Guest Post : How I Met Cassie by Christine Amsden

Reading is one of my passions and I've been fortunate to have the opportunity, through my blog, to review books in my most favourite genre; paranormal. As a natural extension of that, I've decided to take the plunge and get a bit more involved in book-related "events" and thanks to Fiction Addiction Book Tours, here's my first one!

Welcome to the World of Cassie Scot; the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow or her family's reputation isn't easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs. 

As well as being a sucker for the paranormal, I'm a massive fan of the immensely awesome tv series, Veronica Mars  (which basically means I have a bit of a soft spot for female PI's) so I'm very excited about the storyline of this book. It sounds like there are going to be lots of lessons learned about finding your place in the world, accompanied by a fair bit of tension!

Print Length: 260 Pages

Publisher: Twilight Times Books

Print ISBN: 978-1-60619-275-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-60619-274-0

Publication Date: 15 May 2013

  How I Met Cassie

Cassie came to me, I didn’t go to her. 

I finished The Immortality Virus late in the fall of 2008, and though I took pride in my second novel, I felt worn out (creatively). When the new year came, bringing with it the opportunity for all kinds of writerly resolutions, I decided I needed to take the year off. I would read, blog, journal, but otherwise give my muse time to heal.

I didn’t make it a year. It turns out, I really am a writer. Writers write. We can’t not write. Taking the pressure off my muse did turn out to have been a great idea, but putting a time frame on it was a bit naive. 

Cassie came to me in mid-February, as I played on the floor with me (then) 9-month-old daughter. I won’t go so far as to say she popped into my head fully formed, but it was close. I sat bolt upright, my eyes probably doing that cartoon bulge, as a light bulb appeared over my head. 

What if… What if the hero of a fantasy story was the only one in it without magic? 

I wrote the first line of the story as soon as my daughter went down for a nap. It read: “My parents think the longer the name, the more powerful the sorcerer, so they named me Nicolas Merlin Apollonius Roger Scot. You can call me Nick.”

Okay, so it needed work. It didn’t take me long to realize I wanted a female heroine. Nicolas (who does not go by Nick and might set you on fire if you tried) became the oldest of Cassie’s siblings.

After that, Cassie told me new things about herself every day. I had a rough draft by the end of June.

About the Author:

Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarly about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally bling, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams. (You can learn more here).

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work. Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children, Drake and Celeste.

Author Links:

Website

Twitter @ChristineAmsden

Email: christine [dot] amsden [at] yahoo [dot] com

Cassie Scot by Christine Amsden is available right now at both The Book Depository and Amazon.