with Person Using My Name

Amazon Swift!

Hi again, everyone. Just a heads up that Amazon has taken care of the seeming fraudster I reported about using my name on their books. Amazon was responsive and swift.  Whew! I can breathe now. Remember, my books will always have "Stone Cottage Books" on the interior copyright pages.

Jamaica Travel and Writing

In the thick of a full day of travel, headed back to Jamaica today. Up since before midnight re: red-eye flight and long drive from small GA town middle of night to catch plane in ATL. In Florida now, on layover, writing (gimme laptop and a signal and I can work). God is good. Traveled wee hours without incident, and first leg was very comfortable. Should be hovering over Caribbean in a bit -- and not a moment too soon re: have Montego Bay and Kingston running around to do later in week re: writing and publishing biz. 

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your day, and thank you for your readership. Have another hour of writing before boarding ... new releases coming soon! 

Friday, June 12, 2015

It's good to be back stateside for a bit!

It's good to be back stateside for a bit! Lots of running around to do in the A-T-L, so up early getting work done before the sun comes up. 

Enjoy your day, and thank you for stopping by my author blog. 

Cassandra


______________________

Cassandra Black
Twitter: @stonecottagebks (http://www.twitter.com/stonecottagebks)

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

"Write the Senses" Challenge

"Write the Senses" Challenge

I hope you're having a great day.  Early this morning, as I was snuggled up in bed -- knowing it was waaaaaay past my time to get up -- I was reflecting on a conversation I had with my sis (also a romance writer) a few weeks ago.  

Sometimes I get so bogged down in producing books -- you know, trying to get that next one out, that I neglect the "art" of writing...  

My New Year's Resolution was in part, "slow and steady," so I've given myself a challenge so I can exercise "slow and steady" in my creative work.  If you find the below helpful, maybe you will take the challenge with me during your next writing project. 

My challenge is to really focus on "writing the senses"  ...  what do I mean?  Read on ... 

Name the Five Senses 

First, what are the five senses? (yup! had to look them up to be sure):

  • Feel
  • Hear
  • Taste
  • Smell
  • See

How to Write the Senses

Here are some ideas so you get the gist of what I mean when I say writing the senses:

  • Smell:  In a romance novel, if your hero and heroine are having lunch or breakfast, pull them into your scene by using foods they can easily "smell" ... ie, bacon, apple pie, cinnamon roll) ... Can you smell each one easily?

  • Taste ... ah, love this one! Do your readers get a physical reaction when you describe the taste of something? If not, choose food items that will make them have a “physical reaction” (ie, the taste of a lemon being squirted in their mouths ... did you get a physical reaction -- water below your tongue? see what I mean?)

  • Feel/Touch:  Make the readers "feel" an aching heart (what are those physical symptoms?) or feel pain by comparing it to a raw hang nail, or freshly stomped toe, or the accidental biting of your own tongue. Everybody knows that physical pain ... 

  • Hear:  Take extra steps to ensure readers actually "hear" the birds chirping (what do birds REALLY sound like ... describe a chirp (broken whistles floated through the air), or the rustle of leaves as someone approached (crunchy thud of footsteps -- brainstorming here!). You get my drift, go beyond just “stating” ... pull them in by getting in-tune with the action first, then describing it ... 

My personal goal over the next few romance novels is to take pains to draw my readers into my scenes by "writing the senses" ... over time, my hope is that it will become rote. 

I'm excited about the "Writing the Senses" challenge.  I hope you will join me and take the challenge in your next work, too.

Workshops in the “Affordable” Caribbean?

I have a notebook full of writing exercises I've been keeping a long time now in hopes of one day designing low-cost, informal, creative workshops to be held here in Negril, Jamaica on Seven Mile Beach.  (Jamaica is one of the most affordable Caribbean Islands.)

If this is something you'd be interested in, drop me an email (cassandrablack100{at}gmail dot com letting me know. Just really gauging general interest now. Negril is a good place for writers to come, network, brainstorm, download -- and write!  And it’s darn pretty, too. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Have a great day. 

Cassandra Black, Romance Writer
Becoming a better writer, one word at a time ...


Negril Seven Mile Beach (afternoon)

Negril Seven Mile Beach (sunset)


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