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We are writers mainly from Australia and New Zealand who write speculative fiction with romantic elements. Be it fantasy, paranormal, dark urban fantasy, futuristic and everything in between.

Saturday 17 May 2014

Enchanted Orb with Cassandra L Shaw

Enchanted Orb is all about inspiration and today we have Cassandra L Shaw talking about the inspiration behind her latest book, Grave Robber for Hire.

Welcome Cassandra...


I’m not sure anything really inspired me to write but I always had stories inside me that I knew I’d enjoy telling.  My first writing attempt was close to three decades ago. I tried to (stress tried) to write what I know now is category romance. I had note pads, pens and my parents owned an old manual typewriter (yes it was the era of typewriter still) so I thought I was set—I mean what more can a writer need? Wasn’t imagination and a typewriter enough?

Hell, even Snoopy was writing a story in Peanuts.

I had a great time writing several stories and thought I’d written gold, until I read them back. When you are laughing at your own work for the wrong reasons you catch on that maybe your writing wasn’t up to speed. My stories were so bad I threw then into the bin and decided I would never make a writer even though I had imagination and a typewriter.

Time marched on as it does and suddenly I found myself for the first time without something to study, something to renovate, or a job. And although I gardened and read I was bored out of my brain.

When my daughter was twelve she wanted to read Twilight. I thought mmm, vampires stories are usually full of horror and sex I better read this and check it out before I let her read it.

After reading Twilight I looked at the simple style of writing and thought maybe I could write a story after all. I cracked open my rarely used laptop and started to write.

My goal was to finish a story with enough words to be considered a novel. I wasn’t sure I had a whole novel inside me. Two – three months later I had a long winded 170K manuscript full of scenes that went nowhere, poor writing, and clichés by the dozens but I had achieved what I wanted—to finish a story.

What hit me while writing this story was that I really loved writing and couldn’t wait to write another story and another.

So in a way I suppose Twilight inspired me to write!

Discovering my love of writing was quite a revelation. I also quickly realised my craft was poor so spent time hunting out courses and used that original MS as my learning tool. My original script changed so much over twelve months you would never recognise it from what it had morphed from, although the characters names remained the same. This story will probably never see the printed page but I have fond memories of using it as my apprenticeship. I think I rewrote it about forty times.

One of things I discovered along the way is what a wonderful bunch in general romance writers are. Many inspired me to try harder and to keep writing to find my own individual voice.

I’ve written other stories and started several more but I suppose we all hit a story that just flows so fast on the page with characters who resonate with you. Grave Robber for Hire was one of those stories for me.

The inspiration to pursue how I saw the story came when I read the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. This showed me that as a writer you can break some rules and just tell your story. So I did.

Grave Robber for Hire came to me first when I was half asleep (The normal time I get ideas for stories) I saw the heroine Angel, shovel in hand standing beside a half dug out grave with a male guardian angel at her side.

I then decided a real grave robber wasn’t the nicest person to have as a heroine so I made her a psychic who uses her ability to rob graves more in metaphorical sense.

From there, I just let the story tell itself.




Blurb and Buy links for Grave Robber for Hire.


Grave Robber for Hire
Reasonable rates
Do Family legends hint at lost family treasures?
Have writing from ancestors I can use to jump-time?
Call me: Angel Meyers

No psychic readings or ghost exorcisms (that’s not my gig)

Angel Meyers loves cheesecake and hot men, possesses I-catch-cute-guys cleavage, and is the only person she knows with her gift. Her talent for touching handwritten documents and connecting with the mind of the writer, dead or alive, lets her delve into the past and locate lost family treasure for her clients.

When she’s hired to locate a Rembrandt lost one hundred and fifty years ago, Angel sees a whole bundle of dollar signs. If she finds the painting, her fee would be enough to buy her much dreamed of animal rescue farm.

There’s just one tricky bit, when she touches the writing of Clyde Owen Jones, the last man to know the painting’s whereabouts, Angel feels a malevolence coming off the pages and realizes Clyde was pure evil.

 But the evil doesn’t remain with the dead, it’s here now, and it wants the same thing Angel does—the Rembrandt and maybe her soul.

Can Tyreal the Private Investigator Angel found too hot not to hire and Viggo her guardian angel, protect her from herself and Hell’s evil?

Grave Robber for Hire is available on: www.tinyurl.com/mqzh87a

A little bit about Cassandra’s L Shaw:

Cassandra L Shaw was a child of passion who prayed she was secretly Dr. Dolittle. She loved all animals and bugs with a fierce devotion that has carried into her writing. Most of her stories be they paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, or suspense have humorous roles for her character’s pets. These pets are often named after her own beloved dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens, ducks and birds. Tina, Tit Tit, Bones, Willow, Falcor, and Asha are already in her first book, and there will be more, she’s pinky promised her pets immortality so they will have it!

With a passion for fashion, Cassandra’s fun quirky female characters like to wear Goth one day, fifties dresses the next, or imaginary witch capes and wands. Her hot, muscled male characters wear tight clothes to best show off their … err … attributes.

Hey, what's a hero and romantic lead if he isn’t hot??

If you don’t like having a giggle while Cassandra's heroes and heroines fight evil and other bad guys, discover themselves, eat well, and enjoy a good taste of life, lust, and love then Cassandra’s stories aren’t for you.

At home on her small farm in Queensland Australia, demons, monsters, aliens, futuristic worlds, sexy men, and hot sex scenes nestle happily amongst the housework Cassandra pretends doesn’t need doing.

Cobwebs are soooooo chic, her family think so too. HONEST.

Where to connect with Cassandra: Website | Facebook |









4 comments:

  1. Sound like agreat story. Your heroine looks as though she is going to have her hands full.

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  2. So glad you refound your love for writing, Cassandra. Love the premise of Graverobber for Hire! On the 'to read' list...

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  3. Sounds like a hoot, Cassandra!

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  4. This is great story Cassandra and I'm glad there is more to tell. I also like the cover, When I read it tha tis how I picture Angel now.

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