From the desk of Cassie Vest :)

Hey Y'all,

It's been exactly one month since I launched Nellie and the Sea of Trials sooo, IT'S STORY TIME!

But First, Gratitude

Thank all of you for your support. Your reviews, encouragement, prayers, and purchases. If you haven't done any of those things, thank you for being here and supporting my author journey. Y'all are amazing.

AND NOW. It's really story time.

Once Upon A Time...

There was a girl that always dreamed at night.

Perhaps she dreamed every night because in the daytime, she did not allow such frivolous, unproductive things as dreaming. In the night, however, she had no control. Her imagination ran rampant whether she liked it or not. (And most of the time, she did not.)

What's the point of made-up theme parks with secret entrances, log rolling competitions over crocodile infested waters, or even visions of floating rooms connected like a massive network in the middle of the ocean?

Sure, they were "fun" (mostly), but they were exhausting! She would wake up more tired than when she went to bed!

The girl tried to ignore the dreams for a very long time. Or she would ruminate on them. Why would I dream that? she'd ask herself. Immediately, her logical mind would attack them or overanalyze them, trying to find some way for the dreams to be productive. If they could just tell her how to fix parts of her life, maybe they would be useful.

You see, the girl was feeling stuck in the daytime hours.

She spent her time wisely in the eyes of everyone around her, but often, the girl finished her days wondering if what she did was really impacting or changing anything. What was its purpose? Did she even like being productive in this way? Parts of it, yes, but she began to crave a change, though she could not logically describe what that change should look like.

The dreams continued. They had no advice or ways to "fix" the daytime hours. They just told her stories. Snapshots of whimsy or adventure. She began to look at them with curious eyes, not demanding they give purpose for their existence.

And then, the change she craved was thrust upon her, but it didn't look how she thought it would look. It was a dramatic change. Nothing was productive. Uncertainty stuck to her life like a spiky brown bur sticks to cotton, snagging at the fabric and refusing to let it go.

Well, I do somewhat have a grid for this, the girl thought to herself. My life doesn't make much logical sense to me at the moment. What else has never made much sense to me? My dreams!

Thus the girl allowed herself to dream. Yes, she dreamt at night, but she also dreamt during the day. Her imagination ran wild. And she let it.

She began to write one of the stories down.

There were floating sea rooms, magic lightning rods, blueberry muffins, and lots and lots of uncertain situations in her story. It was not entirely logical, but not entirely whimsical either. There were reasons behind her story choices, but she also let herself have fun.

The girl wanted to spread the fun, so she thought to herself, what if I actually embarked on a new path and published this story?

Thus, the girl ruled by logic during the day and imagination at night became the girl who let whimsy and hope guide her productivity.

Nellie and the Sea of Trials by Cassie Vest was born. Dreams really can come true.

The end...or the beginning?

Where can you read my book?

​Amazon has the ebook, paperback & audiobook formats. It can also be read on Kindle Unlimited. The audiobook is wide, so check out your favorite audiobook platform like Spotify, B&N, Chirp, Google Play, or Kobo; it might just be there.

Library apps will have the ebook and audiobook as well! WOOOO! (I have a special place in my heart for library apps; that's where I do the majority of my reading, and it still supports authors!) If you don't see it on your fave, search for my name and request the book be added. This works on platforms like Libby. If enough people request, the library will buy it! Hoopla doesn't work that way, but it will be there. They assure me to be patient.

Have you already read it?

I would love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review on Goodreads, Amazon, or reply to this email and let me know personally. I love to hear from y'all.

Book 2 is being written as we speak.

Blessings,

Cassie Vest