Indie Author Spotlight: Shana Vanterpool (Guest Post & Giveaway)

Time for another Indie Author feature in a series of spotlights I'm going to be doing once a month!

This month, we're spotlighting a debut romance author...

Shana Vanterpool!

About Shana

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

When I walk into a book store I feel at home. When I smell the pages of a brand new book things make sense. When I read I am who I always wanted to be. I read to escape and I write so others can as well. My family, my actress dog Bella, coffee, and a steamy love story are a few of my most precious things. My Sweet Demise is my debut New-Adult contemporary romance novel. Keep up to date with future releases by following on Twitter: @shanavauthor

Guest Post 

My name is Shana Vanterpool, and I was lucky enough to be a part of Jessica's wonderful book world to do a guest post for her Indie Author Spotlight. Thank you for having me Jessica! I'm going to talk about my debut release, My Sweet Demise, a steamy emotional new-adult contemporary romance that pushes the limits on trust and intimacy, how I came to write for the new-adult genre, and what it means to me and my writing.

My Sweet Demise isn't my first novel. For a long time I was submerged in the young-adult world. I devoured it, lived in it, and breathed it. I also wrote it, but after many failed attempts to get published I tapered off and started reading more. I tended to write more darker reads, pushing limits I wasn't sure were appreciated at the time. And then I discovered a new world about older characters that involved sex and emotion that young-adult did not possess. New-Adult. A strange intriguing intoxicating new world. I fell in love swiftly, not looking back once. There were no boundaries, no rules. There was nothing stopping the characters from falling and loving, from discovering who they were and living.

So I tried and wrote my first new-adult novel, testing myself. I knew how far my characters would go, having pushed them before, but how far would I go? I discovered fairly quickly that I opened a whole new can of worms inside of myself. I found a space in this writing world that called to me like nothing else ever had. Writing about love from the YA perspective was sweet, moving, and lasting. But writing from it from a NA perspective proved to be more rewarding. It was consuming watching two human beings come together, pushing them, feeling them push back, and believing in the world I created. I found my place and discovered what I'd been missing.

I don't write about perfect couples. People are imperfect. One persons actions and hurts are not another's, and each individual character garners a different response. I have a things for bad boys who want more, and heroines who are willing to look past what others can't see and find something special. There is beauty in the darkest places. There is love within your fears, and sometimes the harder paths in life turn out to be the most rewarding.

My Sweet Demise is a perfect example of this. Kent Nicholson and Raina O'Connor come together like gas and fire. They explode, and within their explosion they find their selves, struggling with trust and hurt and emotions they forbid themselves to have. Their intimacy was a wild ride to write about. Trust is an issue we all struggle with, but for others it can be a dilapidating hindrance. Healing can almost be as hard as the fall.

I wanted to find out what happened when you took a damaged man and a damaged girl who struggled with trust and put them together. I wanted to find out how far they'd hold on to their fears before they let them go. How hard were they willing to fight for the happiness their pasts told them they couldn't have?

My Sweet Demise is sexy, dark, painful, damaging ... and sweet.

About My Sweet Demise

Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Goodreads

Desperation makes a girl do crazy things…

When twenty-one year old Raina O’Connor is kicked out of her room on short notice, she’s thrown into a frantic search for a new place to stay. As the situation becomes more urgent, her choices have dwindled to her least favorite option—ladies’ man, Kent Nicholson.

Kent Nicholson loves women, just not as a roommate…

When a gorgeous blonde with big hazel eyes answers Kent’s ad for a roommate, his red flags start flying. He’s looking for a wingman, not a chick who will put a damper on his game or drench his apartment in pink. It’s clear she’s in a bind, and something about her makes him break his own rules. But when he reluctantly accepts, it’s with four concrete conditions.

Be his wingman. Don’t get in his way with other girls. No bitchy attitudes. And most importantly, she can’t fall for him.

Pretty sure this was the world’s worst idea—ever…

Trust is something earned. Raina learned that the hard way when her father broke her heart as a child, making it easy to steer clear of relationships. But living with Kent somehow stirs emotions Raina has always forbidden herself to have. Plus, he’s everything she never wanted—untrustworthy, pigheaded…and gorgeous. Something tells her Kent isn’t free of his own secret scars…

Love can drag you down and spit you out, and be worth every second.

More Books by Shana

   

Giveaway

Shana is sponsoring a giveaway for a kindle copy of My Sweet Demise! Check out the rules and then enter below!

- US & INT as long as you can provide a kindle email address
- MUST BE 18 OR OLDER  

- Ends at 12 AM on February 12th, 2016

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Book Review + Author Interview: Splintered Souls by Erica Lucke Dean

Genre:	Fantasy
Publication.Date	Sept 22nd 2015
Pages:	250
Published By:	Red Adept Publishing, LLC
Author	Erica Lucke Dean
	Splintered Souls Goodreads
My review copy:	From the author in exchange for an honest review

Where to get:
 

When Ava Flynn walks away from a scholarship to Georgetown and moves into her grandmother’s abandoned summer home in coastal Maine, she steps into the center of a centuries-old curse. On her first night, she notices a mysterious leather-clad stranger looking up at her third-story window. For weeks, everywhere she goes, Ava catches more glimpses of him, but she can never get close enough to find out who he is.

Over three hundred years ago, Lady Catherine Fairchild risked everything to protect her unborn child, sending a ripple through time that would change Ava’s future. As the mystery unravels, the horrifying consequences of Lady Catherine’s choices drag Ava deeper into a world she never knew existed, trapping her in a conflict that’s been raging since before she was born. A winner-take-all battle for her soul.

No matter where I was, he was there, sitting off to the side, setting my skin on fire with the intensity of his stare. I could feel his eyes roaming over me the entire time. Rationally, I knew his unparalleled stalker skills should have freaked me out, but the inexplicable pull I felt toward him took precedence.    

It would figure, just when something in my life started to go right, my boyfriends' twin brother would waltz into town to mess things up. Laith was like a category five hurricane, blowing into shore and battering everything in his path into a pile of rubble.

Erica Lucke Dean DOES NOT disappoint us in her new novel "Splintered Souls." With an abrupt and intriguing opening scene, you are transported immediately in this fantasy world of Ava and Maddox. There is romance, suspense and mind blowing excitement all the way through this book. I literally can not come up with enough things to say to get you to pick up this book!!! I promise if you are a first time reader of this author, you will become a fan. If you've read her books before, then you know Erica is a eclectic writer.

This story begins as Lady Catherine Fairchild risking absolutely everything to protect her unborn child, Ava. Catherine was warned by the witch that she could face devastating consequences for her actions but Lady Catherine did not seem to care. Her changes sent a ripple through time that would change Ava’s future for worse or for better.

Then we are sent forward in time to Ava just starting out in a new town at a new school due to her father passing away. Ava feels the need to take care of her mother so she decides to stay home and go to the local college. Almost immediately when they arrive, Ava starts seeing flashes of this interesting new guy. For some reason, she feels like she is the only one who sees him. This is so exciting and I couldn't stop reading at all.

All the characters in "Splintered Souls" are crucial to Ava's story and very well delivered. Ava's younger brother is a pain in the ass but I still loved their witty banter.

As the book goes on we are given more and more details about what happened in the past to connect Ava with this mysterious hottie. Towards the middle it starts to get really interesting and you are just not sure which end is up but in a GREAT way. I found myself changing my mind over and over again and then changing it again. I will say you never seeing the ending coming and I'm so excited that this is just the start of Erica's new series and there is more to come from Ava and her mystery man.

You simply MUST read this book. You'll find yourself falling in love with Erica and her writing.

Author Interview:

Physical book or e-book? I love the feel of a real book, but I can take e-books everywhere I go. So I pick e-book.

Audio or book in hand? I like to read them first, and if I love the book, I’ll get the audio version to listen to it again.

Paperback or hardcover? For my personal collection, I always go for the hardcover when available.

Adult or Young Adult? It’s all good, but right now, I tend to seek out YA titles.

Series or standalone? I love a good series.

Breaking the spine or barely opening the book? I’ve broken the spines of many a good book.

Borrow or buy? Buy.

Bookstore or online? I love wandering around a bookstore, but I end up buying most of my books online.

Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction, fiction, fiction.

What inspired you to write your first book?

My first book was actually my third published book, and it was inspired by a brown paper grocery bag of Harlequin Romances my mother had stashed in her room. About 15 years ago, I spent a long two weeks at her house over the summer, and I think I devoured half the bag in that time. After that, I went home and wrote the first draft of what became Craving Caine.

What book are you reading now?

I’m actually in the middle of writing the next in the Flames of Time series, so I’m avoiding any books until I get through it. If I was reading something, it would be the newest Jennifer Armentrout book.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

I’m one of those people who doesn’t have a favorite song, a favorite movie, or a favorite author. I love them all, so I can’t pick just one. When I’m reading, I tend to read a book a night, so I’ll read almost anything I can get my hands on.

What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing your books to life? 

My biggest challenge seems to be staying off the internet while I should be writing. Though in Splintered Souls, I did have to do a lot of historical research. And for the next one in the series, I have to do even more! But I have to say, I’m having a blast jumping through time with these characters, and I don’t know how I’ll say goodbye to them when I get to the end.

Indie Author Spotlight: Linda Kage (Author LOVE & Giveaway)

Time for another Indie Author feature in a series of spotlights I'm going to be doing once a month! If you'd like to know more, check out this post.

Before I jump into who we're spotlighting, I think I should explain how this month is different from other months. When I first started doing these spotlights, I had authors sign up to participate. So all the authors featured so far had signed up and I worked on the spotlight with them. THIS MONTH, I decided to change it up a bit. Instead of picking an author who signed up and working with them (though I will still be doing that most months), I'm going to spotlight an indie author I LOVE. Because I adore her books, and I may or may not be reading one of them right now and just enjoying it beyond words.

So this post is 100% me being a fangirl. It'll be structured the same as usual Indie Author Spotlight posts, but instead of extra content, I'll be talking about why I love this author. I'm actually really excited about this! If you guys like, I may switch it up every now and then and do this with other indie authors I admire. But for now, I am super mega pumped to spotlight this author. *SERIOUS FLAILING* So without further ado...

This month, we're spotlighting the author of one of my favorite New Adult companion series...

Linda Kage!

About Linda

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

I grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest as the youngest of eight children. Now I live in Kansas with my husband, daughter, and our nine cuckoo clocks. My life's been blessed with lots of people to learn from and love. Writing's always been a major part my world, and I'm so happy to finally share some of my stories with other romance lovers.

I'm a member of Romance Writers of America and a local chapter, Midwest Romance Writers, who meets monthly in the Kansas City area. I've been through a writing correspondence class in children's literature from The Institute of Children's Literarture, and then I continued my writing lessons by majoring in English with an emphasis in creative fiction writing from Pittsburg State University.

Why I Love Linda Kage 

Sooooo. Let me walk you through what is now my love of Linda Kage. I'm going to focus strongly on her Forbidden Men series, because that's what I've read by her so far. And yes, it is enough to put her on a list of my favorite authors. This series is phenomenal.

But back to the story.

Earlier this year, Val (my co-blogger over on StuckInBooks) was reading a book. She got to a point where she wasn't sure how she felt about what was happening, and she was kind of freaking out, so OF COURSE she called me and we talked it out. We decided on a hopeful outlook, and then Val dove back into the book. Soon after, she was blowing up my phone with flail-y texts because she was loving the book. Like, loving it enough to ask the author if I could have an ARC, too.

Which led to me getting A Perfect Ten, which I got and devoured and ohmygod. I loved that book. So very much. I devoted about four days to just immersing myself in that story, and I regret nothing. It's one of my all-time favorite books, and as of right now, I'm pretty sure it's my favorite read of 2015. It's without a doubt making my top ten list (unless another Linda Kage book beats it out between now and then).

After A Perfect Ten, which is the fifth book in the Forbidden Men series--each book can totally stand alone, and the series can be read out of order without any problem; I am living proof of this--I obviously decided to go back and start at the beginning. Book one is Price of a Kiss, and I swear, y'all. It ripped out my heart. And then stomped all over it. And then put it back together, and it was all so beautiful.

So after THAT, of course I kept on and read book two, To Professor, With Love. And it was amazing and filled me with the feels, just like the others.

Which brings me to where I am now--reading the third book in the series Be My Hero. And falling in love yet again. With the story, with the characters, with the writing, with EVERYTHING.

And that is why I love Linda Kage. Because her stories always, every single time, pull me in. They pull me in and hold me under, and I love each second of it. Her characters make laugh and cry and swoon. There's sweetness and feels, and every book tugs at my heartstrings in its own magnificent way. They're each favorites, and they've each wormed their way into their own space in my heart.

I can count on this whenever I pick up a book by Linda Kage.

Did I mention that I love her?

The most recent book in the Forbidden Men series released on August 25th, so my mind has been all over these books and their fantastic ways. As I said, I'm currently on book three. I'm already in love with the characters, and I am head over heels for their story. I have no doubt I'll finish this one and read the fourth in the very near future--and then I miiiiight re-read book five (A Perfect Ten, aka my faaaavorriiiite) and then I'll jump into book 6, the most recent--Worth It.

I AM EXCITED FOR ALL OF THESE THINGS.

I love Linda Kage. I love her books. I look forward so, so much to reading more.


My Reviews

Price of a Kiss (book 1) <= my review

To Professor, With Love (book 2) <= my review

Be My Hero (book 3) <= to be posted in September!

With Every Heartbeat (book 4) <= probably in September, too

A Perfect Ten (book 5) <= my review

Worth It (book 6) <= soon!

About Worth It

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords 

I fell in love once.
It was amazing. She was amazing. Life was amazing.

I lived for each time I could see her, and nothing else mattered, not that our families were enemies, our time together was forbidden, or we had to meet in secret.

Our love could conquer all.

Until it didn't.

So I was ripped away from the love of my life and shoved into hell, forced to continue without her.

It shattered me, broke the best parts of me, left me permanently damaged.

Or so I thought.

Years later, I swear history’s trying to repeat itself because she’s back in my life, and I’m just as drawn to her as I was before. But I'm older and wiser now, and I know she should stay away from a worthless ex-con like me.

So, I will not let her in. I absolutely refuse to hurt her. I will keep her away.

Then again, sometimes risking your greatest fear to get to a smile makes everything worth it, and besides, I’m not sure I can resist her, anyway.

This is the story of how Felicity Bainbridge changed my life forever, starting one summer day long ago after I was forced to change a dirty diaper...

--Knox Parker

More of the Forbidden Men Series

        

(More of Linda's books outside the Forbidden Men series can be found on her Goodreads Author Page!)

Giveaway

I'm giving away winner's choice of one e-book in the Forbidden Men series! Check out the rules and then enter below!

- INT

- Ends at 12 AM EST on September 16th

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Unchartered by Claudia Burgoa {Book Review & Giveaway}

Genre:	Contemporary Fiction
Publication.Date	July 21st 2015
Pages:	373
Published By:	Amazon Digital Services
Author	Claudia Burgoa
	Uncharted Goodreads
My review copy:	From the author in exchange for an honest review

Where to get:

Jacob

As a rule, men don’t grow up believing in a happily ever after. We don’t believe in meeting the love of our lives; or the white picket fence, and 2.5 children. Every man thinks that those stupid dreams or fantasies are just nonexistent shit until it happens to them. We should have been forewarned.


I wish I was prepared for someone to appear in my life and change all my priorities. I suddenly wanted that fence and children. The part of meeting the love of my life became very real, but I wasn’t ready for suddenly losing it all, and my life plummeting into this shithole forever.
The heartbreak of losing your soulmate is one of the worst pains you will ever live with. I should campaign and warn the young people. Vaccinate against love because if you lose it, you could lose yourself for the rest of your life. The burden on your back will forever mark you and wither away your soul, darkening your days and the rest of your natural life.

This isn’t false advertisement or a dramatic display of one bitter soul.



Pria

I fought by my mother's side until her last breath, and tried to help my father until his last memories dissipated. My sister is the last one standing, but her life is a miracle that can end at any given moment. All my life I’ve never been alone, but always felt lonely.

Today, my options on how to live my life are endless, yet my heart and my best friend limit them. Stay in Seattle, close to the one person that will never let me inside his world.

The thug, as mom would've called him. A man with a bad boy attitude and a heart bigger than the ocean.

Tonight I belong to someone, and she belongs to me. 

As long as the stars shine, as long as there is a heartbeat in me, as long as you're out there, nothing will change what we share.  

Uncharted is the third book in the Unexpected series and is Jacob and Pria's story. You don't have to read the other two, in order to enjoy this one as each story is about different characters throughout the same family. However, the first two books are well written and beautiful so I would definitely suggest you pick them up! 

Jacob and Pria met in college and had a whirlwind, week long, romance before fate tore them apart. Ten years later they meet again but they are now very different people, both having gone through difficult and life altering times. 

Jacob is not the "happily ever after" type of guy. He is in to his music, loyal to his two twin siblings and just wants to have a laid back life doing his own thing. That is before he meets Pria who turns his heart, and makes his soul quiver with love. 

Pria has an extreme family obligation and doesn't believe that her life will ever be her own. She is expected to take care of her sister who is suffering with a deadly disease. Her mother is not warm or loving at all and Pria always feels like she can't do anything right. Then she meets Jacob and starts to hope for something more for herself but life gets in the way. Will she ever see Jacob again? 

I finished this book about a month ago and I am still feeling the book hangover. These characters were brought to life for me and I can't seem to let them go. The story is heart pounding, moving and emotionally driven. Even with all the heartbreak this story has, you will be routing and cheering for Pria and Jacob from the beginning and you won't stop hoping for "happily ever after' till the very last word. 

I am a HUGE fan of Claudia Burgoa's and have been since her very first novel. Her writing style is emotional and well thought out. Her books always seem to speak to me and she has this way of making all her characters come to life so that the reader has a REAL investment in her stories. 

You won't be disappointed if you pick this book up and read the companion novels as well. The Unexpected Series is so beautifully written, it is NOT a series you want to miss. 

About the author:

Born on the mystical day of October 30th in the not so mystical lands of Mexico City, Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled a caffeine-injected soap opera. Seventeen years ago she ventured to the lands of her techie husband—a.k.a. the U.S.—with their offspring to start a new adventure.

She now lives in Colorado working as a CFO for a small IT company, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, said nerd husband, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he’s the boss of the house. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.

http://cyburg.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ClaudiaYBurgoa

Giveaway:

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Ashes of Life by Erica Lucke Dean & Laura M Kolar

Genre:	Contemporary Fiction
Publication.Date	April 28th 2015
Pages:	268
Published By:	Red Adept Publishing
Author	Erica Lucke Dean & Laura M Kolar
	Ashes of Life Goodreads
My review copy:	From the author in exchange for an honest review

Where to get:

Married for just three months, Alex Barrett is stunned when her husband, David, dies in a tragic accident. And the absolute last thing the pregnant young widow wants is to take on responsibility for his teenage daughter, Maddie. Reeling from loss, Alex struggles to deal with her grief and her troubled stepdaughter, but one question haunts her: why was David with his ex-wife when he died?

All Maddie Barrett wanted was for her parents to get back together, but an icy road took that dream away. Afterward, Maddie is riddled with guilt that she can’t share with anyone. Feeling angry and alone, she lays all the blame on Alex.

Alex and Maddie must find a way to move past their pain—shared, yet separate. Thrown together in an untenable arrangement, they fight through a frozen landscape of sorrow and redemption while redefining love, forgiveness, and family

Married for just three months, Alex Barrett is stunned when her husband, David, dies in a tragic accident. And the absolute last thing the pregnant young widow wants is to take on responsibility for his teenage daughter, Maddie. Reeling from loss, Alex struggles to deal with her grief and her troubled stepdaughter, but one question haunts her: why was David with his ex-wife when he died?

Maddie is a troubled teen that just lost both of her parents and all she really wants to do is forget life for awhile. She tries her hardest to sink into depression, drugs and sex with boys that don't care about her. The worst is when she finds that she is now stuck with Alex her fathers new wife. She can't imagine anything worse. 

I have been following this author since my early days of reading and social media. Most of her work is in romance but this one just blew me away. I was literally riveted by this story. The sadness of moving on from loss, the realization that the ones you love aren't always the person you think they are and the discovery of new relationships that can sometimes mend the pain. 

Both the authors of this book are multitalented in their story telling. This book was emotional, devastating and exquisite and at the same time. The way the authors wrote about Maddie as being a spoiled teenage brat in the beginning but evolved her character through out the story was such a great addition to the story. I loved how overwhelmed Alex was feeling at the beginning of the story as well. She was not the typical widower but she was made to seem real to the reader as she was flawed, self conscious and very good at hiding within herself when she felt uncomfortable. Overall an amazing job by both these authors.

A beautifully told story that deserves your attention. I recommend this read to anyone who loves literary fiction and wants to support some Indie authors that write beautifully!! An enthusiastic five starts from this reader.



About the author:

After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains where she lives in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180lb lap dog, and at least one ghost.

When she’s not busy writing or tending to her collection of crazy chickens, diabolical ducks, and a quintet of piglets, hell bent on having her for dinner, she’s either reading bad fan fiction or singing karaoke in the local pub. Much like the main character in To Katie With Love, Erica is a magnet for disaster, and has been known to trip on air while walking across flat surfaces.

How she’s managed to survive this long is one of life’s great mysteries.

Giveaway:

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Indie Author Spotlight: Cassandra Giovanni (Guest Post & Giveaway)

Time for another Indie Author feature in a series of spotlights I'm going to be doing once a month! (I skipped April since the entire month was dedicated to Indie Girl April.) If you'd like to know more, check out this post.

This month, we're spotlighting a super sweet romance author...

Cassandra Giovanni!

About Cassandra

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Monthly Newsletter | Book Catalog

Cassandra doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character’s stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. Besides being a writer, Cassandra is a professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.
Cassandra Giovanni is published by Show n’ot Tell Publishing based out of Connecticut, USA

Guest Post 

I’m a romance author. That’s just what I do. In every single genre I write from contemporary all the way to historical or paranormal; I write romances. There’s just something so entrancing and beautiful about writing two people falling in love. That’s pretty much all I read, too. For me, there are a few key elements that every good romance needs:

1. A HOTTIE – Every romance needs a hottie, but there needs to be something more than looks that makes them that way. To me personality can make a hottie even more than smoldering gray eyes and slicked back dapper hair. 
2. PERSONALITY – Since we were just talking about personality, my version of hotties aren’t dominating or aggressive. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bad boy. I just prefer him to have a heart of gold. I am not a fan of cocky jerk-faces.
3. FRIENDSHIP – No good romance ever started with insta-love. Insta-attraction sure, but insta-love goes downhill to obsession and annoying inner monologue fast.
4. WITTY BANTER – Ah, yes. This is my favorite part of romances. It deepens the personalities, strengthens the relationship, and makes me giggle. I like giggling.
5. A GOOD CRY – I’m a fan of a romance that makes me cry. I don’t think all of them need it, but it’s nice to have one thrown in there every once in a while.
6. BEAUTIFUL COVER – Preferably, fully clothed. I know, I know, you’re eyes are probably super wide right now. I just prefer my covers to be more emotionally pulling than hormone driven.
7. THE SCENE – Speaking of hormones, every good romance has scenes. You know what I mean, don’t make me say the word. I’m a fan of clean romance, lots of kissing, emotions and fade to black. Use your imagination for the rest ;)
8. A PAIN IN THE ASS – Yeah, I said it. I’ve come to love that pain in the ass character; the jerk ex-boyfriend, the jealous friend, the annoying girlfriend or the horrible parents. It just can’t be the love interest.
9. STRONG BUT DAMAGED – I don’t want a protagonist who is constantly wondering why the boy loves her, or that she’s not beautiful. I also don’t want them to be a cocky ass. I relate to protagonists that are strong, but have some sort of damage they carry with them. Proving the statement, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
10. A HIGHER MEANING – I like my novels to have a deeper meaning, something stronger than the surface romance. A cut and dry romance lacks depth for me. I look for something deeper, character growth, and growth for me as the reader or writer.

Balance of these elements means that every book holds its own character and meaning. While I love romance, the reason I write so many sub-genres is so that I can explore additional elements that round out a novel. I internally fear the day that someone might say that my characters or novels have become formulaic, but I don’t think there’s a formula for a perfect romance. It’s the different formulas for each novel that make them different, intriguing and swoon worthy.


What about you? What makes a romance for you?

About Finding the Cure

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play

Ellie Abela’s life has been anything but easy. Tragedy follows her where ever she goes, and she’s been a lot of places. At twenty she’s lived in over ten different states, all because of her dad’s career in medical research. His career is just another list of the causes of tragedies in El’s life. He’s dying, and with every breath he takes closer to Heaven, Ellie dies a little bit inside too.
At twelve she lost her mom in a drunk driving accident, and in a matter of months she fears she’ll lose the last person she has in the world to cancer.
While Ellie’s life has been rife with sadness, Trent Wentworth’s has been a challenge. A drug-addicted mom and a dead-beat dad meant at twenty three he was the adoptive father of his two year old sister. Now at twenty five he’s working his way up the corporate ladder and a struggling single parent.
Each is searching for a cure to the things in their lives dragging them down.
Not all cures are black and white; not all cures save us–and sometimes saving isn’t what we need. Sometimes we just need to realize how lucky we are to be alive, at least for this moment.

More Books by Cassandra

      

Giveaway

Cassandra is sponsoring a giveaway for a a swag pack (bookmarks, post cards, posters, etc.)! Check out the rules and then enter below!

- US & INT where an international stamp is accepted  

- Ends at 12 AM on July 15th, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway