Sympathy, Love, and Regrets

Lovely sympathy flowers from a dear friend.

The wheel of the year is ever turning, slow though it may seem to be. And with it comes the dying away. It is the nature of all things, and is a part of the wheel of life, and no matter how much we may rail at death, it comes on a pale horse for us all.

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably already know what's been going on in my life these past couple of months and I thank those of you who sent cards, commented on my FB timeline, or sent virtual hugs and prayers.  But for those of you who only follow the blog, the reason I haven't updated in a while is because my beloved nephew passed away rather suddenly, back in Sept. and my oldest sister (his aunt) passed away October 2, 2014. It was a double shock that I am still trying to come to grips with and I know I'll be grieving for some time to come.

I have several books that were slated to release last month and this month. I was in the process of editing when my nephew died. And before I could take a breath, my sister grew horribly ill, and then passed away.  I basically dropped everything to help my family and am continuing to help us all work together to get through the tragedy and loss. I hope readers will understand and forgive me.

Once I have a better idea on new release dates, I will let everyone know. Until then, I have opened up the blog for various friends of mine to tell you about their books and upcoming releases. It's just my good fortune that they are all incredibly talented authors too. So please check out their books and if you enjoyed them, leave a review on Amazon or B&N or Smashwords for them. :)

In love and light,
Cass

A Beloved Music Icon is Gone

Somehow it doesn't seem possible that Davy Jones is gone. I always figured he'd be the one to outlive them all (Monkees). Condolences to his family. I continue to be a daydream believer, Davy, and I suspect your spirit lives on in another place, a more perfect, heavenly plane.

Thank you for allowing us, your fans, to share in the journey through your voice and talent.

A Farewell to Anne McCaffrey

In 1978, I happened by a bookstore and spotted a book cover that captured my imagination. I stood there in the shop and read the first few pages. I was hooked and even though it was a hardback by an author I'd never read before, I bought it. As I recall, I read the book in a single weekend. The book was The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey. I soon bought all her backlist and every subsequent book she released.

I was lucky enough to meet Ms. McCaffrey in person at a conference back in the 80's and got her to sign my copy of The White Dragon. There was a line behind me and I didn't want to monopolize her time (not to mention piss off the people standing behind me, some of which had pointy things in their hands—Ouch!), but I remember saying all the gushing fan girl stuff she probably heard ad nauseum during these types of events. I think I even told her how I would love to write a story one day and maybe get it published. When she finished signing the book and pushed it toward me, a million things ran through my mind that I wanted to say to her. Instead, the words, "Blessed be," popped out of my mouth, as I stepped away. That's when she truly looked at me. She smiled and said, "Thank you, and blessings to you."

Rest In Peace, Anne.
You inspired me to take hold of my dreams and make them happen.

Anne Inez McCaffrey
April 1, 1926 – November 21, 2011
The Dragon Queen flies free!

There was a memorial for Anne McCaffrey held in Second Life the other day and although I've been offline the past couple of days with internet issues, my good friend and fellow McCaffrey fan, Jan attended and was nice enough to send me the following snapshots from the memorial.



She said that everyone who was there were given actual 'keening' gestures and they all cried out in unison. A harper and a singer also performed at the memorial according to her, and then afterward everyone was invited to a dragon dance in celebration of her life.