Friday Follies: Featuring Sarah Cass

Sorry guys, I really love this pic. It's been that kind of week.

So glad to have you here today, Sarah!

Before we get started, tell us a bit about yourself. Anything about your non-writing life.

I’m the mother of 3 kids, each with special needs. I have two children with Cystic Fibrosis and one with Autism.  They are the light of my life and make my every day worth it.

Beyond that I’m a knitter, a crocheter, a sewer, a photographer, a singer and a dancer. I love all the creative arts and do whatever I can with them when I can.

I blog about it all on my personal blog: Redefining Perfect (http://redefiningperfect.com)

Summer is just about to conclude here in the Western Hemisphere, so what is the craziest thing you’ve done all summer? Did you camp out in your backyard like I did, with severe weather warnings looming about?

Unfortunately for me, this summer was pretty mild. Our truck had broken down and I had no transportation or anything like that. If you’d asked me last year I’d have plenty to tell you. I did a zip line course, I’d dyed my hair with purple highlights, I did rock climbing - I had a lot of fun last summer.

Does your family have any summer tradition, or ritual to break in the season?

Summer is the time of the neighborhood hangout.  It starts once the weather is warm enough to gather outside.  All the kids play together and the adults hang out and chat, play cornhole (bean bag toss) or euchre.  I live in the best neighborhood.

Here’s a scenario for you: Your family is just about to chillax while you’re about to dunk the turkey in the deep fryer. Moments after placing the lid on, you realize the propane tank runs empty, and you don’t have another to replace it with. Oh, and the propane store is closed because it’s a holiday, what do you do?

Cry.

LOL. I don’t handle sudden changes in plans well and I usually cry and throw a fit…THEN I get around to resolving it.  So most likely after I pitch a fit I’ll get the turkey out of the fryer fast as possible and set it up to be roasted instead.

Of course, I don’t cook turkey in a fryer so that would never actually happen. ;)

You seem to write with an avid interest in the old west; what do you find most appealing about that time frame?

Everything.  I’ve been fascinated with the old west since I first picked up the Little House series when I was four.  It started with the clothing. Oh, how I LOVE the clothing of the era. The bustles, the skirts, the corsets, the hats – I love it all.  After that I love cowboys, I’m fascinated with Native Americans, and I don’t even care that it was a dirty, smelly, dangerous time…that just adds to my love of it.

What would be the customary drink for that era, on a hot day?

Water with a touch of ginger to prevent stomach cramps, because most likely on a hot day you were working hard to put food on the table in some fashion.  During celebrations or on special occasions lemonade might be provided.

What would be your choice of drink for a real hot, and muggy day in the mid-west?

Water is the best bet. I’m truly addicted to pop, but this year I’ve made a concerted effort to drink more water and it really is best with as hot and muggy as it gets around here.

Okay, one last what if scenario. You’re at the beach, or on a cruise with that special someone in your life. You’re enjoying the peace of be child free for a few days, and are in the company of other adults. As you’re going down a water slide, you lose your bikini top, or have some kind of wardrobe malfunction along those lines. What do you do? 

I would scoop my knockers up off the ground where they scrape after 3 kids and laugh it off.

Okay, seriously, I would laugh it off, even as I covered myself up.  Truth is, though…until after a good diet or plastic surgery I doubt I’d be wearing a bikini top to lose…but I’d still manage to make a fool of myself in some other way…like falling face first into a buffet or something equally goofy. :D

Summer is one of the seasons where weather can impact everything whereas plans are concerned. What does your family do when you’re rained out?

BOARD GAMES!  I have a bunch of them, and seem to have a predilection for getting every version of Trivial Pursuit I can because I’m determined to have enough versions of the game that everyone can manage to do well. Lol.  The kids favorite is Sorry and Uno, mine is Trivial Pursuit (obviously) and Scrabble.

Tell us about your latest release. 

Derailed is the second book in my Dominion Falls Series (Dark Territory, book 3, will be out in September). 

Blurb:

The sins of a past she can’t remember could destroy a present she’ll never forget.

The crimes of her forgotten past threaten the very life Jane Doe has learned to cherish.

Jane is out of time. With a warrant on her head, a maniac out for her blood, and a secret baby on the way, something has to give.

Without Cole Mitchell's help to find the answers, there may be no hope left.

Cole has nowhere left to hide. He unwittingly let Jane into his heart, and is ready to share the secret of his dark past.

Fate has a way of playing its hand, and tragedy strikes. With the world crumbling around them, it's easy to lose faith. If they can't forgive past sins, they have no hope for the future.

Because the noose waits for no man or woman. 

Buy Links:

Secret Cravings Website -  http://bit.ly/12J4bO9

Amazon -  http://amzn.to/1ahJIu4

Barnes & Noble -  http://bit.ly/1bkEnQw

All Romance Ebooks -  http://bit.ly/170laAc

Bookstrand – http://bit.ly/1diptbG

Goodreads - http://bit.ly/14UlKhj

Excerpt:

“Jane.”

She yelped when he grabbed her wrists and yanked her close. Like a startled deer, she froze in place. Then a small gasp of air and she sagged. “I’m sorry. My head. It’s racing. I don’t know what to think.”

“First off, stop worryin’ about Graham. He ain’t sendin’ no telegram.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Sure I do. After Michael broke his nose, he shut up real fast.” Cole laughed when her jaw dropped. When the amusement started to light up her features, it warmed him all the way to his toes. “Yeah. Graham was running his mouth, and Michael beat on him. He got knocked out cold.”

“Michael?” Through her tears, a laugh escaped. “He’s half Graham’s size. Goodness, he’s barely bigger than I am. How did he do that?”

“He said something about five brothers and a mean older sister.”

She shook her head with a sigh. “That is no guarantee, Cole. He could just be biding his time until he has something to get me on. He doesn’t care for me.”

“Let me worry about Graham.” He tugged her close, shoving the papers from his lap. Once she was settled there, he smirked. “Now ya got some stuff here that you gotta go through, and it’s all reading. That should excite ya.”

“You know what, Cole? I’m not excited. The more I learn about myself, the more trouble I seem to be in. I really am at a point where I don’t care anymore.”

“That don’t sound like the Jane I know.”

She snorted. “No one knows me. Not even me.”

“Bull.”

“I’m not in the mood for arguing with you.”

“But arguin’ is what we do second best.”

“Cole.”

He grinned at the small twitch he saw at the corner of her mouth. “And much as I’d love to remind ya what we do best…I don’t think you could handle it right now.”

“Please.”

“Besides, if we got ourselves hurt again because of our…best…Daisy would be awful mad.” He chuckled when she turned away as far as she could to hide her smile. “But that ain’t ever stopped me before.”

She let out a small squeal when his hand slipped under her skirt and along her thigh. Swatting at his hand, she playfully beat at his chest when he leaned in to capture her lips.

Her lips were warm and inviting. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her touch until she was there. He pulled her close and traced the seam of her lips with his tongue. She opened up to him so fast it took his breath away, and he shifted to lay her down on the floor.

She planted her hands on his chest and pushed him back. “Wait.”

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

As I said, Dark Territory (Dominion Falls Book 3) will be out in September. Once that series is complete I’ve been contracted for a contemporary romance series set in a small town in New York State.  Each story is shorter, about 30k, and every one of them is set around a holiday, so you can expect a story from me at each major holiday for the next year.

I also have a horror short story that is supposed to be out in an anthology sometime this year, but I don’t have a release date.

I have a few other pieces in the works, but they’re all WIP’s and not contracted yet. They run the gamut from Urban Fantasy to Steampunk.

Thanks for hanging with us today!