Cassandra Dean's Blog: Blog of Bloggy Blogness, page 15
May 27, 2013
Sizzling PR presents…The Diamond Series Blog Tour
Hey peeps,
The Diamond Series is on tour! Make sure you stop by to celebrate my Historical Western series. There’s also the opportunity to win stuff 
May 27 – June 28th
May 27th – Both Books Spotlight @ You Gotta Read Reviews
May 28th – Both Books Promo @ Indie, Authors, Books, and More
May 29th – Both Books Interview and Reviews @ From the TBR Pile
June 3rd – Rough Diamond Spotlight @ Melissa MacKinnon
June 4th – Rough Diamond Guest Post @ Jessica Subject
June 5th – Fool’s Gold Spotlight @ Melissa MacKinnon
June 5th – Rough Diamond Review @ Out There Reviews and Stuff
June 6th – Fool’s Gold Review @ Out There Reviews and Stuff
June 9th – Both Books Spotlight @ Book Babe
June 11th – Both Books Interview @ Sizzling Hot Books
June 12th – Fool’s Gold Interview @ Theresa Stillwagon
June 13th – Rough Diamond Review @ Reviews from Beyond the Book
June 15th – Spotlight @ Release the Pages
June 16th – Fool’s Gold Review @ Reviews from Beyond the Book
June 18th – Rough Diamond Review @ Fall into Reading Reviews
June 20th – Both Books – Guest Post @ Ambrosia Arts
June 21st – Both Books Promo @ Book Reviews and More by Kathy
June 22nd – Both Books Promo @ Self Publish or Die
June 26th – Both Books Spotlight @ Deal Sharing Aunt
June 27th – Fool’s Gold Review @ Fall into Reading Reviews
May 26, 2013
Guest Post: A Journey Inside Co-Writing by Zee Monodee
Peeps, please welcome my good friend and all round lovely person Zee Monodee to the blog. Zee is chatting about her newest release, INESCAPABLE, a collaboration with Natalie Owens, and giving us an insight into the whole self-publishing world.
Please join me in welcoming Zee.
Nat: We should do something together.
(FYI, she lives in Malta, in the Mediterranean; I live in Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Thousands of miles apart, and at least 14 hours by flight to connect)
Zee: *nods emphatically* Definitely!
Nat: What, though? A series?
Zee: Yes, yes! With your voice and my propensity to kick arse in every story, we’d do really well (at the time, I wrote mainly heroine-centric espionage)
Nat: So, PNR?
Zee: *nod*
Nat: Our terms. No sex-for-the-sake-of-sex.
Zee: You got it! And we decide everything that is to happen. Our way, all the way!
Nat: Duh! No-brainer, sis. What do you say we self-pub this one, test the waters on our own two – or, uh, four – feet and retain the freedom of publishing schedule and plot content?
Zee: You got it!
Hey everyone! It’s a pleasure to be here today after Cassandra’s lovely invitation. My bestie, Natalie G. Owens (known as Nat to her friends, lol) and I recently indie-pubbed our very first collab book, Inescapable, Book1 in the paranormal/fantasy Eternelles series.
The conversation above is pretty much a summary of how we embarked on this journey together.
What was the most determining aspect of the above discussion? I’ll admit it was the ‘no sex-for-the-sake-of-sex’ part. Allow me to say neither of us is a prude. Nat might be Catholic, and I might be a Muslim, but lol, we do have sex in our stories. Plenty of it, even. But have you ever read a book where it’s supposed to be romantic suspense or PNR with action and danger, and it feels like someone fast forwards the action, pauses the story, slow motions a sex scene, then hits play, only to have the same thing happen again? We didn’t want that. If sex was to be in our story, it would be in organically, not something that feels ‘forced’ just because we have to “write more sex and heat” in.
So Nat and I decided to play…and she surprised me with the blast of heat she brought to this book! The characters she wrote, Sera and Rafe, scorched the pages in their every encounter! The story is written in split POVs – Nat wrote Sera, a 125-year-old girl who clings to the teenage mentality. Sera is of phoenix and gypsy origins, and 100 years earlier, Rafe, a vampyre, turned her and made her his. In 2012, he is back into her life to claim her.
In comparison, my pair – Adri and Des – looks very tame. Uh, exactly like you’d expect ‘staid’ parents to be, I suppose… Adri is a 2,900-yr-old immortal hailing from Ancient Greece and who grew up on Olympus. She’s the daughter of a human maenad and Dionysos, Greek god of wine and revelry. Despite having lived for centuries as a skilled and cunning courtesan in the highest reaches of European courts, Adri came out more like the worrying and over-protective mother she is. For the past 1,000 years or so, Adri has been stuck on uncovering the identity of the mysterious masked man who kissed her on the darkened terrace of a ball in Crusade-time Jerusalem. She finally finds him when Des Roxburgh steps into her life in 2012, too. Why didn’t he come forth all these centuries, and what does he want now? More important, who, and what, is he? Des can disappear out of thin air, wring the neck of a shifty, mist-like Soul Stealer, and bodily haul a vampyre overlord across a room. He admits to being the ‘only one of his kind’ but Adri has no clue what that means, except to suspect he must have something demonic in him…
But her desire for Des has simmering for a millennium, and it’s no wonder she succumbs, no matter what he is…
At the heart of the Eternelles series is Adri and Sera, and the mother-daughter bond between them. Despite being immortal paranormal creatures, the generation gap between parents and children is more than present between these two.
And this is another forte we uncovered – relationships. Nat is older than me, but we swapped the age order when we wrote these characters. She put herself in the shoes of the petulant teenage rebel, while I, recently out of young adulthood, wrote the overbearing parent with so much ‘accuracy’ I’m starting to be worried as to the kind of mother I’d be if I ever had a daughter. Lol, thank goodness I have a son.
Writing these two women, and sketching out their journey for this series, has been a thrill and a heck of a ride for us. With Inescapable now out, and Books2&3, Indomitable and Irresistible, releasing during the second half of 2013, we now look forward to sharing Adri’s and Sera’s journey in our paranormal/fantasy world with you, readers. Join us?
Thanks for stopping by, Zee! INESCAPABLE sounds awesome – make sure you peeps check it out!
An immortal born from an unlikely alliance…
Beautiful mythic Greek heiress Adrasteia ‘Adri’ Dionysios has roamed the world for millennia, taking her pleasure where she wanted. Until one night, when Fate drops a baby wrapped in fire into her arms. Motherhood is a formidable challenge, but so is figuring out the identity of a mystery man who makes her pulse race.
A vampyre’s obsession…
Seraphine ‘Sera’ Dionysios’ origins are shrouded in mystery. Torn between a mother whose blood saved her life, and a man who now possesses her soul, the only thing Sera can still cling to is her heart.
One rule matters above all others: Always protect the portal…
When Evil comes to Adri and Sera’s hometown of Shadow Bridge, a place where the mortal human world ends and the supernatural realm starts, it’s up to them to stop a prophecy as old as time itself…or die trying.
Available NOW from:
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Smashwords ~ Kobo ~ iBookstore
Print version: July 2013
French translation to Amazon.fr in August 2013
Find what reviewers are saying about Inescapable on the Goodreads page
May 21, 2013
Hump Day Hook #HDH
Welcome to Hump Day Hook, a weekly list of authors showcasing their work around the Internets. A big thanks to the wonderful peeps at Hump Day Hook for making this possible.
This week, another little bit from SILK & SCANDAL, my newest release. It’s available now, peeps!
Swallowing, she asked the question that had caused her agony these two years gone. “Why did you stop writing?”
Again a flicker of something in his eyes. “I thought it best.”
“Did you?” Pain she’d thought buried crashed through her. It had hurt, so badly, when he’d stopped writing. Though she’d never wanted to admit it, she’d known it was because of those missteps she took, the idiotic troubles she’d gotten herself in, and now it would cost her his friendship. Even a return to London, a hope to begin anew, wouldn’t change it if he were ashamed of her.
She focused on the least painful. “Did you know how fiendish boring it was without you? Without your word of home and your briefs and what you were experiencing at the Old Bailey?”
He crossed his arms. “Apparently, you decided scandal was a judicious use of your time.”
She flinched. She hated that she was known for scandal, that boredom and circumstance pushed her to folly. Well, she would not let him see how his words affected her.
Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin. “I cannot undo what has been done, Thomas. I should never have agreed to those engagements, or any of the other hundred missteps I’ve made. But I…I had hoped—That is, I thought you might understand.” Breath shuddered through her. “Were you ashamed? That you knew me?”
“Nic, no.” Striding forward, he made as if he wanted to take her hands in his. “I was never ashamed of you.”
Learn MORE about SILK & SCANDAL here
Visit Hump Day Hook and discover more wonderful authors!
May 19, 2013
Wet and Wild Hop #wetandwild
The Wet and Wild Hop is hosted by
Skye Warren. Let the celebrations begin!
Hey peeps,
Welcome to the Wet and Wild Hop! Big thanks go to Skye Warren for hosting.
Now, time for the Wet and Wild portion of this evening’s entertainment…
Ah. That picture never gets old 
And now in a segue that makes no sense whatsoever, I’d like to introduce my latest release!
Eight years ago…
Thomas Cartwright and Lady Nicola Fitzgibbons were friends. Over the wall separating their homes, Thomas and Nicola talked of all things – his studies to become a barrister, her frustrations with a lady’s limitations.
All things end.
When her diplomat father gains a post in Hong Kong, Nicola must follow. Bored and alone, she falls into scandal. Mired in his studies of the law and aware of the need for circumspection, Thomas feels forced to sever their ties.
But now Lady Nicola is back…and she won’t let him ignore her.
GIVEAWAY#!
Comment below with your email address and you’ll go in the running to win!.
One lucky commenter will win any Decadent Publishing ebook in my backlist, as well as a signed SILK & SCANDAL postcard, and a SILK & SCANDAL magnet. International entries are welcome – if Australia Post can reach your country, you can enter!
CLICK HERE FOR TO HOP THE BLOGS
FOR MORE CHANCES TO WIN!
=====================================================================
# The small print: Comment before midnight on 26 May 2013 (Australian Central Standard Time) to be entered to win any Decadent Publishing ebook in Cassandra’s backlist, one (1) signed SILK & SCANDAL postcard and one (1) SILK & SCANDAL magnet. Winner will be selected via random.org, with winner’s name posted on this blog within three days of the close of the giveaway. Cassandra will also contact the winner by e-mail; the winner will be required to reply with their postal address so Cassandra can send the prize to them.
Only one entry per ISP address. Entrants must be over 18 years of age. By entering, you agree Cassandra can use your name when announcing the winner if you should win. If potential prize winner forfeits or does not claim the prize, prize will be re-awarded, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. All prizes will be awarded. International entries are welcome. No purchase necessary to enter. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Void where prohibited by law.
May 15, 2013
Have you been watching…The Americans
My love of TV + my blog = Awesome fun sharing times.
Enjoy the shows I think are The Shizz
The Americans
The Americans recently finished its first season and what a fantastic season it was. Great characters, awesome storylines and a 1980s setting – what’s not to love?
The Americans follows two deep-cover Russian spies, sent to America by Moscow in the late 1960s to pose as a newly married couple. Over the next sixteen years, they have two children, get to know their neighbours, open a travel agency…and undertake innumerable missions. 
Our story begins when an FBI agent and his family move in across the street from our covert spies, himself emerging from a decades long deep cover amongst cultists. Will our spies be discovered?
However, the show is way more awesome than I’m making it sound. Elizabeth, played by Keri Russell, is all manner of awesome, a staunch Russian patriot completely dedicated to her cause. Her husband, Philip, played by Matthew Rhys, questions the loyalty demanded of him and Elizabeth to the motherland, and wonders what’s really so bad about America. This leads to an interesting and inherent conflict between the two, and when they begin to realise their partnership contains complex feelings including love, the show gets seriously good.
Ultimately, this is a love story with a really interesting and intense spy dynamic. A suspense with strong romantic tendencies, I guess you could say. The choices for each of the characters is consistently smart and believable, and I never felt as if the storylines were dumbed down, always a massive plus. As an aside, the reason I started watching this show is because Graham Yost, the creator of Justified, was involved. If you know that show, you know the level of awesome The Americans contains.
You can check out The Americans at:
the Website (only available to US residents) ~ Amazon.com ~ IMDb
May 14, 2013
Hump Day Hook #HDH
Welcome to Hump Day Hook, a weekly list of authors showcasing their work around the Internets. A big thanks to the wonderful peeps at Hump Day Hook for making this possible.
This week, another little bit from SILK & SCANDAL, my newest release. It’s available now, peeps!
His smile faded as something began a slow smolder in his eyes. “Nic. Thank you for helping.”
She shivered. “Of course.”
“Nic?” he said.
Barely able to breathe, her gaze drifted to his lips. “Yes?”
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
“Yes.” Her eyes drifted shut.
Slowly, his lips met hers, brushed once, twice.
“Thomas.” She sighed and, as his mouth took hers again, she felt the shape of his smile.
Pleasure rushed through her, sharp and bright. Never had it been like this. All the boys she’d kissed, the men she’d teased, none had made her feel as she did now. Emotion swelled, until it felt her heart was too large for her chest and would encompass all of her, occupy her totally with this feeling for him. For Thomas.
Threading her fingers through the short hair at the base of his neck, she smiled as he placed his lips against her eyelids, her brows. Cupping her face, he placed a string of kisses along her cheek and over her temple before returning his mouth to hers.
Pulling back, he smoothed his thumbs against her cheekbones. “I can’t resist you, Nic.”
“Good.” She placed her hands over his. “I can’t resist you, either.”
Learn MORE about SILK & SCANDAL here
Visit Hump Day Hook and discover more wonderful authors!
Sinful Sirens Give away Hop #sinfulsirens
The Sinful Sirens Blog Hop is hosted by Under the Covers and Guilty Pleasures. Let the celebrations begin!
Hey peeps,
Welcome to the Sinful Sirens Blog Hop! Big thanks go to Under the Covers and Guilty Pleasures for hosting.
I do love a good blog hop, especially one that celebrates summer! Unfortunately for me, I’m in Australia where it’s closing in rather fast on winter…in fact, I’m writing this swathed in a blanket and with a steaming cup of tea at hand. Not a very sinful or siren-y image, hey? Still, it’s nice to dream of summer, of lazy days next to clear blue waters, cocktail in one hand as the sun beats down upon you. Ah…that sounds lovely!
So, to celebrate those days that seem far away to me right now, a giveaway! See below…but first, a bit about my latest release, SILK & SCANDAL because, hey, why not? 
Thanks for participating in the hop, peeps!
Eight years ago…
Thomas Cartwright and Lady Nicola Fitzgibbons were friends. Over the wall separating their homes, Thomas and Nicola talked of all things – his studies to become a barrister, her frustrations with a lady’s limitations.
All things end.
When her diplomat father gains a post in Hong Kong, Nicola must follow. Bored and alone, she falls into scandal. Mired in his studies of the law and aware of the need for circumspection, Thomas feels forced to sever their ties.
But now Lady Nicola is back…and she won’t let him ignore her.
And now, the contest#!
Sign up for my newsletter, leave a comment below with your email address after you’ve done so, and you’ll go in the running to win!
One lucky subscriber will win any Decadent Publishing eBook in my backlist, as well as a signed SILK & SCANDAL postcard, and a SILK & SCANDAL magnet. International entries are welcome – if Australia Post can reach your country, you can enter!
=====================================================================
# The small print: Comment before midnight on 21 May 2013 (Australian Central Standard Time) to be entered to win any Decadent Publishing eBook in Cassandra’s backlist, one (1) signed SILK & SCANDAL postcard and one (1) SILK & SCANDAL magnet. Winner will be selected via random.org, with winner’s name posted on this blog within three days of the close of the giveaway. Cassandra will also contact the winner by e-mail; the winner will be required to reply with their postal address so Cassandra can send the prize to them.
Only one entry per ISP address. Entrants must be over 18 years of age. By entering, you agree Cassandra can use your name when announcing the winner if you should win. If potential prize winner forfeits or does not claim the prize, prize will be re-awarded, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. All prizes will be awarded. International entries are welcome. No purchase necessary to enter. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Void where prohibited by law.
May 8, 2013
Hump Day Hook #HDH
Welcome to Hump Day Hook, a weekly list of authors showcasing their work around the Internets. A big thanks to the wonderful peeps at Hump Day Hook for making this possible.
This week, it’s a special hook! SILK & SCANDAL, book 1 in The Silk Series, is released today! Yay!
So, to celebrate, a hook from my new release, SILK & SCANDAL:
“Why can we not be friends?”
He looked as if he still wished to protest, but then his shoulders slumped. “Do you really not know?”
“Thomas, all I wanted was to be your friend.” Stepping closer to him, she took his hand. “It is all I’ve ever wanted.”
A hush fell. Brows drawn, eyes unfathomable, he stared down at her. Of a sudden, she was intensely aware of her breath, of the way her chest rose and fell and how very close he was.
“You think we are friends.”
Rough, dark, his voice slid along her skin. Mouth abruptly dry, she couldn’t look from him, his eyes dark and burning into her own. She wet her lips.
Something flared in his gaze. He moved closer. So very close. Slowly, gently, his hand cupped her chin and he lowered his mouth to hers.
Stunned, she stood very, very still as his lips brushed hers. She’d been kissed before. Often. But she had never, ever, been kissed by Thomas Cartwright.
Dear God. Thomas was kissing her.
Learn MORE about SILK & SCANDAL here
Visit Hump Day Hook and discover more wonderful authors!
May 7, 2013
SILK & SCANDAL, The Silk Series book 1, is now available! #newrelease @DecadentTEASE
Peeps! The day is here! SILK & SCANDAL is available! Purchase! Purchase mightily!
THE SILK SERIES, BOOK 1
Eight years ago…
Thomas Cartwright and Lady Nicola Fitzgibbons were friends. Over the wall separating their homes, Thomas and Nicola talked of all things – his studies to become a barrister, her frustrations with a lady’s limitations.
All things end.
When her diplomat father gains a post in Hong Kong, Nicola must follow. Bored and alone, she falls into scandal. Mired in his studies of the law and aware of the need for circumspection, Thomas feels forced to sever their ties.
But now Lady Nicola is back…and she won’t let him ignore her.
Early Victorian Romance
Available 8 May 2013
$2.99 Decadent Publishing | ISBN 9781613335185
Amazon.com | Smashwords | All Romance eBooks | Barnes & Noble
~ Excerpt ~
Thomas took a breath, knowing he had to phrase this just right. “Lady Nicola, while I am cognizant of the honor you do me, I don’t believe it appropriate you visit me in my chambers. Shall we arrange a time that suits us both, perhaps for a walk about the park?”
China-blue eyes laughed at him. “Oh, pish. Don’t be such a fuddy-duddy, Thomas. We never stood on such ceremony before.”
Didn’t she know he couldn’t be her friend? Not since their ways had parted and she’d become who she was, while he had become who he was. “Our situations were different before, Lady Nicola. It is not appropriate for a lady of your standing to visit a bachelor in his chambers.”
“Who is going to comment? No one knows I’m here.”
Was she serious? “My clerk knows you’re here. By now, the senior clerk undoubtedly knows you’re here. Before ten minutes have passed, everyone in the building will know you’re here.”
“Well, then, they are a bunch of shocking gossips, and I should not like to know them any better.” She folded her hands in her lap.
“Not the point, Nicola.” Bloody hell, but she drove him mental. She tore at him and picked at him until he didn’t know where he stood. Always she’d done this, taken what little sense he had and driven it right out of his brain.
“I should say it is the point. Our visit would not distress you, if it weren’t for them.”
“It should distress me in any case. You should not be here.”
“Do you know what I’m hearing, Thomas? I’m hearing a vast amount of negativity, when you’ve not even greeted me properly. Why, you’ve yet to kiss my hand, or perhaps give me a h-hug.” Chin up, she looked at him with eyes brimming, and he saw right through her facade. She was truly hurt he’d not yet greeted her as he should.
Helpless, he stared at her. How did she do it? How did she turn his brain to mush? She’d been here less than five minutes, and already she had drawn him back in.
But she was right. He hadn’t greeted her as he should.
Standing, he went to her and drew her to her feet. “Welcome home, Nic.” And he hugged her.
May 2, 2013
WINNER! The Magic Touch Giveaway Hop
Peeps, we have a winner! Congratulations…
Beverly G!
Beverly G has won a USD$5 Amazon.com Gift Card, a signed SILK & SCANDAL postcard and a SILK & SCANDAL magnet. Congrats, Beverly G!
I’d also like to extend a massive THANK YOU to all who participated. I’m so thrilled you all visited the hop, and I hope you had a fantabulous time!
xx
