Heart Note and Chocolate Truffle Kiss now in Kindle Unlimited!

Ho! Ho! Ho! I’m feeling merry, so I decided to get into the holiday spirit early and enrol two of my ebook titles in Kindle Unlimited, just in time for Christmas. Heart Note and Chocolate Truffle Kiss are my two shorter romcom titles sure to leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling…

Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella

A laugh out loud romantic comedy Christmas novella, perfect for fans of Love Actually . . . from the award-winning author of Girl on a Plane.

Love is like a fine perfume. The top note draws you in, an instant attraction, but the Heart Note is the true essence. Like true love – a great perfume should be a woman’s perfect match.

At least, that’s what perfume counter manager, Lily Lucas, tells her customers in one of Australia’s largest department stores.

It’s almost Christmas, the store is bedecked with baubles and Lily has about eleventy billion gifts to wrap and sell. She and her team of spritzer chicks are glamorous, professional and hoping they don’t have to wear the hideous red onesies and reindeer antlers the store manager has in mind.

The high point of Lily’s work life is Christos Cyriakos, ex-cop, security guard, possible Greek god. He’s a mystery box she’d love to unwrap. But can she trust him?

All Lily wants for Christmas is to kiss Christos (and more), catch a band of thieves running amok in the store, and live happily ever after. Is that too much to wish for?

Only 99 c or 99 p for a limited time or FREE to borrow for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

Chocolate Truffle Kiss

A sexy romantic comedy story with a dash of poetry and chocolate!

Your eyes meet mine, then retreat
Softness behind glass
Let me break your barriers

The poem on the blackboard enticed her to enter. Just like everyday…

Writer, Beth, visits the same café every afternoon, enjoying her latte and a chocolate truffle while scribbling in her notebook. The delicious treats keep her coming back day after day, not to mention the inspiration she finds there – Samuel. The barista is tall, dark and delicious, and his stare could melt chocolate from a hundred paces.

Since her divorce, Beth’s love life has been close to extinct, but the sight of Samuel, his dark, brooding good looks and amazing dragon tattoo, kick it into overdrive. A smouldering volcano waiting to erupt in flames of passion. But Beth knows it’s unlikely he’d go for her, an older woman, when he could have anyone.

Over the course of a week, the tension between them rises almost to boiling point. When Beth’s friend lets it slip that Beth fancies Samuel, in fact she has a mega crush on him, their customer/barista relationship is tested…but could it be more than one-sided? Is Samuel writing the blackboard poems especially for Beth? Could he be watching and wanting her too?

Now available in Kindle Unlimited!

For more links head over to my Books page.

Lazy Days of Summer sale – 45+ free and 99 cent reads!

Lazy Days of Summer promotional image

Summer? What’s that? As I write, I’m sitting here in Australia in my fluffy cardigan and Ugg boots, but of course it’s summer for my northern hemisphere readers.

Want to laze poolside or on the sand with books that’ll heat you up, sizzle your skin, and melt your heart? Why not steam up your Kindle this summer with romance e-books from some top Aussie and New Zealand authors? Grab a cocktail and pull up a chair!

Lazy Days of Summer Sale

We’ve got 45+ FREE and bargain 99 cent romances to get you through the rest of summer. From sexy or sweet contemporaries to romantic comedy, historical, paranormal, romantic suspense, erotica, women’s fiction, and urban fantasy/sci-fi/fantasy – we’ve got you covered. Full list of Lazy Days of Summer sale books available here.

My romcom novelette, Chocolate Truffle Kiss, is included. Still only 99 cents and a five-star swoony read according to Amazon reviewers. But it’s also FREE at the moment to my newsletter subscribers!

Chocolate Truffle Kiss 5 star promo graphic

Free novelette for newsletter subscribers!

Check out the books on sale!

There’s a whole lot of fabulous authors participating in this sale, including Tracey Alvarez, Nicola Marsh, Louise Cusack, Joanne Dannon, Cheryl Phipps and many more.

Visit the sale webpage hosted by Tracey Alvarez today.

Valentine’s Down Under giveaway – 25+ FREE romance books

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope your day is filled with love and laughter…maybe even a happy ever after. To help with making your day magical, I’m sharing some details of a fabulous giveaway I’m part of this year

Valentine’s Down Under giveaway

Sun, sand & surf – February Down Under is always scorching hot! And so are these 25+ FREE romances set in Australia and New Zealand! From sweet to sexy to smoking, these books will transport you into a world of Down Under Happy-ever-afters.

Download some of your new favorite New Zealand and Australian authors’ free books while you can – visit our host Tracey Alvarez’s website for details.

Simply click on the book covers you wish to download, and follow the Instafreebie site instructions to have your books emailed to you!

Chocolate Truffle Kiss

If you haven’t read my fun romcom novelette, Chocolate Truffle Kiss, now is your chance. It’s included in this Instafreebie promotion FREE along with so many other great books.

Here’s a little taste of Chocolate Truffle Kiss:

Your eyes meet mine, then retreat
Softness behind glass
Let me break your barriers

The poem on the blackboard enticed her to enter. Just like everyday…

Note: Chocolate Truffle Kiss is a novelette of approximately 9500 words. This edition also contains an excerpt of my debut novel, Girl on a Plane.

Don’t forget to visit the Valentine’s Down Under giveaway page and download your FREE books! Have a happy Valentine’s Day, and happy reading!

Holly Jolly holiday giveaway!

*UPDATED* — This giveaway is now closed. I drew a prize winner at random from all eligible entrants at 7.30 pm my time (in Melbourne, Australia), Friday 16 December 2016. The winner is Denise Austin. I’ll email Denise shortly. Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who entered.

Since it’s December and the holiday season is already upon us (Argh! Where did 2016 go?) I’m joining in the fun with a giveaway as part of the Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop. The group is running the promotion from 5-16 December 2016, with Amazon gift vouchers, books and other prizes up for grabs.

So, confession time… I’ve actually done NO Christmas shopping or decorating around my house yet. I’m madly trying to write and finish off some important admin tasks (overdue taxes *cough*) before the end of the year. But I have taken the time to organise what I think is a fabulous giveaway prize!

Giveaway prize details

Photo of giveaway prize – Sweet and Spicy print book, silver angel wings necklace and Hoppy ornament

Sweet and Spicy – A celebration of romance (print edition)

A lovely shiny copy of my first-ever print edition of a story I’ve written! My romantic comedy novelette, Chocolate Truffle Kiss, is included in Sweet and Spicy – A celebration of romance, an anthology of over 100,000 words of love stories, published by my amazing writing group, the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild. I’ll sign it for you!

Silver angel wings pendant necklace

A sterling silver plated angel wing pendant on a snake chain. It’s a little bit Christmassy and similar to the pendant my heroine, Sinead, receives from the hero, Gabriel, in my romantic comedy novel, Girl on a Plane. But without the black pearls, because I’m not a millionaire CEO!

‘Hoppy’ Christmas tree ornament

Since I’m an Aussie, I thought I’d throw in a cute ceramic kangaroo Christmas tree ornament. Let’s call her Hoppy. She has a little baby Joey and is wearing a Santa hat!

How to enter*

Here’s what you need to do:

Add a comment here on my blog page or on my Cassandra O’Leary Author Facebook Page, telling me your number one Christmas shopping tip! (Because I need all the help I can get) AND
Sign-up to my email newsletter list (add your name and email address to the Newsletter form on this web page). My newsletter has exclusive content such as sneak peeks at my upcoming stories, more giveaways and promotions. My December newsletter is coming out next week.

P.S. – my current newsletter subscribers are eligible to enter.

P.P.S – everyone who signs-up for my newsletter in December will receive a free e-book download copy of Chocolate Truffle Kiss! That’s right, everyone!

Thanks to the fabulous group of authors at Chick Lit Chat HQ for organising the Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop group promotion on Facebook, especially Tracie Banister and Laura Chapman. If you haven’t already checked out their books, hop to it!

Happy holidays!

*Entry is open internationally. I’ll select one winner on Friday 16th December 2016 and post the winner’s name on my blog page and Facebook page. The winner must provide their postal address to me by email or personal message to claim the prize. I am responsible for running this giveaway in association with Chick Lit Chat HQ and it is not affiliated with Facebook.

Cover reveal – Chocolate Truffle Kiss

Cover reveal time! It is with a little too much excitement that I show-off my very first cover for my very first self-published novelette (which is a kind of long short story). Chocolate Truffle Kiss is a 9500 story, originally published in 2015 in the Sweet and Spicy anthology from my writing group, the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild.

But now I’m letting it go, into the world, with its own, fresh cover. I actually designed it myself! It may not win any design awards, but I’m happy with it. I think the woman on the cover is gorgeous and it suits the genre of romantic comedy.

Let me know what you think!

P.S. if you sign-up to my newsletter here on my website before 10 October 2016, I’ll give you a FREE copy of this story! Sign-up with your name and email address, that’s it. Easy-peasy!

Chocolate Truffle Kiss cover design

Blurb

Your eyes meet mine, then retreat
Softness behind glass
Let me break your barriers

The poem on the blackboard enticed her to enter. Just like everyday…

Pre-order links are live on my Books page!

Sweet success — delicious book news!

I’m calling it – as of 10 November 2015, I’m officially a published author. It’s just over two years since I got serious about fiction writing and now one of my story babies is out in the world. Hopefully, this will be the first of many book-aversaries.

Sweet and Spicy romance anthology. Cover design by Jay Aheer.

I’m so excited that the Sweet and Spicy anthology from my fabulous writing group, the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild, is now live and available to purchase from a variety of e-book retailers. This collection of romance and love stories is a celebration of the MRWG’s 25^th anniversary, and includes my first published long-ish 9,000 word short story, Chocolate Truffle Kiss.

The MRWG took on this project a few months ago, creating short stories from scratch, critiquing and editing, undertaking a cover design process and developing a promotional plan. All in all, it’s been a fantastic learning opportunity for the whole group, getting the chance to be indie published to professional standard.

Chocolate and coffee fuelled inspiration

My story, Chocolate Truffle Kiss, is a romantic comedy, inspired by my home city of Melbourne and the art of people watching, which I enjoy when out and about in cafés, restaurants and around town. As fellow Melbournites know, food and drink is a serious business to us.

Coffee and chocolate are a couple of the hot button topics for Melbourne foodies, and someone’s favourite café can be a definitive make-or-break in the friendship stakes. Overheard snippets of conversation in the city might go something like this:

She likes Gloria Jeans and Starbucks…whaaat?? I’m more a Degraves Street and Market Lane kind of girl.

So, when a story idea on this theme popped into my head when I was jotting down notes in a café one day, I knew I had to write it. Here’s the full blurb:

A writer, Beth, comes into her favourite café every day for her coffee and a chocolate truffle fix, a decadent treat that fuels her creativity. But what really keeps her coming back, day after day, is the delicious looking man behind the counter. The barista, Samuel. Could he be watching and wanting her too?

There may be some postmodern self-reflexive references going on here, but just so you know, I’ve never fallen in love with a hot barista. Aww. Never mind, I have a spunky hubby at home who just happens to be a whiz with our espresso machine and is an excellent cook. As I love to drink coffee and eat delicious treats, it’s true love!

If you need more mood-setting, have a look at my Pinterest board for the story or read an excerpt on my Writing page. There’s lots of Melbourne-ish goodness, plus my inspiration pics for the hero, Samuel, are kind of nice eye candy. Ahem.

I hope I’ve encouraged you to try a taste of romance, and not just made you hungry.

Read more about the Sweet and Spicy anthology and the other great authors in our group, and find the ‘buy now’ links on the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild website or see my Home page.