Switching Gears, Rebranding, and Moving Forward as an Author

Hey guys!

It's been a hot minute, hasn't it?

A lot has changed in my life the past 5 years. Who's hasn't at this point? World Wide Pandemic, mass hysteria, NETFLIX vs. YouTube streaming services! Panic in the streets over the unavailability of PS5s! Cats and Dogs living together! Twitch streamers! V-Tubers! Genetically modified plant based beef! 

I could go on.

Life is no longer what it was. In many ways, my life is so very much better than it used to be.  And so is the ability of someone to publish and advertise their own books on the internets. 

Over the past 3 years I've been studying my book sales and learning ALOT about self publishing. (I highly recommend you join the 20 books to 50k Facebook group. They're so helpful!)

During this process, I have discovered a few things. 

1.My horror writing is more urban fantasy and paranormal romance, than it is true horror. It took me a bit to accept that. I mean, my WHOLE THING has always been spooky, gore-filled, screaming death, right? Right? Wrong.

When your readers leave reviews like "these horror stories have heart," and "there's a satisfying love story in your vampire book", you have to start paying attention! These are things that people enjoy about my writing. I am going to nurture those aspects. 

2. I'm pretty damn good at writing other genres. And while I absolutely adore horror films, I read more urban fantasy than anything else, on average. I know the tropes. I know the clichés. I am the tall lanky cantankerous wizard in the beat up mismatched VW bug prowling the streets of Chicago. 

Well, that last part not so much, but, I love Dresden Files. So there's that. 

Anyhoo, I've been thinking about things...a lot. 

It's time to move forward. Embrace the better selling genres that I know inside and out, and add my own spin to that crazy wheel of monster love. 

Meaning, I have decided to write one dark paranormal romance vampire trilogy as Cassie Carnage, and I will also be taking up new pen names for the other urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres.  

Why? Because they sell more, and at this time I believe they are easier to break into. The data shows there's more readers to reach.

My goal is to produce as many books in the next 2 years as humanly possible. My goal is 24 books. 12 urban fantasy, 12 paranormal romance, mainly werewolf shifter stuff or the vampire love bites stuff. 

I will on occasion share those books here. I'm sure some of you would be interested. 

Even if you're a dude, I won't judge. Men secretly love shifter + vampire flings. We all know the truth. It's OK. You don't have to hide it. 

I would like to say, I am not abandoning my horror roots. I will be writing horror, but not as a main way to earn an income. It will be fun side projects I do when my brain needs to dump out some creepy shit.

Speaking of creepy shit, I want my fans to know that I am finishing the sea monster trilogy that I started back in 2017. 

The Caddis Initiative ecohorror series has been rebranded as the Screaming Seas Trilogy. I am currently writing Death Tide, book 2, which picks right back up after the last page of The Seas Are Screaming. It ended on a cliff hanger. I own that. I meant to follow up with a sequel shortly after but ended up having a baby instead. And then I had another. So..yeah...

I love my daughter. And my son. And now that I have unlocked the MOM ACHIEVEMENT on my old dusty XBOX I can finish what I started, and excel where I know my talents truly lie, spinning hope-filled supernatural yarns. 

My new pen names will have FB groups and newsletters (if you sign up you will get free books, so I will be sharing that info with you when the time comes!) And I will be focusing most of my time on building their book catalogs on Amazon and other websites. I will occasionally share what I am doing in the other genres on here, as time allows. 

Thanks for sticking with me for all these years. Sorry for being silent while my life and the world went to hell. But, I'm here for the long haul. 

Movie reviews will resume in the future. I watch a lot of horror on my phone now...honestly, if you asked me to watch a film like that 10 years ago I'd have laughed in your face and told you to fuck off. 

Kids man. They change things. They change you. For the better, I might add. 

Anyway, keep up the hope, eyes on the prize, move forward not back, and don't let your past define you. 

That's what I'm doing. See you on the flipside,

Cassie