This post is part of my series to introduce the main characters of Ocean Heart and reveal what my editor said about them.
The next character in my Behind The Character series is nemesis and love interest two, Murray.
Ocean Heart: Murray O’Neil
Role in Ocean Heart: Antagonist/Love Interest (Murray doesn’t make the best first impression but… well, there’s a little “enemies to lovers”)
Murray O’Neil
Murray loves sports, but top of the list is swimming. He is on the school team and the best in the school… until that little redhead turns up at practice.
Murray’s second love is girls. A simple smile and they’re all over him and filling his insta feed. But, he isn’t looking for anything serious. He’s young, having fun, and moving on fast.
Murray is close with his family. He helps his dad care for their boat, helps out in his mum’s cafe, and keeps a close eye on his little sister, Kiely.
Murray is an overprotective big brother. He’s successfully warned off any potential boyfriends, until Jace.
Murray oozes confidence and has many friends, but if he had to pick one… it’d be Aero. Aero is the family’s dog and Murray’s early morning running companion.
What my editor said…
My editor was swooning for Murray which made me so happy. Murray is full of confidence but she did highlight occasions where Murray needed to reel it in, amp it up, and I added evidence of his player reputation.
My plan was to sign up via Expresso Tour for a Net Galley ARC release during November. I wrote the email and then chaos with kids happened, and I didn’t click send.
When I realised my mistake, I emailed Giselle. Unfortunately, November was booked up and her easiest space was after Dec. This was no good to me as I wanted to spread the word of my upcoming release.
Giselle then told me about a Book Blitz. It sounded perfect. Anyone, interested in Ocean Heart can sign up and spread the word during the first week of Nov.
Keep your eyes peeled for blogs showcasing Ocean Heart. I’ll be sharing them to my Instagram stories and Twitter so you don’t miss out.
This post is part of my series to introduce the main characters of Ocean Heart to you and what my editor said.
When you read Ocean Heart you’ll wonder how the story ever worked without best friend Ana, but she wasn’t in several first drafts! I love her so much, I want to create a spin off novel from my series, for Ana.
Anastasia Drake
Role in Ocean Heart: Confidant (Best Friend to MC)
She often goes by the name Ana. Her name was chosen by her mum who died shortly after childbirth. Her dad won’t speak about it but says she looks a lot like her.
Ana isn’t close to her dad. He works a lot and she spent her early years with childminders and in boarding school… until she got expelled, from them all.
Ana is trying hard to keep out of trouble at her new school and has avoided making any close friends until she sees Mariah. Mariah looks as lonely as she feels, so she invites her to come swimming.
Ana comes across happy and bubbly but behind the smiles and makeup is she a dark secret. Her step mum tries to help her by finding an amazing doctor, but meds and treatment aren’t working. Ana needs something more potent, unique… Ana needs magic.
Ana is crushing on the swim coach. In her spare time she is creative. She loves fashion, taking pictures and creating animations on her computer.
What my editor said…
My editor really enjoyed Ana. She pointed out occasions where I was so focused on Mariah’s plot, she was rude to Ana. That was not my intention, so thanks to her feedback I got fixing that. Ana is the BFF we all want.
I can’t believe I’m finally at this point where I can share this excellent news!
Ocean Heart is available everywhere!
eBook
If you enjoy reading on an electronic device you’ll be pleased to know you can read Ocean Heart. PreOrder it for Kindle, iBooks, Kobo or Google Play. Many of these have free apps so you can also read on a Smart Phone.
Traditional brick & mortar shops can stock Ocean Heart. They choose what to order for their shelves. This is a great way to support your local bookstores.
If you can’t see it on the shelf, you can request they order it in. They’ll be able to find it in the Ingram Sparks catalogue, but to make it easier for them share the ISBN below.
My local bookstore Stillwater Books has agreed to a non-contact book signing. You can preorder Ocean Heart through them, I’ll pop in and sign it. They will then deliver it to your doorstep in Felixstowe (or surrounding areas).
Library
The next challenge will be to get it into libraries so it can be accessible to everyone.
This post is part of my series to introduce the main characters of Ocean Heart to you and what my editor said.
The next character to make an appearance is neighbour, best friend, and love interest, Jace Walker.
Ocean Heart: Jace Walker
Role in Ocean Heart: Confidant/Love Interest (As Mariah’s long time BFF she can tell him anything … well, almost anything .)
Jace Walker
Jace is really close to his mum. It’s been just the two of them, his dad left before he was born.
He’s dreaming of heading off to uni, and wants his mum to have someone before he goes.
He loves seeing her with her fiancé but when they decide to move he knows his neighbour Mariah will find this hard. Jace also knows he needs to encourage Mariah to not be so dependent on her.
What my editor said…
My editor pointed out how Jace and Mariah have a friendship through convenience. With no interests to hold them together, Jace doesn’t try that hard to stay in touch.
My editor suggested adding in some shared interests but this is a fundamental problem with their relationship. Their more like brother & sister, until hormones complicate things.
What genre is Agent Undone and can you name any similar books?
Agent: Undone is a dark romance/romantic suspense novel with very adult themes. Books similar to this one would be the McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series by April Wilson, The Salvation Series by Corinne Michaels and The Broken Trilogy by J. L. Drake. They all have protective, slightly growly men and strong, independent women as their main characters.
The novel has two main characters, Carter & Maddison. Can you briefly introduce them?
Carter Hollis is a DEA Agent who has been forced to take medical leave after being shot in the leg during a mission. After his girlfriend and colleague died in his arms during an op, he couldn’t face being in a relationship again, so he became a ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ kind of guy. He’s always upfront about his intentions with every woman he meets and tries to not leave a string of broken hearts in his wake. He needs to focus on his work and doesn’t need a woman in his life for anything more than a bit of fun between the sheets whenever he’s off duty.
Madison Wells is living a quiet life in Florida, working from her little rented beach cottage and not allowing anyone close enough to see the deep cracks in her soul. She carries her secrets underneath a new identity and hides her fears of her past catching up with her behind an enigmatic smile and a well constructed armour. She doesn’t have friends, only people she says hello to in the tiny village nearby. Her days are spent on early morning runs on the beach, working on her writing and jumping at shadows.
Maddison has an ex from hell that she’s lucky to be free from. Not many people talk about trafficking and domestic abuse. Was it challenging writing about a such a difficult topic?
Trafficking and abuse are some of the worst crimes in our society, and they need to be brought out and examined in the cold light of day. In so many abusive situations, the victim is made to feel they are to blame for what is happening to them. They are stripped of their confidence, isolated from any outside support and made to depend on their abuser for everything. It’s incredibly hard for them to break free and escape their situation, and once they do the support available is often short term and run on shoestring budgets. I did a lot of research into domestic abuse and I was horrified when reading the women’s (and a couple of men) stories as they described their journey from being outgoing, confident, and in love, to an unrecognisable shell of their former selves. It’s a long, slow transformation that happens so gradually they don’t realise it before it’s too late. As much as I wanted to bring the subject into the book, I was also very wary of either trivialising or sensationalising it as it would be insulting to anyone who has ever suffered from abuse. The sex trafficking part was also emotionally hard to research and very complex, which is why I didn’t go into too many details and kept it to a more general description. We all know it happens and we all want it to stop, but as long as there are people who think others are there to be used as a commodity, and people who want to buy that commodity, it will always be an incredibly difficult trade to put a stop to. My heart breaks for anyone who has been put through it and for the families who lose a loved one in such a way. Many victims are never found which leaves parents, siblings and friends without closure and always wondering if they are still out there somewhere.
Carter has lost Mira and now uses women for a good time rather than to develop a meaningful connection. How did you rap into those complex emotions when developing his character?
Carter was both fun and interesting to create. I tried to visualise how a person would react if they didn’t deal with their grief properly after losing someone the way Carter lost Mira, and instead protected themselves from the risk of having to go through it again by pretending they didn’t want or need a deeper connection with a partner. I think we would all want to shield ourselves from heartache if the one we loved passed away. Some of us would go through all the classical stages of grief and eventually come out the other side, battered and bruised, but still open to finding someone new if the opportunity arose. Others would finish the grieving process but not feel the need for that kind of relationship again, and some would yearn for the love but be too afraid to have their heart broken again. The process of grief and loss is very individual and everyone tries to cope the best way they know how. Carter wants to fall in love and have that special someone in his life, but has convinced himself he’s not capable of it and only needs sexual gratification whenever his body demands it. I wanted him to come across as the stereotypical male who only wants one thing from women, while at the same time give glimpses into the fear and longing inside his heart. I promise, he’s not as bad as you might think when you first meet him.
You seem to have a style of writing novels with a dual perspective, one male, one female? Can we look forward to more of this?
I like writing from a dual perspective as I feel the reader gets a more three-dimensional insight into the characters. It allows me to develop the story from different levels and emotional angles, and the reader gets to know things about the characters they don’t know yet themselves. It lets the reader in on the secrets and builds a connection between them and the characters. It’s something I personally enjoy in the books I read and it’s a little like getting two stories woven into one whole.
The setting sounds beautiful. Have you been there or did you do a lot of research?
The story is set in the Florida panhandle and in Seattle, but I haven’t been to either of them so a lot of research was necessary. I’m on very friendly terms with Google Earth, Maps and Streetview. They are an absolute godsend for seeing how places look from lots of different angles. It’s also great fun to find new and interesting places to learn about and try to visualise as if you’ve actually been there. Quite often, I draw from memories of my own travels to try to create a picture of the sights, sounds and smells of the place I want to describe. After all, a sunny beach in Australia or Mexico is not going to be too different from one in Florida. Seattle was slightly more difficult, but as I didn’t need the characters to move around much, it wasn’t too hard to just get a feel for the city using the internet. The weather is also not too dissimilar to that here in the UK or even in Sweden where I grew up, so adding a lot of rain and grey skies was easy.
Please share a short snippet or teaser from Agent Undone?
“Before I forget, I might not make it for our run tomorrow morning.” Carter said with an embarrassed wince.
“Oh?” The tiny sound popped free from her mouth. “Are you going somewhere?”
“No, I’m not. My friend, Nathan, the guy who owns the beach house, is coming down today, and we’re going for a couple of drinks tonight at the bar.”
“And you might be too hungover tomorrow to go running? I get it. I suppose there might be a girl or two involved in that scenario as well?” Madison teased him, but he noticed a strained undertone in her words. It warmed his belly and made his chest feel light.
“Nope, no girls. Not for me, anyway. As soon as my leg has healed up, I’ll be on my way back to Virginia and my job. I don’t want to get tangled up with a woman that I must extricate myself from. Too many complications.” Damn, he was so lying to her — and himself. He just didn’t want her to think he was hooking up with other women while he was seeing her. Wait. Hold up. He was not seeing Madison. They were running buddies. Friends. Acquaintances. That’s all.
Carter tried to silence the annoying little voice in his head that was whispering the word liar very loudly.
“Well, if you need a hangover cure in the morning, give me a call and I’ll whip one up for you. I’ll even make one for your friend.” She snickered.
“If you have a hangover cure that actually works, Nate will worship you forever. He will also badger you for the recipe until you relent and give him what he wants. He’ll probably offer marriage and babies in return. You’ve been warned.” A deep laugh rumbled in Carter’s chest.
“No way, I’m not giving anyone that recipe, and for your information it does work. Or, at least it did on—“ Madison stopped abruptly and her lips pressed into a thin line. Carter knew that look.
Where can we find out more and buy your books?
There’s more information on Agent: Undone, including a video trailer made by the amazing J. D. Groom, and my other two books, on my website: cassidyreyne.comYou can purchase the books from Amazon and they are also available in Kindle Unlimited.
I’m going to do a series of posts to introduce the main characters of Ocean Heart to you and what my editor said.
It only seems right to start with Mariah, after all she is the main character…
Ocean Heart: Mariah Turner
Role in Ocean Heart: Protagonist (Main Character)
Mariah Turner
Mariah has always felt like she doesn’t fit in and relies a lot on her best friend Jace to carry her in social situations.
Mariah lives with Gwyn, her eccentric mum who predicts the future and insists on casting spells, mostly to control Mariah.
Next door are the Walker’s and her best friend Jace. Born only days apart, Mariah can’t remember a day without him.
Mariah is secretly crushing on Jace. She’s terrified of loosing him and will do anything to get him to see her, not only as a friend.
Mariah longs to swim but can’t. She has a rare condition that causes her skin to breakout in a strange rash. She must always wear her allergy bracelet.
What my editor said…
Avery McDougall had the following to say about Mariah in the Developmental Report.
The report gave me suggestions to improve the character but it was the first time I got to see her described by someone else…
The best way to explain Swoon Reads is as a public querying platform where readers influence agents on what to publish. The agents behind of this site are from MacMillan Publishing.
Swoon Reads publishes under Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan.
Writers: The platform was initially for YA Manuscripts only but now also accepts NA. The MS must be the writers original work and posted as an exclusive query to Swoon Reads for at least 6 months. One uploaded, it cannot be edited – that would be a new submission.
Readers: Site members read Manuscripts that appeal to them. They can comment to give the writer feedback with ideas for improvement or how much they loved it! Readers rate stories.
My History
Back in January 2014, I uploaded a copy of Drift to Swoon Reads. Drift was first drafted in Dec 2009, so I’d spent about 3 years working on it and thought it was ready to be queried.
The idea of readers choosing my book really appealed. At first, I got lots of positive ratings and excitedly awaited an agent to notice… and, I waited… and, I waited… and, after 6 months I returned to the traditional query trenches.
As you know, Drift has changed a lot in the last 10 years.
Was 24 chapters, then 36 chapters, now 30 chapters
Prologue cut
Merged with book 2
Changed character names
Given Ana (formerly Annie) a bigger role
Added a full mermaid shift
Added an epic battle
Changed the ending
Professional edit (twice) plus the countless self edits
Renamed as Ocean Heart
I uploaded Drift to Swoon Reads in January 2013. I got quite a few votes which moved my book into the top three most voted at the time. I thought this was pretty impressive as I didn’t have a huge social circle and my social media was limited to who I knew in real life, and I was too shy to tell them to go read my novel.
Despite the attention I got from readers, the agents never showed any interest. I don’t even know if they read it. But, the books they chose were always well deserving brilliant stories.
Moving on
After 6 months, you are free to leave your book on their site in hopes an agent will stumble across it and fall in love. I saw no harm in doing this.
I then queried and pitched other literary agents and publishers. I entered competitions. I did everything I could think to get my MS in their hands. Until, I realised, I could self publish.
This year, I’ve been working hard towards self publishing and in August, I got a strange message on Tumblr. They claimed to be a publisher that had seen ‘Drift’ on Swoon Reads and were interested.
Hmm…
One reason to Self Publish is there are lots of con artists about. Most reputable agents or publishers are so busy with manuscripts sent directly to them that they are not crawling the web looking for authors. They certainly wouldn’t use another publishers platform to poach authors.
I ignore them but it did remind me that my book is on Swoon Reads. I began to panic about their rules and if it’d affect my self publishing- eek.
They are a publisher that have built a good reputation for themselves so I hoped when I explained the situation they’d take my book down quickly. I explained:
Drift was uploaded in 2013
I’m self publishing but…
It has been edited a lot (characters names and plot changes)
Has a new title – Ocean Heart
Has a new cover
It was anxious for their reply. When I heard nothing I logged on and found it was gone. I’m no longer an author on Swoon Reads.
Comments
Readers can make comments on stories to encourage you or help the writer develop. Swoon Reads does warn writers to save these before taking an MS down otherwise they’ll be lost. I took screenshots. Here they are:
There will be, but book 2 is from Kiely’s perspective and much darker.
Tarot has done a great job of summarising Mariah (aka Lily) first love. Yes, I’m going to indulge you in a whole series based in the world of shifters.
Thanks Mike – met on WeBook a writing platform that no longer exists but where Drift was first posted online!
Mike, it’s evolved more! It’s got even better! No longer a twinge of magic, there’s even an epic battle.
I love comments like this. ?
Yay! Thank you x
You’ll be pleased to know that prologue is long gone. Lol ?
Thank you so much Debbie, I’m glad you loved my twist on magic.
Wow! This makes me want to happy dance.
Hopefully you won’t have to wait much longer as I’m working on Sky Heart (book 2) for 2021.
Thanks Anni. I’m working hard to make sure book 2 is just as awesome.
Do I recommend Swoon Reads?
Yeah. It’s been a positive experience for me. I didn’t get published but I did get useful feedback and encouragement from readers.
Ocean Heart
Drift has evolved and transformed into Ocean Heart. The comments above are by readers of the 2013 version.
These comments make me so happy. Whenever I get nervous about putting Ocean Heart out into the big bad world, these readers sweet words make me feel braver.
Soul Heart Readers
I’ve created a Facebook group for my Street Team, basically my first fans.
They’ll be first to hear how Ocean Heart is coming along, be offered ARCs and to be part of my virtual book tour, plus more…
If this is something you’d like to be part of, come join us in the Soul Heart Readers Facebook Group.
I was so fortunate to be part of Sarah Sutton’s Street Team. I got an ARC copy of Out Of My League which I loved and had no idea she was going to surprise me with this…
A Bookish Surprise
Check out my YouTube video where I open this gorgeous gift from Sarah. Now I have a real copy of Out Of My League! And, a good reason to buy What Are Friends For?
Thank you for agreeing to a Behind the Book interview about your novel Out Of My League. I was so lucky to be one of you ARC readers and became a fan.
Blurb: Out Of My League
Out Of My League is the second book you published. Was it easier launching book two?
Yes and no. I wasn’t as nervous for this book (though I was still pretty anxious about it!) mostly because the process wasn’t so unknown anymore. However, there were a few glitches with this book in the publication process that were difficult to figure out. It was a give and take, for sure!
This romance is a ‘pretend boyfriend’ romance. Have you ever fake dated?
I haven’t, which is probably a good thing! I most likely would’ve ruined the fake relationship on day one.
Out Of My League is centred around a highschool baseball team. Were you into sports at highschool?
Ooh, not at all. I’m the stereotypical character who always manages to get hit in the face by a basketball or something. Sports and I did not click, but that did open so much more time to work on my writing!
I love your YouTube channel. For my readers can you share a little what it’s about?
Thank you! I started a YouTube channel back in April, and I’m sharing all of the things I learned about the self-publishing process and my experiences with it, as well as talking about writing. With Camp NaNoWriMo coming up, my writing vlogs are coming back, and I’m so excited!
Have you got any tips for budding Author Tubers or Book Tubers?
Make the content that you love. Numbers may not grow fast at first, but if you’re loving the content you’re making, that’s all that matters.
I’m guessing you are a romance fan. What’s you favourite romance novel?
Ooh, this is a hard one! I really, really loved Kasie West’s The Fill-In Boyfriend, which, funnily enough, is another fake relationship romance! P.S. I Like You, also by Kasie, was also very sweet!
Please share a snippet of your story, Out Of My League?
Walsh stood on the other side of the door with his blond eyebrows high up on his forehead. “Nice to see you, too?” “What are you doing here?” I was ten kinds of disoriented, staring at his figure standing against the fading sky. Did I conjure him from my thoughts? “Why aren’t you at the bay? Aren’t the fireworks starting soon?” “I didn’t go,” he told me, slipping his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “What? What do you mean you didn’t go? Where have you been for the past few hours, then?” Walsh reached a hand out to me, palm up. “I can show you.” As enticing as his words were, I hesitated, glancing at the picture on the wall as if somehow my parents could see me through it. “I can’t leave the house.” “Your house,” he said, eyes vivid with energy, “or your yard?” Uh. “What?” Walsh grabbed my hand and led me out onto my front porch, then down the two steps. “Close your eyes,” he commanded, his other hand coming around to my other shoulder to guide me. “I promise I won’t let you trip over anything.” “Walsh—” “Shh. Just say ‘yes, Walsh’ and close your eyes.” I gritted my teeth but relented, swaying as my vision filled with black. “I hate surprises.” Walsh pressed firmer against my side, his chest touching my shoulder, a smile in his voice. “I think you’ll like this one.” Grass crunched beneath my bare toes as he moved me along, but I remained a good sport and kept my eyes sealed. Though it was silly, my heart started to beat faster, the anticipation making me nervous. His hands that curved over my shoulders were gentle, the pressure steady, his body close enough behind me that I could practically feel his proximity. “Relax,” Walsh said, guiding me to a halt. “Your shoulders are so tense. I’m not about to kill you and stuff you in my trunk.” “Your trunk’s huge. You seriously think you’d have to stuff me into it?” Walsh was close enough that I could feel him chuckle. “Can I open my eyes now?” Walsh hesitated for a moment before he let go entirely. “Yes.”
Where can we go to discover more and buy Out Of My League?
Out of My League is available on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo books! I’ll leave a universal link for easy access to any platform! https://books2read.com/u/b55yOw
