Hot In The City!

Hot In The City preorder header graphic

I’m so excited to announce that I have a new story collection coming out on 30 June 2022. Hot In The City: A Romantic Comedy Story Collection is a new book collating some of my previously published short stories and novellas, and featuring a brand spanking new novelette! Preorder the ebook now!

This collection will also be available in a print edition, so keep your eyes peeled for more news coming soon.

Description

Hot In The City is a collection of short romantic comedy stories and novellas from award-winning author, Cassandra O’Leary. Perfect for reading on your lunch break, on the go or anytime really!

Never before published in one book, this collection includes:

– Tree Love: A Romantic Short Story
– Chocolate Truffle Kiss: A Romantic Comedy Novelette
– Girl Under The Christmas Tree: A Steamy Holiday Romance Novella
. . . and a new novelette. . . Girl On A Babymoon!

Each story is set in the author’s home city of Melbourne, Australia, with a cameo or two from other fabulous destinations around the world. Whether the setting in a central city cafe with a smoking hot barista, or a Santa-packed hotel in the lead-up to Christmas, these stories will introduce you to a world of steamy kisses, swoony couples and funny love stories each with their own a happy ever after (or happy for now) ending.

Hot In The City by Cassandra O'Leary, ebook cover design. Features an illustration with a city skyline and a couple sitting on the floor in an apartment.

Preorder Ebook

P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on social media for more updates. I’m also on TikTok now, just for fun!

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.

Sweet Treats & Yummy Reads Hop!

Valentine’s Day 2018 Event – Sweet Treats & Yummy Reads

Are you excited about Valentine’s Day? The authors at Chick Lit Chat HQ are, and we know quite a bit about romance, not to mention gorgeous guys and swoon-worthy storylines, which is why we’ve put together a fun-filled event that celebrates all these wonderful things.

That’s right, book lovers, it’s time for the Sweet Treats & Yummy Reads Hop! Starting February 12th, 40+ Chick Lit and RomCom authors will be throwing a fabulous, Valentine-themed bash on Facebook and each of them will be offering a GIVEAWAY–books, gift cards, author swag, and lots of other wonderful prizes will be up for grabs!

But wait, there’s more! You know we have the “yummy reads” covered (this group is nothing if not crazy talented), but what about the “sweet treats?” Hold on to your hats, peeps, because CLC HQ has outdone itself this time. We’ll be giving away not one, not two, but THREE Grand Prizes for this hop and each of those lucky winners will receive a 6-pack of Wicked Good Cupcakes!* And the best news of all? You get to choose your own sinfully delicious flavors. (Commence happy dance now.)

So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to the Sweet Treats & Yummy Reads Hop on Facebook and join the group page where you can meet and chat with fellow readers, as well as some of the most popular authors in your favorite genres, plus find the lists of participating authors and enter to win one of the Grand Prizes. We look forward to seeing you there!

Tree Love new release celebration prize!

My giveaway** prize for this event includes the following:

One ebook copy of my new release short story, Tree Love
Lightweight cotton scarf in charcoal colour with little gold hearts printed on it
A gold-tone triple strand necklace with a heart pendant
Black metallic heart-shaped jewel box

I might also throw in some delicious heart-shaped, Italian-made Girl on a Plane chocolates wrapped in red foil. Because yum!

Tree Love is releasing widely on major ebook retail sites on 13 February for only 99c or 99p. The universal link to all retailers is here – books2read.com/TreeLove

This story is a tale of first loves reunited, email to trees (no joke — based on a true story too, of email addresses assigned to trees in public parks and people writing them love letters), an artist heroine and urban lumberjack hero. It’s set in and around the beautiful botanic gardens in my home city of Melbourne, Australia. All the fun and swooniness ensue!

My question for anyone wanting to enter my giveaway is:

If your first love fell out of a tree, would you catch him (or her)?

I ended up marrying my first love, so I guess I’d catch him and not let him drop on his head or fall to his death! Hehe, what was I saying? Oh yes, my lovely husband is an absolute sweetheart. We’ve been together for many years and he’s a keeper. 🙂

Comment on the giveaway post on my Facebook author page for your chance to win. I’ll choose a winner on 16 February (Aussie time). This may be 15 February where you live).

P.S. You can also sign-up to my email newsletter to keep up-to-date with my writing, giveaways and to receive a free copy of my sexy romcom novelette, Chocolate Truffle Kiss. Just complete the form on my Contact page.

*Wicked Good Cupcakes only ships to destinations in the United States, so the Grand Prize portion of this hop will not be open to international entrants. However, the 40+ individual author giveaways will be open internationally.

**My giveaway is open internationally but is not sponsored by or endorsed by Facebook.

Tree Love Is In The Air. . .

Last week I made an executive decision as captain of my own writing ship. I decided to indie publish a romantic short story of mine, Tree Love. This story was previously published a year ago in the Taste of Romance anthology along with other stories from authors in my writing group, the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild.

Tree Love is a short and sweet story about first loves reunited, emails to trees, art, nature and taking chances. It’s now up for pre-order, ready for release on 13 February, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Tree Love: A Romantic Short Story by Cassandra O'Leary, cover design

Here’s the cover for Tree Love. I designed it myself with a gorgeous stock illustration (copyright warawiri) sourced from 123rf.com. Isn’t it pretty? Well, I think so.

Tree Love story inspiration

I was actually inspired to write this story after reading a wacky newspaper article about something that happened in my home city of Melbourne, Australia.

Under a new environmental plan, the city assigned email addresses to trees. And people started emailing, not just to report on the condition of the trees as had been expected, but they wrote to the trees. Letters, poems, confessions. This was pretty hilarious to me, but also sweet. So a story idea was born!

The original article is on the News.com.au website — People around the world have been emailing trees in Melbourne to confess their love.

In Tree Love, I imagined my heroine, Natalia, was the admin person working for the Parks and Gardens department tasked with answering the Tree-mails. It’s entertaining but also baffling at times.

Blurb

If your first love fell out of a tree. . . would you catch him?

Natalia Bianchi is a botanical artist, who finds herself accidentally working for the city’s Parks Department in admin and also accidentally engaged to her boss. It’s not what she had planned.

One day she checks on ‘her’ tree in the botanical gardens, and her first love, Dan “The Man” Mancini falls at her feet. Literally. Almost like it was meant to be. But that’s what she thought ten years ago when they were friends at university.

Should Natalia shake up her entire safe, convenient life to climb Dan like a tree? Could this be her second chance at love that could last forever?

Buy links

You can pre-order Tree Love now from Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Google Play Books. It’s only 99 cents or 99p.

Universal link:

books2read.com/TreeLove

Inspiration pics

Stock photo of tree from Pixabay

Check out my Tree Love Pinterest board for some great pics of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, and some character inspiration too.

P.S. join my newsletter list if you’d like to know more about my writing and receive a free novelette, Chocolate Truffle Kiss!

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.

12 Days of Christmas fun & giveaways

Day 3 – Cassandra O’Leary

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me…a whole lot of festive ebooks! And a $50 Amazon gift card giveaway!

Welcome to Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas promotion. I’m Cassandra O’Leary, redheaded Melbourne girl, coffee/wine lover and romcom writer extraordinaire (I might have to print that on my business cards).

I’m super excited to be part of this promotion with so many fabulous romance authors from Australia and New Zealand. Jingle my bells!

All the stops on the 12 Days of Christmas promotion are below:

Day 1 – Kris Pearson

Day 2 – Joanne Dannon

Day 3 – Cassandra O’Leary (You Are Here!)

Day 4 – Annie Seaton

Day 5 – Monique McDonell

Day 6 – Kate O’Keeffe

Day 7 – Cathryn Hein

Day 8 – Tracey Alvarez

Day 9 – Leeanna Morgan

Day 10 – Wendy Vella

Day 11 – Charmaine Ross

Day 12 – Aislinn Kearns

Visit them all and you’ll have the chance to win books and you can also enter the $50 Amazon gift card giveaway.

** This giveaway is now closed and winners have been contacted.**

Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella

I have a new release romantic comedy novella, Heart Note, to tell you about today. It’s a little bit festive, a little bit naughty and a little bit nice. It’s getting some great reviews so far.

12 Days of Christmas Heart Note promo image

Heart Note is set in the world of a perfume counter at a department store in the lead-up to Christmas, there’s hijinks and baubles, plenty of sexy Santa costumes and a smouldering hot Greek-Australian god (okay, a security guard/ex-cop, but he’s got that Zeus-like thing going on).

This novella has been rocking the charts since its release on 6 November, hitting the top 50 Humour Fiction bestseller list on Amazon Australia, and the New and Hot Releases Humor Fiction lists on Amazon US, UK and France!

Blurb

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.

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?

Buy now from Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Google Play Books and more stores.

Universal link to all stores – books2read.com/HeartNote

Giveaways

** My giveaway is now closed. I have drawn two winners and contacted them by email — Karen Teasdale and Jill Broussard — check your inboxes!**

Because it’s nearly Christmas and I’m feeling generous and stuff, I’m running a giveaway!

I’m giving away:

1 x ebook copy of Heart Note AND
1 x ebook copy of Girl on a Plane (my debut HarperCollins UK romantic comedy/contemporary romance novel).

I’ll select a winner for each prize and contact them individually on or just after 13 December 2017.

To enter:

Sign-up for my newsletter list by completing the form on this website and leave a comment on this blog post. If you’re already on my newsletter list, just comment!

Tell me…have you been naughty or nice and what do you want for Christmas? COMMENT BELOW!

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway to win a $50 Amazon gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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.

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!

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.

Description

Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella

Chocolate Truffle Kiss

Tree Love new release celebration prize!

Tree Love story inspiration

Blurb

Buy links

Inspiration pics

Join in the merry fun right here…

About Heart Note

A Holly Jolly giveaway from moi!

Grand prize giveaway

Day 3 – Cassandra O’Leary

Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella

Blurb

Giveaways

Visit the Blog Blitz stops

25 November

26 November

27 November

Heart Note – blurb

Lazy Days of Summer Sale

Check out the books on sale!

Valentine’s Down Under giveaway

Chocolate Truffle Kiss