Girl Under The Christmas Tree – new release out now!

I’m so excited to share my new release with all of my readers. Girl Under The Christmas Tree is a steamy holiday romance novella, guaranteed to add a smile to your face. This novella was a joy to write, and I hope my you all find it just as much fun to read.

Blurb

A hilarious holiday romance on the steamy side, featuring a girl who won’t say no to a fling, a guy who needs some holiday fun, one naughty night in a hotel suite… and a conga line of Santas!

Yuki Yamimoto isn’t the kind of girl to say no to opportunity, especially when it comes swaggering into the five-star hotel where she works, dressed in a three-piece suit. The handsome wavy haired man with a movie star smile and charming Irish accent is almost irresistible… If only he wasn’t a hotel guest!

Declan Moriarty can’t keep his eyes off the gorgeous girl at hotel Reception. Her wide eyes and flirting have him wondering, should he dare ask her out? When his whole life has fallen into the cosmic toilet the past year, it seems too much to ask for a dream girl like Yuki for Christmas. But maybe just this once, luck might be on his side.

A steamy Christmas Eve date has them both wanting more, but Yuki isn’t supposed to fraternize with hotel guests. Not even a cheeky, handsome guest who also happens to be one of the youngest tech CEOs in Ireland. She definitely isn’t supposed to stay in his hotel suite, even if it is just a fling for one night only. What if she loses her Christmas bonus or gets fired?

Declan wants nothing more than to keep Yuki, the girl under his Christmas tree. But he only has days in Melbourne, Australia before he has to fly back to Ireland for Christmas, then back to work. Is it foolish to risk putting his heart on the line again, when it was recently battered and bruised by his cheating ex-fiancée?

Yuki’s about to embark on a life full of adventure…but will she get to keep Declan as part of the package deal? She hopes so. It’s her number one Christmas wish.

Note: Girl Under The Christmas Tree is a holiday romance novella of approximately 18,000 words, written as a prequel or companion story to Cassandra O’Leary’s novel, Girl on a Plane. This novella has a Happy For Now (HFN) ending, leaving Yuki’s future wide open.

Buy Now!

Universal link – books2read.com/GirlXmasTree

Available at the introductory price of 99c / 99p on all major ebook sites.

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I’ve had a bit of a break from writing, not only because of the super long and hard lockdown where I live in Melbourne, Australia (but it was super long, and hard), but because of some ongoing health issues. Anyway, it seems my brain is back in action for now, so I’ll look forward to working on some more new releases for 2021. Here’s hoping the new year will be a new beginning, in lots of ways.

Happy reading!

Holly Jolly Hop!

The holidays are just around the corner, which means it’s time for Chick Lit Chat HQ’s annual Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop and this year it’s bigger and better than ever! 63 bestselling and award-winning authors in the Chick Lit and Romantic Comedy genres are participating in this fun-filled event and each one is doing a fantastic giveaway. Books, author swag, gift cards, and other assorted holiday treats are all up for grabs. This event runs from 3-9 December 2018.

My prize giveaway…

I’m giving away a holiday reads prize including:

1 x paperback copy of Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (to be mailed to the winner from Book Depository UK)
1 x ebook gift copy of my holiday romcom, Heart Note.

I thought, why not give away one of my all time favourite chick lit books? It’s full of holiday fun and terrible Christmas jumpers too. I’m sure Bridget and my heroine, Lily Lucas, would be great friends.

Heart Note is based at the perfume counter manager at one of Australia’s largest department stores, where Lily is the counter manager. In the lead-up to Christmas, Lily has to wrap approximately eleventy billion gift sets and pander to some very odd customers. But all she really wants is to unwrap Christos, the smokin’ hot ex-cop security guard, and maybe have him cuff her to a Christmas tree…

By the way – my holiday romcom novella, Heart Note, is on sale for 99 cents or FREE in Kindle Unlimited. Go to Amazon to check it out!

See the post on my Facebook author page for details of how to enter my giveaway.

Note: my giveaway is open internationally but is not endorsed by or associated with Facebook. The winner will need to provide a postal address to receive the paperback book prize, and an email address to receive the ebook prize.

More prizes…

But wait! There’s much, much more. On the hop’s Facebook group page, you can enter to win our Grand Prize—a large holiday gift box filled to the brim with a fabulous variety of holiday and winter-themed goodies (the darling, KitschNStyle gingerbread house apron, Snoozies! sherpa socks, Calvin Klein cashmere pom-pom beanie in petal pink, Too Faced sugar cookie eye shadow purse palette, Sally Snowflakes mug by Bella Pilar, Well Read Women: A Reader’s Journal, and handmade chocolate soaps shown in the graphic below are just a few of the items included in the box!).

We’ll also be handing out four Runner-Up Prizes. Each one is a pair of Fitz & Floyd holiday mugs that will be accompanied by a canister of Williams-Sonoma classic hot chocolate as well as a tin of The Republic of Tea’s Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas Tea. So, you’ll have delicious, warm beverages to keep you cozy all winter long!

The celebration runs from Monday, Dec. 3rd through Sunday, Dec. 9th, so head on over to the Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop Facebook group for some lively conversation with both authors and readers, incredible prizes, and lots of holiday fun! You’ll find each day’s featured authors, along with the links to their pages/giveaways, in the pinned post at the top of the group. We look forward to seeing you there!

*The Grand Prize giveaway is open to US residents only. However, all of the individual author giveaways and the Runner-Up Prize giveaway are open internationally.

Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop 2017!

Join in the merry fun right here…

Hello! I’m joining the Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop from Melbourne, Australia!

I’m Cassandra O’Leary and I live in Melbourne, Australia, in the bayside area. I live with my spunk of a husband and two mini ninjas, Mr 8 and Mr 6. I write romantic comedies, contemporary romance and women’s fiction. You’ll find me dreaming of Italy and Spain, drinking coffee, buying shoes on the internet and oh yes, writing!

For international readers, Melbourne is a city of about 4 million people, down south on the continent of Oz, multicultural and amazing, with gorgeous parks and beaches. It’s been voted the world’s most liveable city over and over again. Are you jealous yet? Truth be told, I love to travel and I’d probably like to swap places with most of you and visit where-ever you live in the world.

A little about my writing… I love to write stories about women with real-life issues but who face life with both bravery and humour, and of course I adore a handsome, caring hero. So far I’ve released one full-length novel — my award-winning debut with HarperCollins UK in 2016, Girl on a Plane, a contemporary romance/romantic comedy about a sassy Irish flight attendant and the smouldering hot Aussie CEO she meets in first class.

I’ve released short fiction in anthologies including Chocolate Truffle Kiss, a fun and sexy novelette that’s currently free for my newsletter subscribers.

My new release is a festive romcom novella that’s out now in time for Christmas… Heart Note.

About Heart Note

Heart Note is the first book in my planned Spritzer Chicks series set in and around a perfume counter in a large department store. Yes, I was a ‘spritzer chick’ or perfume promotions girl many years ago, then I also worked on cosmetics counters as a beauty advisor and sales assistant for several years.

I’ve drawn on some of my real-life experiences of working retail, but I’ve added fictional hijinks plus a big dash of humour and romance. Lily the sassy redhead perfume counter manager *may be* similar to me in some ways! But I never fell in love with a smokin’ hot Greek-Australian security guard on the job…

Reviewers love Heart Note!

I’m now working on another novella in the Spritzer Chicks series, to be titled Cupid’s Bow. And I’m working on a couple more novels to (hopefully) complete next year too.

Check out my Books page for details and buy links.

A Holly Jolly giveaway from moi!

As part of this awesomesauce event, I’m offering a very nice giveaway prize/gift that I’d really like to keep for myself! It includes a perfume miniature to match the perfume theme in Heart Note.

Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop 2017 prize pic

The Prize:

Heart Note ebook download x 1 copy
Miniature 4ml bottle of J’Adore eau de toilette by Christian Dior
Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede lipstick in Couture (Christmassy bright red shade)
Gold sparkly fabric make-up purse
Heart pendant in rose-gold tone metal & matching chain
A signed postcard
Girl on a Plane heart-shaped chocolates!

How to enter:

**This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to my randomly selected winner, Christi Green. I have emailed Christi about how to claim her prize. Happy holidays everyone!**

Sign-up for my author newsletter — complete the form on this website with your name and email address.
Comment on my Facebook page (see the pinned post) or on this blog post with the name of your favourite perfume or other scent, like jasmine flowers.

I’ll pick a winner and contact them by email after the close of the Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop, around 15 December or just afterwards. The winner’s name will be published on my Facebook page and they will need to supply their postal address to receive their prize (postal address won’t be published).

Grand prize giveaway

Make sure to enter the main giveaway for this event by visiting the Holly Jolly Chick Lit Hop Facebook group. Check out the giveaways on all the author pages and follow the directions to enter the Grand Prize giveaway of 3 x $100 Amazon gift cards!

Note: This giveaway is not sponsored by or otherwise associated with Facebook.

Heart Note Blog Blitz!

It’s almost the festive season and this weekend my new release, Heart Note, is having a party! Well, sort of. It’s a Blog Blitz and everyone is invited.

From 25 to 27 November 2017 a whole host of bloggers are playing home to my Christmas romcom novella and lots of blogs about perfume, Christmas, romantic comedies, working as a ‘spritzer chick’ on a perfume counter and much more. There’s also a giveaway so make sure to check out the blogs to enter.

Thanks so much to the fabulous Rachel’s Random Resources for organising my Blog Blitz!

Visit the Blog Blitz stops

And now just a little note about Heart Note! I enjoyed writing a novella which is a fast-paced romcom with a little heist sub-plot and a great big dash of Christmas festiveness mixed in.

I hope you’ll love the main characters, Lily and Christos, as much as I do and cheer them on towards their happy ending.

Heart Note – blurb

A funny, 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?

Reviewers love Heart Note!

Buy Links

Barnes & Noble (Nook)

Google Play Books

Universal link – books2read.com/HeartNote

You can also sign-up for my author newsletter for a free novelette, updates on my writing,

giveaways and lots of fun stuff!

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.