Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Books is an interesting word. I tend to write shorter stories, some of which follow the same characters and end up being just as long as a normal novel when it’s all said and done. (Like A Mile High Romance)
Across my four pen names (Cassidy Coal, C. Coal, Callista Carr, and C.K. Carr) I’ve written about fifty unique short stories.
Why four pen names? Because I like to let readers know what they’re getting and my cute meet puppy love stories that don’t have a single cuss word and no more than a first kiss or two (by C. Coal) are very different from my Stripped Bare short short stories that start and end hot (by Callista Carr). Which is not to say that readers can’t enjoy both. I enjoy writing both!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release is A Mile High Romance: The Complete Collection about a sassy accountant who finds her happily ever after with her billionaire boss.
What inspired it? Hmmm….I like the thought of ending up with a billionaire as much as the next girl, but on some levels I’ve always wondered if it would really work and if I’d really fit in that kind of world. So, I set out to explore that through Sarah Baxter.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I would love to say something really interesting here, because my writer brain certainly came up with a number of interesting responses I could put. But, no, not really. I do listen to music most of the time when I’m writing. (Even if it’s only the music playing in my head.)
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Oh, wow. Which ones haven’t? I’ve been a voracious reader since I was eight. At some point in time I owned over 1,500 books. I finally got rid of about a 1,000 of them when my family started protesting each time I moved, but I think that number has crept back upward again…Oops. I tend to absorb stories and then forget the details, so I think every book I’ve ever read feeds that dark unknown at the back of my brain that helps generate stories.
What are you working on now?
Nothing. Which is probably why I have the time to fill this out! Isn’t that terrible? I’m actually trying to figure out which project to start next. Too many ideas, not enough time!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I hope the folks here don’t mind my mentioning a competitor, but I’ve found BKnights on Fiverr to be useful for freebie promotions. I choose the $5 option each time and get 500 or 600 free downloads. Seems to be worth the cost…
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t beat yourself up, just write. The words won’t be perfect in that first draft and that’s okay, but getting started is probably the hardest part, so just write without censoring yourself. And if you read it and it sucks (like the first novel I wrote), then you edit it and make it better. Don’t think you can’t write just because that first draft wasn’t Pulitzer-quality.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
No one else has to live your life, so don’t live it for them, live it for you.
(I don’t know if I specifically heard that anywhere, but it’s the mantra I’ve come to live by and what I remind myself when one of my friends is about to do something I think is really, really stupid and they haven’t asked my advice.)
What are you reading now?
I’m trying to read outside my comfort zone these days, so I’m reading the Odd Thomas books by Dean Koontz. Very good books, IMHO.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I think the next project is actually going to be a novel. Possibly in a different genre and under a different name. (Because I’m weird that way…)
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I couldn’t stop crying if that were the case. Only three or four books? I am not a re-reader, there are just so many books out there that I’ll never read all the books I want to.
This is going to be a weird choice. I read War & Peace and Anna Karenina many, many years ago and really liked them but haven’t had the guts to try to read them again. I think I’d take those because they’d take forever to read and I really have wanted to see if I still like them now. But, because I’d need a palate cleanser to turn my mind off and just have fun, maybe I ‘d take a Sophie Kinsella novel as well. And maybe a Tom Clancy or Brad Thor novel, too. Just a couple novels I know will entertain and read easy without too much brain damage. (Kind of like what I write. Haha…)
Author Websites and Profiles
Cassidy Coal Website
Cassidy Coal Amazon Profile