CassaStorm is Here!

The talented and generous Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is releasing the 3rd and final book in his Cassa series this week. IT. IS. AWESOME! Alex had a great idea to celebrate his release - he let us all ask our own questions of him. Here's mine:

 

Why did you decide to have such big time jumps in between each of the books & would you consider filling in the blanks?

 

The twenty year jumps served several purposes.

I wanted to tackle something totally different in Byron’s life each time. At every stage of our

life, we face different challenges. There are some situations Byron never would’ve encountered as a young man in his twenties.

I wanted to show maturation of the character, from cocky and rebellious to mature and responsible to wise and commanding.

With twenty year jumps, the secondary characters change a lot. Readers get to meet a new batch of characters every time.

Finally, life just isn’t that exciting all the time for most of us. Despite Byron’s profession, I figured three major events spread over his life was enough.

And I’ve thought about filling in the blanks, but not sure I’d want to go back as much as go forward.

 

 

CassaStorm

By Alex J Cavanaugh

 

From the Amazon Best Selling Series!

 

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

 

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

 

After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

 

Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

 

“CassaStorM is a touching and mesmerizing space opera full of action and emotion with strong characters and a cosmic mystery.” – Edi’s Book Lighhouse 

“…mesmerizing story of survival, personal sacrifice, tolerance, and compassion. It’s a rare jewel that successfully utilizes both character and plot to tell a story of such immense scope and intimate passion…” - Nancy S. Thompson, author of The Mistaken

"An exciting, nail-biting read which sweeps the reader off on adventures in another galaxy."
- Nicua Shamira, Terraverum

$16.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 268 pages, Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Science fiction/adventure and science fiction/space opera

Print ISBN 9781939844002 eBook ISBN 9781939844019

 

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

 

Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble       Amazon       Amazon Kindle       Goodreads

 

 

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is 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 the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

 

Website       Twitter       Goodreads

 

Have you read Alex's series? If you haven't you're missing out - and CassaStorm is an awesome wrap up! Have you ever tried a time jump between stories?

To Change or Not to Change

The beginning of this school year has been nuttier than normal. Because of some staffing issues and my qualifications I'm tackling a different job this year. This was a pretty much last minute switch after I'd spent a lot of the summer prepping for the job I'm not doing now. I've had a CRAZY couple of weeks getting organized and setting up in my new position.

And I only have myself to blame.

I said Yes.

Why? Because change is good. It's easy to get stuck doing things one way, the same way we've always done them. I like change. I like challenges.

I'm (usually!) like this with my writing too. I like to try new things, look at things from a different perspective. I've just gone through a rewrite that had me ripping my hair out at times and giggling like a 6 year old with a cookie stash at others.

Thanks to a suggestion by a CP, I changed the profession of the male MC and this demanded a huge amount of changes. I ended up rewriting almost all of the story. Some scenes were eliminated, others were drastically changed and most of the remaining scenes needed to be told from the opposite pov.

The story is stronger now - and back in the hands of my CPs. Soon I'll find out how effective they think my changes are!

I'm over at From the Write Angle today talking a little more about changes and how they've affected my journey so far. Hope to see you there!

How about you - do you like change too?

Jane Porter: Do You Want it or Not?

Please welcome Jane Porter today!

***

I want it.  For me, it’s that simple.  I really want to write and I really want to publish.  That’s not to say I don’t suffer from self-doubt, get the blues, or struggle with my creative muse, because I do (a lot), but my desire to write, and my desire to publish, is even stronger than the fear and the sacrifices I’ve had to make.

               

But sitting down at the keyboard, finding the words, searching for a great metaphor or the next crucial scene is only half the battle of writing.  As romance writers we also have to choose to write great fiction, great COMMERCIAL fiction, fiction that appeals to the readers and the market. 

 

I’m not advocating writing to guidelines, but writing with an awareness of guidelines.  The romance writer must write to please herself (her own worst critic) and yet find a market for her stories and her voice.  If you want to publish, if you want to be part of the genre, you’ll know the market and you’ll constantly work at improving your voice.

 

I’m not a professional author, but I am a professional writer.  I take writing seriously.  I have regular office hours.  I give myself tough deadlines.  I finish books and submit them.

 

As a professional writer, I read my friends’ manuscripts.  I read friends’ books in print.  I read the “competition”.  But in the end, when I come back to my computer, I look for “me” in my stories.  I look for the hooks, the motivation, the conflicts, the characterization that makes a book real for me.  I cannot write a Presents with Lynne Graham’s voice.  I cannot write a Superromance with Janice Kay Johnson’s voice.  I cannot write a historical with Susan Wigg’s voice.  I can only write as Jane Porter and that has to be good enough.

 

It is good enough.

 

Part of being a professional is choosing to think positive, learning to set goals, and focusing.

 

And we must write.  Every day, or as often as possible.

 

Truly, if you want to write and publish, you will.  But you have to want it badly.

 

For some of us publishing will be easy.  For others, it will be a tremendous test of faith and will.  But it can be done.  I first submitted an untitled manuscript to Mills & Boon when I was eighteen and a freshmen in college.  I had my first sale just before I turned thirty-six.  In between my first attempt and my first sale I wrote more books than I care to remember, cried more nights than I’m comfortable sharing.

 

I poured my heart and soul into manuscript after manuscript but I never gave up because deep down, deep inside me, I believed I could do it.  I would do it.  And finally, I did.

 

So do you want it, or not?  It’s all up to you.

 

***

Bestselling author Jane Porter has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award four times, has over 12 million copies in print .  Jane's novel, Flirting With Forty, picked by Redbook as its Red Hot Summer Read, went back for seven printings in six weeks before being made into a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear.  September 2012 brought the release of The Good Woman, the first of her Brennan Sisters trilogy, followed in February 2013 by The Good Daughter, and book three in the series, The Good Wife, is slotted for release in September.  A mother of three sons, Jane holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and makes her home in sunny San Clemente, CA with her surfer husband.

Jane Porter on the web:

Website  Blog     Facebook    Twitter    Author Page

 The Good Wife

Is it possible to love someone too much?

Always considered the beauty of the family, the youngest Brennan sister, Sarah, remains deeply in love with her husband of ten years. Boone Walker, a professional baseball player, travels almost year-round while Sarah stays home and cares for their two children. Her love for her
husband is bottomless—so much so that her sisters say it will end up hurting her.

Living apart most of the time makes life difficult, especially since Sarah often wonders whether Boone is sharing his bed with other women on the road, even though he swears he’s been true to her since his infidelity three years ago. While she wants to be happy and move forward in her life, Sarah constantly fears that Boone will break his promise. Now with Boone facing yet another career change, tension rises between the two, adding more stress to an already turbulent marriage. Emotionally exhausted, Sarah can’t cope with yet another storm. Now, she must either break free from the past and forgive Boone completely, or leave him behind and start anew . . .

Read an Excerpt

Buy Links

Amazon    Book Depository      B&N

Powells      BAM      indieBound

***

Thanks for sharing your journey Jane!

What about you? What are you doing to prove you want it enough?