Ninja Giveaway!

Here's a fun and easy blogfest/giveaway. Alex J. Cavanaugh is celebrating reaching 1500 Followers! Can you believe it? I'm sure everyone knows him - he's all over the blogosphere. He's a perfect example of leading and following at the same time. He gives us loads of resources and awesome bloggers to check out. He replies and comments to all of his Ninja Followers. He does all this and writes books, too. I don't know how he does it all, but I guess that's why he's a Super Ninja!

He's giving away copies of his books, CassaStar and CassaFire to donate to the winner's choice of public or high school library, along with a selection of booksmarks. The winner gets bookmarks, too. I love this idea!

Here's what you do:

• Be a Follower
• Comment on his posts (once per day/post) 4/24 - 4/27 (worth one point)
• Be the first commenter of the day (worth ten points)
• Blog about the contest and leave the link on his site (ten more points)

The winner will be announced on Monday, April 30th, on the A-Z Challenges last day, which of course is the "Z" post.

Insecure Writer's S.G.: Editing Blues

Happy first Wednesday of April! It's that time once again to put myself out there to the world with the support of the Insecure Writer's Support Group behind me.

Thank you to Alex J. Cavanaugh for thinking of this brilliant idea and hosting for all of us insecure writers.

I love visiting writer's blog to see what they're up to. I'm really happy for their successses, progress, recognitions, new cover reveals and new book releases. I love to support them when I can, to post about their covers and new releases. Truly, I really enjoy it. I feel good knowing that I'm helping.

But I can't help but feel frustrated with what I consider my lack of progress. I finished the first draft of my novel last summer. Last summer! I was a writer who was afraid to write and made no progress whatsoever until someone said, "just get it down - perfection comes with the editing."

And so I zoomed through, "telling" my story, until I was finished. Since it is my first novel, I've learned a lot along the way. And now I wish I had slowed down a bit, paid more attention to everything: character personality/flaws, conflict, strong verbs, show don't tell, plot holes, description, setting. Even my first few edits didn't cover all this, because I didn't know how to edit! Well, I think I'm better at editing now.

But now I'm tired of editing and ready to be done! Ready to move on to the next project and to start getting more work out there, and more work done.

I've been reading recently that the successful writer has volume and variety. I've seen it firsthand from blogs that I follow.

I want that, too!

Here are some serious questions for you: How do some of you get so much done? How do you feel about editing? Does anyone else get the editing blues? How long does it take you to edit?

Catch Fire! Blog Party!

Today is my blogging buddy's Catch Fire Blog Party to celebrate the release of CassaFire, Alex J. Cavanaugh's second novel and sequel to CassaStar, a top ten best seller on Amazon. The goal is to help CassaFire “catch fire” on the best seller charts and achieve the success of the first book.

There’s also a special package of prizes being given away at the author’s blog (copies of CassaFire, CassaStar, tote bag, mug, and bookmarks) as well as book giveaways during his two-week blog tour which runs from February 27 - March 9th.

See Alex’s site for more details: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

To find out more about Alex, check out his interview at Ray Gun Revival.


Here's a description of CassaFire:

CassaStar was just the beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.


The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities.


To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

AND THE BEST PART IS, CASSAFIRE IS AVAILABLE TODAY!

You can watch the awesome book trailer here:

CassaFire is available at Barnes & Noble , Amazon and on Amazon Kindle.