Author Bio

Authors usually write about themselves in third person, but I figure that I will keep to a first person narrative until I have actually published something worth reading—or for that matter, published something at all. I have loved reading since before I started school and somewhere through my elementary years, I grew an affinity for writing as well. My love for writing began with journaling and soon escalated toward composing fiction, poetry, and even the occasional song. When I happen to come across an old notebook, I cringe at how terrible much of my work was, but every once in a while, I find a piece that I cannot believe I wrote.

My biggest fear in writing comes from reading other people’s works; sometimes when I read a particularly inspiring novel, I go weeks without writing anything, because I know that I could never measure up to that kind of work. I also have a fear of putting my greatest ideas on paper; I can think of nothing worse than ruining a potential bestseller.

In my free time, I enjoy being a college student—which really leaves for little time to do anything else—I get little sleep and tend to write seven page research papers overnight. I would not recommend my particular brand of procrastinating. I am a double NaNoWriMo winner. In the little spare time I have, I enjoy spending time with people, helping others, browsing the Internet, shopping (although I've learned that when I buy something overtly expensive, like say a 150 swimsuit, I get so guilty every time I look at it that I'm forced to take it back), drinking coffee in an attempt to seem sophisticated, and, of course, reading and writing.

Feel free to drop me a note any time; I enjoy hearing from new people and reading new pieces. Thanks for your time!

Sites of Interest

boltfromtheblue.blogspot.com (My loverly blogger about my loverly story Bolt from the Blue.)

Some Kind of Wonderful (Fiction Press Romance Awards. Summer nominations are happening now. So go check out the stories that are being picked; they're sure to be fantastic!)

Monster Reviews: This is a wonderful site ran by Terra. Basically you submit a story and one of the reviewers there will send you a mega, ultra, amazing, no holding back review. It's pretty flippin awesome. Also! Check out my story: Salt and Sweat and Freshly Mowed Grass, which made it on the A-list.

Bolt from the Blue made highlight story of the week on Undiscovered. This is an amazing site that looks for little-known stories on FP and gives them some of the spotlight they deserve. I've found some AMAZING stories on this site. You should most definitely check it out!

And I was recently nominated for: Best Romance, Funniest Characters, Best Plot, and Most Memorable Characters on FP Supernatural Story Awards. Look them up on FP or check out their outside website: Fiction and Prose Supernatural Story Awards

Follow (Stalk) Me on Twitter: CassandraRose

Favorite Writing Quotes

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." Toni Morrison

"If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad." Lord Byron

"It is impossible to discourage the real writers - they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write." Sinclair Lewis

"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon." Robert Cromier

"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." E.L. Doctorow

"An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere." Gustave Flaubert

"The story I am writing exists, written in absolutely perfect fashion, some place, in the air. All I must do is find it, and copy it." Jules Renard

"I start with a tingle, a kind of feeling of the story I will write. Then come the characters, and they take over, they make the story." Isak Dinesen

"Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague." William Safire

Most of my work I have on here is badly written poetry, but I do have some decent stories.

Autobiographical Works

Chance Encounters of the Male Persuasion: An ongoing project; a series of true vignettes about the different males that catch my interest. Whether I am wondering what it would be like to date a guy, silently trailing an attractive "grown-up" in the grocery store, or making an idiot of myself in a fast food restaurant, I give you the chance to relive these chance encounters I have with men: most I will never see again, but even if they're not good for a date, at least they make great writing material!

Short Stories

The First: A very short piece--under two hundred words--that focuses on a girl's first kiss. First person POV. (My personal rating: eek! This is only up so I remember exactly HOW bad my writing was.)

At His Funeral: Written in first person. An angsty piece with a glimmer of hope; it showcases the story of a girl at her boyfriend's funeral. (My personal rating: sappy but decent.)

My Real Fairy Tale: First person POV; a short story depicting a marriage proposal. I like the idea of this story more than the actual writing; I plan to rewrite it in the future. (My personal rating: VERY sappy but super cute!)

An Honest Answer: A humorous piece written in limited third person about a girl who has a boyfriend that wants to save his first kiss for marriage; it's based off a scripture passage in psalms. (My personal rating: I heart this story. It makes me giggle every time I read it.)

The Merpeople's Account: Work of prose/poetry. Simply written as if taken from the Bible. The lost story of Hali, the mother of the merpeople. It was her faith in God and her love for her children that created this majestic race. (My personal rating: I love this story. I want to one day make it into my EPIC Christian fantasy novel.)

Salt and Sweat and Freshly Mowed Grass: First person POV, one of my longer one-shots. The main character, Samantha, is a closet romantic who wants nothing more than to stay at home and cook and clean, even though her mother is staunchly against a woman's dependence on a man. The thing Samantha hates most is mowing her lawn. But one day a kind stranger walks up and offers to mow it for her . . . and subsequently asks her out on a date. She turns him down; even though she makes him freshly-squeezed lemonade. Nonetheless, he comes back the next week and mows her lawn again. And then again. And before Samantha knows what happens, she is doing the one thing her mother always warned her not to do: falling in love. But is it truly better to have loved and then to lose?? (My personal rating: I could be wrong, but I think this is one of the best pieces I have ever written. I hope that you agree!!)

Unfading Beauty: Limited Third Person POV in MC, Tanya's perspective. Tanya is committed to wait until she is married to have sex. Her friends think that she needs to get it over with and have sex. So for her thirty birthday, they decide to hire her a prostitute. What does a woman who is trying to follow God's plan in her life do when a Brad Pitt lookalike (circa 1990's, the good years, of course) shows up in her living room and starts stripping? Play Parcheesi?? (My personal rating: It's a solid piece and I tend to think it's creative--at least, I have never read anything like this on this site before--I am fairly satisfied with it. I am seriously considering expounding on this piece after I finish some (many) of my other writing projects.)

Fair Trade: First Person POV in Miriam's perspective. Miriam loves to help others . . . not only does she love to help others, but she is very conscious by the way her lifestyle can hurt others. And the lifestyles of those around her. Miriam doesn't like Hugh. She doesn't like his name, she doesn't like his Porsche, and she doesn't like the fact that he blew a lot of money bu vacationing in the Bahamas. Can she learn to get over the fact that he doesn't seem to care about the needy in the world and that he DOESN'T buy fair trade coffee. Can she learn to look behind the Porsche he always drives and see that their relationship could be a Fair Trade? (My personal rating: Miriam isn't the most likable MC, but I do love this story and it was awhile in the making--I mean, I wrote and edited it all in a 24-hour period, but the idea has been in my mind for weeks!)

Principle of the Matter: First Person POV in Peterson Prince's perspective. Entry for TaD Writing Prompt, must include the words: panties, prince, and pineapple. A stuttering Prince, a possibly clinical Princess, a bet about pineapples, and a pair of black and purple lace panties. If that doesn’t spell true love . . . or at least true lust, then p-p-please tell me what does! (My Personal Rating: This was SUCH a fun story to write! And seeing that I've reread it dozens of times, I am very satisfied just about every aspect.)

Steering Wheel Whore: First Person male POV. One guy's hopeless longing over one of his girl friends. Who would have thought driving a car could be so hot?!

Novels

Mr. Right: Limited third person POV switching between the two main characters. This is a story is about what happens AFTER the reality tv show is over . . . particularly, what if the wrong girl was chosen. CURRENTLY IN HIBERNATION . . . I do not know if or when I will continue this story!! (My personal rating: I really love the plot of this story but cringe every time I read the terrible writing. If I do finish this, I will start by rewriting the first chapters. They desperately need it! And probably reworking the entire plot line.) UPDATE AUGUST 14, 2009. When bored today, I rewrote the first chapter of this. I don't know if I'll bother with the rest, but I AM rereading the second chapter now, so there's a chance that I will wake the sleeping bear. However, a lot will have changed if I do decide to poke this bear.

A Bit Touched in the Mind: 2007 NaNoWriMo winner. Typical fluffy young adult romance with the ever-important spice of murder. First person POV; the story of a girl who struggles with her ability to read minds. Too afraid to confess this to her uber-Christian mother, she keeps this secret to herself until she meets a guy who has a secret of his own. When one of her friends is murdered, she must learn to trust her heart, even when nobody else believes. Complete!

So I was bored, so I found lookalikes online for the two main characters and photoshopped them; tell me what you think=)

Mae

Seth

(My personal rating: love this plot. Adore the characters. However, this was a nano story so the writing could be greatly GREATLY improved. Plus there were a lot of things that were rushed. Good but not great.)

Bolt From the Blue: First person POV; there's more spark to Adaline Sparks than just her name. She's spends her days as an average high school student and her nights as the superhero, Volt. But how will she survive when her family is forced to relocate to small town, Indiana? She thought Indiana was going to be the death of her, but through the time that follows, Adaline finds herself apart from her super-enigma. And even stumbles on a bit of romance. But is there something more than meets the eye with her father's boss and can a mysterious flying super who knows her secret identity truly be trusted? Regular Updates

To learn more about my story, Bolt from the Blue, go to http://boltfromtheblueseries.blogspot.com/ It is a WONDERFUL site I'm making about all things Bolt from the Blue. Although it's a work in progress, I currently have posted the playlist that goes with the first book, as well as celeb. photos of many of the characters. So! Go check it out!

(My personal rating: if I could marry a story, I would probably marry Bolt from the Blue. LOL. Not really, but I've been itching to write a superhero novel since high school and the story finally came to me and I, personally, think this is my best writing on the site.)

Fairy Tale Dreams Gone Awry: First person POV. There are those who say that dreams are the subconscious thoughts of your mind . . . but it is through your dreams that you travel to the subconscious mind of others. Dreams take you to different realms; different worlds. Dreams are what connect all beings together. In ordinary circumstances, dreamers are never suppose to know that in their dreams they travel to new worlds. But sometimes extreme measures must be taken to protect a realm. Sometimes a foreign world needs an oneironaut. That is where Ren Cartwright comes in. When she first started having reoccurring dreams, she didn't think much of it. But they didn't stop. And with hardly a notice, she is suddenly pulled into this strange world where animals talk, magic exists, and people actually think that True Love's Kiss is the answer to everything. It is up to her to stop the Wicked Stepmother who plans to control the entire realm. But how is a woman who has always been too nice for NYC suppose to defeat an evil mastermind? After all, Ren has read th e original versions of the Disney stories and things are never as pretty as the cartoons make them out to be. Even in a land of fairy tales things are almost certain to go awry. Regular Updates Until I Have Posted All That Is Written. Then I will Post as I write.

(My personal rating: I ADORE this plot . . . and the characters . . . cliche, yet not. Beginning basically sucks, but it mostly gets better as it goes. Wrote for NaNo so expect typical NaNo mistakes.)

Child of Prophecy: Connection: Third person POV, between the two main characters Zaria and Hawk. In a distant planet of Zhaiha, a great civil war is brewing between the Zhaihars and the Zhaihanians. In one last desperate attempt to save her daughter and her planet, the queen sends the princess to the distant planet of Earth. The princess, Zaria, lives a normal life on earth until her eighteenth birthday. Just when she thinks her life can’t get any worse, she finds herself waking up on in a strange spaceship. Zaria wants nothing to do with her home planet or the supposed prophecy she plays the central role in. But will her new friends—particularly one flying Zhaihanian whose life was torn apart because of the war—inspire the passion and determination that it takes to save a planet and bring it back under one peaceful rule. Currently Not Posting Until I Make Some Important Changes.

(My personal rating: My original baby. Nowhere near completed, but what I have (the first 20 chapters) I L O V E. Even if all the made-up words and species tend to be redundant.)

All works on below are the original ideas and property of Cassandra Rose Ernst. They are not to be copied, distributed, sold, etc without my written permission. In other words, don't plagiarize. Or else . . . And else is never good.