Caddy Rowland: Slice of Life

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

One Week .99 SALE! Get Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream for Under a Dollar

I have been busy lately having eye surgery in both eyes to remove cataracts, which I thought only people that were really old got! My last surgery was yesterday. Both went well and I can see great again.

However, I am very sleepy, so this will be short. I will be behind when I start working tomorrow so it may be awhile before I blog again, but I'll be back as soon as I can.

IN THE MEANTIME: GASTIEN PART 1: THE COST OF THE DREAM IS ON SALE! Please enjoy if you haven't already and SPREAD THE WORD! :) It's always nice to save 80%.

Now through July 1, 2013 you can pick up this book, the first in the five book Gastien Series for only .99:
http://tinyurl.com/3ecu8ku Kindle
http://tinyurl.com/3ue4a7h NOOK
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Gastien-Part-The-Cost-Dream/book-_tom0R8s2kqbG0vd3AE_kw/page1.html?s=YrM6E9S6hUCHvLUaQVmbQg&r=1 Kobo (Sorry about the long link. Every time one makes a change on kobo the tiny url is no longer any good and I can't be on here long enough to fool around and make one yet.)

Enjoy your week and, if I don't get back before the 4th of July, have a happy and safe holiday! Thanks for your support of my books and my blog!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

A Letter to My Father

Today is Father's Day and my father has been deceased now for 30 years. He died when I was 27. Our relationship went from me thinking he was God to total war and finally to tiptoeing toward a pact for peace before he left this world.

The last time I saw him, he and Mom had come for the weekend to visit my husband and me. We walked down to the underground garage with them and kissed them both as they got in the car. Then we turned around and headed back to the apartment elevator.

I clearly remember thinking, "Turn around and look at him because you might not see him again." Immediately I told myself to quit being so dramatic, there was no reason I wouldn't see him. He was only 57 and in good health.

The next Saturday, we played in a poker tourney at Dave's brother's house and I won first place. I was so excited! We sent to sleep and at 6:30 in the morning the phone rang. I answered and the operator asked to speak to Dave. I handed the phone to my husband and he went white. Covering the phone, he turned to me with sad eyes and said, "Oh, Hon. I'm so sorry. Your father has died."

I was 27.

We had recently begun to repair the relationship and heal, but there had not been enough time to enjoy our newly repaired, tentative feelings toward each other. There was not enough time for either of us to prove that love was still real.

Today I feel the need to send my father a letter. Today I feel my father needs me and, yeah, I need him.

To My Father,

Dad, I want you to know that your were the best father a little girl could have ever had, bar none. The time you and mom spent with me, the places you took me to, the fun things we did far outnumber what most parents do. Some of the things I hated at the time, but now i have a love of classical music, thanks to you. While I don't practice organized religion (which somehow now that I am older I don't think would bother you as much as you pretended it would) I do have a belief in the spriritual and solid principles that I can reflect on when the going gets tough. When I became a teenager, civil war broke out between us and it continued through my early twenties. We were too different, too opinionated, and I know now you feared my turning into a young woman who appeared "sexy" and wanted to protect me. I'm glad that we had started to mend things by the time you died, too young, at the age I am now. 57. I was 27. I'm glad we said "i love you" more than once before you had to go. I wish you could have accepted my differences, but I know now it wasn't because you didn't love me, but because of your upbringing and some awful things that occurred in your life that you found it hard to be anyting but unwavering in the opinions that you held in order to stay strong. I miss you, Daddy, and now I understand, even if we stll wouldn't usually agree. It's all cool. And you know what? I know you miss talking to me, too.

Happy Father's Day, from your rebel artist daughter,

Carolyn Anne

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels (including The Gastien Series, a story that begins with a bohemian artist in France) visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE

Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX

Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp

Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com

Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com

Twitter: @caddyorpims

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

FREE OFFER: Celebrating the Completion of "The Gastien Series"

SCROLL DOWN FOR FREE SAMPLE OF "THE GASTIEN SERIES"

As an indie author of a five book series that is historical fiction, family saga, and drama, I am excited to finally have The Gastien Series complete. This series spans three generations, bouncing between France and the United States over a period of one hundred plus years. As such, it is both French historical fiction and American historical fiction. The series is also psychological fiction (see definition by clicking link)

Different books in the series belong in different genres. All five fit in the aforementioned categories. The first book, Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream is also a coming of age novel. (over 148,000 words)

The second, Gastien Part 2: From Dream to Destiny is also a love story between a man and a woman, yet it does not fit the formula for romance. (over 128,000 words) Did you really expect a bohemian artist to fit inside of a formula? :)

The third Tristan Michel: Bloodline of Passion (115,000 words) is all of the above.

Giselle: Keeper of the Flame, book four, (113,000 words) is all of the above and the second half is gay fiction and gay coming of age.

The fifth, and final, book Gastien: Circle of Destiny is all of the above except for coming of age. Additionally, it is a gay romance (yes, it fits the formula) and a gay love story. (over 142,000 words) It is perhaps the most tender story of the series.

When I finished the series I realized that I had included at least one gay or lesbian character in each book. I didn't set out to do that on purpose and so I paused to wonder why. Then I realized it came natural to me because I have knowingly had gay and lesbian friends since the 1970's. Upon further thought I realized that ALL books should have gay and/or lesbian characters in them because all families do...but unfortunately too many have to hide it. I dream of the day when we are all accepted as human beings and sexual preference is not a dividing factor.

So, now The Gastien Series is complete, and I felt I wanted to do something celebrate it. Realizing that many people would hesitate to buy a new author's long novels, especially five of them, I decided to take a risk and make my gift this:

THE FIRST 83,000 WORDS OF THE GASTIEN SERIES FREE!!!

That's right. Free on Amazon (although they may at times make it .99 and I can't control that), on kobo, I-Store and by ordering from by blog directly for .pdf, .mobi or epub.

http://goo.gl/U5B9m mobi

http://goo.gl/TQtGZ epub

http://goo.gl/J49F2 .pdf

http://tinyurl.com/kb9hhly Amazon

http://tinyurl.com/mne8m9u I-Store

http://tinyurl.com/m2bdew2 kobo

Why? Because I get that you may be hesitating to spend the time and money required to read a series of great length. That's fair. I believe so much in this series that I'm willing to gamble that you will be hooked after the 83,000 words and continue on to purchase Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream and the other four books. I believe it's that good. If you don't agree, you don't lose any money, just a little time, right?

Yes, the first 83,000 words are in Gastien Part 1: The Cost of the Dream...but you get another 65,000 words when you buy it. Those 65,000 words are as long as the vast majority of novels out there. The 83,000 FREE sample is longer than most full length novels.I hope you give The Gastien Series a try by downloading the FREE SAMPLE. I needed to give it a cover, so it is called Gastien: The Beginning.