Cassastar by Cavanaugh ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Circus books would be my first go to as a book category, but I never had that many in my library.  Specifically, one book about the circus seems to be missing or astray from my shelves.  A wonderful book about circus history filled with many illustrations was given to me by my parents when I was about 10.  I spent hours reading through this book and it was on my shelves up to my college years.  Now it seems to be gone, although it might be packed away in a trunk or box somewhere.  I'd love to find that treasure again.

Cook Books

        In the top shelf of one of our kitchen cabinets I have a modest collection of cookbooks.  I haven't referred to any of these for quite some time as my cooking experimentation has waned these days now that I'm only cooking for my wife and I.  She's not a very adventurous eater so I limit my forays into exotic cuisine.  If I ever do decide to start cooking more elaborately than I do now, I've got a small library of cooking books to which I can refer.  

 

Classical Civilization  from Oxford Press

        I'm bringing up this book primarily for the ideal title for the letter 'C'.   It certainly sounds interesting to me, but I've not yet tackled this tome.  Maybe someday I'll delve into it.   In the meantime it looks very nice on our bookshelf.

Colossus by Michael Hiltzik

        This book is high on my to-read list.   The Hoover Dam is a pretty amazing place to visit.  I've been there a few times and also have seen a few documentaries about the building of the dam.   The book sounds like a very interesting read.  Soon I think.

Clive Cussler  The Kingdom

         This is the only Clive Cussler book that I currently see on my bookshelves, although I believe I have a few more somewhere. In 1980, I started listening to an NPR book reading show while they were serializing one of Cussler's books.  I became a fan of Cussler's writing.  Well, at least for that particular book.  I can't say if I've read any of his other works.  I think I have, but it's been a while.  At least I have this book.  I must have bought it when our local Borders was shutting down in 2010 or so.  I bought a lot of books at that time.

CassaStaR by Alex J Cavanaugh

         Most bloggers in our blogging world know Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh and many have read one or more of the books in Alex's Cassa series.  Alex Cavanaugh was among the first A to Z bloggers even though he only was a part of the Challenge for a few years.   But we thank Alex for the support he still gives to the A to Z Challenge.  If you haven't read any of his books so far, you should check them out.  

        What did I miss for the letter 'C'?    Have you read any of my picks?  Have you been to Hoover Dam and taken the "Dam Tour"?

Catch Fire! The CassaFire Blog Party

         If you don't know Alex Cavanaugh, then you don't know the famed Ninja Captain who is one of the big wheels helping to propel the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge toward the stellar reaches of blog event success.   His book release CassaStar took the sci-fi community by storm in 2011 and even became the darling of those who don't typically read the genre.

        Today is the Catch Fire Blog Party, celebrating the release of CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh! The goal is to help CassaFire “catch fire” on the best seller charts and even surpass the success of the first book, CassaStar. 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. 

How about this collection of CassaCollectibles?   These can be yours
See Alex’s site for details:http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

CassaFire

by Alex J. Cavanaugh

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…

Available today!

Science fiction - space opera/adventure

Print ISBN 978-0-9827139-4-5, $15.95, 6x9 Trade paperback, 240 pages

EBook ISBN 978-0-9827139-6-9, $4.99, available in all formats

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal

You can visit the author’s site at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Book trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6VINRGtyE.

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cassafire-alex-j-cavanaugh/1034742568

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/CassaFire-Alex-J-Cavanaugh/dp/0982713940/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329417150&sr=1-1

Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/CassaFire-ebook/dp/B007A2TSNG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329663355&sr=1-1

As they say, seeing is believing.   Check out this very cool book trailer:

Now how about you? Are you ready to catch fire? Order CassaFire today and be part of a chart-topping book release.  Be sure to check Alex J Cavanaugh for more information.

Related articles

• Raw Beginnings (breakthroughblogs.blogspot.com)
• Hot New SciFi from the Amazing Alex: CassaFire (tossingitout.blogspot.com)
• The Final Countdown... (alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com)
• We Interupt This Post for an Awesome Book Trailer!!! (alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com)

Hot New SciFi from the Amazing Alex: CassaFire

          Does Alex J Cavanaugh, Captain of his own ninja army of loyal bloggers, really need an introduction?  Just in case anyone reading this doesn't know Alex let me briefly tell you about him.   Alex can be found at his namesake blog where he normally talks about movies, music, and other bloggers.  I've known Alex for the past couple of years or so and he is a fine gent and an amazing blogger.

          Alex works in web design and graphics and has a wide range of interests including music, gaming, and  science fiction.  He lives in North Carolina with his wife.

           But I'm not here to talk about Alex, I'm here today to review his upcoming book CassaFire.  I was fortunate to have received a review copy of the book and now I'm going to tell you what I thought.  But before I do here's what the book is about:

 CassaStar was only 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…

            I enjoyed Alex's first book CassaStar although I found it a bit too confined to the space stuff, which I guess is a somewhat silly statement since it was a space book.   I couldn't totally relate to the galactic action.  Also I thought too much time was spent in the preliminary training activities even though I will concede this is where most of the character development and story foundation was being set.  Not so much a fault of the author, but mostly my own impatience as a reader.

          Thank goodness in CassaFire Alex has brought most of the story down to Earth--or should I say the planet Tgren.   I like having my feet on the ground and reading about things I can kind of relate to.   The scenario is created well as we get to know the Tgrens and their customs as well as some of the lay of the land.   Now that's more what I want to know about.

           For the space fans there is still plenty of space action with various types of spacecraft from small to humongous.  And there is still lots of flitting about with that cool mind jumping travel that we learned about in the first book.   Then there is an epic space battle which seemed to come and go almost too quickly, but no big deal for me since we've seen that.

           As in CassaStar, the real forte here is the interaction between the characters.  We still have the training sequence where characters are developed, but this time it's done in a far more interesting manner and with more factors at play.  Add in one hot Tgren babe who is Byron's match in skillsets then stir in some romantic tension and now we're talking story.

            For the female readers who enjoyed the male bonding of CassaStar I think you'll like the new relationship far better.   The theme in CassaFire still has to do with friendship and building trust, but this time there is more spark that creates a sizzle in the story line.   Now I see where the CassaFire title comes into play.

          Don't get me wrong.  This is no soppy romance story, so you guys out there don't get nervous.  There is still plenty of action and male bonding and even a bit of drinking and partying going on.  Somehow this book just seemed fuller to me than the first one.  What I think it has is more balance.   It has an energy that kept me engaged and not scratching my head over silly questions like where's all the water come from on the spacecraft for the crew to take so many showers.   This go around Alex just lets the story flow without bogging down too much with mundane things like showers.   But don't get me started on that topic.

        The main character of Byron has grown considerably from being a cocky upstart to a hardened experienced pilot no longer involved in combat, but now in a gritty occupation of transporting materials.  He seems to be overly brooding and aloof, but that allows for further growth as the new story progresses.  The other characters are all well drawn and the dialog comes across as very natural.  We are not overwhelmed with character background, but given enough details for the story to make sense.

       If I had one criticism it would be more directed to myself as a reader.  Alex's writing is excellent.  At times it seemed so good that it was distracting.  My bad.  Maybe I was trying too hard to find something wrong or some little mistake that I could harp on.  Not there, nowhere to be found by me at least.  All I could think was I wish I could write that well and it kind of annoyed me.

        I don't think most readers will have that problem.  Just read and enjoy.   I think you will like this one a lot and be saying, "Bring on the next book!"

         I'll rate this book 4.9999999....   Okay, so I have a hard time giving perfect scores.   I guess according to Amazon ratings CassaFire will be a big 5.

     
Coming February 28, 2012

CassaFireby Alex J. CavanaughPrint ISBN 978-0-9827139-4-5 EBook ISBN 978-0-9827139-6-9Science Fiction - Space Opera/Adventure       

Related articles

• Debut Novel CassaStar Crosses the Sci-Fi Genre Boundaries (prweb.com)
• Novel CassaStar Hits Bestseller Status a Year After Release (prweb.com)
• The Big Announcement! (alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com)
• We Interupt This Post for an Awesome Book Trailer!!! (alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com)

Be sure to check out my Wednesday post on Tossing It Out to see the result of approaching someone I found in a Google search and asking for a guest post--an interesting outcome.

Making the News: Why You Should Be Promoting Yourself

Warning! -- this is a somewhat long post with some very useful information

            On yesterday's post I extended a challenge to each of you to do something that will not only help the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge become something bigger and better, but also help you in whatever it is that you do in your own life.   If you have not read my previous post I hope you will go back to see what I have to say.

             Some may have run away from my Saturday post with an "I'm scared" or an "I can't do that" attitude.   Others may be pooh-poohing the idea as something that won't work or is nonviable.  The ones I'll be addressing in this post are those who believe in themselves and what they can do.   I'm talking to those of you who seek success and want the best for themselves.

              There are essentially three kinds of people in life.  There are those who watch other people achieve their dreams and marvel at their successes or deride those accomplishments.   Then there are those who dream dreams and wonder, "This is a great idea--somebody should do this."   And finally, there are those who latch on to an idea and run with it, despite any discouragement directed toward their efforts, and they either succeed or they try again until they do.  My new challenge to you is directed to those who are part of this last group.

              There are many ways to promote something.  Those of you who are Tweeting about the Challenge or posting on FaceBook or spreading the word via your blog or some other social media venue are doing a great job and I encourage you to keep this up.  However, today I want to address using news media to get the message to the public and what some of the repercussions are in doing this.  

Is the Blogging from A to Z Challenge news?  

Consider the following:

J.M. who has been confined to a wheelchair since childhood has made friends throughout the world via his ham radio hobby.

Mr. and Mrs. E.J.  have cared for eleven different foster children over the past twenty years.

Mr. and Mrs. H.C. celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Myrtle Beach, NC.

The S. family recently returned from a two week vacation to New York City where they visited many famous attractions and saw a Broadway show. 

A wallet lost by W.W. was found by his dog.

Eight students from M. High School will be participating in a Junior Achievement conference to be held in N. in February.

         What do the above have in common?  They are all actual stories I have seen in a local paper.  Were they important?  To the people involved, perhaps.  Were they interesting?  Debatable. 

Now what about these:

Local author joins worldwide blogging challenge.

Student bloggers at M. High School join challenge to Blog through the alphabet.

Popular poetess composes a poem per day during the month of April.

Long lost friends are reunited through blogging challenge.

          Would you be interested in these stories?   Do you think others might like reading about these as much as they would someone's vacation?   If the stories were well presented, they would certainly get someone's attention. 

What is news anyway?


          A newspaper delivers what is termed "hard news" and "soft news".   Hard news is the major stuff that reporters are busy digging up.  These are the events that effect us or other people in potentially big ways.  This is the news that appears on the front pages and oftentimes receives extensive coverage.

          Much of the rest of the paper uses filler material in the form of soft news.   A lot of this soft news comes from press releases that people send in to reporters or news desks.  Newspapers rely on these press releases to give added content to the newspaper.

           If accepted, the story will often go into the paper as it has been received or with minor revisions.  Occasionally, a reporter may find the story to be interesting enough to follow up and get more information.  It may be expanded into a feature which can oftentimes include photographs.  Newspapers welcome press releases.  They are part of what is news.

What do press releases cover?
      
Community news --- The things that people, businesses or organizations in the community are doing.


Upcoming events -- Things that are going to be happening that people will want to be watching for.


Human interest-- Personalized stories about individuals or groups that are inspiring or entertaining.

             Any of these could potentially relate to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  You can put your own personal spin on the story of the Challenge.  In the third person, tell the readers who you are and what you do.  Connect this information about you to the grander scope of this Challenge that involves participants from throughout the world.

What to include in your press release:

              Make sure you drop in a few things about what you want to make known about yourself.  If you've recently written a book or have one soon to be released, mention it.  Or if you are involved with a particular cause or charity, include something about that.  This can even be a time to discreetly give a plug to your business or a product.  Just be sure it somehow fits in with the Challenge news so that your press release doesn't sound like a blatant advertising promotion for you and your products. A newspaper would prefer that you buy advertising for that.   Include the address to your blog so readers can come to see what you've been talking about.   Feel free to leave mine as well if you want readers to be directed to the information about the challenge and the list of participants.

             Remember that when writing a press release about yourself you should make it sound like it has been written by someone other than you.  Give the vital information without going into too much detail.  Put a good spin on your own story and connect it with something larger than just you so readers can better identify and feel that they are a part of your story.

         You're a writer--make the story seem interesting and relevant.    However a press release should also be fairly short--maybe 200 to 400 words.  Leave a contact so they can reach you if they want more information.  This is how feature stories start.   A feature writer hears a story and decides if it's worth expanding upon or even adding pictures.

Why would you want to be in the news:

          As I've already said, most of you have something that you are involved with that you want people to know about.  A news story can start that ball rolling.   You will often gain added search engine presence with the story.   If you are trying to build a platform or even a resume, it doesn't hurt to have news stories about you circulating--if they're about something good of course.   And a news story looks good in a scrapbook or even framed on your wall.

        Connecting yourself to something bigger like Blogging from A to Z makes your presence a little more significant and adds interest to your story.   There is something fun and uplifting about seeing your name in print and knowing that others will be reading it.  If you are blogging, you are probably trying to have your name recognized in some way.  Being in the news is another way of being noticed.

        More awareness of the Challenge will provide incentive to do our best if we know more people may be watching us. Our writing may improve and gain more exposure.   We will expand our potential for making connections with others who don't normally see our blogs.   This will increase our networking opportunities for the future.

        In upcoming posts I will talk more about the press release and how to get it into the right hands.  You can do the research yourself as well.   Google "press releases" and you can find plenty of information on how to format and compose your release.   If you do a search of the newspaper or other media that you'd like to submit to, you can find out about what procedures they require and who to contact.  It's all out there and it doesn't take long to find the most pertinent information.

         Try it--it's a writing exercise that will help hone your skills.  And if you haven't had to send out press releases already, someday you might need to.   That is, of course, unless your press agent does that for you.
Can I see a show of hands of everyone who has a press agent?

                                           ###

Addendum:  sample press release--
          This has already been a very long post, but Alex J. Cavanaugh asked me to include a sample press release which I will add here.  I may include additional samples in the future.   I am not formatting it like it should be--you can find formatting information if you look up "press release format" on Google.

              Local Author Joins Worldwide Blog Event


         Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of the novel CassaStar which is now enjoying a successful release, is going to take a break from writing his next book to participate in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge with hundreds of other bloggers from around the world.



The local author began blogging a year ago at the advice of his publisher Dancing Lemur Press. Since starting his blog, he has accumulated a legion of fans he affectionately refers to as “Alex’s Army”.


The turning point in amassing his army of blog followers was in April of 2010 when he joined in the A to Z Blogging Challenge that was started by fellow blogger Arlee Bird from Los Angeles.


“Last April, I was a new blogger,” says Cavanaugh. “It was the best thing I could've done for my blog. I got to know so many awesome people and those of us who participated became like family. We grew and stretched together. And we had a blast in the process!”


Poetess and blogger Yvonne Lewis from England is also sold on the concept. She will be returning again this April to match last year’s feat of twenty-six poems during the month with each one themed with a letter of the alphabet.


“I am so pleased that there is to be another A to Z,” said Yvonne. “Through last years challenge I gained more fans. It was fun and it brought a lot of people together via our computers. I wouldn't have missed it for the world and I will be doing it again this year.”


Due to Alex Cavanaugh’s enthusiasm for the A to Z Challenge and his rapport with so many other bloggers, he was invited this year along with six other bloggers from throughout the United States and England to co-host the event.


“Last year the Challenge was so popular that I knew that 2011 would be more than I could handle by myself,” said Arlee Bird. “I asked some of the best bloggers I knew if they would help me out this year—the response was an enthusiastic ‘Yes!’”


Cavanaugh expects that 2012 will be even bigger, but first they’ll have to make it through this April.  All bloggers are invited to join in and anyone is welcome to read through the progress of the Challenge.  You can visit Alex J. Cavanaugh’s blog and find out more about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge at alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.

         I am not a professional copywriter.  Some of you may have a better grasp of writing these things than I do.  I welcome any corrections or comments concerning the above sample.   I will say that from my experience, something like the above is usually adequate enough copy to be accepted by a newspaper.  Just make sure you include contact information in case they want to take it a step further and do a feature article.
Also it's not a bad idea to include a publicity photo of yourself (sorry Alex).  Just like it's suggested for blogs, newspapers often like to have a picture to go with the story.
 
          I sincerely hope that some of you will consider putting something together today and try to get it submitted somewhere this week.   I will be posting more on this topic in the next few days.  Good luck!
 
 
 
            ###

A Very Special and Exciting Announcement!

            Are you ready for the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge?

            I know that some of you are ready because you've told me.   Others of you may be thinking about it and I'm hoping that today's post will get you to thinking a bit harder about it.   And then some of you may be thinking, "What's a Blogging From A to Z Challenge anyway?"

             This challenge started last year to celebrate my reaching the 200 follower mark.  I had no idea that it would take off as well as it did in the short lead time I had in 2010.  Nearly 100 bloggers participated last year with many more keeping up with the progress.  In the end most of the participants were very satisfied with having been a part of the challenge.

How does the Challenge work?

             The premise of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is to post something on your blog every day in April except for Sundays.  In doing this you will have 26 blog posts--one for each letter of the alphabet.   Each day you will theme your post according to a letter of the alphabet.

              You will only be limited by your own imagination in this challenge.  There is an unlimited universe of possibilities.  You can post essays, short pieces of fiction, poetry, recipes, travel sketches, or anything else you would like to write about.  You don't have to be a writer to do this.  You can post photos, including samples of your own art or craftwork.    Everyone who blogs can post from A to Z.

How can this Challenge help you?

             Ask someone who did it last year.   I invite any of you who Blogged From A to Z in April 2010 to leave a comment below telling how the challenge helped you as a blogger and otherwise.   Some of the benefits that I have seen mentioned and personally experienced were improvement as a blogger and a writer, greater self-discipline,  finding new blog friends, and increasing followers to each of our own blogs.  

             This year the Challenge is being announced two months ahead of time which gives everyone plenty of time to prepare.   Taking this in into consideration I anticipate having at least 300 bloggers joining in with us and I hope you are one of them.  


And here's the best news of all!

            Last year was nearly overwhelming for me to administrate the ongoing challenge by myself.  There is no way I can expand this Challenge to 300 or more participants and expect to do it alone.  That is why I've joined up with three of the most successful bloggers and blog event organizers that I know. 
            Just in case you don't know these great bloggers and writers, let me introduce them to you:

Star blogger Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of the popular science fiction novel CassaStar.  We met in last year's A to Z and he'll swear by the Challenge.  He's already organized events such as the Movie Dirty Dozen, The Top Ten TV Shows Blogfest, and the current Top Ten Music Countdown-- each one of these an unqualified success.    Alex is determined to see A to Z go to 500 participants and with him on board I think we can do it. 

Power-blogger  Jen Daiker from Unedited  jumped right into blogging last April by joining up in the A to Z Challenge.   In her short span of blogging she has amazingly passed the 1000 follower mark--I still am flabbergasted by that feat.  Blog events she has hosted or co-hosted are the Guess That Character Fest, The Great Blogging Experiment (with Alex Cavanaugh and Elana Johnson), and The Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest.   If only all 1059 of her followers blogged from A to Z with us!

Talli Roland from her self-named blog and the author of The Hating Game , her recent novel which is still doing hot business.  When Talli did her Web Splash to coincide with the release of The Hating Game, there were hundreds of fans who helped kick off the campaign with their own blogs.   She'll be in charge of our international affairs since she currently lives in London, England.   And Jen is already building her army of followers while Alex is taking control of CassaStar and the universe--it's a busy crew here.

           And if you're a regular reader of my blog then you probably know something about me, Arlee Bird--there's plenty written about me in my blog pages.    I encourage you to click on the above links to three blogs and give your greeting and, if not one already, become a follower of each of their blogs.

          Whenever you are ready to join up with us, sign up on the Linky list or if you're not sure how to do that let one of us know and we'll  add your blog to our list.  

          
Linky list is no longer accessible on this page.



          Below is a badge you can add to your blog to help advertise to your readers. If you give us a plug on your own blogs now and then we wouldn't mind that either.  This lovely badge was created by Jennifer Daiker.

          Now let's hear about your A to Z experiences, opinions, or questions.    Help us make this a big success and you become a better blogger.

...

Seeing Stars: A Review of "CassaStaR"

           Let me start with the negative part of this review.  I'm not a big fan of outer space and star wars type stories.  I don't think I've read anything like this since I was a kid, and I used to be a big scifi reader.  I would eat up stuff like CassaStaR when I was a young lad.  In college my predilections changed to a more of this world and of our era sort of story, although I've continued to enjoy good effects-driven space movies.  I thought that I'd outgrown scifi, but Alex J. Cavanaugh has shown me that the genre is healthy and good reading for adults.

            Cavanaugh has taken a timeworn traditional format and dusted it off with a fresh new point of view.  CassaStaR follows cocky star rookie Byron through his training to fulfill his dream of becoming a Cosbolt pilot.  His superior, Bassa, recognizes both Byron's obvious and hidden talents, and becomes determined to turn him into the best he can be.  Bassa has a real challenge ahead to tame Byron's ego and fear of intimacy.
With the help of his mentor, Byron experiences growth and learns worthy values such as friendship, trust, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

            Aside from what I felt to be a tacked on and unnecessary prologue, the early chapters seem tedious and slow.  They act as the typical character and story introductions.  After a while I was becoming impatient for something to actually happen in the story.  Then I realized that Cavanaugh has used this device to put us in the same mindset of the characters in the story.  I, the reader, was right there in the midst of the training.  I was feeling the same impatience to see action as the trainees were.  This was a clever way of injecting the reader into the mind of Byron.

            Once the training is over, the main story begins and the reader is ready to fly.  Here is where the real conflicts--inside Byron and on the battlefield--begin.  The action is well paced and exciting.  Often the battle scenes put me in mind of old World War Two aerial battle stories with dogfights.  At other times I felt like I was inside of a space war video game, all flashing lights and effects. 

            This action is well separated with the breathers that depict the men in the dining halls and getting to know one another.  My favorite scene was the stopover at a spaceport where they encounter the wilder elements of their intergalactic society--the trade, the recreation, and exposure to other life forms.  I hope to see more of this in future books of the series. 

             Alex J. Cavanaugh took great care in writing this book.  It reads well.  I tried to stay on the alert for errors or bad writing, but there was nothing here to trip me up.  The writing is concise and precise.  There is a certain air of sterility to the style, but I was able to dismiss this readily due to the nature of the characters and their environment.  The style held my attention and compelled me to keep reading.

             Also, there is virtually nothing to offend anyone except the person who becomes offended in the most bizarre ways and I'm not sure who that person would be.  The language is polite, grammatically correct, and avoids obscenity.  This last point is a big one with me.  I am one who believes that good writing can convey emotions or whatever without the distraction of obscenity.  This book would be fine for any young person.  It could also be quite acceptable as classroom reading since it touches upon so many topics that can stimulate discussion.  If you're considering this book as a gift for a young reader, you will be doing well to get it.

           Now for some silly stuff.   After all this is me, Arlee Bird, and I can get pretty much out there sometimes.  Maybe it's good or maybe it's not--you be the judge--but one of the things that starts happening when I read science fiction is that my willing suspension of disbelief gets taxed and I start wondering about this thing or that.   Like what's the deal with water on the mother ship? 

         This Byron guy takes more long showers than anyone I've ever seen.  And if the other guys are even taking half the showers, that's a lot of water!  I realize this space ship is huge, but they must have a water reservoir that's the size of a lake.  And what about the water recycling facilities, and not only for water but for air?  I understand they have this biosphere place, but I was just trying fathom it all as I was reading.

         Then there's the meat.  The guys on this ship are really a bunch of carnivores.  Do they raise meat producing animals on the space ship?  A lot of guys are being fed on this ship: How do they maintain the food supply?  I'm more used to thinking about Tang and food squeezed from tubes.

           Sorry, this is just me and science fiction.  I'm a behind the scenes kind of guy.  I want to know how things work.  I like to hear about logistics and behind the scenes stuff.  All the battles are exciting and all, but what about the meat?   And do they have dessert?   Sorry Alex, but that's the way I think sometimes.

         I look forward to the future installments of Alex J. Cavanaugh's saga of the Cassans.  If the upcoming books are as well written as CassaStaR, then we are in for a treat.  This is fun reading that puts across a positive message.   CassaStaR is a book that science fiction fans will really appreciate, but all fiction fans can enjoy.


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CassaStar Is Released Today!

                    Cassastar

            I'm sure that nearly everybody who reads this blog knows that today is the release date for Alex J Cavanaugh's book CassaStar.  His blog tour has been underway for a week now and if you missed any stops make sure you check out Alex's Blog Tour Dates.   The interviews have given us a bit more information about Alex and his approach to writing.

          If you missed the book trailer for CassaStar, you can check it out here:





Links to purchase:

AMAZON - http://www.amazon.com/CassaStar-Alex-J-Cavanaugh/dp/0981621066

BARNES & NOBLE - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/9780981621067/?itm=1&USRI=cassastar

BAM - http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9780981621067?id=4581185563381#overview

POWELLS http://www.powells.com/biblio/0981621066?p_isbn&campaign=34635&PID=34635

ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK – KINDLE, IBOOKSTORE, NOOK, AND OTHERS

             Who is Alex Cavanaugh?  Here is his official bio:



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. Currently he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.
Read more from Alex at his blog:
http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

             This will aim you in the right direction to purchase CassaStar and get to know the author Alex J Cavanaugh.    I encourage you to support your fellow blogger.   And don't forget about copies of CassaStar as Christmas gifts and be sure to tell your friends.  I think of Alex's success as our success as well, so let's boost his sales!

            Have you ordered a copy of Cassastar yet?  


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Surprise! I'm Playing Tag On My First Saturday Off

            Okay, here's one of those special Saturday posts that I was mentioning last week.   Last Saturday I was tagged by Alex J. Cavanaugh of CassaStar fame, so I'm back this Saturday to follow-up.

Here's the deal:

Rules:

Write down (by hand!) on a piece of paper the following:

1. Name, Blog Name
2. Right handed, left handed, or both?
3. Favorite letters to write
4. Least favorite letters to write
5. Write out "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
6. Write in CAPS: BABOON, SPLENDOR, ONOMATOPOEIA, FLIP-FLOPS, HUZZAH!
7. Favorite song lyrics
8. Tag 7 people (or like Alex and me you can tag 3 if you've got other things to do)
9. Whatever else strikes your fancy

So for you graphologists out there, here I am for analysis:

        I couldn't think of any song lyrics, especially since I usually don't listen much to lyrics or remember them, so I used the lyrics to a song I wrote back in the late 70s.  The song is called "(Do You Wanna Go) Back On the Road Again" and is from a musical that I was writing at that time.  I can remember my own lyrics.

        And now on to the part I always find most difficult:  thinking of those who might not have gotten tagged yet and might enjoy playing tag.  If this were real tag I wouldn't be playing since I don't like to run-- or at least my heart doesn't like it.   Here are my tags for the handwriting game:

1.    Gregg at Gospel Driven Disciples --- He recently celebrated his 500th post.  He's pretty good natured about doing stuff like this. 

2.   Yvonne at Welcome to my World of Poetry -- Her comment when Alex did this was, "How glad I escaped the handwriting tag. thank you for choosing men."   Unlike Alex I am not going to discriminate.  Come on--you know you want to do it!  And if you don't want to do the handwriting and all that's involved with that, you can write a poem about handwriting.   Or you can do both!

3.  The Golden Eagle at the Eagle's Aerial Perspective-- She said to Alex, "Your handwriting is way easier to read than mine is!"    Okay, show us!  Let the readers be the judge.


Also today I'm accepting an award:



       Yvonne at Welcome To My World Of Poetry has given me an apt award:  The Go Away, I'm Writing Award.

         Thank you Yvonne.   I don't know that I'm supposed to pass this on, but since I'm supposed to be writing I guess I can just opt out.   So if you will please excuse me I need to go and write.  See you later.

A Week Abounding in Blog Surprises

         Things have been changing believe or not.  My clutter is being culled about as quickly as my blog has been changing.  In other words progress is so slow that it's barely noticeable.  That's not really a bad thing in my case because it means a couple of things.  For one thing, I'm being careful about what I do when I make the changes on my blog so I do it right and don't screw anything up.  And the clutter that I am talking about in my house and in my life is not a situation that calls for any kind of intervention.  In other words I'm doing detail work.  Detail takes longer than just running your car through the automatic car wash.

          Also, things are going slow because I am trying to keep up my blog posting and some commenting on your blogs while having some busy summer events coming my way.  Forgive me if I've missed some of your posts of late, but I'm trying to do my best.

               Last Saturday I was reading a lovely post by Jules at Trying To Get Over The Rainbow and I was thinking about how much what she was saying related to what I had been thinking in recent days, then lo and behold here she gives me a shout out.  This was just one of those cool things I had to mention on my blog.  Check out her blog and give her a hello.  I always enjoy reading what she has to say.

           My Tossing It Out Tuesday feature began this past week with the topic of Junk Mail.  Ellie from Ella's Edge showed how one can turn junk into Recycled Treasures-- a far better solution than merely tossing it out.   I don't know if she'll come up with a way to recycle my next topic for this coming Tuesday when I'll be talking about junk e-mail.

            This past week had several surprises for me.  One was Yvonne Lewis's tribute to my Wednesday post, My Grandmother's Air Baths.  If you missed it, check out Yvonne's hilarious poem, Air Baths.  Yvonne always amazes us how quickly she can get a topical poem onto her blog.  Next Wednesday I am going to tell you about the first public performance of one of my musical works.

            As always, I'll be having seven days of eclectic blogism to share with all of you so I hope you'll join me right here at Tossing It Out.

           Alex J Cavanaugh is holding a contest to celebrate reaching 200 followers.  By the time you get there he might already be at 300--excitement about his upcoming book CassaStar is abuzz as the chatter is all over the blogosphere.  And if you haven't seen it yet, check out his CassaStar book trailer.

            On a sad note, Blabbin' Grammy Ruby's husband (Gramps) passed away this past week.  Many of us have been keeping track of Gramps and Grammy's life and know that Gramps has been dealing with a lot of suffering of late.  If you haven't done so already, please stop by to express your condolences to Blabbin' Grammy.   We love you, Ruby, and are praying for you.

            Have a nice weekend and enjoy your summer--it's going fast!

After a Meaty Week.....

             This has been one meat filled week on Tossing It Out.  This upcoming week I'll change the subject.
I hope more of you will join us on Monday for The Soundtrack of Your Life Blogfest.  You can read about it at the top of this page and sign up on the Linky List.  As of the moment I am writing this we have thirteen participants so we have space for you.  Tell us about you and the songs that would accompany a recap of your life.

           The rest of the week I've not planned yet, but I'm still trying for shorter posts.  I seem to have a problem keeping my word count down. I'm still working on this.  Do you ever feel that your posts are too long?

       I was so delighted to see an acknowledgment given to me by Mary at Giggles and Guns.   Mary featured a post around a comment I had made on a topic that I know is familiar to many of us--finding motivation and inspiration to keep writing.  I usually don't have that problem, but I guess that also kind of goes back to my long-winded blog posts.  It's such a pleasant surprise to visit a blog and find yourself featured in a post.  Thanks, Mary, for the ego boost.

       Then there's someone who's been getting his name in many other blogs this week after the trailer for his upcoming book was released.  Most of you probably already know Alex J. Cavanaugh's great blog and have probably already seen his book trailer, but in the event that someone out there has missed it then check it out:


       My good wishes to Alex and to his book CassaStar which will be released in October.

       Speaking of books and authors, Stephen Tremp's adventures in publishing are almost as exciting as his book Breakthrough which is soon to be rereleased.    Not a typo--- re-released!   If you missed Stephen's story check out his blog--it's an interesting story.

And now let the games begin:
          I was tagged by Jules at Trying to Get Over the Rainbow. It started a little iffy for me when I saw that she had disclosed the contents of her purse. To my relief she asked me to empty my pockets. Okay that's easy enough--not that much there.  I normally only deal with four pockets.

         Pockets have always been an important part of my clothing. I must have a pocket in my shirt and don't often wear the few pocketless shirts that I do own. My pants must have ample pocket space--never know what I might have to carry. Here's the rundown of what I usually have in my pockets when I leave the house:

        In my shirt pocket I have a rarely used cell phone just in case I need to make a phone call; a business card holder that currently holds cards with my blog address just in case someone is interested; and, of course, a pen just in case I need to write something down.  Eventually I hope I will require different business cards where the blog address is just a part of the whole, but currently that's all I'm advertising.

I use three pockets in my pants.  My back pocket contains a well worn wallet with ID's, credit cards, and other cards that I occasionally might need.  I've had this wallet for several years and will probably use it until it's about to fall apart.  In fifty years I think I've owned less than ten wallets.  I like to get maximum mileage out of them.  They're kind of like a pair of shoes that really get comfortable.  I hate to toss them out.

My left pocket contains keys for two cars, a front gate, and my house.  Car keys have gotten so much more complex than they used to be with alarms and keyless ignitions and all.  I used to carry a pocket knife in my key pocket.  Now the keys are about all my pocket will hold.

I rarely use cash, but I always like to have some just in case.  Now most places will accept credit cards no matter how much you're spending so I use them for nearly everything.  The cards I use give me points for each dollar spent and I can redeem those points for nifty gift cards, free hotel rooms, or cash rebates.  It actually seems like a better deal if you pay off the balance every month like I do.  The real problem is that in using cards the companies and the government can keep track of every dollar you spend, what you buy, and where you are when you buy it.  That seems pretty scary, but they can find out this stuff regardless.  It's all spooky, but is in line with things predicted in the Bible.  Guess that's getting off track and is a topic for a future blog post.

           And that's what's in my pockets most of the time.  Thank goodness Jules only tagged two people so I'm going to do the same.  And since they both seemed to think it was funny that I got tagged then I will tag:

Alex J. Cavanaugh  and Yvonne at Welcome to My World of Poetry. 

Have a great weekend!  Stay cool if you're where it's hot, and if you're where it's cold then I wish I had your weather.