Cassandra Hase, author of the Wind is High

Riley squared her shoulders and continued. “The screaming came next. People were ranting, running from the medicine, running from their families. None of it made any sense."
"The woman said that after the fear drove people out of their homes, they started acting possessed."

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We are getting into the thick of it now. Riley is learning to face the consequences of her own reckless behavior. No one looks at her the same as they did yesterday, but the worst judge is always herself.

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flythruthechaos.com/2025/11/the-...

Lissie checked the clipboard, and her heart sank when she read ‘Emma May’. Lissie had pushed for her to receive the cure ahead of the worst symptoms, but she progressed quickly. Cora had argued with her mother, but there was no logic in the request. Only memories.
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The man slapped his knee, “You’re General Ziggy’s boy?”  Montegue’s eyes searched him up and down.  “Your ma must have been a twig.”

“Will you make me a sword, then?”  Gavin’s chest beat to the sound of the hammers.

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Lissie went to work building a fire.
Niko approached. “The soldiers wanted to kill you.” He said it with no inflection. “I stopped them. The others are scared. They did not want to tell you what happened as you slept.”

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Riley swung in an upward arc. She felt her blade score the boy. His trousers tore, then his skinny gut and chest.  A red line welled from his left hip upwards. He screamed.
  
"First blood," Riley said automatically, as though she was on the training sands.

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Gavin noticed a spot of mud. He was sure it was what Finnegan was looking at. He twisted his feet to the sides.
Finnegan bent at the waist and through the man’s shirt, Gavin saw a painful curvature to the man’s spine.
He has no room to judge me for spots on my shoes.

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Lissie is experiencing surprising consequences after taking a magical artifact out of a cave. She is trying to hide these effects from her friends because she doesn't know how she could explain what's happening to her.

Riley proffered the fork in front of her face. Lissie took it. She ate, squawking ringing in her ears. By the last bite, she could see through the chicken’s eyes, and felt hard hands around her own feathered throat. She swallowed, and felt her neck snap.

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It would take some cutting to make that into a single traditionally publishable book. But not that much.

Thank you! The context is that all the local natives were naked. So our heroes were disrobing to gain their trust.

I originally planned for the Wind is High to be three books. But the first one came out around 35k words edited. Sooooo they all got put together.

“You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before, and nothing Tlaso is interested in.”
She disrobed and made him a liar. Her body was painted with scars. They blazed like stars. The torchlight threw them into harsh contrast, deep and red.
A gasp ran through the locals.

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I cut my teeth on anything I could find from Clive Barker. Imagicka, Abarat and more. He inspired me to play with vagueness, changing focus with characterization and context.

I think of his writing as exemplifying a textual representation of surrealism.

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The room was lit with torches on the outside walls. On the floor the tiles formed a picture that Lissie craned to see. She just caught a glimpse of fur and blood before cold hands on her shoulders brought her back.
“I thought I lost you.” Niko’s breath was in her ear.

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My website is listed in my bio, but I'm happy to share with you!

www.flythruthechaos.com

V. E. Schwab is a wonder, and an inspiration to be sure!

Absolutely, they both stand as timeless classics. I did not know that I was learning about love when I read them, because I had not been in love yet. It is in remembering that I realize the lesson.

I posted the next chapter of The Wind is High on my website. Entitled "By the Fire," emotions flare. Are the strange boys as innocuous as Lissie believes, or will they be the danger Riley fears?

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I remember Jane Eyre giving me my first taste of healthy, respect-based love. Jane could be more with him.

But Wuthering Heights gave me a hint of what unhealthy, codependent love was going to be. Catherine eroded as she gave to Heathcliff.

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The man's eyes glittered in the funny light, which came from a jar sitting on the branch. The little dog trotted out to his master and sat calmly on his lap. The man scrubbed the dog viciously, which Ruskin repaid with kisses. "My dear compatriot, what have you brought me?"
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She was struck dumb by the movement of the workmen and women. There must have been at least sixty of them, all dressed in white leathers.
"Gently, my lovelies, ever so gently," The voice that rang out was like a songbird sighing. "Oh, you're all so wonderful."

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(I didn't even have "ultimate" so "pen" it is)

“How many have reached the problematic stage?” Dottie had flipped to a blank page and she held her pen poised.
“None of the arrivals. Rashes, tears, fever. The problems are still contained, but we know it’s only a matter of time.”

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You can spend 400 hours writing, though. It'll take 10 weeks.

Gavin snorted and Mother scowled, but Riley continued, “I rode up Commerce Road and took a trail to a clearing.” She was struggling to put the details together, all she could think about was the woman’s face, her dying eyes. “I thought she was a corpse, polluting the spring."

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FUCK AI.

Show me something you made without the use of AI.

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I've found that stopping is part of the process. Sleeping is necessary...

I said when I first started my first book, I have to be ok with 80% of anything I make getting thrown away. It gets mined, distilled.

"Hullaboo, hullaboo, I see you! Hullaboo, hullaboo." Then, softer, "Well, if you don't like it, I don't know if I should keep going." The voice was carefree. Its speaker was still shaded.
Cora gasped audibly, and Lissie and Riley looked steely-eyed at each other.

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Jon walked back over to Lissie and offered her the sheep sorrel like a bouquet of flowers.
Lissie looked up, and accepted them gratefully. "These are very nice. Cora and Riley are good at finding firewood, but they don't help out with dinner while they go."

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