REGEN By Cassie Greutman

9/16/2018

Debut author, Cassie Greutman, introduces us to her first book REGEN:
Life is finally shaping up for Trisha. For the first time, she’s with a foster family she doesn’t hate. Her new school is decent, and she even has a boyfriend. Until the night she finds herself waking up in the woods covered in blood, a bullet hole in her dress.

Without her fae abilities, she’d be dead, but now the Faerie Council has given her an ultimatum. She has to help find an escaped fugitive, or be taken to Faerie, a place her missing mother told her horror stories about.

Now, Trish has to keep her day job a secret from her foster parents, join forces with the ex-boyfriend who killed her, and hunt down a dangerous criminal before he comes into his powers. Should be a piece of cake.

This urban fantasy story really surpassed my expectations! It was so much fun and kept me on the edge of my seat.
I was especially pleased that the story is told from the first person POV of Trisha. She seems to be a human-Fae hybrid and knows very little of her ancestry or her nascent Fae abilities.
Cassie’s plotting left me breathless at times, her scene-setting and action sequences are quite good. When first person POV is done correctly, it’s wonderful, in my opinion. Cassie avoids so many of the problems that trip up authors, she kept the POV clean of extraneous thoughts, there was no head-hopping.
This is a great story, I highly recommend it! I hope there is a sequel. There is a lot more story to tell.
I award 4.8 stars to REGEN, the score would have been higher except for the small handful of spelling issues.

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Regen-Cassie-Greutman-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38594972-regen
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Regen-Cassie-Greutman-ebook

You can follow Cassie:
https://twitter.com/writeranrider89

Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction

33 Comments

Cassie Greutman

9/18/2018 09:35:45 am

Thanks for the review!

Mark

9/18/2018 10:12:15 am

You are most welcome, Cassie. I really enjoyed your book. It was fun for me to read, I found it quite exciting. What inspired you to write this book?
How long did it take you to write REGEN?
How many drafts did you go through to get it published?

9/18/2018 10:54:24 am

Great questions! Inspiration mostly came from the fact that when I was a teen I was constantly looking for more stories about family, even if they were thrown together families.

It took me about three years to write Regen! Far longer than I would have liked, but I always have a lot going on.

Haha, I don't even know how many drafts! At least seven. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I changed things more and more until I was finally happy with the end result.

9/18/2018 11:17:09 am

I can really appreciate the dynamic that Trisha was feeling, she protected herself as much as possible. It was fascinating to go through her experience of learning to trust her foster parents. I grew up in a blended family, and as an adult I have done foster care also.
New questions.
What are your earliest memories of writing, how far back does that go for you?
Have you ever needed to pattern characters after people you have known or met?
Have you ever used yourself as a character for the starting point of a story?

9/18/2018 01:08:35 pm

I've been writing since I was a little kid. And always, always, making up stories, for as long as I can remember. I was also the kid that had two bags of books to return to the library all the time :)

I have never intentionally patterned a character after another person, but personalty traits do come through for sure! While Trisha's foster parents aren't a lot like my actual parents, the fact that they will do anything for Trish definitely is modeled after them.

There is one character in the book that somewhat resembles me, but I don't want to give too much of the story away! It wasn't intentional, it just kind of happened.

9/18/2018 01:47:02 pm

I love that you were a kid that was writing. We both were returning books to the library all the time. I was so proud when I got a library card at the town library, when I was in the sixth grade.
I love the commitment of Trisha's foster parents. I have been a foster parent myself. It's a very tricky situation, to give love to a child that has learned that love can hurt sometimes.
Did you grow up in foster homes or in a blended family? I did, my mom divorced my bio-dad when I was very young.
New questions.
Why did you choose to write Trisha's story in first person POV?
Most authors write a book in third person or second person POV. Why do you think that is?
What is your routine when you sit down to write?

9/18/2018 04:19:18 pm

I grew up in a great home, but because my parents kept foster kids since before I was born, I got to see first hand all the struggles some of those kids go through. Wanting to know their real parents, loving them even when they are horrible. It really touched me, and it's something that made me who I am today. I wanted to incorporate that into the story.

It's funny you ask that about first person point of view. This is actually the sixth novel I've written (the others are just sitting on my laptop!) but it's the only I've written in first. I guess this story just seemed more personal. It's very much Trish's story, so first person felt right.

I tend to write in third, mostly because I always want to know what's going on in everyone's head, not just the main character. But for Regen, I felt like that would hurt me getting across all the things Trish was thinking and feeling, so I had to change things up a bit. I think third is easier to write, at least for me.

My routine, haha. I usually sit down, realize I didn't get water, go grab a glass, sit down and the dogs want back in, go let the dogs in, sit down and check my email, then get distracted before turning off the wifi and getting started for real. I read the last chapter of the story, doing some soft editing and getting into the groove, then start typing away. I'm not really a seat of the pants writer that starts without a plan, but I'm not the intense planner type either. I usually know the ending, and type up a short synopsis of where I want the story to go so I don't get stuck, and then go from there.

9/18/2018 04:31:33 pm

That makes perfect sense considering how you grew up. You did a very credible job of looking through Trish's eyes.
You answered one of my future questions about other novels. What are they about? Do you think any of them would benefit from a first person POV?
Is it harder or easier to not know more than one person's thoughts when writing? In one of my previous reviews, Divinity Bureau by Tessa Clare, the story was written with each chapter being told from the first person POV of a different character. She had two main characters, so it didn't get confusing. A well told story also.
That is a great routine, we creatures are so easily distracted. Why, you- squirrel!
New questions.
Is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?
Do you have anything you consider to be your writing lucky charm?
Do you think a strong ego is an asset or liability for a writer and why?

9/18/2018 05:36:09 pm

Thanks!

This series will continue to be through Trish's eyes, but I have considered adding another point of view, with alternating chapters. I've read books like that also, and when done well they are really great!

Haha, yes, I can be very squirrel-like!

I believe readers are into stories for two major reasons. Escape from real life/entertainment, and for an emotional experience. For a reader to have an emotional experience, it's nearly impossible for a writer to write that level of feeling without being emotionally invested themselves. So yes, I get very involved in my characters emotions.

Time of day is kind of my lucky charm! Hitting it in the morning or very late at night when all is quiet are definitely my sweet spots. With my work schedule that can be difficult, so I love it when I get it!

A strong ego keeps you from learning. In almost all cases, I believe it to be harmful. One major exception would be marketing. It help sell you story if you think it's great and can get people to buy it. That's something I struggle with, for sure! Of course I love my characters, of course I spent hundreds of hours crafting the book, but does that really mean other people will want to read it? Guess we'll find out!

9/18/2018 06:23:00 pm

How about those other 6 books waiting for some attention on your computer, what are they about, what genre? If you don't mind sharing a little bit about them.
I am not surprised you get involved emotionally with the story, I was emotionally invested reading REGEN also. I felt a great deal of what Trisha felt. I think a lot of people will want to read your book. But it will take a while to get noticed.
The marketing side of the business of writing does require faith in your work and a thick skin, but it is necessary to rise above most of the crowd, to be noticed. A lot of writers struggle with that, in fact, almost everyone struggles with putting themselves forward, whether it's looking for a job, a raise, or selling a book.
Every human activity has that component, we all have a customer at one time or another. It took me a little bit to realize that I was just another tool in the hands of a construction contractor; it wasn't personal for them when a lack of work forced them to lay me off. It sure felt personal to me at first. Sorry, got off on a tangent there.
New questions.
Do you have other writers you connect with, as in a critique group or support group?
Do you have alpha-readers and/or beta-readers to help you smooth out a lot of crinkles before publishing?
Do you self-edit and proofread, or do you hire that out?

9/18/2018 07:52:14 pm

Four of the other books are just typical fantasy, one is urban fantasy, and the other is about a Russian girl that gets adopted by an American family. Maybe I will go back to them someday, but they would probably each need full rewrites, as I've learned so much since I wrote them.

It's good to hear you got emotionally invested in the story :) That is the whole point of the art, after all!

Yes, I have so many writer friends now! It's wonderful. We do a lot of swapping, reading each other's work and giving feedback. Which actually answers your next question as well. I have had many non-writer beta readers as well, and they usually look at the story differently, not so much the nuts and bolts, but how the characters are, etc, which is very important also!

I did all of the editing myself, as well as the proofreading. I would prefer to hire it out and get fresh perspective, hopefully I'll have that option for the second in the series :)

9/18/2018 08:16:40 pm

You certainly seem to be on the right track to me, especially since you have non-writing beta readers, and critique partners who are writers. Both are necessary, as you pointed out.
I have heard more than one editor say you should never publish your first book, because it's such a steep learning curve the first time. You went far beyond that and wrote six. I bet you showed a great deal of growth from the first book to REGEN. This book showed more maturity in writing than I expected. That's why I gave your book such a high score.
Your proofreading skills were better than many other books I have read also. I am sure it's far more fun to write than proofread.
New questions.
What is the worst piece of advice you received from another writer?
What is the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received from another writer?

9/19/2018 08:31:38 am

Sooo much more fun to write! I am gung ho about the first draft, but after that it becomes work!

One of the worst things for me personally is hearing write every day. Writing every day is just not feasible for some people, and it can be discouraging hearing that doing that is one of the things that makes you a true writer. Trust me, I'd love to, if I could!

Probably the best advice I ever received was to just get the first draft down. With my perfectionist self, the first draft was taking me forever. Then when I went back, things didn't click, and I had to cut large sections, even whole scenes, that I'd put a lot of work into! So a friend told me to get it down, get the plot figured out, then go back and clean things up. She was so right! No matter how much planning you do ahead of time, once you get into the story, things will change.

9/19/2018 11:35:16 am

Not everyone writes the same way, some people need a well-defined plan for writing, others can't work that way for a variety of reasons. Those reasons are valid for them and you. There is a guest blog post you might find interesting, Non-linear writing by Rick Hall. I am such a concrete person, if I was a writer that would have been extremely liberating for me.
New questions.
Were you a plotter or a pantster when you started writing? How about now, has that changed?
Do you think you were born to write or did you have to learn the craft?
What are common traps for beginning writers?

9/20/2018 08:32:32 am

The first book I wrote was completely seat of my pants haha. I enjoyed doing it that way, and the excitement of discovering the story as I went along, but as I got more serious about it I realized that for me personally, it was a lot more work. The first draft went by quickly, but when I started editing, I realized I'd changed my mind about this part way through, changed it about that character half way done, and had to go back through the entire story and change things to match. So now I do a little of both, and I don't end up having tore-do nearly as much.

I most definitely had to learn the craft! The amount I read as a kid helped of course, but I also have spent so much time going through online articles, reading writing craft books, and letting my work get torn to pieces by other writers haha.

A common trap for a lot of writers is not really knowing what you want out of it. You're going to do things differently if you are writing for your own enjoyment, or if you would actually like to make a career out of writing. Both are completely valid! But you will go about things in different ways.

9/20/2018 12:00:41 pm

I bet a lot of writers have gone through the same thing with their first novel. It's easy for me to imagine how much fun it is to write by the seat of your pants. It's also easy to empathize with the discovery of plot holes and character shifts. Trying to do some foreshadowing must be so frustrating when the plot shifts in an incompatible way.
How hard was it to let other writers tear into your book the first time?
You laid out the common trap so well. I dare say, a lot of writers have a lot of trouble deciding which side of that fence they want to land on. Now that you have a published book, are you writing anything strictly for yourself or are you concentrating on the commercial side?
New questions.
Does writing have a spiritual or healing component for you?
Is there really a such thing as writer's block and how do you overcome it?

9/21/2018 09:08:31 am

I was pretty young the first time I had someone critique my work, and it was very intimidating. Thankfully everyone was so kind. I love the writer community. Nearly everyone I've met is so supportive.

I've fallen more on the write for myself side. I don't see Regen becoming a huge commercial success. It doesn't fit the genre very well. Most urban fantasy books are dark and gritty, and as you know, Regen isn't like that AT ALL. There is enough dark in real life, I prefer strong themes of hope and family love in my entertainment.

Writing is a wonderful outlet! Creating is good for the soul.

Writer's block is definitely a real thing! Crippling writer's block where you don't do anything isn't as real. If I get stuck, I move ahead in the timeline of the book and write a fun scene, getting me back into the groove. Then it's much easier to go back and figure out the area I was stuck in.

9/21/2018 12:18:24 pm

You have had a great experience within the writing community. Have you had an opportunity to pass that experience on to younger writers?
I think you have a really good book, I particularly love the theme of hope that kept alive throughout your book. You can only be sure of one thing, promoting a book takes a fair amount of time. I think your book is worth promoting.
You discovered something a lot of writers need to beat writer's block. One of my guest blogs, Non-Linear Writing, suggests to do exactly that. Write the easy parts first, the hard parts will get easier.
New questions.
Have you ever read a book that changed the way you look at writing?
Do you read books for entertainment or homework?
Do you think reading, watching movies and listening to music help you be a better writer?

9/21/2018 01:23:07 pm

Yes! It's a lot of fun watching a book develop as a writer learns more about the craft. I am pretty involved working with other people and their stories.

Well thank you :) It's always nice to hear someone enjoyed the story!

Getting into Character by Brandilyn Collins really helped me out. It's too easy to make all of your characters the same if they make the decision you would make, so that was interesting for me, intentionally making characters make poor choices, even though they had perfectly valid reasons.

I read books for both! I read all the time, actually :) Or I'm listening to an audiobook.

Any type of storytelling you take in will help you write a better story, whether it's in book form, movie form, or even video games with a strong storyline. Though with all the studying I've done, it has made some movies etc pretty predictable!

9/21/2018 03:56:32 pm

That Collins' book sounds quite interesting. I learn so much talking with you and other authors. Every choice seems reasonable at the moment.
I have found some movies to be predictable also. Books are a different matter for me. I usually cannot guess how a cozy murder will turn out.
I have enjoyed several audio books in the last year.
New questions.
What is the most important thing you learned from publishing your latest book?
What are three things, that you wish you knew before you wrote your first book?
Do you ever brainstorm with non-writers and if so, is it effective?

9/21/2018 04:03:44 pm

Hmmm... the most important thing I've learned is probably when I should listen to advice, and when I shouldn't. I'm sure I'll still have times when it's a tough choice, but in the beginning I trusted everyone more than myself, and changed things to make them happy. Eventually I changed some of it back, and left some as it was.

Three things? One would be I wish I'd convinced myself that the first draft is supposed to be a mess. Get things down 'on paper' and then you have something to work with, which ties into the second thing. Writing is honestly mostly rewriting. If I'd known how many times I was going to rewrite that first draft I might not have even tried haha. The third thing I wish I had known was how welcoming the writing community tends to be. Find your tribe, encourage others and let them encourage you on your way.

Occasionally I try to brainstorm with non-writers, but most of them just say don't tell me, I want to read what happens next! So I haven't done that much.

9/21/2018 04:58:39 pm

Knowing when to buy and when to pass is something that all of us must learn the hard way, none are born knowing that.
The three things you have learned are so important! I think they are very foundational for a successful writing career. If I had tried to write a book many years ago, I think I would have got stuck on making the first draft perfect. I have since learned, as you have, the most important thing is getting it down on paper.
That makes sense to me, the readers wouldn't want to know spoilers. That's how I write my book reviews.. no spoilers.
New questions.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer to enhance your career?
Do you subscribe to any magazines, newsletters, blogs or podcasts that enhance your writing career?
What are your favorite reference books for writing?

9/24/2018 03:17:17 pm

Best money ever spent has to have been getting a critique from a professional editor. It's expensive, but it helped me learn so much about writing. I just paid for a basic read through with notes on the first book I ever wrote, and it really helped me learn when I had to figure out how to fix the things he said needed fixing.

Right now I don't subscribe to any of those things. I found myself spending more time reading about how to write than actually doing it, so I cut back. If I was a little less busy I'd probably do more with them though!

The Emotion Thesaurus is a great tool! It helps to show, not tell, something that took me a little while to get down.

9/24/2018 03:44:29 pm

Would you like to give a shout out for that editor, who helped you so much?
It would be very easy for me to do just as you were doing, spending more time learning about writing than actually writing.
The Emotion Thesaurus sounds extremely useful.
New questions.
What did you buy with your first royalty check?
How do you celebrate when you publish a book?
What software do you use to write and publish your books?
What is the message, moral, or takeaway that you hope people will get from reading your book? Is there more than one?

9/24/2018 07:45:35 pm

Sure! His name is Jeff Gerke. I believe he still does edits.

I actually didn't buy anything special with my first royalty check. That will come after I've broken even with the money I put into the cover and formatting!

I mostly celebrate by hitting the refresh button repeatedly to see if anyone has bought a copy!

I just write in Word, though I've heard Scrivner is also a great resource.

The biggest moral of Regen is that family is what you make of it. Family doesn't have to be related by blood to be just as close. It's normal and healthy to want a good relationship with your biological family, but sometimes that's just not possible. Family is what you make of it.

9/24/2018 07:54:09 pm

I know what you mean about covering your costs first. Sometimes that takes a long time, unfortunately.
I love how you celebrate, how "refresh"ing!
A lot of people use MS Word. One of my guest bloggers recently wrote a review about Scrivner. I have heard more than one author proclaim it's virtues over Word.
Family is so important, there is no doubt about that. I feel so blessed getting to watch our grand daughters grow up, I see them at least once a week. I get to babysit them almost every week also.
New questions.
Now that you have a published book, are you writing anything strictly for yourself or are you concentrating on writing for your readers?
Do you have anything you consider to be your writing lucky charm?
Do you think that a writer needs to read books, why or why not?

9/24/2018 08:38:09 pm

That's really great that you get to see your grand daughters so often!

Well so far the readers haven't had any real complaints, so I'm going to keep going as is and hope that I found a group of readers that like the same things I do, and will like where I go with my stories :)

No, I don't have any good luck charms :)

I think that someone that wants to be a full time author needs to read heavily in the genre they publish in, to keep brushed up on what's selling. I don't read nearly as much as I'd like, but I still read a couple books a month, at least.

9/24/2018 09:07:35 pm

It makes a lot of sense to me to keep up with what's current in your chosen genre.
Do you have any plans to write in another genre? What genre would be your first choice?
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Do you have any Easter eggs hidden in your stories that only close friends or family members would recognize?

9/24/2018 09:15:01 pm

I have started one book that would be considered contemporary, but fantasy definitely has my heart. I probably wouldn't leave the fantasy genre, but would possibly write just straight up fantasy instead of urban fantasy.

Getting started is by far the hardest thing for me. Not started on the story, but the day to day sitting down and getting some work done. I always want to excuse myself because I worked too many hours that day, or because I'm mentally drained, but if I sit down and get started, I love it. Once I get to work, creating the world the story is set in and hanging out with the characters is so great.

I don't have anything hidden that no one but my family would recognize, but I do have a reference to an older movie that a couple betas thought I should take out because most teens wouldn't get where it was from. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and if the reference sparks someone's interest and they look it up, all the better!

9/24/2018 09:42:41 pm

Very nice! One of my favorite authors is Tegon Maus, I reviewed his most recent fantasy, Black Moon. He writes in first person also.
It's easy for me to imagine that kind of difficulty, just sitting down and doing it after a grueling day at work. That is what an author or an editor has to do sometimes. After a minute or two the magic starts to work! It's a wonderful feeling, to be in the groove!
What was the favorite movie?
New questions.
What is the biggest myth about writing that would help aspiring authors?
Do you have any problems when writing about characters of the opposite sex?
Do you have any other passions to pursue if you didn't write?

9/24/2018 10:42:04 pm

The movie was the Neverending Story :) Such a great film!

A big myth that I hear all the time is write what you know. Sure, obviously you're going to have stuff in your book that you know about, but who actually knows anything about dragons? Elves? Aliens? There is a balance there.

I don't feel like I have any problem writing as the opposite sex, but I guess that's up to the reader to decide if it comes across well or not!

I also enjoy violin. I used to play in an orchestra, years ago. It would be something I'd consider doing again.

9/24/2018 10:55:38 pm

I enjoyed the Neverending story also. It was a lot of fun!
You are so right, If all we wrote about was what we were intimately acquainted with, it would be pretty boring a lot of the time. The balance is using our imagination, and researching what we need to know for the details.
The violin is an amazing instrument. Good on you.

It's getting to the end of my day and the end of our week. This has been a great deal of fun Cassie, I really enjoyed your book. I am looking forward to your next book also.
Thank you for sharing about your writing process and your life. I am confident your next book is going to be a winner also!

9/24/2018 10:58:21 pm

Thanks so much for taking the time to read Regen! And for the thoughtful interview :)

REGEN By Cassie Greutman

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