Authors Dish: Cassandra Moore’s Hardest Character

February 2019: Hardest Character
~ Cassandra Moore ~

CTR asked:

Who was your hardest character to write? And why?

Cassandra Moore said:

The hardest character to write was, I think, Erin Calloway from “Brave the Night”.

Erin was such a soulful heroine to write. She has an ocean of love and caring locked away behind the wall she’s put up around her heart. That wall looks like humor, like off-handed “I’m fine, I can get this” comments, but those are ways to deflect people away from the soft heart she hides. She’s afraid that if she lets anyone close, they’ll be taken from her.

She’s had enough precedent to believe it’s true. Her life has been a series of events that stripped away the people who should have loved her and taught her it’s better to stand on her own. Learning to let go of that fear is difficult.

That’s why she was so difficult to write. I could feel all the emotion churning below the surface. Her heartbreak was recent and affected everything she did. She didn’t want to burden anyone, but grief is heavy to carry alone. Anytime she tried to reach out, she remembered that support can be taken away at any time, and often had been.

There’s one scene in “Brave the Night” that was so full of feels, as it were, even as an author. There was so much emotion there, such intense connection and empathy between Erin and her hero Shane. It took me a day and a half of brooding, considering, and framing that scene before I felt I’d hit the mental state to write it. Then I sat down and let the words out with tears in my eyes.

When I finished that scene, I just sat in my office a while, trying to banish the lingering pieces of it. It left me a little stunned, a little empty, like I’d poured out all I had and needed to refill before I did anything else.

That scene came out as the chapters, “The Last Wishes of Saviors and Sinners” and “Let Us Hold a Candle to the Darkness in Our Souls” in the final book.

Erin was worth it, though. The connection between Erin and Shane was beautiful, and their journey was one of my favorites.

– Website – http://cassandra-moore.com/
– Twitter – @MooreWords

Brave the Night, Bully Boys Book 2

[Paranormal Dystopian Shifters Romance, MF]

The Bully Boys are the only defense Coyote Trail has. Part bikers, part paladins, the modern-day wolf pack on wheels is dedicated to protecting humans from the swarms of savage shapeshifters who roam the deserts. Called Ferals, these once-human abominations threaten to inflict any pockets of civilization with a highly virulent plague turns good people into mutated beasts.

Shane Lawson, alpha werewolf of the Bully Boys pack, has sworn to avoid love as much as he’d avoid the Beast Plague itself. The worldwide epidemic has already cost him everything he held dear – his lover, his best friend, and his brother. Better to run himself into the ground eradicating Ferals than to chance another scar on his already battered heart.

Mechanic Erin Calloway left the relative safety of the Midwest to find a new life in Coyote Trail. The Bully Boys need a solid wrench to keep their rides in Feral-hunting order, and Erin needs a fresh start to drive away the ghosts of tragedy that haunt her. She expects ridiculous temperatures and herds of cactus. She could never foresee a gorgeous werewolf with broad shoulders and familiar ghosts to plague him.

Her sunny humor and soulful strength make Shane want to violate his vow and put his heart on the line. His deep integrity and wolf’s bravery challenge her to reach for a love she’s never felt before. But when the plague that threatens civilization hits too close to home, Shane and Erin must both fight to save what matters to them most – each other.

Available in Ebook:

 

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