8/31/15

My Published Works!

Young Adult Inspirational Novel

http://cassandraulrich.com/a_beautiful_girl.php


Young Adult Romance Novel

http://cassandraulrich.com/loves_intensity.php


New Adult Romance Novel

http://cassandraulrich.com/billiard_buddies.php


Poetical Collections

http://cassandraulrich.com/realpurpose.php

http://cassandraulrich.com/lifeexperienced.php



And this is just the beginning. Thanks so much for reading along this month about my published works. I am currently working on another teen book about a South African girl's move to the United States. Stay tuned for more info.

8/28/15

Poetry from the Heart

The words I write are meant to inspire goodness and make people think. Even ones written when I was a teen seem to come from a more mature mind. Real Purpose: You Are Special defies the thought that what we do makes us special. Instead, this collection elevates 'being' or 'existing' as the only thing needed for a person to be considered 'special.'

http://amzn.com/B00LAQO86K



WHAT IS…?
What is love that I should give it?
What is life that I should need it?
What is earth that I should till it?
What is faith that I should have it?

What is salvation that I should treasure it?
What is God’s presence that I should crave it?
What is eternity with Jesus that I should hunger for it?
What is redemption that I should take it?



 Life Experienced draws the reader into a number of events that must be experienced to be appreciated at the fullest extent. Let this collection take you to another place, another time.

http://amzn.com/B00MWK81JI



Children of Pain
Screaming…just a way of life
Never knowing where the next breath shall be
Always on the run
Why can’t their lives be normal?
How can I feel their embrace of death?

Worms, long, slimy, hungry, eat at their future
The sting of hunger and hatred is too much for them.
Oh, how I wish I could ease away the flood of sorrow.
How can I stop their pain?

Uselessness is my everyday companion as I look toward the East.
I can only dream of their broken hearts as their parents die before them.
Why?  Why?
Is there no medicine, no cure?
No way to comfort the fire burning them up?
No way to enhance the eagerness in their stricken eyes?

Oh, how grave to see such anguish.
That grips the life and freedom of pain from them.
Pain to go on living.
 


Be sure to leave a review on Amazon once you've read my poetical collections. Your honest reviews are greatly appreciated.

8/26/15

Review of "The Closer the Bone" by Leslie S. Talley



I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Good Mystery! Clarice and Otis Campion, caretakers of a historic B&B in Daytona Beach, Florida, switched places with Fergus Flanagan, owner of a B&B on the Esplanade at Bray in Ireland. Clarice hoped things would turn out more uneventful than the previous two B&B exchanges. However, after neighbor, Seamus Quinn, bled out on their doorstep, Clarice began a private investigation to find the murderer. The more she learns, the deeper she’s drawn into the mystery surrounding each of her current boarders. Having them take off whenever the Garda come around to ask questions doesn’t help matters either. Will Clarice figure it out before someone else is killed? Or will she be the next victim for being a bit too nosy?

This story is a well written cozy mystery with enough twists and turns to keep my interest. I had hoped the revelation of the murderer to be more gripping. Nevertheless, I was pleased with how the clues led Clarice to the truth about every question that surfaced throughout the plot. 

All in all, I enjoyed reading the story and recommend this book to mystery readers everywhere.


http://amzn.com/B012QBC4WC
 

8/24/15

Wanna Play Pool?

My dad gave me a pool stick before I went to college. I didn't realize how much I'd like playing billiards with a stick I had to remove from a bag, screwing each half together before taking the first shot. With multi-colored stones adorning the butt, it was a beauty too. I even won my share of games. It's no surprise I wrote Billiard Buddies, only a matter of when.

That's where the similarities end. With Gina as resident female pool shark and Sean as the only male player who could best her, this story takes on a life of its own. Placing him in a committed relationship with another woman does nothing less than spice things up. Did Gina really have to fall for the only guy she couldn't have?

Go ahead. Rack 'em up.

http://amzn.com/B00KJOQBOQ




Billiard Buddies Blurb: An avid pool table player, Gina has yet to meet her match among her billiard pals.  Pete O’Reily, one of the guys she plays against at a local bar, finds someone he thinks will finally give her a challenging game. 
     Gina was thrilled she could finally compete with someone who sharpened her skills, but Sean Savage became much more to her after a few games.  She started falling in love with Sean who remained loyal to his career-focused girlfriend, Cindy.  Gina, having been hurt by a cheating ex-boyfriend, is determined not to cause the same pain to any woman.  Because of this, she keeps her feelings for Sean a secret from everyone except her flamboyant cousin Gene and a girlfriend on the other side of the city. 
     Without realization, Sean stretches her ability to do this whenever he visits her like she’s one of the guys.  Conflict occurs on many fronts: Gina avoids her ex, Hank, who wants to get back together; Sean longs to marry Cindy who spends more time at work than with him; and Gina has a falling out with Sean when he tries to set her up with a friend of his. 
Will true love prevail?

Billiard Buddies Excerpt:
“I hear you play a mean pool game,” Sean started.  He couldn’t help but agree that she was cute, her round 1920’s features hugged by blond curls that bounced just above her jaw line when she turned to face him.  Her smile accentuated her sparkling eyes.

“I heard the same about you.  I think the guys brag too much.  I love the game and practice a lot.  Where do you play?  I’ve never seen you before,” Gina said in a soft, velvet tone.  She seemed guarded while she looked him over.

“I frequent another bar across town.  Coworkers from the brokerage company I work for often go there.”

She wrinkled up her nose.  “Oh, you’re one of those.”

“Why?  You don’t like the business?” Sean asked, taking a seat next to her.

“It’s just that the stock market is so, well, unpredictable.  I just don’t understand what’s so fun about doing work based on guesses.”

Sean thought of many other questions, but decided to not start waves this early.  “Hmm.  What do you do when you’re not playing pool?”

“I teach kindergarten at one of the private schools in the area.  Otherwise, I keep to myself.”  Gina glanced past him.  “I think they’re becoming impatient.  Ready to play?”  She stood and stepped toward the pool tables on the other side of the room.

Sean followed.  “You bet.  Rack ‘em up.”

“Best out of three?”

“Sure.  Lady’s first.”

“Uh, Sean, that may be a mistake,” Pete warned.

Sean panned the room to find shaking heads all around.  “It’s cool guys.  I’d like to see what she’s got.”

“Your funeral.”  Pete backed away from the table.

Sean ignored his pal and nodded for Gina to take her first shot.  After she pocketed four balls, Sean suddenly realized the prowess with which she played.  Each shot possessed her full attention.  Her stance never wavered once her study of the current layout was complete.  The cue slid through her fingers as if coated with butter.
She’s good.  Too good.

Gina prepared for her second to last shot when Sean locked her gaze.  He studied her intently until she broke their connection.  Her jaw muscles were tight with tension, and her furrowed eyebrows betrayed intense concentration.  She was angry, pissed off even.  He checked the table to discover that her next shot would be difficult, but doable if the cue clicked the seven ball at just the right angle.

I have to distract her.

Sean moved, causing Gina to glance up at him once more.  He grabbed the opportunity to smile.  She grimaced before looking away and shaking her head.  Gina readied for the next shot, but then faltered.  For all her shots, he’d not seen her do that.

It worked.

She straightened and continued studying the table.  Shifting to her right, she turned around and pressed her buttocks against the table.

Wow!  No wonder the guys lose every game.

Sean forced his eyes to look away from her alluring figure and repositioned himself so he stood facing her side.  Gina placed her cue across her lower back and faltered again.  Finally, she took the shot.  The cue nipped the seven ball, only nudging it a few inches.

Yeah!  Beautiful!

Sean determined not to mess up the only shot she’d probably let him have during the game.  However, as he surveyed the table, he realized, to his dismay, that his shot would be more difficult to make than hers.  He’d have to hit the cue into one of hers to get to his.  He had no intention of pocketing a ball for Gina.
He leaned over the table and exhaled before banking the cue ball into two of his, pocketing one.

I’m still in the game.

Sweat dripped off his chin as he made one shot after another.  Then the unexpected happened.

She winked at him.

She’d used the same tactic he used on her and it worked.  His heart pumped a bit faster, just enough to distract him for a split second.  He stared at the ball teetering near the pocket and sighed.  He knew she would pocket his ball in order to make her next shot, but that wouldn’t help him.  She wasn’t going to mess up twice.

Gina won the first game bringing on a loud cheer from the others Sean learned she had consistently beaten over the past few months.  Sean strolled over to her and gave her hand a congratulatory shake.

“Great game,” he said. That won’t happen again.


Amazon: Author Page
Buy Link Amazon