Friday Night Alibi Blog Tour And Q&A With Author, Cassie Mae

 

  Hey, Everybody!

Today, I'm happy to welcome Author, Cassie Mae, for the release of her New Adult novel, Friday Night Alibi, available here.
I'll tell you more about Cassie Mae's latest projects, but first I want her to give up the goods, so let's get on with the juicy dirt dishing.


1. What inspires you?

Anything and everything. Usually when my hubby says something super cute AND dorky. Or when I listen to the girls I coach talk about the funniest things. Sometimes I’ll just be writing and it flies out of nowhere. Movies, music, books, LIFE inspires me.
 Wow, sounds like you've got plenty to be inspired about. I'm kind of jealous. :)

2.    How many hours of sleep do you get a night? (on a good night)

Well, I have a newborn. So on a good night, about 6 hours.
Gosh, that's pretty good. It seemed like my kid never slept when she was a baby. I'm glad your baby sleeps, otherwise, you might be a zombie, and we'd miss out on your fab stories!

3.    Do you have a special writing spot—do you need silence?

If I needed silence, I wouldn’t write a word, haha!  And my recliner is the only place I write. 
Me too! I love my recliner!

4.    If you were stranded on an island and could have just one book, which story would you choose?

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. (If I must choose ONE Harry Potter.)

5.    How has your recent success changed your life?

Writing quickly turned from hobby, to passion, to career. I have to treat it as if I was actually leaving the house to go to work. (good thing I enjoy it!) But I think my hubby is still getting used to the idea that when I get on the computer and sit there for a good two or three hours, that I’m actually working and not just farting around, lol. 
Grrr, I know what you mean!

6.    What advice do you have for writers trying to get published?

Be yourself. Write what you love. Get critique partners, then get some more. Prepare for bad reviews, good reviews, meh reviews. Don’t give up. Be TEACHABLE. Open to change and critique. And enjoy the crap out of all of it.
Great advice!

7.    Do you believe with practice, everybody has the ability to be great writers?

Absolutely. Writing is so subjective. There will always be readers who will hate even the “greatest” writers. I barely passed my creative writing class in high school, lol. My first book is COVERED in passive voice, telling, tense changes, plot holes, horrid dialogue, and boring crap this and boring crap that. Each word you put down makes you better. And once you find your voice, your story, you’ll also find your audience. 
Bet my first draft is worse than yours! :P

8.    What keeps you going on crappy days?

Mountain Dew, critique partners, blowing raspberries on my baby’s belly, wrestling with my boys, and sweet kisses from the hubby.
Aww, you're such a mushy bear. I love it!

9.    If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

I used to work in the billing department at an OB office and I loved it. After my babies grow up and go to school, I’ll probably head back there if I’m not writing ten million books. LOL.
Whatevs, ain't no way you're going back! You have too many stories to write!

  

10.  Who is your favoritist character ever?

Of mine? Can’t pick! LOL. But of someone else’s… hmmm…

Ron Weasley. He rocks my pink fuzzy socks. 
See, and I'm kind of partial to Harry.

All righty, now that we know she doesn't go into spasms while under pressure, I'll tell you more about Cassie.

Cassie Mae is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. She’s the author of the Amazon Bestseller REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND, and is the

debut author for the Random House FLIRT line with her New Adult novels FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI and SWITCHED. She also has a three book deal with Swoon Romance Publishing, including her book HOW TO DATE A NERD. She spends time with her angel children and perfect husband who fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.




Blurby: In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation. For a generous fee, she will be every trust-fund baby’s dream: a Friday-night alibi, the “girlfriend” or “BFF” that parents dream about. With college approaching in the fall, Kelli’s services are in demand more than ever, which means that her social life is nonexistent. But Kelli is A-okay with that. She’s raking in cash for
school. Besides, relationships are tricky, and sometimes very messy. She’d rather be at home on Xbox LIVE, anyway. Then the unexpected happens: She meets college stud Chase Maroney.

Okay, that's all the excitement I have for you guys today, so until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)

To learn more about Cassie Mae and her books, click on the links below.
 
Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend
Friday Night Alibi to be released July 29th by Random House FlirtHow to Date a Nerd to be released September 24th by Swoon Romance Publishing
Facebook
Blog

7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Celeste Holloway

7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Celeste Holloway

How did Justin Bieber and my daughter get involved in promoting Sebastian Falls?

Hey!


 All righty, I suppose you're all wanting to know the answer to the above question. No? What's that? You say you're tired of hearing about Justin Bieber?  Welp, you're already here, so you might as well quit being a grouchy-boob-bag and read the post. It's not like anything more important is happening in the world.

Okay, here's how it all went down....My kid said, "Mom, what if we make a video of me talking about your book and post it on Youtube?"

And I'm all, "Well, that would be great. Except you haven't read my book."

Letty with a big grin on her face, says, "So? Maybe Justin Bieber will see the video, and he'll want to marry me."

After a fit of snorting laughter, I explained to her that she's too young to marry The Biebs, but by the time she's of age, surely he'll be evolved enough to meet my approval. (not that any guy ever will, but she can dream)

She agreed, deciding she could wait for him, but argued that it couldn't hurt to go ahead and get his attention. That way he'd pass on all the other girls vying for his affections. Actually, the kid dropped to her knees, pleading for me to allow her to make the video, and she promised her great marketing skills (not in those words) would surely put Sebastian Falls on all the bestsellers lists.

Knowing she wasn't about to let this grand scheme die, we broke out her iPod and went to work on this cinematic masterpiece.

After about 20 takes, she was satisfied, and I was the happiest mom on the planet because even though I don't have piles of $$$ to promote my book, I have the most gorgeous, smartest, and sweetest human being in the universe, talking up my work. And that's better than any amount of publicity I could ever receive.

Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)

No Whiney Hineys In Da House-IWSG Post

Welp, peeps, here we are again, staring at another IWSG-Wednesday.

I thought about pouring out all my frustrations, but decided nobody really likes to read sobbie-boobie-bag posts. And yes, I did make up those words. You should try using them. They'll make you smile. Go ahead, say, "sobbie-boobie-bag," real fast. I dare you.

Okay, since I'm not dumping out all my reasons for despair, I obviously have to fill up the blank space with something. And since we could all use a good laugh, I'm sharing a hilarious MAD TV clip. If you haven't met Stuart, then you're all in for a treat. Also, watching Stuart is great for the self esteem, because I doubt any of us are in as bad of shape as him. I'm already feeling more secure just thinking about the guy. I know you will too. :)

All right, I'm out, so until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)

Thanks to our awesome Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh and his IWSG-co-hosts Nancy Thompson Mark Koopmans and Heather Gardner for bringing us all together to dish on the good, the bad, and the ugly stuff that comes with the territory of writing.

Getting To Know Author Of The Angel Eyes Trilogy, Shannon Dittemore

Today, the ultra cool and fabulous author, Shannon Dittemore is in the house! I have 9 questions for her, (because 9 is funner than 10) but first, I want to show you guys the cover for the third installment of her Angel Eyes trilogy, Dark Halo, which is available August 20th. Squeal!!!!! Isn't it GORGEOUS?!?!?!

Okay, now let's get down to the business of learning more about Shannon....
1.    If you could be any book character, who would you pick?

HUGE question! Well, let’s just acknowledge here that the world of Harry Potter would be very hard to resist if given the opportunity. So, let’s go with Hermione. Elizabeth Bennett would also be a fun choice, though the restroom deficiencies back in the day would have been quite the hassle! There are a lot of other heroines I adore, but what makes them heroic is all the tragedy they have to overcome and I’m not sure I’d wish that on myself! 

2.    What’s the best perk about being a writer?

The stories! I get to make stuff up for a living. That’s hard to beat. And the reading. I get to read YOUR STUFF and the imaginings of other writers I adore as a work requirement. When my nose is stuck in a book and the husband hollers, “You gonna do these dishes?” I get to call back, “Nope, sorry. Working!” We’ve put out ads for house elves, but thus far . . .

3.    Since I’m a huge fan of Angel Eyes and Broken Wings, I want to know how in the world you thought of all the rocktastic elements? Do you have a special writing process, or do you just dive in and see where the characters take you?

Thank you, lady. It’s incredibly satisfying to have readers who’d go to bat for your stories and I can’t thank you enough for doing that. How did I come up with the rocktastic elements? I’m glad you think they’re rocktastic! Mostly I just let my noggin do its thing. Because I’m a preacher’s brat and because I love the Bible, I’ve grown up with a biblical foundation of the invisible world. To let my imagination do its thing with truths I cherish was a very natural thing for me to do. Getting it all down on paper was the challenge.  

4.    Guilty pleasure?

Duck Dynasty? Does that count? Or maybe Disneyland. We did season passes last year and while I was ready for a year off, I’m now going through withdrawals. I miss the magic!

5.   If your stories are made into a movie, what actors do you envision as Jake and Brielle?

Easy peazy! For Brielle, I’d cast Elle Fanning. She could absolutely be a ballerina and her acting chops are stellar for someone so young. By the time we convince some big studio to make Angel Eyes into a movie, she might be the right age!

For Jake, I’d love to see Thomas Dekker. I’ve been fascinated with him since he played John Conner on Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. It’s his eyes, I think.

I do have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to the Angel Eyes trilogy. It’s a rather addicting way to brainstorm (and procrastinate). You can see my other casting choices and images here: pinterest.com/shanditty

6.    Let’s pretend you’ve crossed over into the business of world domination—what’s the first thing you’d change about the universe?

I’d give everyone Brielle’s eyes! A way to see the invisible. Oh, and everyone would get wings too. I mean, that’s just fair.

7.    I know you’re tight lipped about your projects while you’re working on them, but could you give us a hint about what’s stored on your flash drive right now?

I actually have a handful of WIPs started. I’m trying my hand at different genres and with different characters. I do have one story of the bunch that I’m committed to finishing. It involves a shamed academic, a mystical staircase, and a girl determined to unravel a family secret. Pray for me! I’d like to get this bad boy done by fall.

8.    If you could be anywhere in the world, where would you be?

Right now? I could do with a sandy beach and a big fat book. Or a sailboat! I would love to be on a sailboat. Or Disneyland. I know. I know. I’m working on it.

9.    In your stories, you write a lot about fear. I’m scared of cows! What are you afraid of?

COWS? That’s awesome. Now, don’t laugh, but as fascinated as I am with flying things, I’m actually terrified of birds. Especially the little ones. They’re so erratic and unpredictable. I rather like the plodding walk of the elephant. I know just what HE’S going to do, but those tiny birds? They’re impossible to predict.

  For more info on Shannon, click on the links below.

Shannon's website

Shannon's Facebook page

Shannon's Pinterest page

Shannon's author page on Amazon

I hope you guys enjoyed learning about Shannon as much as I have! Until the next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)

Sweetest Blogger Award

Hello!

 

I feel special because somebody thinks I'm sweet!

 

 From Elizabeth Seckman I received the Sweetest Blogger Award!

These questions are a piece of cake!

 

1. What is my favorite dessert? Any kind of cheesecake! Yummy, yum, yum!

2. Cake or ice cream? You can't make me choose, I won't do it! :p

3. When do you like desserts best? Right now! Excuse me while I munch!

4. Which do I prefer- cookies or cake? Why must you be so evil? It's a crime against all things sugary to make me choose, but I suppose, I'll go with cake.

5. Chocolate or vanilla? I'm amazed every time this question is asked because everybody knows 

chocolate is boss!

Now, I shall pass the Sweetest Blogger Award to Tina Moss

And that's all I have, so until the next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)

They're Naked!!!!!

Hey! Happy Wednesday!

So last night, while watching Discovery Channel, previews for this, Naked and Afraid popped up! First off, who in the H would sign on for this?!?! Is it just me, or has the world gone bat $&@# crazy?!?! I mean, it would be one thing if the contestants at least had nice rumps. Nope. Instead, on the commercial, it was a sea of flat, shriveled butts. Even my daughter, who was perched next to me and is too young to see bare-@$$ed adults, actually made a gagging noise at the sight, and she squealed, "Look, Mom! They're naked!"

To say the least, it's shocking what networks will do to pump up their ratings, and I can only imagine the tribulations those idiots will face while running around in the wilderness in the buff. Are you guys following me? Think of all the body parts that could get hung on thorn bushes if one of those contestants has to run from a bear, tiger, or ,wild boar? Since it's the Discovery Channel, you can bet every rabid animal known to man will be tossed into the arena, right?

I could expound on this, but do I really need to? Nope, because your brains are already spinning. Before I leave you guys with all the lovely images I've conjured, I want to take a vote. How many of you guys think we should start the bets? I say we make a list of all the worst possible scenarios, and the person who gets the most right wins a prize! Really, think about how many tally-whackers will be surgically removed or sewn back on by the end of the season? The possibilities are endless!!!!

Okay, over and out. Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)