Valentine’s Day fun: kissing excerpt and other news
Posted: February 11, 2016 Filed under: On the Lucid Dreaming duology | Tags: aussie-owned, contests, Lucid Dreaming, valentine's day Leave a commentIn the lead-up to Valentine’s Day in this month of luuuuuurve, there are a couple of things going on I just wanted to quickly let you know about.
The first is that today over at Aussie Owned and Read I’m sharing an excerpt from my latest novel, which is a fantasy that I describe as “Beauty and the Beast meets Ancient Greece”. There’s kissing. (The draft doesn’t yet have a name. For those that have been following my blog for some time, this will come as no surprise.)
The other is that, starting on Sunday, I’ll be giving away two copies of Lucid Dreaming over at Goodreads. The giveaway is here if you want to bookmark it and add it to your calendars — and why wouldn’t you? 😉
I’ll now return you to your regularly scheduled awesomeness.
An update ramble (aka proof that Cassandra shouldn’t blog tired)…
Posted: January 22, 2016 Filed under: On parenting, On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy, On the Lucid Dreaming duology, Uncategorized | Tags: aussie-owned, Lucid Dreaming, Melpomene's Daughter, motherhood Leave a commentSo, err, January has sort of gotten away from me. I had all these ideas for blog posts — primarily to, you know, write them — but clearly that hasn’t gone well. So of course, since I got maybe five hours sleep last night, now seems like the perfect time to write an update. Mostly so you know I haven’t been eaten by rampaging drop bears or whatever.
Me, writing this blog post
One of the posts I was planning was going to be a “my goals for 2016” post. It can more-or-less be summed up in this short list:
- Self-publish Melpomene’s Daughter (Isla’s Inheritance #3)
- Write the sequel to Lucid Dreaming
- Be awesome
Melpomene’s Daughter is going well. I have the paperback proof from KILA Designs and have maybe 50 pages left to read. My goal is to get it done by the end of this weekend, so that I can get it back to Kim before my son and I scarper down to the coast for a week of probably getting rained on at the beach. (It’s going to be awesome.) That way, when I get back, the book should be all go for a February re-release.
Such a lovely title page. I could pat it.
I started drafting the sequel to Lucid Dreaming over Christmas. I’ve got three chapters down and, well, lots to go. I’ve also got my next project lined up — one I’m super-excited about — so, aside from wanting to finish off Melaina’s story for its own sake, I’m also keen to finish it so I can move on to fresh pastures. I’m so fickle. 😉
Lucid Dreaming has been getting some great reviews on Goodreads and other review sites/blogs. If you’ve reviewed it (or any of my books), then know that I love you from the bottom of my heart.
Over at Aussie Owned and Read, I blogged about how audiobooks are the best thing since, well, books.
I haven’t been reading as fast as usual — unless you count my own books, which I have read many, many times. In fact, I’ve been on the same two books (one audio, one ebook) all year. Which is not to say that they aren’t awesome, because they are. I just haven’t had as much time lately — and my usual time to read audiobooks, on my commute, hasn’t been viable because my son has been with me more often than not. If it does rain at the coast as much as I anticipate, at least I can catch up on some stories.
On a personal note, this month has been pretty rough for me and the boy. Close friends of mine have moved away for an awesome work opportunity; their kids are good friends of my son’s, so he has been just as sad as me about the whole thing. The difference is that, when you’re six, you process these things differently. It’s been hard, but this week has shown signs of improvement. (And the coast trip is a distraction that couldn’t be happening at a better time. Awesome parenting high five, me!)
I’ve also spent a bit of time being sucked into a casual, mobile game called Fallout Shelter. It’s based on the Fallout games, but is more of a resource-management game than a shooter. I like it … though I’m less wild about some of the decisions the game designers have made. Maybe one day I’ll have a rush of blood to the head and review the game, but IT IS NOT THIS DAY.
I’m not that tired.
So, that’s where I’m at. How about you? Has 2016 been treating you nicely so far?
Wrap-up for 2015
Posted: December 31, 2015 Filed under: On Books, On me, On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy, On the Lucid Dreaming duology | Tags: Goodreads, new year's resolutions 2 CommentsAs I said in my Christmas post, 2015 has been a crazy year for me. It started off with a bang, with Isla’s Oath being released in January. In April, Melpomene’s Daughter came out.
However, for both books, only the ebook version was released — and, in October, just as I was gearing up to self-publish Lucid Dreaming, I got the word that Turquoise Morning Press was closing. The bright side is that I got the rights to the trilogy back straight away, as well as permission to use the original covers if I wished. I ended up deciding to commission new covers, and so the scramble to re-release them commenced.
I couldn’t have done it without Kim from KILA Designs; as well as being my designer and friend, she also patiently explained the parts of self-publishing a book that I hadn’t even considered to that point.
The upshot is that, in 2015, I had five release days for three books. Is it any wonder I’m spending my new year’s eve in my pyjamas and a T-shirt (a black one that says “The book was better”)? I’m too knackered to contemplate anything else!
I achieved most of my
reading and writing resolutions…
… but not all.
As I mentioned yesterday, I only read 9 out of 12 of the books in my Aussie Readers challenge. And, although I did indeed release Isla’s Oath, Melpomene’s Daughter and Lucid Dreaming, and I did finish writing my fantasy novel, I didn’t manage to write another Tammy Calder novella. I’ll have to save that one for next year.
I also set myself a goal of blogging at least twice a week, but I don’t know that I always achieved that. (Trivia: according to the WordPress stats monkeys, my most popular post in 2015 was my review of Eleven Weeks by Lauren K. McKellar.)
I haven’t done up a list of 2016 resolutions yet. I know I’m supposed to do it before the year kicks over, but at the moment I can’t think past “don’t release three books five times”!
I read one book a week…
That wasn’t deliberate; it just worked out that way. For the last two years, my Goodreads challenge number has been 40 books + however many kids books I read/listen to with my son (excluding picture books, which I don’t bother recording). This year, that worked out to 50 books. I overachieved a little.
Of these:
- 87% were by women writers (or, in the case of Three Slices and Illuminae, had at least one female writer)
- 75% were speculative fiction of one stripe or another (including the children’s books)
- 31% were by Australian authors (or, in the case of Losing It, had at least one Aussie author)
- 25% were by Kim Harrison (I gobbled the entire Hollows series this year)
- 12% were by Cressida Cowell (the boy and I went on a How to Train Your Dragon kick earlier in the year — did you know the audiobooks are narrated by David Tennant?)
- 4% were non-fiction
So there you have it!
This year has been busy, but I got by with a little (or a lot of) help from my friends. And also my family, and you guys — my lovely readers. I hope your 2016 is filled with love, hugs, laughter and, above all, books.
See you next year!
Amazeballs SPR review of ‘Lucid Dreaming’
Posted: December 19, 2015 Filed under: On the Lucid Dreaming duology | Tags: Lucid Dreaming, self-publishing Leave a commentThose that follow me on social media will have already seen my fainting hysterics over this, but for those that haven’t: Lucid Dreaming received an amazing professional review from Self-Publishing Review this week. Five stars. Whee! Needless to say, I’m over the moon (and trying not to let it go to my head).
You can read the whole review here, but here’s an excerpt:
Lucid Dreaming is a great, comfortable read, like a new pair of slippers that fit like your well-worn favorites. Lucid Dreaming is very fresh and gorgeous looking, with a fluid and vibrant read to match. To chance a pun, you could even say the writing is lucid. Page has a particular self-awareness that just, just about creeps in and tinges the edges of the page now and then in a very modest manner that pays dividends when the time is right.
Similarly, Melaina is a great lead, with a wry and experienced charm to her character that stands out from her peers, both in the context of her own story and in the wider genre. She’s relatable, in all the right ways, and there’s a sadness behind her strength, but she’s taking it all in her stride. It sounds par for the course, but there’s a very certain je ne sais quoi to her and the whole book at large. There’s a really strong and surprisingly wide supporting cast of all breeds that are well curated to push the story in every way it needs to, when it needs to be, and the perfect storm comes in wild, colorful strokes from beginning to end.
Cover to cover, the book really shines, even down to the simple detail of its little butterfly motifs scattered here and there as dividers. It’s a really outstanding work that I cannot sing high enough praises of. Urban and paranormal fantasy fans: buy this book. For me personally, it scratched an itch I didn’t even realize I had, and for anyone looking for something new in the genre, it’s likely to do the same. It’s an example of some of the finest to be found in a rather crowded arena. It’s hard not to find yourself giving yourself “one more page”, page after page, and for better or worse this is a read that will definitely keep you awake if you’re not careful!
Add Lucid Dreaming on Goodreads
Ebook
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia
Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
Paperback
Createspace | Amazon US | Amazon UK | The Book Depository
‘Isla’s Inheritance’ is back
Posted: December 15, 2015 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy | Tags: Isla's Inheritance, self-publishing Leave a comment
YOU GUYS! It’s been two months since Turquoise Morning Press returned the rights for the Isla’s Inheritance trilogy, and in that time the fantastic Kim and I have been working our booties off. I’ve re-read this book (twice), spent an unhealthy amount of time trawling stock websites (the images for the covers and the latest teasers are all courtesy of Shutterstock), and then squeed enthusiastically at the end result. There is definitely something to be said for self-publishing; the sense of satisfaction at the end of the process is enormous.
ANYWAY. I’m pleased to announce that Isla’s Inheritance, book one of the trilogy by the same name, has been released back into the wild. So far the ebook has made it as far as Amazon and Smashwords, and the paperback is only at Createspace. But I’ll update my Isla’s Inheritance trilogy page as I get more links.
Thank you as always for the support of my wonderful friends and family. This re-release has been an unexpected bump on the road, and I admit I wouldn’t have chosen the Lucid Dreaming release month to be doing all this work (let alone just before Christmas, with all the end-of-year shenanigans), but hopefully you agree that the result is worth it in the end.
Ebook
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia | Smashwords
Paperback
‘Isla’s Inheritance’ trilogy cover reveal
Posted: December 5, 2015 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy | Tags: book covers, Isla's Inheritance, Isla's Oath, Melpomene's Daughter 2 CommentsIsla’s Inheritance is my first book baby (well, book triplets, really, given it’s a trilogy), so I’m giddy with delight to be able to share the new covers with you. These were made by Kim Last from KILA Designs — the same wonder who made the Lucid Dreaming cover — so it should be no surprise to you that they are breathtaking.
Feast your eyes! Feast them!
Isla’s Inheritance
Isla was content to let her father keep his secrets, but now she can’t stand the touch of iron and her dreams are developing a life of their own.
Seventeen-year-old Isla Blackman only agrees to participate in a Halloween séance because Dominic, an old crush, wants to. She is sure nothing will happen when they try to contact her mother’s spirit. But the séance receives a chilling reply.
SHE IS NOT DEAD.
Isla doesn’t want to upset her father by prying into the family history he never discusses. When the mysterious and unearthly Jack offers to help her discover the truth, Isla must master her new abilities to protect her loved ones from enemies she never knew existed.
Isla’s Oath
Australia is a long way from the Old World and its fae denizens … but not far enough.
Isla is determined to understand her heritage and control her new abilities, but concealing them from those close to her proves difficult. Convincing the local fae that she isn’t a threat despite her mixed blood is harder still. When the dazzling Everest arrives with a retinue of servants, Isla gets her first glimpse of why her mother’s people are hated … and feared.
But Isla isn’t the only one with something to hide. Someone she trusts is concealing a dangerous secret. She must seek the truth and stop Everest from killing to get what he wants: Isla’s oath.
Melpomene’s Daughter
Isla struggles to embrace her fae nature while preserving her humanity in the final, exciting instalment of the Isla’s Inheritance trilogy.
Isla has spent months persuading the Canberra fae that she isn’t a tyrant like her mother, trying to prove that—despite her mixed blood—she’s human, not a monster. That she’s one of them, not one of the high fae who enslaved them.
But a vision of a fresh-dug grave warns that someone is going to die.
When the Old World fae once again move against her family, seeking revenge for old wrongs, Isla will stop at nothing to keep those she loves safe. She just wants to be left alone. But to win that right for herself, her family and all Australian fae, she must cross the oceans and take the fight to the country of her birth.
Isla must prove she really is Melpomene’s daughter after all.
An update, some squeeing and probably some other stuff…
Posted: December 2, 2015 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy, On the Lucid Dreaming duology | Tags: Isla's Inheritance, Isla's Oath, Lucid Dreaming, Melpomene's Daugher, self-publishing Leave a commentI haven’t been blogging as much lately. I’m sure you’ve noticed. It turns out that self-publishing for the first time, combined with prepping to re-release an entire trilogy, all in the lead-up to the silly season, is quite time consuming.
Who knew?
Still, there have been a few exciting things going on. On the Lucid Dreaming front, a beautiful box of paperbacks arrived. I squealed so loudly I may have frightened the dog. I then got to do one of my favourite things: autographing books to fulfil orders for some of my favourite people.
If you’re interested in an autographed copy, they are AU$15 plus postage. (I realise that could get a little XX-y for people that are outside Australia, but the offer is available worldwide regardless.) Send me an email at cassandrapage01(at)gmail.com and we can sort out the details.
Excitingly, if you don’t want me to deface sign your book, I discovered today that Lucid Dreaming has made it onto The Book Depository. Free shipping worldwide. Whee!
Aren’t they lovely?
As for Isla’s Inheritance, I had a very exciting moment when a friend posted this picture on Facebook. Yup, that’s my book, sitting next to Indigenous Governance and a little bit of Skulduggery Pleasant. Sweeeeeeet.
ERMAGERD!
For those of you that are waiting for the series re-release (especially for the paperbacks of Isla’s Oath and Melpomene’s Daughter, which TMP never issued), it isn’t far away now. I’ve re-edited all three books and am now proofing the gorgeously designed galley KILA Designs did for Isla’s Inheritance.
And the cover reveal for the entire trilogy is this Saturday. You can still sign up here!
It even has little arrowheads!
And, of course, I’ve also been decorating Christmas trees, organising presents, and all the other things that happen at this time of year. Once Christmas is done and the Isla trilogy is back on sale, I might just collapse in a heap for a bit…
…who am I kidding? I’ll start writing the sequel to Lucid Dreaming. 😉
‘Isla’s Inheritance’ re-release – trilogy cover reveal sign-ups
Posted: November 22, 2015 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy | Tags: Isla's Inheritance, Isla's Oath, Melpomene's Daughter Leave a commentAs you know, my young adult urban fantasy Isla’s Inheritance trilogy is currently unavailable, due to Turquoise Morning Press closing its doors. I’ve taken the opportunity to give the books a bit of a spring clean — new covers, new interior design, and a bit of a dust and vacuum (so to speak). The first two aspects are being taken care of by KILA Designs; the designer in residence, Kim, is the same very talented woman that designed the Lucid Dreaming cover and interior, so you can bet your boots that I am super-excited about the whole thing!
As I write this, the covers are almost complete, and they will take your breath away — I promise.
Since I’m very impatient, I’ve decided to run an all-in-one cover reveal for the entire trilogy on 5 December … and this is your chance to take part. I’d love to have you! If you’ve got a blog or social media account and you’d like to help me share the new covers, you can sign up here.
I don’t have a release date for the trilogy yet; the first book is with KILA for internal design, and the second is also ready to go. I’m just re-proofing Melpomene’s Daughter. I’d love to have them all back up before Christmas, but that might be pushing my luck, and the friendship with Kim. We’ll see. 😉
To inspire you, here’s a new teaser for the first book, Isla’s Inheritance…
Lucid Dreaming release day!
Posted: November 3, 2015 Filed under: On the Lucid Dreaming duology | Tags: Lucid Dreaming Leave a commentIT’S HERE! IT’S HERE! Two years, two months and ten days after I originally typed “the end”, Lucid Dreaming has finally made its way into the world. It has been through beta readers, competitions, and various delightful, encouraging and supportive industry professionals. So many people have helped out along the way that I’m actually a little worried I might forget someone. If I do, please forgive me!
The obligatory thank you speech
Firstly, thank you and confetti cannons to everyone who helped during the drafting of Melaina’s story: to Peter, my enduring bad-guy consultant; to Shane for his nursing advice; and to Fad for answering questions about police procedure. Any errors of fact or bad guy failures are my fault, not theirs. To everyone who read the drafts in various states and gave me valuable advice and encouragement — Stacey Nash, Kim Last, Craig Lawrie, Rena Rossner and Dannie Morin in particular — thank you and squishy hugs.
Also, thank you to my wonderful editor, Lauren K. McKellar, who asks all the hardest questions, talks to me about ellipses and spots even the tiniest inconsistencies. This book wouldn’t be half of what it is without you.
The cover is brought to you by the aforementioned Kim from KILA Designs, who patiently bore with me while I threw random design ideas at her (including a last-minute change to the paperback design that she did yesterday!) and then produced something wonderful. Bless your socks, lady!
Thank you to my friends and family for putting up with my frequent absences and blank stares, for feeding me coffee and Bad Chicken, and for being my cheer-squad: Mum, Dad, Kristy, Ali, Craig, Karen, Mikey, Peter, Cassandra, Nicole, the BC09 girls and the AOR girls. Also, a special mention goes to Bec, who puts up with my irrational love of hyphens.
And finally, thank you to my son, Nathaniel, who asked me why I “worked” in the study after he went to bed, and then said when he grew up he’d be an editor so he could help me proofread my work. Sweetheart, with your imagination I have no doubt I’ll be proofreading yours. Love you, little guy.
The obligatory buy links
(For the ebook, that is. The paperback is maybe 48 hours away from being available — see previous comment about me making a last-minute change. My bad!)
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia
Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
As this post goes live, the only one of these sites that says “buy” rather than “pre-order” is Amazon Australia. But if you’re patient and keep clicking refresh, the rest of the world will catch up eventually. (That’s how timezones work, right?)
The obligatory blurb and cover photo
Who would have thought your dreams could kill you?
Melaina makes the best of her peculiar heritage: half human and half Oneiroi, or dream spirit, she can manipulate others’ dreams. At least working out the back of a new age store as a ‘dream therapist’ pays the bills. Barely.
But when Melaina treats a client for possession by a nightmare creature, she unleashes the murderous wrath of the creature’s master. He could be anywhere, inside anyone: a complete stranger or her dearest friend. Melaina must figure out who this hidden adversary is and what he’s planning – before the nightmares come for her.
The obligatory shot of me holding the proof and grinning like a loon
If you buy Lucid Dreaming, then mwah! Hugs and kittens to you, dear reader.
Halloween Hijinks, Lucid Dreaming Pre-orders, and a Giveaway
Posted: October 31, 2015 Filed under: On the Lucid Dreaming duology | Tags: Halloween, Lucid Dreaming 4 CommentsHAPPY HALLOWEEN*!
It’s four days until Lucid Dreaming is released, and in hindsight you can bet your favourite pair of slippers that I wish I’d organised the release for today instead of Melbourne Cup Day. Because I don’t have even a single horse in the book.
Unless you count all the NIGHTMARES!
Get it? GET IT?
(Sigh.)
Skeleton cowboy flees bad joke (source: Shutterstock)
It would have been an especially good tie-in, because — as is pretty clear from the blurb — one of the primary focuses of the book is the freaky things that lurk in our dreaming minds. Especially the things that are born from real monsters.
Anyway, to celebrate Halloween and because I’m a stand-up kind of person, if you leave a comment on this post with your favourite spooky monster you’ll receive a chance to win an ebook of Lucid Dreaming in the format of your choice. The competition will run for three days, or until I decide to draw it (because I’m fickle like that!).
If you’re too impatient (which I totally respect) or don’t have a favourite spooky monster, then here are the various ebook pre-order links. There will be a paperback, but I expect it to be delayed by about a week — I’m waiting for my winged monkeys to deliver my proof so I can fondle it check it before authorising the final.
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
Also, in case you missed it, I’ve been interviewed over at Aussie Owned and Read. Check it out!
* In the Southern Hemisphere, at least. ^
^ Wibbly wobbly … timey wimey … stuff.
Who would have thought your dreams could kill you?
Melaina makes the best of her peculiar heritage: half human and half Oneiroi, or dream spirit, she can manipulate others’ dreams. At least working out the back of a new age store as a ‘dream therapist’ pays the bills. Barely.
But when Melaina treats a client for possession by a nightmare creature, she unleashes the murderous wrath of the creature’s master. He could be anywhere, inside anyone: a complete stranger or her dearest friend. Melaina must figure out who this hidden adversary is and what he’s planning – before the nightmares come for her.
Cassandra Page 