Thoughts & Ramblings
I know many authors do newsletters, and that’s great for them, but I’ve never been much of a newsletter kind-of girl, so I figured I’d have a separate spot on my site for me to just ramble about my current season of life, specifically what it’s like to be a mom, teacher librarian, and an author because I get that question A LOT. “How do you do it, Cassie? How do you find time to write?”
Here’s the God’s honest truth, y’all: I have no idea…
November, 2025
I guess I’ve always loved being busy and bouncing around to different hobbies and activities. When I was younger, I could do this AND be social at the same time, but now, my elder Millennial self has become more introverted, leaving me to need more time to decompress and recharge my batteries after “events.”
I do think this—the bouncing around bit—is what has given me the creative fuel to be a writer and to always be thinking about my next project. The more people with whom I surround myself, the more new experiences I have, and thus the more my creative tank is filled.
My debut, MEET ME UNDER THE LIGHTS, has two main characters, and while I can identify with both, there is one that definitely feels like a kindred spirit. Eliza does not crave the spotlight but rather she chooses to use her artistic flair to lift others into the spotlight that she, herself, controls.
That’s me, folks.
I love a good karaoke session and flouncing around on the stage or reading a story with dramatic voices to my students, but at the end of the day, I am most happy illuminating those gifts in others. It’s why I enjoyed doing stage lighting design for several years.
I don’t have the ability to paint or sketch my every vision, but I can freaking blend the heck out of colors on a stage.
In this way, I have learned there are MANY ways to tell a story. I have been so blessed to know and work with people who tell stories through not only their words but through their musical gifts, their dancing, their culinary skills, and so much more.
So when we artists find ourselves in a rut or a dry spell, maybe we should stop forcing the art that we have been doing and instead, try our hands at a new medium with which to make our voices heard.
January, 2026
Mid-November through December brought me many unexpected blessings, and my writing life hit fast-forward in a way that would make Doc Brown and Marty McFly dizzy. I was asked to compose a rough draft quickly in the hopes of a quick turn-around toward copy-edits.
How could I say no? When your editor whom you admire and with whom you love to work asks you to jump, you put on your best Brooks and you jump.
While I was completing this project, I posted updates almost daily as to my progress, showing a chart of numbered Christmas trees that I’d color once I finished writing a chapter. Many readers and writers reached out to me during this process with the same questions: “How can you draft so quickly? And how do you quiet your mind and tune out the noise around you to buckle down and do it?”
This are difficult questions to answer in short-terms, but I’ll do my best.
I draft quickly because I am a PLOTTER, meaning I do a LOT of work on the front-end of drafting before I actually start a draft. I make a playlist on Spotify first and one that I’ll update while I write. Music has always been at my core, so when I have scene ideas in my head, I often hear music behind those scenes before I hear dialogue. After that, I write a very loose synopsis (almost a brain dump) of the idea that shows the story start to finish. It’s not super detailed but it does often hit some big scenes. Lastly, I will write an outline via note cards. I love note cards! They allow me to look at a story like a puzzle—pieces I need to fit together and adjust if they are not mixing “just write.”
Once the outline is complete, I set aside a certain block of time each afternoon / evening to write a scene or chapter (if I’m lucky enough not to be interrupted). Do I write every day? Nope. Life happens.
I give myself grace during this process because I know it’s a first draft. There’s a reason it’s called a “rough draft.” It’s not meant to be perfect. It’s just meant to be ON the page.
As far as the silencing of the “noise” around me? Well, that’s a bit harder. Lately, I’ve been listening to the news in the morning and only in the morning. I give it space. I process. I digest. I reflect. It is in the morning I also read my Bible. Scripture helps me to lean on God when I need to the most, reminding me that I am not alone and that He is still present. You cannot silence what is happening in the world, but I believe you can give it space AND give yourself space at the same time. I remind myself that my stories can bring peace and comfort to readers. I remind myself that my own children are watching their mother live out a dream they may have otherwise thought impossible. I owe it to them and to myself to keep going even when the world makes it difficult to do so.