Acts of Love Update

Acts of Love, my second published book, has been available as an e-book for several months. It will soon be released in paperback.

A brief description:

Acts of Love is a cozy mystery/ romance, featuring Amanda Reed, an aromatherapist with two cats and a secret past. Her love interest is homicide detective Santiago Yazzi (Yazz), a man with Apache, Chinese, Italian, and Navajo ancestors. The story is set in fictional Dos Rios, at the southwestern tip of Arizona, a land that Yazz's forebears tamed. Drugs, murder, and kidnapping rip open the shameful pasts kept carefully concealed by Amanda and Yazz, forcing them to forgive old and new betrayals before they discover the secret love hidden deep in their hearts. Amanda and Yazz are supported by a mixed cast of characters, including Naomi, a saucy retired nurse; Quincy, an organic farmer; and Lily, a feisty octogenarian.

Excerpts are on my web page:

http://cassandrabarnes.com

Click on "excerpts" in the navigation box. Since Acts of Love is my second published book, you will need to scroll down the page past A Perfect Body to get to the excerpts.

Sanchona's Review of Acts of Love

Acts of Love was my second published novel.

Australian author Sanchona (A Family of Strangers) wrote the following review:

"Ms Cassandra Barnes has published a new novel, Acts of Love which tells the story of Amanda Reed, who has made a new life for herself in a small town where she has cultivated a large group of close friends. Then two murders shake up the community. Amanda and her friends rally around to help the family of the victims. It is in this chaotic time that Michael, the son Amanda had regretfully abandoned for his own good years ago, shows up at her door. There is no great reunion. Michael resents his mother, but has only looked her up for the sake of his son, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Michael is hoping that Amanda, as the grandmother, might be that compatible bone marrow donor to save his child's life. Acts of Love deals with the question of hard decisions some people make based on love that call for personal sacrifice, then years later, they wonder if they had made the right decision. Cassandra Barnes is to be congratulated for skillfully weaving into this theme a budding romance in a murder mystery that is then complicated by a family conflict. This appealing novel makes easy reading. I look forward to her next novel."

Sometimes I Surprise Myself!

In my early 30s I became acquainted with a woman about twice my age who shared my love of reading. In talking with her, I learned that she primarily read non-fiction, and was avid about learning new things. With the arrogance of youth, I wondered why, since she was retired, and therefore "old," with no practical (meaning income-producing) way to apply that knowledge.

Now that I’m about her age, I’ve found that all I want to read is non-fiction, and that I just can’t seem to get my fill of learning something new. I now understand that people don’t have to "do" something with their knowledge, that there is great pleasure in simply discovering new information or expanding existing information.

I still enjoy fiction, although my tastes have changed dramatically over the years, but I’ll nearly always chose non-fiction first. Some of it is lightweight, and some of it forces me to really study what the author is saying. I’m very eclectic, reading from an extensive selection of authors, philosophies, and fields.

I suppose in a way that I’m looking for answers, although I’ve not formulated any serious questions. I think, though, that most of it is a matter of curiosity, of wanting to know as much as I can about everything. The older I get, the more I realize how little I really know, despite having lived a full life, with a variety of experiences.