Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He’s experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is Ninja Captain Alex and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Currently he lives in the Carolinas with his wife. http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/
Sommer asked me to share the origins of my big idea. What sparked my writing creativity? What moment of inspiration led to my first book? And at the time, did I even have a clue?
I probably didn’t have a clue! But the rest is easy. Why? I’ve only had one big idea!
As I’ve told my followers, writing was never my big dream. One idea formed when I was a teen and it stuck with me over the years. That one idea has so far fueled two books and I’m really hoping there’s enough in the tank for one more.
From where did that big idea originate? I give all the credit to my favorite childhood pastime: watching television and movies!
I enjoyed a good science fiction story when I was young. I saw Star Wars when it hit theaters. I watched every episode of Buck Rogers. (A lot of that had to do with Erin Gray – she was hot!) Ultimately, it was Battlestar Galactica that launched my fascination with space fighters and battles. From that spark, the world of CassaStar was born.
I envisioned hundreds of adventures for my heroes. Most of those are lost now. Fortunately, I wrote down one major story. It was scarcely more than an outline and a couple random chapters, but it was enough to preserve the essence of my characters. Condensing the overall storyline and preserving one key scene, I wrote what I hoped was a powerful tale of two brothers in a war.
Much to my amazement, that manuscript found a home and became my first novel, CassaStar. And when fans began asking about a sequel, I reached way back into my memory. That big idea became CassaFire, which is due out February 28, 2012.
That’s my big story idea. Avid television and movie watching placed me on my author path. Your results may vary!
CassaStar
Science fiction – Space Opera/Adventure
ISBN Print 9780981621067
EBook 9780982713938
Available now
CassaFire
Science Fiction – Space Opera/Adventure
Print 978-0-9827139-4-5
EBook 978-0-9827139-6-9
Release date: February 28, 2012
When I heard about this giveaway I knew immediately what book I wanted to give thanks to. It’s an old book but one that exists in a lot of our childhoods. I don’t remember when I first read it – I was young, maybe third or fourth grade? I was reading above my age at the time but this book changed how I understood stories and how I understood being a girl. I understood that girls could be actively strong and smart, just like me. I understood that girls could be more than just a plot device – even before I understood what that was – in the simplistic middle grade stories of my generation. To say that this book changed the way I saw myself and my world.
The book was called A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. Not only is it a smart, mathematical, sci-fi adventure WAY before its time, it’s a story about family and about friends and your first romantic crush. I had never dreamed of other planets and other worlds until I read this book, and I will always, always, always be grateful for Madeleine for blowing my mind back then. I wish I could have had the chance to tell her thank you for everything. I would have hugged her and cried and shaken her hand and told her I grew up to be the woman I am because of the young girl she helped me to be.
I’ve gone through three different incarnations of the book – but this one was my first, I think. Or at least, it was the first one I owned and read to death. It’s cover fell off when I was in sixth grade because I’d read it so much and because it lived inside my backpack (where I could access it anytime I needed to.) I cried when it happened, as if I’d just ripped the arm off my best friend. Then I taped it back together with masking tape and the world was as it should be.
Sep 192011
First, I am feeling a lot better than I did on friday, thank you everyone who commented and emailed me. I’m so very, very, very lucky to have you all in my life. I’m completely blown away. And you were all right, that there are a lot of people who go against the things I believe in, but there are a lot more people who believe in community. You’ve all clearly demonstrated that! Regardless of political affiliations, you really lifted my spirits. I’m back to filling the half-full cup and plowing forward to make my world a better place, superhero style!
On with the blog post! I’ve got a little bit for everyone: Ghosts, sci-fi Monsters, Steamy Island Love Affairs, and Historical Fantasy. Support bloggers! Check out these books:
I’m going to try to get Holly onto Tell Great Stories during October because her book Haunted Ground: Ghost Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield, sounds just about awesome for this time of the year. I love ghost stories, especially those that revolve around a real location I can go to and touch if I wanted to and that’s steeped in history and lore. I’m a big fan of Holly’s (who has done some writing for us at Wicked & Tricksy) and I love how you can hear the reverence she has for the history of Gettysburg in her writing. It’s not a book about cheap thrills and ghostly images, there’s so much history and emotion in here too.
Check her out on Twitter and at her Blog.
Available for purchase at:
———————————————————————————————
And because writing one book isn’t cool enough, she had to go and outdo us all and write two 
Her second book, called Lost Cargo, is a sci-fi novel with a great cover and all the little sci-fi details I absolutely love, especially murderous monsters. And you’re really in luck because she posted earlier on her blog that she’s made Lost Cargo free on Smash Words for a while. Read for free and make sure you give her some love on GoodReads or Amazon. According to her blog, it will be available free on Amazon this fall.
Available for purchase at:
- Amazon
- Smashwords (Free)
From her blog about the book:
Lost Cargo tells the story of an animal control ship that crashes in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park wilderness.
After a murderous creature escapes from the wreck, six-eyed animal control Tech 29 sets out to capture it – just as college students discover his ship and get trapped inside it.
The aliens cross paths with a student who struggles against the girl he loves over her brother’s rescue; an engaged couple who are keeping secrets from each other; and a bickering husband and wife who hike through Rock Creek Park at the wrong time. The story has chases through the city streets and Metro and a philosophical twist.
———————————————————————————————
Ok, so maybe ghosts and science fiction aren’t really your thing. Maybe you’re more excited about reading something steamy and sexy. Oh my god, who wouldn’t be? I had the absolute honor of reading a novella by Karen Stivali and Karen Booth (Bransforumer Shout Out!) before it got picked up for publication, and holy cold shower batman! Both Karens are very talented, so reading another story by Karen Stivali makes my day. And you know what? For all the things I love – classics, sci-fi, horror, contemporary YA, I ALSO love steamy writing that leaves me breathless and Karen’s writing totally delivers in the breathless category. You can find Karen at her blog and Twitter.
Available for Purchase at:
From Amazon:
When Shari discovers that her fiancé has been cheating on her, she lets the wedding go on according to plan, except while everyone else is at the church, Shari is heading to the airport to fly off on her honeymoon with her best friend, Jon. Jon is only too happy to help Shari escape what he knew would have been an awful marriage. Plus he’s thrilled by the prospect of time alone with her in a tropical paradise. He’s always loved her and desired her as a lot more than a friend. A steamy, romantic night on the beach turns into a whirlwind of desire as they take their friendship to multiple new levels of passion. But when Shari’s apologetic ex tries to win her back, she must choose between the life she thought she was going to have with him and the possibility of love with Jon.
———————————————————————————————
Finally, my friend and Wicked & Tricksy writer S.B. Stewart-Lang has a new fantasy book available online, co-authored with Michael J. Chernicoff. S.B. is a wonderful blogger and I’m looking forward to reading Forgotten Gods. You can read an excerpt of Forgotten Gods on S.B.’s site. I love reading S.B.’s posts on writing historical fiction. Like Holly, there’s a lot of reverence in S.B.’s language of collecting history. Even with its fantastical elements, I am encouraged by this respect for historical accuracy that Forgotten Gods will be true to its source material as well as absolutely magical. That’s the best sort of fantasy book, if you ask me. You can find S.B. online at: The Blog , Twitter, and Tuesdays on Wicked & Tricksy. Also, read an interview with S.B. here.
Available for Purchase at:
From Barnes & Noble:
Winter, 1745. Scotland is losing a war for independence. Robert Maxwell and his fellow soldiers beg for supernatural aid from the daione sìdhe, magical inhabitants of Scotland exiled in ancient times to a parallel plane of existence. The sìdhe ask to negotiate with the Scottish leaders, who rashly enter into a magical contract promising the sìdhe a permanent return to Britain in exchange for their help in the war.
Access to sìdhe soldiers and magical weapons gives the Scots a temporary advantage, but their agreement lacks stipulations to prevent lone sìdhe creatures from hunting humans, stealing children, or riddling the countryside with hidden portals that can whisk passers-by into parallel dimensions. Worse, the sìdhe leaders seem unable to stop the chaos.
The Scottish leadership work to understand the sidhe and find a way to coexist. But they find sìdhe are not as disorganized as they appear, and harbor a sinister goal: to end the war on their own terms and secure their claim on Britain, no matter what the cost to their human allies.
———————————————————————————————
Don’t forget to sign up for MonsterFest 2011! Spread the word! I’ve already gotten a lot of awesome sign-ups for monsters I’ve never heard of. This is going to be a great Halloween.
I have made some wonderful friends on this here blog and at the Bransforums, and I’m really proud to say that a whole handful of them have been publishing their little hearts out lately. I love love love getting the surprise email from one of them telling me they’ve sold their story that I got to read early on or that their first self-published novella is up for sale on Amazon. I love that I get offered copies but I always secretly go buy one. There’s something very empowering about supporting my fellow writers. This – this right here, this post? It’s the reason I love the social networking world of writers. Anyone who does it to sell books is missing out on the big picture. I feel like a proud sister to a hundred blog friends. It’s not just some celebrity author pimping their book to me – these are talented friends who’ve said, “I want to be a writer” and then gone right out and done it.
Enjoy!
Voodoo Dues by Stephany Simmons – I remember when Stephany posted her cover options on the Bransforums and I really loved the colors and the photography she’d chosen. I’m thrilled to support Voodoo Dues! Also, the trailer? So much fun. I love the use of silhouettes and zombies – two of my favorite things in the whole world.You can check out Stephany at her website and blog here. She’s got such a great voice!
Voodoo Dues is available on Amazon for for $2.99
You can also get Voodoo Dues: Companion, which Stephany describes as the “smutty deleted scene” which I’m totally in love with. It’s $.99. A bargain, really
Summary:
As an Anthropologist, Lian Cairn specialized in the study of others, the not so totally human races that exist in the shadows around us. After a life changing event, he decided to leave that career behind to become a bar owner. Settled firmly in his new life, he’s looking forward to the mundane, but finds that his old life isn’t going to disappear as he’d hoped.
When the local Voodoo Queen’s Grandson is murdered outside his bar, and she comes to Lian for help, Lian and his quirky bartender Figg, are sucked back into the world he’d hoped to leave behind.
———————————————————————————————–
Emily White’s Elemental is available for pre-order on Amazon! I love Emily’s cover, isn’t it beautiful? I can’t wait to see it in person. Elemental is being published by Spencer Hill Press and will be available on May 1, 2012, which is entirely too far away.
Pre-order on Amazon today:
OR. Dude, you could just go over to YA-aholic, read the sassy interview Emily gave, and win a copy and some beautiful bookmarks. Just sayin’. Who doesn’t like winning things? It’s like getting presents when it’s not even your birthday. And even if you don’t like winning things (which makes you totally not human, btw) the interview is pretty great.
Summary:
Just because Ella can burn someone to the ground with her mind doesn’t mean she should… but she wants to. For ten years–ever since she was a small child–Ella has been held prisoner. Now that she has escaped, she needs answers. Who is she? Why was she taken? And who is the boy with the beautiful green eyes who haunts her memories? Is Ella the prophesied Destructor… or will she be the one who’s destroyed?
———————————————————————————————–
And of course, make sure you check out Margo Lerwill’s “Dis” and all of David Gaughran’s stories: Transfection, If You Go into the Woods, and Let’s Get Digital: How to Self-Publish and Why You Should.
Aug 082011
I celebrated all weekend, because a weekend of birthday awesome is better than just one day, don’t you think? I received (and played through) Portal 2 and my wonderful husband got me a Flip camera and tripod so now I can make videos and actually put my Adobe AfterEffects to good use. Thank you, honey!
And while I would love to spend a whole post waxing on about how awesome it is that I was born, I actually want to ask you all for a present.
Sort of.
I mean, I want to ask you all for a present, but the present isn’t for me. I mean, it kind of is in that you’d be getting it because I asked you to. But it’s not for me. Oh, here, just let me explain.
Background: Do you remember a few months ago there was a big brouhaha (isn’t there always one of those?) involving author Jessica Verday, the editor of the YA anthology Wicked Pretty Things, and eventually the publisher Running Press?
Very very very brief summary: Jessica Verday wrote a short story/novella for the anthology called Flesh Which is Not Flesh. Her novella – which, by the way, is amazing – features a romance between two boys. Jessica was told to change the story so that it was a male/female romance because as it stood it would never be acceptable to the publisher. When it went public the publisher came out to say they were completely in favor of Jessica’s original story. The publisher invited her back to the anthology but she didn’t want to work with the editor, for obvious reasons. Jessica faced very very very positive support for her story and her position. I know because I was one of those positive people. This is the Cliffnotes version, but you can read about it here and here if you want more background.
Today: Jessica Verday still wanted to see her novella published, and not long ago she was approached by Lauren Becker who runs Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance. Lauren has decided to set up a scholarship to be used for educational purposes for those who identify as LGBT or an Ally. The scholarship is called the “Living Beyond Tolerance Scholarship.” Her goal is to raise $200 for the scholarship, though if she doesn’t she plans to cover the difference herself. Jessica was so impressed with Lauren and her goal, that she decided to put her novella up on Amazon and all proceeds between now and August 31st will go to the Living Beyond Tolerance Scholarship.
And you know what? This is something I totally respect and support.
So that present I mentioned? Well, I think it would be great if everyone would buy a copy of Flesh Which is Not Flesh this month and post about the scholarship and the novella on their blog, Twitter, Google+, or Facebook. Help support both Lauren and Jessica!
Right now it is available on Amazon.
It will soon be available on Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.
And if you have a need for an educational scholarship, and you identify as LGBT or are an ally, and you meet the other requirements, you should apply for this one. More info can be found here. You have until November to apply.
And you can read about Jessica’s participation here.
I support everything about allowing individuals to follow their heart. Each and every wonderful, crazy, silly, uniquely passionate person in this world should be not only free to believe and love as they see fit but they should be accepted by the world and not just tolerated. Everyone should be allowed to believe in the God they want, the religion they adore, the sexual orientation that makes them whole, the books they want to read, the political party they want to associate themselves with, and of course the dreams they want to pursue. 
May 312011
Storytellers Worth Reading
My incredible friend and secret sister Margo Lerwill has released her first self-published story on Amazon this weekend. The cover is to die for. I haven’t finished reading it yet but I love Margo’s voice and her style is accessible and evocative. I was honored when she asked me to design the template for her new blog where she showcases some of her writing – Unsafe Haven. It is also where you can get more information on purchasing her new short story Dis. If you haven’t purchased it yet, go do so now. .99 at Amazon and worth all 99 pennies.
via Amazon
Colbie Moss has bigger concerns than being one of the dísir, the undead avatars of the Norse spirits of fate known as Norns. She has lost a mythic blade entrusted to her by her uptight yuppie mentor, no less than a Norse god of old. Now the blade is in the middle of a gang war that has left a beloved friend on the brink of death. Colbie will have to decide how far she is willing to go to recover the blade, save her friend’s soul, and keep gods and Norns alike from getting wind of the collateral damage.
“Dis” is an Urban Midgard short story, approximately 8,900 words (or roughly 30 pages) of urban fantasy with a noir sensibility that will appeal to fans of Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, and Laurell K. Hamilton.
I was impulsive this weekend and started making changes to my blog before I even knew what I wanted. It took almost 20 hours for me to stop messing around with the header, but I love how it turned out. I spent most of those 20 hours paging through examples of art deco and old World’s Fair Expo posters for inspiration. There are stories I’ve written that I’ve done less research on than I did for my new blog look.
You’ll notice most of the colors are the same – I am a girl who likes what she likes.
There is only one sidebar now, a lot of extra stuff is either gone or rearranged. The Archives, Calendar, and current posts has been moved to the footer.
I’ve included a place where I can showoff self-published stories by some of my awesome blog friends. Elemental by the lovely Emily White has not been released yet, but you can follow her blog for when it is released. (Also isn’t that cover gorgeous!)
I have a Twitter widget too now because I am enjoying Twitter a lot more than I used to. I am more active in the late evening though.
My bio page (now Chronography) has been updated and will continue to be until I’m happy with it, and the College of Blogging page has been updated with all of my College of Blogging posts.
I have also added a form to the bottom of College of Blogging page where you can submit questions about blogging and blog programs and other design questions. I’ll do what I can to help any time
Because I now have Wicked & Tricksy to write about writing, I would like to spend more time here talking about my personal life as a writer, social media, and all the different genres I find so fantastic. I would like to share some of my favorite bits of research and inspirations. Irony, since I talk so much about professional blogging, but I am yearning to lean more toward the personal. I’m not sure what form this will take, but I very much look forward to finding out.
Speaking of, if you haven’t signed up yet for a Wicked & Tricksy bookmark, you can still do so for a few more days. They are lovely, I hope you want one
Apr 122011
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a slip of a book published in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson. A story of good vs evil within every man, this book introduced the world to one of the most intriguing and terrifying literary monsters of all time.
Among the great names in literary history that I discussed yesterday, Jekyll and Hyde are right up there. The term Jekyll and Hyde is now used to describe someone with two opposite personalities inside of them. It is used as a humorous comparison or as an honest assessment of someone with severe mental and emotional issues. These are powerful names.
Today’s post is a celebration of literary monsters and the authors who penned them. Without these greats, we wouldn’t have half the supernatural fiction we have today.
Monster roll call!
Jekyll and Hyde in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886
Martians in War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, 1898
The Dunwich Horror in The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft, 1929
Dracula in Dracula by Bram Stoker, 1897
Griffin in The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, 1897
The Monster in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 1818
Morlock in The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, 1895
Moreau & the Beast Men in The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells, 1896
Oh, everyone in The Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft, 1931
Who is my favorite literary monster? That would be The Monster in Frankenstein, although I’ve got a soft spot for anything by H.P. Lovecraft. I love Dracula, don’t get me wrong, but there is something about the way the novel Frankenstein makes me feel…I don’t know. There are just some books that are more important to you, and no explanation would be adequate, you know? I have the same knee-jerk loyalty to The Great Gatsby and the poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I can’t tell you why I love them so much, I just do, and that’s all there is to say about it.
I really wish they’d make a modern movie based on Frankenstein and yes please I’d like either Christopher Nolan or Guiellermo Del Toro to direct. I think it is time the monster and the mad scientist reenter the public hearts and minds. I am very, very, very, very excited about a YA book coming out on August 23rd by Kenneth Oppel called This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein. *nerdlove squee!*
Have I missed any great literary mosnters? Who are your favorites?
——————————————————————————————
