alex cavanaugh – Page 3 – Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

The Ninja Captains Big Reveal!

Published on February 22, 2013February 21, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle11 Comments

CassaStorm by Alex J. Cavanaugh

http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, his only struggles are occasional rogue pirate raids and endless government bureaucracies. 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, shaking Bassan to the core and 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 be on its way back. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

Release Date: September 17, 2013

Science Fiction – Space Opera/Adventure

Print ISBN 9781939844002

E-book ISBN 9781939844019

My Weekly Update – Good Week

Published on February 17, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle12 Comments

New Stuff

Last week I wrote about how moving back to the States has allowed me to start fresh and new with everything in my life. In the next four months I will be looking for a job, buying a new car and finding a new place to live among other things. Well, I made some progress.

I acquired a project that guarantees me a paycheck until June 1st and possibly longer. It is one of those projects where my responsibilities changes from week to week culminating in a huge charity event in May. I enjoy these type of projects. I get bored easily.

I bought a car. It’s a 2013 Honda Civic, black and beautiful. I call her Bella Noir. My family names all of our cars and refers to them by name. Weird? Any way, I know her name sounds a bit stripper -ish, but you can call her Bella for short.

The best thing about Bella, we are linked, through my iPhone. One touch and she makes calls, plays my music and gives me directions. Love Bella.

Blog Anniversary

I can’t believe it’s been a year already. Now, I realize I have post dating back to June of 2011, I starting doing something online in June 2011. I wouldn’t call it blogging, though. It was crap, don’t read it. Then, in February, I switched over to WordPress. It took me a month to get in the groove and to decide I was going to keep at it for at least a year.

A lot has happened in a year and I’ll be spending the month of March reminding myself and the world why we do this.

Stay tuned, it’s going to be a fun month.

What did you do for your 1 year blog anniversary?

Post to Review

101 Tweet-Tastic Tools for 2013 by Lilach – We all love Twitter, but are you using Twitter to its full tweet-tastic capabilities?

Bring Your Fiction to Life with Emotion: An editor’s how to guide by Robb Grindstaff – I made some progress in editing this week because of this post.

The Essential Checklist for Submitting Your Novel to Agents by Brian Klems – I am working on compiling my agent submission list.

Ouch! It’s an Outline by Just Jemi – I’m a plotter at heart, but I write short stories as a panster. It’s not too bad.

How Do You Begin Your Story? by Donya Lynne – This changed the beginning of my current Edit in Progress. Great tips

New Followers

A. Michael Marsh

Tuan Ho

Styleads

Tasein Mirzasaad at Transcending Borders Blog

Elizabeth Hein at Scribbling in the Storage Room

Next Week’s Schedule

Tuesday – Level Up! Blogfest – A day early

Wednesday – Progressive Book Club Post – Bird by Bird Blog Post

Friday – CassaStorm Cover Reveal

Sunday – My Weekly Update

Insecure Writer’s Support Group – Writing Group Fears

Published on February 6, 2013February 5, 2013 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle38 Comments

I signed up for a Writing Group last month. I found a group on Meetup.com that meets close to my home and had the characteristics of my ideal group. Online, they seemed like a good mix of people both experienced and beginner writers. The group is relatively small with 25 members, but they average about 15 members at each meeting. They meet once a month with the aim of making each other better writers. You can come to watch the first time or prepare 8-10 pages for the group to critique. They even have a whole list of guidelines and suggestions to take the scary out of of the process.

It all sounds great, doesn’t it? So, why did I chicken out on the first meeting? What am I scared of? The next meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday. I have RSVP’ed, but can I work up the courage to go this time? Help me out, group.

Are you a member of a writing group? Can you give me an idea of how your first meeting went? How has it affected your writing?

Cheers, Cavanaugh Blogfest

Published on December 10, 2012December 10, 2012 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle17 Comments

Hosted by Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King and Stephen Tremp.

The 4 talented writers above have introduced an unprecedented idea to get together to thank a blogger who has touched all of our online lives. This is only a sample of what he’s created and this is just since I’ve known him:

He’s a published author of two books and a third is one is way. With all this going on, he still has time to comment on my little old blog especially when I feature a Sydney Quotes the Movies post. Did I mention he loves movies?

Alex is a quality person and he associates himself with quality. And, I can’t think of another person on the Internet that deserves to have a whole Blogfest dedicated to them more then Alex.

Four questions:

What does Alex look like? Alex is an attractive man (much respect to Mrs. Alex). Brown hair, greying at the temples, nice teeth, but a crooked smile.

Who could play Alex in a documentary? When I think of Alex, I picture Sean Connery circa 1987 in the Untouchables, but without the English accent.

Who does Alex remind me of? Alex reminds me an older brother and a younger friend, a wise owl and a impetuous ferret.

Flash Fiction – Dueling Ninjas

“IWSG” I punched in the letters on the keypad singing as I did. I was relaxed.

I had entered the office undetected like a ninja. The Cosbalt brand safe was exactly where my contact said it would be. Just as long as I beat my nemesis, this would be a great score.

I opened the safe inch by inch. A guitar pick and a piece of paper sat at the bottom. On the paper was ineligible writing, almost ineligible.

I crinkled the paper in my fist and slammed the safe shut. “Cavanaugh.” I yelled.

The note simple said, “Played again.”

Are you in love, in utter admiration, in complete adoration (again, no disrespect Mrs. Alex) of Alex, the Ninja Captain, then let me know in the comments below?

And be sure to visit all the others who are dedicating their blogs to Alex, today. And, if you don’t know Alex go by his blog and see for yourself.

Insecure Writer’s Support Group – Optimistic, but Should I Be

Published on December 5, 2012 by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle15 Comments

First of all, did you hear they declared a new National Holiday. On December 10 – 12, 2012, it is officially Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh Day. Make sure you participate in all things Alex that day including “Cheers, Cavanaugh BlogFest”.

Click on the badge to sign up and for more information.

My insecurities this month stem from the fact I quit my job of 7 years and will be moving back to the United States tomorrow. I am excited and optimistic about the future, but should I be.

Or, I am crazy for making this move. This is one of those moves were I am 100% percent ready to pursue my passion of being a writer and making a living at it. I have a plan that will be revealed shortly and I am confident if I work hard and am patient, I will succeed.

But, perhaps I am fooling myself. I have no concept of day to day reality in the United States. I haven’t lived there in 6 years. I haven’t even been in the states for 2 years. I a little in the bank, but nothing that will sustain me for any long period of time.

But, you never know until you try, right.

So, anyone else made a ~~drastic~~, ~~dramatic~~, carefully calculate, but still filled with unknowns, move on behalf of pursuing your dream. How did it work out for you? Give me the good and the bad results.