Author Archives: Linda Cassidy Lewis

DAY 2—The Brevity of Roses or An Illusion of Trust GIVEAWAY!

Posted in Contest, My Books by

2-dotWe’re on Day 2 of my end-of-May giveaway extravaganza! I’m giving away ONE eBOOK EACH DAY for five days. Winners get a choice between The Brevity of Roses or its sequel An Illusion of Trust.

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Don’t despair if you entered yesterday, but didn’t win. You have four more chances because it’s a new giveaway each day. If you don’t win today, you can enter again tomorrow or the next day or the next—four more drawings in all! And if you win one book, you can enter the next day to try for the other. 

IMPORTANT: Since these are five separate contests, you must follow the entry instructions each day you want to be entered in the drawing. Entries DO NOT carry over to the next contest.

All eBooks are in the Kindle format, but you don’t have to own a Kindle to read them. The FREE Kindle app is available for every major smartphone, tablet, and computer.

AIT_widgetSo, how do you enter? You enter by clicking one of those social media icons below to share this post on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. And then leave a comment here to let me know where you shared.

Each day’s entry period runs from midnight to midnight (PST) and Random.org will choose the winners.

READY … SET … GO and good luck!

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DAY 1—The Brevity of Roses or An Illusion of Trust GIVEAWAY!

Posted in My Books, Contest by

1-dotWelcome to Day 1 of my end-of-May giveaway extravaganza! Starting today, Friday, May 24th, I’ll be giving away ONE eBOOK EACH DAY for five days. Which eBook, you ask? Well, you get a choice between The Brevity of Roses or its sequel An Illusion of Trust.

brevwidget2You’ll have five separate chances to win because it’s a new giveaway each day. If you don’t win today, you can enter again tomorrow or the next day or the next—five drawings in all! And if you win one book, you can enter the next day to try for the other.

IMPORTANT: Since these are five separate contests, you must follow the entry instructions each day you want to be entered in the drawing. Entries DO NOT carry over to the next contest.

All eBooks are in the Kindle format, but you don’t have to own a Kindle to read them. The FREE Kindle app is available for every major smartphone, tablet, and computer.

AIT_widgetSo, how do you enter? You enter by clicking one of those social media icons below to share this post on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. And then leave a comment here to let me know where you shared.

Each day’s entry period runs from midnight to midnight (PST) and Random.org will choose the winners.

READY … SET … GO and good luck!

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A Giveaway Heads Up!

Posted in Contest, My Books, Promotion by

5-dot-2Calling all readers! This brief post is to give you a heads up on the biggest giveaway ever done on this blog. Starting Friday, May 24th, I’ll be giving away ONE eBOOK EACH DAY for five days. Which eBook, you ask? Well, you get a choice. You can win either The Brevity of Roses OR its sequel An Illusion of Trust.

You’ll have five separate chances to win because it’s a new giveaway each day. If you don’t win on the first day, you can enter again to win on the second or the third or fourth or fifth days—five drawings in all! Be sure to come back on Friday for full instructions on how to enter the first giveaway.

See you on Friday!

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Oh, for the love of writing!

Posted in Inspiration, Motivation, Writing by

2heartsIn a bit I’m going to share with you a post I wrote almost two years ago. I titled it “Write what you LOVE!” I wrote that post two months after The Brevity of Roses came out. I mentioned I’d starting writing a new novel, which became An Illusion of Trust. It’s now just about two months since Illusion was published and I’m in a “somber, angst-ridden” place again.

Partly that angst is expressed in working on this and that and the other, waiting for a project to spark my passion. Apparently, I’ll fall off the cliff after every novel I publish, but maybe the next time I’ll remember that’s normal for me and just ignore it. For now, I’m still anxious to experience that rush of being carried away with words. I’m hungry for that love of writing. Please, let me be “off and running again” soon.

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29 May, 2011

Yesterday, I started writing a somber, angst-ridden post. I guess the title and the hearts are clues this is not that post. My last post was a bit of a downer. Some of your comments led me to search my soul, question my Muse, and whine to some friends. Oh yeah, I can be a real joy.

The conclusion? I’d stopped writing for the sheer love of writing and started writing with the mindset of production. My work had ceased to be a creative expression and become merely a commercial product. I’d tried to force it. I worked on four different books. But ultimately, I ground to a halt.

Then a friend asked me to read the blurb for her next book, and the wheels started turning. Her blurb reminded me of one of my book ideas. I’d written up some notes and a couple of opening paragraphs. I looked for the file. It took me two hours because I couldn’t remember what I’d named the file, plus I thought I’d started it last year. When I finally found the right file, it had a nondescript name and was dated ’09.

I read what I’d worked up and realized the original idea wouldn’t quite work … but then … oh, then the floodgates opened! I could change this. I could tweak that. And—Oh!—what if this happened? I got so excited that I couldn’t write fast enough and had to go back to the computer to type.

I had doubts. “Is this crazy?” I asked myself. “Can I do this in my “genre”? “Could this be a good story?” I emailed a friend. She wrote back, “I think it would be great!” And that was confirmed when I remembered one of my favorite quotes:

“Listen to Mustn’ts, child, listen to the Don’ts.

Listen to the Shouldn’ts, the Impossibles, the Won’ts.

Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me.

Anything can happen, child, Anything can be.”

-Shel Silverstein

So, I’m off and running. I’m writing, writing, writing. I’m in love again.

Write what you love, dear readers. Life’s too short not to.

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Seeing Ghosts with James Garcia, Jr.

Posted in Author, Books, Guest Post, Novel, Writing by

Seeing-ghosts_smToday’s guest is James Garcia, Jr. or “Jimmy” as he signs the comments he leaves on this blog. In a previous post, I told you how much I enjoyed reading his vampire novel Dance on Fire. But his latest book is not a horror novel, it’s a romance. Okay, yeah. Obviously the title is Seeing Ghosts, so it’s a paranormal romance. Great cover, right? Here’s the description and then I’ll let Mr. Garcia take the floor:

Paul Herrera finds himself bequeathed a mysterious old house near the California central coast by a deceased aunt he never knew. The woman who shows it to him is the spitting image of his wife, taken from him three years before in a senseless car accident which also took his unborn son. While he deals with the ghosts of a past he cannot let go, there are new ghosts Paul must deal with – alone for the week in the expansive two-storey house that he will soon discover holds many secrets. Eventually, he will see that he is surrounded by ghosts as he struggles to hold onto the only thing that he has left in this world – his sanity.

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James Garcia, Jr.

So, you ask, how in the world could a guy who started reading and writing horror fiction end up writing a romance? Well, it is a paranormal romance, so it really isn’t that big of a leap…

Truth be told, although I grew up reading The Amityville Horror and early works by Clive Barker and Mr. King, and watching films like The Thing, Poltergeist and the original Friday the 13th films, my tastes have evolved with age. Now in my 40’s I find myself more comfortable with horror suspense than horror gore. If it’s splatter or torture porn, I’m really not interested. As one may excuse language and nudity when it’s necessary for the plot, I feel the same about violence. There’s certain rough aspects to The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs or more recently Let Me In, but the stories are so good that they work on every level.

Though I grew up with horror fiction and heavy metal music, my teenage years and a real lack of dating brought me to face issues of the heart. Even though my wife and I have been together now for twenty five years, I still remember those teenage years where every sad song seemed to be about me. Perhaps one might suggest that there is still a small part of me that wonders if love can be forever, and whether I might yet find myself alone once more? Only God knows. We have a wonderful life together, yet there’s still a part of me in touch with those feelings of love and loss.

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My favorite novel is not scary in the least: Beach Music by Pat Conroy. It is a work of genius. It is not paranormal, and I never wanted to read it; however, a sister in law of mine coerced me into picking it up. All these years later I have yet to put it down, reading it or at least parts of it periodically over that time. It is great drama and has a bit of everything in it. I will go to my grave a happy man if I’m considered half as good a writer as Mr. Conroy. Couple this with the fact that I’m most comfortable with a romantic comedy on my television, and you will now begin to understand how it came about that I ended up writing Seeing Ghosts.

I always hoped to write a haunted house story before my writing days were finished, but I did not want to rush it. I had seen too many films or books begin with so much promise, but fall flat in the end. This is not to say that I have written the greatest haunted house story in the history of mankind. But I do think I have come up with something that is very special – it certainly is to me.

And I hope it is for you as well. You’ll have to let me know.

As I say over at my blog, we’ll talk soon.

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The official release date for Seeing Ghosts is June 5.  

Still not writing, but that’s all right!

Posted in Real Life, Writing by

I don’t know which is worse, having no story idea at all or having too many to choose from. I can’t decide which of three ideas to develop, so for now I’m not writing. I’m all right with that. I’m reading and catching up on some episodes of Mad Men, Revolution, Person of Interest, and Rectify—my new favorite.

That’s not to say I’m not thinking about writing. At least once a day I decide which book to work on, but before long I’m undecided again. I’d say that’s a clue to wait. Maybe I’ll write a new short story or two. Maybe I’ll take another look at that first novel I wrote. Or birth a poem.

maggieWe have a new puppy in our house to occupy me too. She’s a miniature schnauzer named Maggie. My husband and I have talked on and off about getting another dog since our springer spaniel, Lizzie, died. But coincidences surrounded the arrival of this dog in our lives.

First, I dreamed about my father and then, in that half-waking state afterward, I thought of the white puppy he told me he had in his childhood. Two days later, my husband happened to see a classified ad by a woman needing to sell her white puppy. She was asking $350—my husband offered her $50. She gasped and turned him down, of course, but he asked her to keep our phone number, just in case.

The woman said she got several calls and checked out a couple of prospects, but didn’t like them for one reason or another. She called us back and asked if we’d like to meet Maggie. So we did and found her perfect for us. On the way home, I realized I was hazy on the date our Lizzie died. For some reason, I always remember it as being in April, so I got out the vet records. What I discovered is that we adopted Maggie exactly four years after we lost Lizzie. Coincidences, yes. Still …

Anyway, that’s the state of my life as we head into mid-May—can you believe almost half the year is gone already? So yeah. I’m not writing, but who knows what tomorrow will bring? Maybe I’ll start work on the best novel of my life—the best so far, at least. What’s up with you?

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