Interview with Cassie Mae!

Cassie Mae is an absolutely brilliant writer I came across a few weeks ago through her group blog, Falling For Fiction. She has a great writing style and does an amazing job bringing humor to just about any situation! She has a sparkling personality that really shines through in her writing. Anyway, I am honored to host CASSIE MAE of readingwritingandlovinit.blogspot.com as well as falling4fiction.blogspot.com. So, read on and then check out her blog if you've aren't already one of her 500+ followers!

First, BIG THANK YOU AND CHEST BUMPS to Anne Marie for having me over :) I hope I don’t scare away all your followers ;)

Ok, so if anyone has read your bio, or any of your blog, they might know you kind of like Harry Potter just a little bit=) How old were you when you read HP for the first time? Do you remember any of your thoughts while reading? What kind of impact (if any) did Harry Potter have on your writing?

Oh, I love this interview already :) Gosh, how old was I in 2001? Um… 13 or 14, haha. So that’s when I first read it. I picked it up after I saw the first movie. (Which I saw in the theater 12 times ;)) All I remember while reading it, because I read them so fast was “this is pretty much the best thing ever!” And I sort of wanted to marry Ron.

I think the only impact HP really had though on my writing was being part of my inspiration for HOW TO DATE A NERD. I got the idea from playing HP Scene It for four hours straight… by myself, haha!

Lol, awesome sauce! Actually, I liked Ron so much that my cousin "code-named" my first crush Ron Weasly=)

And I have to know-- who is your favorite HP character and why?

It’s a tie between Ron and Luna. Ron is so awesome at being himself and saying whatever he thinks, yet he has all these worries and insecurities just like everyone else. I sort of love him. And Luna is so wonderfully weird. She reminds me a bit of myself. ;)

 Oh, goodness, I love Luna! I think I would totally wear radish earrings if I had them. Despite her quirks, she is a really insightful character.

You first started writing when you were a "20 year old new mommy." If at all, how has your writing style changed since then? What are some important writing lessons you've learned since then?

Goodness, I think I need to change my bio. Cuz that’s not exactly accurate, lol. I contemplated writing when I turned 20, but didn’t actually write anything until I was 23 (so two years ago, in case you aren’t keeping up with all the math of my age, haha!) When I finally took the dive into writing I had NO CLUE what I was doing. My first book is crap. I mean it. It sucks so so bad. It wasn’t until I started blogging and doing some major research and most importantly GETTING CRITIQUE PARTNERS that I learned my writing style and felt comfortable with the words I put down. ;)

What would we do if you hadn't taken the dive?! My first attempt at a novel was totally horrible, but if it wasn't for that novel, I never would have known how exhilarating it felt to write.

What are some "joys and sorrows" of being a writing mother?

I think it’s actually the best thing ever. I can’t even imagine those full-time job-ers and parents and writers. Um, agh! LOL. I get to pull out my computer whenever the kids are “napping”, or when they go to bed at 8:00 every night. Though, I’m sure things will change once baby number 3 pops out. But it’s nice to know I can write, even when it’s all in my head while I’m doing the dishes or changing diapers, whenever I want.

It is totally awesome that you are able to be with your kids and still be able to write as much as you do. Congrats on baby-the-third! That's wonderful!

You just not only completed but WON NaNoWriMo 2012 a little over a month ago with 57,124 words. That is a pretty amazing feat! What is your Nano novel about?

I actually wrote 2 novels during NaNo, but only recorded the one I worked on with the amazingly talented Kelley Lynn. :) It’s about two teens whose schedules are so packed, but end up working together and being in the school play. And when their onstage romance turns into something a little bit more, they wonder if they have time for a high school relationship. Right now it’s with our agents and about to go out on sub! So wahoo! :D

Oooooh, sounds exciting! You have me hooked!

You are a contributer to a totally awesome blog-- Falling For Fiction. How did you get involved with FFF?

Um, it’s going to come off arrogant as crap, haha! I actually founded the blog with my critique partners. I wrote a blog post about my cps on my blog and at the time, they didn’t really know each other. But I included them all in the email asking permission to use notes they wrote in my manuscripts. And that lovely “reply all” button turned those emails into this huge email chain of us basically making really lame jokes we thought were the funniest things ever, and it was the best conversation I’ve had with any of my writer buds. I created a group email for us all and all my critique partners became each other’s critique partners. One day we decided we wanted to start a blog together to help lift other writers the way we lift each other. And BAM! FFF was born :)

 That is so awesome that you are able to share the inspiration you all give each other with the rest of the writing world!

What was the best book you read in 2012 and why?

Oh no. I can’t possibly choose! There’s WAY too many. Night Sky by Jolene Perry is one I’ve read like a million times this year. And Blindsided by Kyra Lennon. Measuring Up by Nyrae Dawn. Any book from Elizabeth Scott (because I picked up everything she’s written any chance I got, lol) Oh, and like, all my critique partners’ books. Pretty much anything with a super adorable male lead and really great kissing scenes!

Haha, I'm with you!

And, last but certainly not least, what is your favorite kind of cheesecake?=)

Junior Mint Cheesecake. It’s like, the ultimate foodgasm :)

Thanks so much to CASSIE MAE for allowing me to interview her!! Everyone, check out her blogs!