Falling in love with Setting

By Cassandra Samuels

 When a spark of an idea comes to life there are certain aspects a story must have. Characters, of course, and a setting. It's the old question - Whose story is it and where is it set? Obviously, there are other elements that also need to be added but these two are my launching pad.

At the end of this month - pre orders available now - my 3rd book with Dragonblade will be published. Most of my stories are set in England as I write Regency Historical Romance, but this idea hit me different. In book two the catalyst of the story is that Captain Markham, friend of the hero, had lost his finger and presumably his life and therefore the hero became the guardian of the captain's ward.  

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In book 3 we find out what happened to Captain Markham. He went to Spain on a mission and went missing. At this time Spain was still rebuilding after the Napoleonic wars where Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte had taken the throne of Spain, by tricking the Spanish King into abdicating leaving the Spanish people feeling betrayed by their allies the French. England came to Spain's defense, even though they had been enemies on and off for centuries, and together the English and the Spanish ousted Joseph, installing the Spanish King, Ferdinand VII back on the throne. 

In the aftermath of all of this is when Once Upon a Reckless Rogue is set. I fell in love with the country, the customs, the food and the language. Through the power of the internet I was able to virtually travel around various towns where my book was set and see for myself how it might have been during the Regency period. It is a definite on my bucket list now that is for sure.

Not quite the right era but you can see the use of the traditional Mantilla

 The heroine of my story, Elena is the daughter of a doctor and through him learned about medicine and also herbal healing, using ingredients that grew locally and what could be sourced from Spain's colonies. I loved learning all about herbal medicine, that the Spanish got married in Black wedding dresses, not virginal white. That the Spanish national flower is the red carnation which represents romance, passion and emotions. How perfect is that?  Will I write another book set in Spain? I hope so, if the right characters and story come along how could I not?

Carnation. Photo by Stanley Vaughn on Unsplash

Have you ever read a book and just wanted to visit that place immediately? 

LOVE TO LOVE: Seeing my books in print

LOVE TO LAUGH: Silly Instagram reels - usually containing dogs, cats and toddlers

LOVE TO LEARN: About other countries and cultures.

 

Never give up on your dream to write.

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. 

 Then heartache struck.

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.

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.