Between Light and Dark Blog Tour

Today's blog tour stop is at Full Moon Bites where I'm talking about how my fantasy world converges with my real life. Hope you can stop by!

As of this week, my blog tour is in full swing! Today, I have an interview posted at Manga Maniac Cafe. Hope you can stop by!

Happy Thanksgiving - Cassy Style

Just a little something to brighten your holiday, courtesy of Cassy, guest blogger extraordinaire.



Have a great Thanksgiving guys!

Blog Tour Stop - Book Chick City

Want to know why I write urban fantasy? I'm talking about it at Book Chick City today and giving away a copy of Shaedes of Gray! Hope to see you there!

Deep Fried and Covered in Chocolate

Not long ago, I read every single Janet Evanovich book I could get my hands on. My main focus however, was the Stephanie Plum Series. Her books are so much fun! In every book there is a bag of donuts. Her characters…Eat…Donuts! They go to bakeries, buy bags of donuts and eat all of them! Either this is fiction at its finest or I am hanging out with the wrong groups. I know very few women who would actually confess to eating a single donut, let alone a whole bag!

I want to eat donuts a bagful at a time! I love apple fritters and maple bars, sugared donuts, donut holes, cinnamon twists, the ones with chocolate frosting and little sprinkles, Boston Creams that are so full of pudding you need a handful of napkins just to look at them. I love sucking the sweet sugary glaze off my fingertips! Mmmmmmmmm... I wish I could eat a bagful of donuts right now and every morning for breakfast! (Oh, and I don't want to get fat or high cholesterol or feel guilty because of it!)

Amanda has talked about this subject in a couple of blog posts: foods characters eat and how it makes them more relatable to the reader. Amanda’s Darian eats Honey Nut Cheerios and Charley Davidson from Darynda Jones’ series takes in coffee via an IV drip (*wink* no, not literally). In Tracey Garvis-Graves' book ON THE ISLAND, TJ and Anna like to talk about the foods they will eat if they are ever rescued (fountain Cokes with lots of ice, Doritos, Slim Jims…). Seeing, or rather, reading about people’s food habits does make them more relatable. Food is definitely important: too much, too little, when, where… Forget baseball-Eating is America’s favorite past time!

Back to the donuts. Every time I read a Janet Evanovich book I crave donuts!! Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you ever crave foods just because your favorite characters are eating it? 

~Cassy

Blog Tour Kick Off!

Today is officially the first day of my blog tour! I'm posting about the Shaedes Mythos over at one of my very favorite blogs Wicked Little Pixie. Hope to see you there!

Rabid Fangirl Reviews ARC of Third Grave Dead Ahead and Does What She Does Best: Talks.

Or: Cassy shares her review of Darynda Jones, Third Grave Dead Ahead

Me:  I won?  I won!! Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God!!! *SQUEEEEEEEEE* (almost pass out) *SQUEEEEEE* (jump up and down hugging my husband, *squeeee* some more)

Husband:  (Can’t help himself, he too is bouncing, smiling and hugging me back) What did you win?

Me: One of Darynda Jones’ ARCs!!

Husband:  (No longer bouncing) So… you won a book?

Me: Not just a book, an Advanced Reading Copy of Third Grave Dead Ahead.

Husband: I thought you won the lottery.

Me:  This is even better!!

Husband: Hmmmm…

*sigh* He will never understand.

I was really, really bummed at the end of Second Grave. Charley and Reyes were separated and Reyes was so angry with Charley and didn’t want to see her.  I wanted to lay down right next to her and have a good cry!!! Amanda reassures me often that these unfinished endings HAVE to happen so that the story can continue. You can’t very well have a series if you tie up all the loose ends.  I Facebooked Darynda anyway, and told her she was on my sh*t list. In my defense, I was quite nice about it and she quickly messaged me back with smiley faces and reassuring words.  The same evening, while I was making dinner, Amanda called me. I answered. “Hey lady!” (caller ID, of course) and she says, loudly and without a hello,

 “You are the only person I know that would tell an award winning author she’s on you sh*t list!”

 “Uh-oh, is that bad? Should I have not done that?”

 “No, are you kidding me? I can’t wait till a reader tells me I’m on their sh*t list!”

Sooooo….I was really looking forward to January and some, dare I say, redemption. You have probably already guessed though, since I won the ARC, that I did NOT have to wait (it’s really not my strong suit anyway).  The problem with reading a book three months before anyone else is that you can’t talk to anyone about it. Thank goodness Amanda and I are friends, I read the book then sent it down the road to her with strict orders to stop anything else she might be doing and read!! I had to talk to someone!

 Four different times Amanda said “I can’t believe _________!” And I’d say “He/she/it/they didn’t!! Keep reading!! Then call me back!!” 

Every time you think you know what’s going to happen-*BZZZZ*, you’re WRONG!! Ha!!  I love Charley! Love, Love, Love Her! While I was reading Third Grave, the phone rang a coupla times and I had to answer it (it makes me feel like I’m still being productive, I guess) and I had to use some of Charley’s lines. (It should probably worry me that they were so easily transferred over into my reality… but it doesn’t.) She’s got great lines and her snarkiness is at an all time high in this third installment of the series. At one point in the story (and this I promise will be my only almost spoiler) Charley wakes up from being unconscious and Cookie is holding her hand and she thinks to herself –That’s silly, Cookie and I rarely hold hands in public. 

 There is so much to love in this book. We know the characters, it’s comfortable and fun and flows so well.  Reyes has tons of face time in this book and let’s be honest, that’s what we all want now, isn't it? Darynda shows sides of Reyes in this book that make me feel all warm and tingly and I’m not talking about s-e-x, but now that I've mentioned it, that makes me all warm and tingly as well! We get to see lots of Ubie and Swopes (Oh, Swopes!) Cookie is huge and Rocket has me feeling a little uneasy, I must say! There was a great scene with a bunch of biker dudes *sigh* and Holy Shnikes wait till you meet Mistress Marigold!! She actually made me nervous in the second book--I was feelin’ all, Charley don’t do it, don’t contact her!!! And then we meet her and Wow-not what I was anticipating! There is something that Mistress Marigold says about the connection between Reyes *swoon* and Charley that’s really got me thinking. Amanda and I have talked about it and I can’t wait for the book to come out so I can hear what the rest of Charley’s followers think.

 Man o’ man, Darynda Jones has really outdone herself! I know that she wrote this book really fast and was a little nervous about it, (Facebook, again) but I really think her books just keep getting better and better.  I can’t wait till January 31^st, I’m sooo stinkin’ excited for all of Charley’s fans and for Darynda!! Uhhh…I just realized I wrote this with the idea you’re already a fan. Amanda has mentioned this series like a hundred times, so really you ought to be! Everybody mark your calendars and if you have yet to meet Charley and the gang: The first book is First Grave on the Right and the second book is Second Grave on the Left. Both books are fabulous, but wait till you get your hands on Third Grave Dead Ahead!

-Cassy

Say Hi to Cassy!

It's happening. My brain is slowly turning to mush. I'm forgetful. Scattered. Trying desperately to schedule myself  before I lose control completely. November is going to be like running the gauntlet for me and to top it all off, my head feels like it's 3 times too big and filled with helium. I'm popping zinc lozenges like they're candy. Damn it, I will NOT get sick! But swooping in to help save my sanity is my friend Cassy. She'll be guest blogging here from time to time. She's an avid reader and not afraid to speak her mind.. And she's pretty kick-ass. So, without further ado, let me introduce you:

Hi, my name is Cassy. *curtseys* Most people know me by my smile and the decibel at which I speak. Since you can’t actually hear or see me you’ll probably know me by the number of exclamation points, asterisks and parentheses I use.

I’m a stay at home mom to two small girls and the wife of a very hardworking man which means I gotta be a hardworking woman (most days). If I ever had a boss that worked me as hard as my family does, I’d quit!! There is no way I’d be getting paid enough!

My best friend is a writer. You may know her, Amanda Bonilla? She writes an awesome sex scene!! Even though that should probably be an awkward sentence for me to write--it isn’t. She also writes an awesome fight scene. Don’t let that fool you, I could still take her! Anyhooo…she’s the reason I’m here…or…maybe the reason I’m here is because her debut book is about to be released and she’s teetering on the precipice of stardom (or insanity) and has too many blog posts to write (for her blog tour). So instead of letting her own blog flounder she’s letting me be her guest blogger (and thus I’m questioning her sanity). I’m not a writer. I’m a reader! BTW: that’s my disclaimer. 

I thought I’d start by telling you a little about myself (because I haven’t already) and since I always enjoy it when people tell me random things about themselves in lists (Hi Tracey!) that is what I’m gonna do for you!!

·         Someday I want to live in a yurt.

·         I have a ten year old Pug named Vinny.

·         I have three sisters and we all sound alike when we laugh.

·         I wish I was a runner.

·         I use the word “dude” a lot.

·         I’ve tried to quit.

·         I hate scary movies.

·         I wish I could wear cute hats all the time.

·          I’ve got a big head and they look weird so I never wear hats.

·         I like hot tea, clean sheets and snuggling.

·         I listen to country music and classic rock.

·         I love painted toenails but hate painted fingernails.

·         I don’t like it when my husband calls me by my name.

·         I’m a morning person.

·         My favorite show is Castle.

·         I clap my hands and jump up and down when I watch it.

·         I’m a Capricorn.

·         Paranormal Romance/Urban fantasy books are my drug of choice.

·         I believe the Twilight series to be a gateway drug.

·         I didn’t know I was a geek until I saw Nathan Fillion (Castle) in an interview and he was being referred to as the “King of Geeks”.

·         I’m OK with that.