From The Pages of Kassandra Lea

Oh, it's been almost a month since my last post! Sorry! The task of writing has kept me fairly busy and I finally found some time to sneak in an update. Of course, there have been other things going on besides putting words on paper (the screen?). There has been a deal of hurt caused by the betrayal of a friend, feeling let down by my brother, and the passing of a horse I worked with briefly (what a sad story!). But through it all I managed to keep some form of sanity by retreating into my writing. Now I'm not quite sure how it happened by I only put out 2 stories in March. Weird. I could have sworn I wrote more than that! Did the month really just go by so fast I was unable to get more work done? Who knows. Maybe I'm forgetting something? I've been trying to keep track of the word count for each month along with the stories sent out on submission. Here's the breakdown. January - 11,268 words/5 stories (none published, mostly for contests and 4 didn't make...

So what have I been up to since my last update? Writing and working, of course, what else? I think I'm finally getting the hang of my new work hours (nearly three months after starting it) and that's allowing me to figure out a proper writing schedule. This is good because I have big plans for this year in regards to what I'm kicking out of the writing folder and with fingers crossed I will be sharing most of them with the world. Since my last post I sold my first story of 2016, another gay romance short to JMS books. It's a naughty piece. My first zombie romance was finished and sent off. Waiting anxiously to hear whether or not they liked it. Should the publisher (they actually bought a previous story) take this piece it will be the most I've ever been paid for a single story. Besides, I absolutely adore this piece. Hey! I'm getting to like my own writing more and more. Is that a good sign? Right now I'm trying to finish the rewrite of my novella, Th...

Maybe it's just my job but the days seem to be going by much too quickly and I haven't yet covered the ground I hoped to with my writing. I keep promising myself that I will be more disciplined, focused, get the work done in a timely manner, and instead I wind up spending my down time relaxing. Such is the pitfall of working so many hours. I wanted to have Leaving Hoof Prints done by now. Thanks to my mom I have a printed copy of the novel to read at my leisure; which hasn't yet happened, though I've figured out how to change the opening. That counts as progress, right? Never mind the fact I haven't yet actually written the new opening sequence. It'll happen! At present I am seeking to finish a 10,000 words short story with a quickly followed up 5,000 words short story. Both gay romance. There are two pieces that need to be done in March. One of them is a highly anticipated (at least on my part) new Samuel and Flynn story. Just need to find the perfect ...

I really don't know where to start this blog. My mind is so tired all the time and I can't seem to keep my thoughts focused. Everything has changed since taking on a new-ish position at work. As I feared my writing has gone drastically downhill. Some days I barely get any writing done and on others it's completely non-existent. Is it possible that my dream is slowly slipping out of my grasp? When I am at the day job all I can think about is writing and how I can't wait to have free time so that I can do it. But when the free time rolls around there are other tasks that need tending or I'm just mentally tired. My brain is constantly on the go, a computer that never sleeps. Just about any desire to write has slowly seeped out of me during the course of the day. Am I losing it? Is the passion I once held for my writing, for my desire to be an author fading? Part of me thought getting a planner would help in some way, though aside from watching deadlines come sc...

I live in a northern Midwestern state and the last few days have been single digit cold, if not colder. So of course it makes sense that I would stay inside as much as possible to get some writing done. I'm making great progress on my novelette-turned-novella. My intended word goal is a minimum of 30,000 words and right now it stands at just over 6,000 words. Hopefully I can double that by the end of the week. I am also working on my romance novel, Leaving Hoof Prints. The intended word goal is 55-60k and it's just under 30,000 words. At present I'm doing a little editing, rewriting, reformatting, then I'll see about finishing off the story. Not sure if I want to make a series out of it, but perhaps... Yesterday I enjoyed watching Murder She Baked: Peach Cobbler Murder, based on the book by Joanne Fluke. It's always a joy to watch Cameron Mathison and Alison Sweeney. And in my opinion Hallmark Channel is doing a great service to authors. Their Murders & Myst...

A new anthology!! Yes, I'm excited to announce the release date of the next anthology featuring one of my short stories. When the Sun Shines  is another M/M story. A beautiful, sweet piece inspired by a recent bout of depression. I have been considering doing a give away, but am not sure what I would be offering. Actually, strike that, I do have an idea, just need to send an email or two to get some things sorted out. I'll keep you in the loop! On the writing front, I have started a rewrite of a short story/novelette I sent to one of my publishers. They made me an offer and it is definitely something I am very excited about. As usual, I'm trying to stay mostly hush-hush about it until the situation is more concrete. Let's just say it will be awesome! And I've gotten back to my romance novel, Leaving Hoof Prints , and hopefully it'll end up being the first novel done this year. As always, I've got a considerable amount of projects lined up and read...

My first post of the new year! Welcome to 2016! And we all know what happens with a new year, right? Goals, lots and lots of goals. Though I've thought of a few non-writing related goals I do have an extensive list related to my favorite hobby. Honestly, I think I get carried away and come up with far more than I am capable of getting done, but isn't the whole point to challenge myself to try harder? In 2015 my writing picked up exponentially. I managed to send 13 stories out into the world thanks to some awesome publishers. Yay! For so long I fretted that I wouldn't even get 1 story published and I am extremely pleased with where I am now. This is only the beginning! So here is my crazy list of goals for 2016. I hope I get to check off as many of them as possible. Write More I will be keeping a monthly tally of how many words I do each month. This is something I've always wanted to do just out of curiosity. Publish More My control over this is non-existent! Bu...