Mahogany Writings

Jennifer Hudson won!!!!

2007-02-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

I must admit that I didn't get a chance to watch the Oscars. I think I was cooking or writing but I heard today that she won. I'm happy for her. I thought that she did a wonderful job in Dreamgirls. I would like to see her in a part that far from her though. Effie was strong, determined and outgoing and I think that Jennifer Hudson is the same way. If we were to see her as something else other than an singer, that would be nice. But she deserved it for that role. She was great in the movie. I just know that all contestants old and new from American Idol are tripping out. I would be. If I was on the same season as Jennifer, I would be going crazy right now. Not out of jealously but to know that someone who was just on the stage with singing has won an Oscar must mean that dreams do come true. Now...I will say that I am mad that Eddie Murphy didn't win. He should have one a LONG time ago. Does the Oscars have a best comedy of the year catergory or best comedic performance? He should have won for this role. He did a powerful job in Dreamgirls. As far as Beyonce and Jamie Foxx, they both did really well but I was definitely rooting for Jennifer and Eddie. There. I'm done ranting.

Sex and Valentine's Day

2007-02-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

The other day I was thinking about Valentine's Day, which is in a few days, and I started thinking about what to do for my boyfriend. I mean should I decorate the apartment and go all out or what? Then occured to me, men are very simple, especially mine. He likes extras but he would rather get straight to something. He probably would be happy with me cooking and cleaning the house NAKED and whenever he feels like, get down and freaky. That's what makes us, men and women, different. We like the thought into something and leading up to freaky night. I am almost positive that a woman thought of the word foreplay. I would bet on it. Foreplay to me is everything that leads to the actual playing. It's funny because my boyfriend and I have had countless debates about this. He doesn't understand that sometimes I'm not in a instant sex mood from a porno or hearing things like "Come on. I have got to get in that ass!". Sometimes I don't want to hear that. Sometimes I DO have a headache or I am tired. Why doesn't he understand, I will never know. That reminds of one day when we had a great day. We were both off and decided to spend the day out. We ate out and went to the movies. We acted like a lovey dovey couple. We got home and played cards. We drank some shots and everything was all good. Everything was about to go down and then his boys called from their cell phones from outside. So my dude going to say "Ok, let's hurry up." Do you think it went down that night? Uh no! I don't know if it's my age (24 yrs. old) or not enought experience with relationships but I do know that men are very crazy!!!

Black is beautiful

2007-02-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Today I was watching the Dr. Keith Ablow show and he featured a white woman who was blatantly honest about she being a racist. She opposed her daughter dating and possibly marrying a black man. Being a black woman, it's not anything new to me. I know that racism is still alive and kicking. Just because it's 2007 doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. One of the worse parts about racism is that it is taught. So a person whose great great grandfather is a racist, he is going to teach it to his son and he'll teach it to his and so forth. It takes one generation to say that they won't teach their children but would still be in the air. It would still be around. This woman who was on the show was very real and honest. She didn't sugarcoat or hide her true feelings. I appreciate honesty, no matter how ugly it is. Currently I live in Indianapolis but before this, I lived in Germany and Jackson, MS. Living in all three places has really formed my opinions about the world and people. People in MS were honest. If a white person didn't like you, especially because you were black, you knew it. They didn't hide it or apologize for it. It was very straightforward and open to everyone. I remember being in my ROTC class in high school and my teacher talking to the black female and male students that if a police officer pulls you over at night, do not stop until you are in a well lit place AND with people around. Slow down but get to a public place because you don't know what that officer would do or say. Now I'm 24 now and at that time, I was 16 and I wasn't driving yet but I did go out with friends. You would think that a teacher would give that advice to all students. I mean to be honest, you should do that anyway. You just never know about policemen these days whether you're black, white, Hispanic, or whatever. But he made a point to focus on us, the black students. To make even more crazy, everyone, black and white, agreed with him. They nodded their heads and some said that they don't even drive at night to avoid that. This was 1999 and he was honest. I was living in Indy and Germany before this so I was shocked about it. Everyone has read stories about Mississippi and saw the movies. Hell, my family messed up and saw "Mississippi Burning" before we got on the plane. Why did we do that? All the white people in the Jackson airport looked that they were in the Klan but I didn't know any better. But living in Mississippi really opened my eyes about black and white people. I really embraced my blackness and the love of myself down there. I wasn't against white people. I just loved my black people. I move to Indianapolis and it was like another culture shock to me. I went from people being brutally honest to people who had indirect racism. Meaning that there were people that I met that smiled in my face and said the famous comment "I have black friends" but the second that they were away, the N-word was thrown around like a Frisbee. Or sometimes it was little comments they didn't think was wrong and in turn made them think they weren't racist. Comments like "you are smart for a black girl" or a customer telling me about helping children for Christmas and she said, "Yes, these gifts are for the colored children." Now that was very recently, within six months. I have found here in Indy that either they don't want to attacked for how they feel or they really don't think anything is wrong with it. That to me is worse because they're smiling in your face but hating everything about you in their heads. That's worse when it comes to getting an apartment or a house or a job because of someone's ugly opinion. So I appreciate this woman's honesty, however, she and everyone else who feels this should have their own little island somewhere and they can start to hate each other. Think about it, really, if there weren't any more black people around. What would white people do? No more hip hop which means billions of dollars out of the white man's pockets. No more sports...Think about that. What would white people do if they couldn't see their favorite basketball, football, baseball, tennis, AND golf player anymore? How would it be? Where would white people get their entertainment? Who would they be able to exploit? Other white people? Just try to really think how would the country be without black people? We are the soul of this country. Black people bring soul to everything: food, music, attitude, way of life, church, everything. So when someone says that all black people should just die off or go back to Africa (that's their favorite one), then they are saying they don't want their souls because they would be losing their souls. Being black is beautiful and I love it everyday. There are three things about that I would never change: Being a writer, a woman, and being black!!!

2007 Best New Author Award

2007-01-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hey. I was on cushcity.com and saw that someone nominated me for best new author. I was shocked and happy. I don't know who did it but very happy they did. I'm not too optimistic about winning but the nomination did A LOT for my confidence as a writer. Voting starts March 15 and ends April 15. I will have at least some votes. I'll tell everyone I know to vote. This is so exciting!!!

Book Giveaway Contest

2007-01-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

Attention book lovers! 2007 is now here and this is the beginning! Why not curl up with a hot and sexy novel! "Caught in the Middle" is the sexy romance with a twisted ending that will have you losing you mind!!
This novel surrounds 21-year-old Lena Harper, an independent yet naïve college student who takes on the risky business of escorting. Her love of money clouds her judgment until she meets Rasheed Graham. He steals her heart with his good looks, intelligent mind, and sweet charm. As they grow into a serious relationship, she tries to balance the two loves. One of the loves flips the script and takes the lead. In the end, she learns that having her cake and eating it too will have her caught in the middle.
Everybody's felt caught in the middle at least. Tell me your wildest, most outrageous, and sexiest "Caught in the Middle" moment! Have you ever felt caught between money and a man? Has a friend felt deserted because you had a new boyfriend? Has money ever been a deciding factor in any situation in your life? Or have you ever been caught between some good sex and a bad man! Tell me and you could win some great prizes!!

1st prize: An autographed copy of "Caught in the Middle", a gift bag full of sexy and romantic MUST HAVES for Valentine's Day and a $20 gift card from Wal-mart!

2nd prize: An autographed copy of "Caught in the Middle" and a $10 gift card from Wal-mart!

3rd prize: An autographed copy of "Caught in the Middle" and a $5 gift card from Wal-mart!

The deadline is February 1st, 2007. Send all of your submissions to my email cassandr-daniels@ sbcglobel. net or to my myspace page www.myspace. com/blaxnubian Please include your name, email address, if you're a reader or an author, and your "Caught in the Middle" moment in your submission. I can't wait to read all of your moments of being caught in the middle.
Check out my website www.mahoganywriting .com on February 5th to see who is the winner!!!

This will be a great year!

2007-01-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

I will be positive and say that this year will be a great year. I'll start with great for my writing and establishing myself as an author. I'm working on everything. As soon as I get some more money, I'll order more books and send them out for reviews. I'm going to set up more booksignings and just have fun. But...I must be more assertive when it comes to my books. I'm so shy that sometimes it's hard for me to start the conversation. Talking about my books isn't the problem, it's bringing up the fact that I write so that's what I'll do from now on.

review on Amazon

2007-01-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

DECEPTION!,
December 31, 2006
Reviewer: LOCKSIE "ARC Book Club Inc" (ARCBOOKCLUBINC.com) - See all my reviews
Being the only child to successful parents, Lena Harper was use to getting anything she wanted and attended private schools and shopping sprees. Now at 21, Lena is enrolled in collage and strives to be the independent student but feels smothered by her parents. Moving away from them was the only way she could gain the freedom and independence she needed to show them that she was now old enough to make her own decisions.

Once on her own, Lena continued to crave for the rich flavor of money, but now she also has another strong craving...sex! What better way to feed both her desires than to run her own personal escort service where she would be both employer and employee! Unknown to her parents and few friends, she was gainfully self-employed, making a ton of money and having sex without getting personally involved with any men. Business is booming, Lena continues her collage education while putting money aside. While hanging with her friends Shauna and Tammy, Lena meets sexy Rasheed and is swept up in a serious relationship with him. Rasheed has fallen in love with Lena, and begs her to be honest with him as his previous relationship fell apart because of secrets and lies. She moves in with him but Lena does not heed Rasheed's warning; she maintains her secret life, taking risks as she sneaks out to service her customers, never wanting to give up her secret loves; sex and money. After a vist to the doctor Lena has to decide which is most important; sex and money or her life! Will Lena come clean about her secret life? Will Rasheed see her for who she really is? Or is he so "in love" he can't see straight?

Cassandra Daniels is a new name that will be moving forward with her novel "Caught In the Middle". Taking on a bold subject; Cassandra's story brings to the forefront deception, secrets, and lies. With the dreaded disease looming and a murder twist that will have you saying "Oh sh**..."readers are going to like this one.

When I first started reading this novel it seem just ok. But as the plot thickened the characters came to life on each page, pulling me deeper into the story. The character Lena was well written... Lena was a mean selfish bitch! What do you call a woman who gives herself to no-one? She's not even honest with herself let alone with her friends. I felt pain for Rasheed. Yes he really loved Lena, but then I had to ask myself was he stupid or is love REALLY blind? I wanted to know a little more about Shauna .

A few editing issues to iron out but I like this novel. I'm looking forward to reading more of Cassandra's work.
Locksie
ARC Book Club Inc. Star Rating ****4.5

Great reviews so far!

2007-01-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

I got this yesterday from one of the bookclubs. This isn't the actual review but I wanted to post this because it hints of what the review will be.

Name: "Locksie"
Home Page: http://www.arcbookclubinc.com
E-Mail: locksie@arcbookclubinc.com

Hi Cassandra,I am the co-founder of ARC Book Club Inc. I've just finished reading your book "Caught In The Middle" Yes I enjoyed it! I am glad I came across this blog as I am an avid reader and reviewer and I'm always looking to find more information on authors and their works. Good read, keep up the good work. Look out for my review on Amazon.
Locksie

2006 almost over

2006-12-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it's almost over for this year. I am going to make sure that 2007 is even better! I'm proud of what I've done this year with my writing. I can honestly say that I love writing and it's definitely something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I didn't choose writing, writing chose me and I truly believe that! 2006 was great but 2007 is going to be greater and BIGGER!!

Mahogany Writings

2006-12-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Quick update: I sent 6 of my novel to online bookclubs for review on 13 December. The following bookclubs are Nubian Sistas, OOSA bookclub, Imani bookclub, APOO bookclub, ARC Online bookclub, and one author Kisha Green. I hope that they enjoy it. I really enjoyed writing "Caught in the Middle" just as I love writing "Karma Has a Name." I will say that I am expanding as an author from more character development to showcasing all the other sides of me. Other sides like showing female characters who are completely opposite of me. I think that I should (keep your fingers crossed!) have it finished and released by Valentine's 2007.

Mahogany Writings

2006-12-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a minute since I've added to the site. I've been working a whole lot so that made a difference. I've been working on my fourth novel, Karma Has a Name. This is a romance that is full of secrets, guilt, love, sex, and lies. I'm having fun writing this book because it's allowing me to grow. I think every writer grows with each project that they do and that shows with this novel. This week I'm sending "Caught in the Middle" out for reviews. I'll be sure to post the reviews when they're done. Usually they give a 3 to 4 month time span. So I'll hope for the best.

Mahogany Writings

Updating is fun to do.....

2006-09-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a lot of updating to do! First the television interview went well. I'm trying to add the footage to the website so everyone can see how nervous I was. It was live and about 20, 25 seconds but it was cool. I was definitely happy to do it. The ONLY thing I regret is that I forgot to say my website. I said the bookstores but not the site. I thought about it right when I got in the car. The next day I got a call from a bookstore that I've been contacting for about a month. A Shade of Gray bookstore called me and set up a booksigning. The only problem I have now is getting to them. I need to send them my press kit because at the moment I can't physically get there. The booksigning is supposed to the 23 of this month. I've been stressing a lot lately so sad to say, I've been neglecting my book but I am now updating the site and adding to the next novel. I think I have a name for it but I'll keep it to myself for now.

Mahogany Writings

radio interviews

2006-08-27T20:53:00.001-07:00

About a month ago, maybe a little longer, I found this website www.artistfirst.com. They offer radio interviews for authors and bands. It's essentially free. I just have to donate to their website which is something I can definitely support. I'm calling them tomorrow to set the date and time of the interview. I doubt if I wrote about this (and I should have already) but I had an on air interview on the 16th of August. It was on WISHTV and I was probably on for 20 seconds but it was live and I was so nervous. I told everyone I knew and now I'm making copies so I show family and friends who couldn't see it. I'm trying to promote as much as I can.

radio interviews

2006-08-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

Mahogany Writings

2006-08-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

I wanted to say hi to the group and let you know about some events that are coming up for me!

Online book club discussion: August 21, 2006 Shades of Romance Magazine, www.sormag.com -Can't wait to hear from you

Booksigning : Septemeber 23,2006, 5-7 p.m. A Shade Of Gray Bookstore 1402 N. Pennsylvania St. Indianapolis, IN 46202 I'll be signing "Caught in the Middle" and talking about female college students and how some pay for college. I'm looking forward to it!

Check out Cassandra Daniels and her sensual novel "Caught in the Middle" on www.mahoganywritings.com.

Take the good with the bad

2006-08-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's funny how you think how you want things to be and how they have been. For several months now, I have been mobile less. I get rides to and from work. When I promote "Caught in the Middle", it's 90% online, hence the blog. When I do get a chance to borrow someone's car, I'm out all day in this crazy heat and promoting as much as I can stand. I'm trying to make the best of my situation, considering. It's like catch 22. I'm working a lot of overtime so that I can buy a car so I can promote more. On the flip side, I'm working more overtime, getting home around midnight and then on the computer promoting until 3 in the morning. But...when I do get out there, it's always fun and worth it everytime.

12 books?

2006-07-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

The other day, I went to www.lulu.com, (they are the print-on-demand company that helped me create my books) and was looking at my sales. On the 30th of the June, somebody bought 12 books in one day. It has to be the same person because it shows if it was just one buy. Of course we can't see who bought them. They just get an automated thank you note. I'm wondering if it's a book store or a book club. I was really surprised and it made me really excited as well. We'll see. Maybe whomever will read it and let me know. Mahogany Writings

Sequel?

2006-07-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have been getting wonderful results about the book. A lot of readers were shocked at the end. Some were tripping out that I wrote and the rest said it was worth the money and time to read it. So I am very happy about that. The next statement that they say is you have to do a sequel. You have to tell us about what happens to this person and that person. I wasn't thinking about it. Both of my books are complete different and my third book is way different. I did that on purpose. I didn't want to write the same genre or along the same type of stories. But the other day, I was mad about something and went to bed and the characters were screaming dialogue to me. I started writing and seriously thinking about keeping as "Caught in the Middle 2". Probably would change the title though.
Mahogany Writings

Mahogany Writings

2006-06-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

I received some good news the other day. I wrote the famous bestselling author, Zane, and honestly did not expect to hear from her. She did in fact read my email and wrote me back. She gave me some advice on how she marketed herself. She too was self published and it was amazing as to how she introduced her steamy novel "Addicted." I have read "Addicted" by the way. It was really hot. I think I finished that book in less than a week. She also said that she thought my book sounded interesting and that promoting online is a big help!

Mahogany Writings

2006-06-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Mahogany Writings
I've been reading a lot about promoting and how authors have promoted themselves. It seems that they are doing what I have been doing, just a whole lot more. I need to step my game up and get my name and "Caught in the Middle" out there more!

2006-05-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt Caught in the Middle?

2006-05-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Cassandra Daniels, new fresh author, has published her second and much anticipated novel "Caught in the Middle". This novel surrounds 21-year- old Lena Harper, an independent yet naive college student who takes on the risky business of escorting. Her love of money has clouded her judgment until she meets Rasheed Graham. He steals her heart with his good looks, intelligent mind, and sweet charm. As they grow into a serious relationship, she feels trying to balance the two loves. One of them flips the script and takes lead. In the end, she learns that having her cake and eating it too will have her Caught in the Middle.Pick it up for the reader in you!
Caught in the Middle
ISBN 978-1-4116-8624-3
www.mahoganywritings.com
If the pages aren't stuck together by the time you get to the end, you haven't been reading the book!!
You can find it Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Borders today!!