About Cassie
Fantastical Stories of Hope and Forgiveness.
Humble Beginnings, or Not
When Cassie Porath was a little girl (7 or 8) she fell in love with writing. It started as a class assignment to write a story about a trip she’d taken. It started her love of writing. From that moment forward, Cassie started taking pen and paper with her wherever she went and wrote all sorts of short stories and fan fiction pieces. When friends came over, Cassie would make a game with them and drag them into her story-writing shenanigans. The more she wrote, the more absurd her stories became. But her love for writing only grew.
Cassie was a voracious reader. What else was there to do in the frozen tundra of Michigan? Cassie drew her inspiration from books she read starting with “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” writing her own versions, some cute and some…not so much. Hint: some of the poor animals died. But what do you expect when you feed them all these things they aren’t supposed to eat?
When Cassie’s dad started reading the Harry Potter series to her, she fell in love. With the characters. With the world. And with the story. It ignited her love of storytelling in a new way and Cassie decided she would be an author some day. Not just any author. She would be the next J.K. Rowling and create fantastical worlds that people loved so much that they would stay up until midnight just to purchase the next book (her poor little 12-year-old mind would be blown to see what it’s become now…).
Growing Up and Getting Humbled
Cassie wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more. She filled notebook after notebook with scribbles and ideas. One story world after another. It wasn’t until highschool that she started realizing writing prolifically was only going to get her so far. She needed to learn more about craft and story. So she dove in, attending a writing summer camp and eventually going on to be a camp counselor there.
It wasn’t until Cassie was nearing the end of highschool that her first setback happened. She was preparing for college, trying to figure out what to study, what would help her most achieve her dreams. One day, her aunt asked her what her dream was in life. “Becoming an author.” the prompt answer to the question asked by so many. “ That’s impossible. No one can make a living as a writer, you’re going to starve.”
The fear had been niggling at the back of her mind as she scoured schools and degrees. How was she going to pay her bills? Hearing it confirmed by another only heightened the stress at the idea. Her aunt’s suggestion was to become an engineer, or at the very least a doctor or a lawyer. Hating everything to do with math and science, Cassie vowed she would never do that. After prayer and time to process, she recommitted herself to her dreams. Though, maybe realizing being the next J.K. Rowling might be a *tad* ambitious.
The Hard Knock Life…Also Known As Adulting
Cassie completed her Bachelor’s degree in Communications. After much contemplation, she decided it was broad enough to get her jobs in many areas but also still in the vein of writing. Though, she realized in college she could never be a newswriter. While she enjoyed the class itself, that type of writing is not her cup of tea. Who wants to write about real life when fictional worlds are much more exciting? But, this still didn’t scratch the creative writing itch that she had. So she joined Arizona State University’s writing certification program “Your Novel Year” where she learned more about story structure, character arcs, and building incredible worlds.
Shortly after graduating college, Cassie moved cross-country to San Antonio, TX. She was fed up with the cold and needed to thaw out for a while and Texas seemed like the perfect place to do so. And, that’s where she was offered a job. Navigating adulthood was as difficult as one might expect, though more than any young twenty-something anticipates. Working to pay bills, writing on the side, and trying to pursue dreams. All of those things collided in the most unhelpful way. Writing dwindled to nothing. Then, calamity struck. In a job that seemed to go nowhere, Cassie was already struggling with depression. One day she received a call from her mother informing her of a family situation back home changing everything.
For the next two years, as Cassie and her family recovered from the difficulties they’d faced, Cassie struggled with depression more than ever before. Her writing hit a standstill. If she barely spent time on her writing before, she was doing absolutely no writing now. It seemed like her writing dreams were over. No being the next J.K. Rowling. And forget getting published.
Pursuing Writing Again… J.K. Rowling Here She Comes!
After a road trip to a friend’s wedding, Cassie reconnected with the Lord and found joy again. Slowly, she got back into writing. It took some time and it started out as dabbling. She fell in love with writing all over again.
When she moved from San Antonio to Dallas, Cassie decided it was time to take her writing seriously again. She found a job with a creative writing company, The Author Conservatory, sought out membership with one of her favorite authors, and hired an editor for her manuscript. Now, her writing life is thriving more than ever. Cassie has several projects in the works and is working toward traditional publication. Follow her on Instagram or join her email newsletter for updates!