Celebration of Spring Contest!

Where Oh Where Did My Spring Go?

I'm sitting in my usually sunny and warm writing room freezing my hiney off as if it's still January. What gives, Mother Nature? Didn't you like my offering of apple seeds and moon-spelled water? Two weeks ago my trees were budding and my daffies were poking their green shoots above the ground. Well, I decided to celebrate spring anyway, with or without you Mother Nature.

! Contest !

If you leave a comment and also mention you are one of my newsletter subscribers, you'll automatically get a second entry in the contest! The prize is an Austrian crystal double moon pendant and earrings set, plus since the Kentucky Derby is only a month away, you'll also get a plush tybee Secretariat thoroughbred race horse stuffed animal! Awww, isn't he the cutest little thing?

Before you ask, YES, the contest is open to international readers, so don't be shy, leave a comment on my contest post and tell me if you subscribe to my e-newsletter! And if you don't, then go do it now and get another entry into my contest! I promise it's very low volume. :D

Contest starts March 31, 2011 and ends April 16, 2011. Good Luck!


Until next time…
~ Cass

Check out the new look!

How do you like the new look, peeps? I have to give credit and a huge hug and thanks to author and friend Emmy Ellis who came up with this incredible design and new look for my blog! She captured the entire feel I was going for, to mark my brand and coming out as a romantic comedy author. ((hugs)) Emmy, this is beyond my dreams!

If you'd like an amazing banner or template for your blog or website, you can contact her on Facebook and have your dream art come true!

Learning as I go

Today is shaping up to be a day of learning by trial and error. What I've discovered is I need to spend about a year or two really learning my system software and invest in the right software tools to do what I need to do and learn to be proficient with them as well. Stringing things together and hoping they'll be okay isn't a permanent fix. It's more like 'Frankensteining' parts together and patching with duct tape. I am basically one giant ball of duct tape and so is everything in my house.

I'm just grateful I still have friends that put up with me. Seriously. I ask stupid questions because I am clueless when it comes to technology. Which is sad because once upon a time I was at the pinnacle of my knowledge, and I kept up with all the new gizmos and what they did and how they operated.  I took workshops so I stayed up to date. I could crawl under my own desk and hook up peripherals by God! I learned the term daisy chain and it wasn't a sexual reference! lol

The problem is that technology changes so rapidly, that if you don't have the time or the money, you fall behind and it's damn hard to catch up. That's what happened. Over ten years without a workshop, without the cash to upgrade my home computer or the software every six months or year since I got sick and lost my job, so I fell ten plus years behind. I once took pride in understanding what is now incomprehensible to me. So I am limping along, doing the best I can to dance and partake in this new world and it's cyber-environment, and feeling inadequate to the task.

Sure, I have made some strides. I mean, I'd never even heard of the term blog ten years ago, and now I've been a blogger since 2004. I had no idea what Second Life was, ran into buildings, had no clue how to turn on my 'voice', couldn't adjust my own clothes (Had no clue how to take off my ugly camo  green pixel bra and didn't realize it was part of the starter "skin", lol).

Today, I can boast that I have several blogs, websites, am active in all the hot new social networking places, and a member of many writer's groups and forums on the net. But even more amazing, I can say I'm a published author with a straight face, and that my ebooks are out there for the world to see. I have to remember that and not my struggles with the new technology. I sometimes feel like a dinosaur, plodding through the mud, while swifter and smarter animals dance past with nary a look behind as they go beyond. 

Ahh well, I suppose this is normal. Just me feeling older than dirt and about as bright as a mushroom growing in the dark. :P  Time for this old dinosaur to chew some cud (get back to my work in progress).

Until next time...
~Cass

Hooray for HorrorFest 4

My ghoulfriend Kghia Gerardi. Horrorfest 4 Storytelling Event.

Yesterday was HorrorFest 4 at the Bookstacks-Awen sim where Cora and I have our virtual 3-D Midnight Moon Cafe. The event's planner, my good friend Kghia Gerardi, was there setting up before the virtual dawn (grins) since the first storyteller was scheduled at 8am. I just love her *skin* which she said she got at alpha.tribe.

Author and storyteller, Emerian Rich, aka Emz, author of Night's Knights.

Emerian Rich (in Second Life Emz Mazie), read a new short story she wrote in the form of letters between characters. The setting was during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Very cool way to tell a story or write a book. Emz is also the author of Night's Knights and Dusk's Warriors, podcast novels.

I stayed for the next two events, Caledonia Skytower reading "Fear" and "Terror" by Guy du Maupassant, and "Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker, then Derry McMahon reading Horror Tales, but had to leave to attend to RL, so I missed Walton Vieria's talk about Horror in Comic Books. I also missed Arlene Radasky (Imarand Breen in Second Life) read her two original short stories (Dang nabbit—I wanted to hear that!) and the other storytelling and poetry in the graveyard. My own event started at 6pm SLT (9pm my time) and I arrived a few minutes early so I could set up everything.

Me in my Daemonella outfit doing my presentation, Ten Most Haunted. Photo courtesy Kghia Gerardi.

I think my own presentation went pretty well, although I'm not as talented as the storytellers from the Seanchai Library. Of course, I didn't realize they are professional voice talents and many of them are trained actors, so in light of that, I'm not half bad. rofl. Plus, I don't think they're writers themselves, so at least I and my fellow writers/authors have that going for us. lol. The lag was bad last night, and my *slide* presentation photos seemed to take forever to load. Still though, I think everyone who attended enjoyed the discussion. :-) I want to send out a special thanks again to good friend Sherron Bluestar who helped clean up a few of the photos so that they projected with more definition. ((hugs and thankies, gf)).

After my presentation, Bear Silvershade read "The Searcher of the End House", Gyro Muggins read "Some Notes Concerning a Green Box" by August Derlith, and Jeri Unselt (Adrienne Darkrose in Second Life) read a selection from her own work, "Prequel to Inner Demons." You did darn good for a first time at a speaking event, Jeri! You should have seen me at my first event, reading from my book Shifting Tides. I shook and my voice broke more than once. :p

I think HorrorFest 4 was a smash hit and I can only hope Kghia will be up for another go next year. :-D

Donations for the Pacific Tsunami Relief were collected via the Seanchai Library all during the event and I hope we raised a nice amount of money for the Japanese Red Cross.

Spring Has Finally Sprung!

I am so excited spring is finally here. Well, for me at least. lol. Not sure about ya''ll in northern parts of the states or out west, or in other parts of the world. But all I know is when I see the buds on trees and the flowers in my flower bed poking their heads up through the soil, it makes me really happy. Renewal of life is a beautiful thing. :) If I were a Disney character, this is about the point where I'd break into song.  lol. Be glad I'm not, because my screeching wakes the dead and then we'd be up to our butts in zombies! :p

Speaking of zombies, have ya'll checked out my pal Cora Zane's free ebook, My Zombie Ex-Boyfriend? It's a quick, fun read that will have you grinning if not outright giggling. Yes, I said the G-word. lol. You can grab it here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14038

Oh and be on the lookout for a new contest here on my blog, starting in April. Just my way of celebrating the season. Now, if you'll excuse me, I left my heroine in a rather precarious situation and the hero is bitching at me to get moving so he can try to save her. lol.

Until next time
~Cass

HorrorFest This Weekend!

Join me as I reveal the ten most haunted places in the world. The presentation will be in voice, so bring your headphones and prepare to meet ghostly inhabitants as you journey through castles, houses, sanitariums, and entire towns of spectral phenomena.

5 Questions

While being a patron of the SL arts scene this weekend, I chatted with friend Kghia Gerardi who asked me if I would answer five questions as a reader. Since I love to read and tell everyone about books I love, I agreed. You can view the informal Q&A here:

5 Questions with Cassandra Curtis http://thebookstacks.org/2011/03/20/5questions-cassandra-curtis/

Storyfest and The Opening of Red Dragon

A.R.T. in SL. Radio play of The Thin Man, Storyfest 2011.

This weekend was a busy one, with me doing nine things at once nearly non-stop, so I'm taking my 'breather' now. I'm still slashing away at my pages, making my sci-fi rom com a lean and mean fighting machine—well sort of. At the same time I am doing laundry, dishes, cleaning house, preparing a slide show presentation for Horrorfest Ten Most Haunted, attending a radio play in SL, a ballet, a music recital, a dance party, story telling and readings, going through another box of mum's things and doing accounting and bank reconciliations while cooking din din—plus singing and tapping foot to Irish fiddle, and chatting on speaker phone with my next youngest sibling while folding clothes. Add to that I still have a man in my house (who likes attention of course) and I am woefully behind on my attention giving, oh—and did I mention plumbing problems and now the invasion of the ants, oy vey!

Still, all in all, I managed to have some fun and get things done...so what if my noodle is overcooked and my brain's not far behind? Now if I could just get these ants to stop playing maze game on my keyboard and crawling onto me while I try to type, I'd be a happy camper. Not sure if people still say 'happy camper' but if they don't maybe they should. I guess now you'd be a sad camper, due to the cost of gas. Filled up the other day and realized that's about what I paid for my first car. Seriously.

Before I continue rambling ad nauseam, I want to share a few snaps I took in SL this weekend. The first snap at the top of the post is from the radio play The Thin Man, part of Storyfest 2011, as voiced by the A.R.T. or Avatar Repertory Theater group in SL. As a Dashiell Hammett fan and lover of the Nick and Nora Charles movies of the 30's, I thought this might be something different and fun and it was. Although only a radio play and voice acted, I thought it was well done. And besides, any physical acting would be a matter of computer technology not 'Strasberg's Method.'


I also attended a lovely storytelling event on Hawaiian folklore, but for some reason none of the snaps I took saved. Likewise, I attended good friend Rae Lori's story event for her book, Within The Shadows of Mortals, but only got this one snap because I kept crashing. Sorry Rae. :-(

My avatar's vampire style for Storyfest.

I did manage to get one snap of my avatar at the storytelling circle. Here I am pictured, listening to friend Derry M., reading E.B. White's Song of The Queen Bee. I wish the other pic I took of her in her queen bee costume had saved. ::sigh:: Trust me though, she was really cute dressed as a bee. :-)

I finally ended Sunday night with good friends Sherron and Randel as they celebrated the grand opening of their new SIM, Red Dragon. When someone tells you their partner, husband, wife, daughter, cousin—whatever—is a great musician, you sort of nod and smile and think, OMG not another cringe-worthy moment of American Idol awfulness. So here I go, not expecting much musically and telling myself, come on Cassie... and OMGawd—he's one damn fine fiddle player!

Celtic Fiddlin' Fabulous at Red Dragon Sim.

Randel specializes in Celtic fiddle, and yes, he is RL concert good for cryin' out loud! What a treat! So I cranked up the speakers until they wailed and tapped my feet as I did my bank statement reconciliation. Fastest pain-free math I've ever done. Just don't ask me if it's correct. lol. Loved the Irish dance pose balls, too. Riverdance, my ass! I did Riverboogie! ;-)

Had to change into my mertail though for the second event at Red Dragon, and that was DJ Angelis spinning some hot pop tunes while we swam/mer-danced in the electronic waters of virtual reality.

I was just about to ask if he could play some Train for me when I had to leave SL and come back to the real world for a while. Anyway, here's one of my fav songs and video's from them. Enjoy!





Until next time...
~ Cass

Winner of the Faery Fun Stuff Contest

 

The winner of my faery fun stuff contest is...

::drumroll please::

Crystal Adkins!

Congrats, Crystal! Please email me at cass@cassandracurtis.com with your mailing info so I can send your prizes! Woohoo! 

May you have a fabulous weekend!

Slainte,

Cass

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top O' The Mornin' To You!

Starting my day with a wee bit o' Irish Coffee.

Sláinte! And enjoy!

I Love My Tax Accountant

Just got back from filing my taxes and I must say the service is fabulous. Saved me some $$$. They even pawed through tons of paperwork to save me money! I took a picture because I wanted to share my story.

They are simply purrfect!

Here is Big Momma, viewing her monitor, checking to see if there are any more deductions I qualify for, isn't she diligent? I adore Big Momma.

And Junior here is her son. They run the whole business and employ several very lucky humans!

Thank you so very much for your kindness and expert service!
Signed, a very happy client!

If you live in the greater Louisville, KY area,

please check out The Tax Ladies for all your tax accounting needs. (502) 231-2771

Paranormal Reality

Have you ever seen something you cannot explain? Heard something that cannot be possible? Felt something so weird and eerie it made the hair on the back of your neck tingle with awareness? Then you've experienced a paranormal reality. Most everyone has, at least once in their life. My own life is chock full of the weirdness. lol.

Look back and tap into those odd moments. Odd blurs of something seen in your peripheral vision, low murmurs of conversation in an empty room, the sensation that someone is staring at you, the hair on your arms standing on end, shivers of dread going into a room or building—well you may think you are going nuts. But once you rule out the usual suspects, you have to consider the extraordinary.

Have you ever dreamed something and then had the dream come true? Precognitive dreaming is simply keying into the awareness of all around you—the vibration and "hum" of potential and possibilities. The waking mind pays these things little attention, instead storing them in your brain for later, for your subconscious to pull out and play back in creative analysis through dreams. 

If you can lucid dream, thereby directing your higher self through the dreamscape world, you can control the outcomes, solve problems, and attune yourself to the greater consciousness. 

You'll also find your waking mind will begin to store more of these hidden bits of information and your own ability to see options and opportunities will expand. This is when your dreams will reveal bits and pieces of the future. You make not get all the puzzle pieces at once, so don't fret. This is something that can take a lifetime to develop and learn, but think of the potential to enrich your life and understand the universe in a whole new light.

Namaste,

Until next time...

~Cass

To Japan With Love

My heart goes out to the people of Japan. May those you've lost be always remembered with love in happier memories. They watch from the stars of heaven and send their love to guide you through this horrible disaster.

On a personal note, I'm grateful all my Japanese friends have now been accounted for and are safe. I paced a lot waiting to hear news and was incredibly happy once I knew for sure that each of you were okay. Whew. I love ya'll and I know you are happy to be alive, but also looking at an immense clean-up effort, plus a containment effort for those power plants, as so many in Japan struggle with food shortages, power outs, lack of sufficient water, and other hardships.

I cannot speak for all, but I'd like to think we all speak as one when I say that we will help you through this in whatever way we can. That's what friends do.

Blessings and healing light and love,
Cass

Cozy Murder Brit Style and Inksters Beach Party

In between edits on my current w.i.p., I popped into SL today in order to attend an Off The Shelf taping, featuring cozy mystery author Donna Fletcher Crow, author of the Monastery Murders mystery series and epic British historicals. I love cozy mysteries and am always on the lookout for new (to me) authors to read. I thought she gave a great interview, talking about not only her books, but her fascination with British history and travel.

Afterward, I dragged out my next mermaid-themed story and wrote another 1,600 words. I'm happy to say I am almost through with the first round of edits on my first book in the Stealing series, Stealing Earth.

To celebrate (since the dh was on a conference call and we were out of rum anyway, lol) I popped back into SL and saw that the Inksters group on the Cookie sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cookie/193/132/21) was having one of their beach party dances. Now, I've only been to one of the dances because I usually am in either edit hell or housekeeping 101 on the weekends and unless I have an event or a meeting scheduled in SL, I simply don't go inworld. The distraction is too tempting. ;-)

But since I decided to take a break as a reward for good behavior, in I went. I got there a bit early, so I sat at the bar and enjoyed a mai tai and a glass of white wine while I waited. Yes, they usually don't go together, but in SL anything goes. lol.

I did manage to get my 'groove thang' on and danced with far more timing and rhythm than I am known for in RL. Especially after a mai tai and white wine....but I digress.


I met some other writers and we chatted and danced until my hubby Bear came in my writing room and asked when I might start his din din. We compromised ( I chopped the veggies and he grilled the taco meat) so I waved goodbye to the crowd.

Who knows, I may just go back next weekend and let the edits and the fiesta night veggies hang. ¡Olé!

Darius Make-Over

I decided that Darius, the anti-hero of my Stealing series (wip) needed a new skin, for a more polished look. So I popped into SL and went to about four or five skin shops and finally decided on one called Cruz tan, over at Redgraves. I love the new look with his new skin. What do you think?

Not bad, huh? I can imagine if this graphical representation of Darius was based on a real life guy, all ya'll would wet your panties. lol. Admit it! You know you would. ::wink::

Darius
hair by: Tonic
skin by: Redgraves
clothing by: Urban Catz
Picture taken by Cassandra *Sharktooth* at Trilla's tropical paradise horse ranch, Tokara, SL.

Animal Oracle Readings

I'll be in Second Life this afternoon, from noon to 2pm SLT giving FREE tarot readings from the animal oracle deck. 

I love this deck, the animal imagery and the meanings are very intuitive. I hope you'll be able to attend. Here is your ticket to ride: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Awen/196/225/22

"Power animals are spirit guides in animal form. Ancient and indigenous peoples worldwide believe that animal spirit guides, through their spiritual powers, help them in their daily lives by providing protection, guidance, and healing."


Hope to see you there!
~ Cass

Book Tour and Reading Event in Second Life

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

6-7 pm SLT 

Elementals Underwater Mall in Meleda

Leannsidhe Sandalwood reads The Ghost of Goodacre Hall by Cassandra Curtis. The event is in voice.

Here's your magic carpet ride: http://slurl.com/secondlife/0%200%20Meleda/25/73/31

Read along with your own FREE copy of this book by going here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10809