By Cassandra Samuels
As I write this I am only two months away from a dream of mine coming true. I am having a whole series published by Dragonblade Publishing. A publishing house that is dedicated to all things Historical Romance.
To understand how this came about I have to go back - way back. I had my first novel was published in 2014 and my second in 2017. It was an amazing time but the publisher was starting to go another way and in the end I asked for my rights back. Though it was a hard decision at the time because they were amazing to work with, I know now it was the right thing to do.
I continued to write even though I wasn't really sure what I would do with these manuscripts once I had them back, but I had options and that was the main thing.
The death of my granddaughter not yet two at the time cracked my world and that of my family, wide open. I stopped writing although with the encouragement of my crit partners I continued to support them and they me through this time. Eventually, after a long hiatus I announced that I thought I was ready to write again. Yay!
But something was different. It was me. I was different. It took me a while to find my voice again but even that was not quite the same. I felt I had lost that carefree side of me. I was more serious, more focused.
On a whim and perhaps an overly optimistic sense of needing to get back on the h orse, I submitted to Dragonblade Publishing. They were willing to take me on, but one book was not going to cut it. They wanted a series. So I sent them a series book proposal for four books and they accepted.
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| Released 16th January 2026 - Cover by Dar Albert. |
Party time, until....it was time to write. I only had one book in the series already done so I would have to work really hard to write three more books to various deadlines. I had never written to a deadline before and it was a test of my dedication, organization skills and my focus on making this dream into a career.
A deadline tests you:
- You have to commit to writing when you really want to watch Netflix.
- You have to write even when you have done a full day at the paid job and you are just dog tired.
- You have to try and write even when you are not feeling the best.
- You have a contract and a date that you have to meet.
When you are a pantser who is used writing a book and then selling it, as was the way with my previous publisher, it was a wake up call.
I am now nearing the end of book three and already thinking about book four and I have learned a few things:
- I can write more than 500 words in a sitting.
- I can keep myself on track - most of the time.
- I can schedule my writing time and stick to it.
So, if you want to write, then do it. Test yourself. Explore different ways of writing until you find the one that fits. Most of all - never give up on your dream to write.
Love to Love: That book One in the Spies Like Us series - Once Upon a Wicked Wager will be released on the 16th of January. Just before the new Bridgerton Series comes back on Netflix.
Love to Laugh: At my dogs Buddy and Jett playing together.
Love to Learn: New ways to stretch my imagination muscles.
