Special Ninja Cap'n Guest Post

I'm coming out of blogging hiatus to give you a treat: the awesome

 Ninja Cap'n Alex J. Cavanaugh!

I'm a huge Science Fiction fan myself, and I asked Alex to share a bit about his history with Science Fiction and what draws him to it. Take it away, Cap'n.

What Drew Me into the Wormhole of Science Fiction

I think I’ve always had a thing for science fiction. (And fantasy.) Both genres allow the imagination to run wild because anything is possible. Anything! When you’re a kid, that just sounds awesome.

I spent part of my childhood in Japan and was inundated with Godzilla and other Japanese monsters. I watched the movies and played with the toys. I was also into comic books and the DC super heroes were my favorite. I could see myself fighting right along with the Justice League of America!

Movies and television shows also caught my attention. Star Trek was an instant favorite, both the original series and the cartoon. And remember the original Wild, Wild West? It was very early steampunk. It was also a western, and the combination of elements probably started me on the space opera path.

I like all types of science fiction, although I tend to shy away from the heavy tech and science aspects. (I don’t care how something works, I just need to know that it does work.) I’m more drawn to science fiction that’s set in the far future or somewhere else in the galaxy. A world beyond our own is an adventure to me, and that is what I like best.

When you really think about it, science fiction is a blend of genres or another genre masquerading as science fiction. It can be part thriller, horror, romance, and of course western. Star Wars is a western set in space. (Outland is literally High Noon in space.) The Thing is horror. Galaxy Quest is humor. Starman is romance. Science fiction is very diverse when you examine it closely.

What are some of my favorites?

Books - Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars books, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Heinlein, Alan Dean Foster’s Flinx series, Ray Bradbury

Movies - Aliens, Serenity, Star Trek First Contact, MST3K The Movie, John Carter, Jurassic Park, Super 8, The Avengers, T2

Television - Firefly/Serenity, Star Trek (all), and Stargate SG1/Atlantis.

Science fiction just satisfies the imagination. And those of you who aren’t science fiction fans, I think there are stories out there you would enjoy regardless. Maybe you’ll even enjoy mine. Would it help if you knew they were about adventure, friendship, and love?

I like Alex's tastes! So many of my own favorites are listed here. And, it should be no surprise that his Cassa series is a favorite one of ours. I read them to my hubby, so we can share the experience. Following is some information on the third and concluding book in the series. 

CassaStorm

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…

Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Goodreads

And if, by chance, you don't know who Alex is:

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.

Have you met Alex online?

Read any of his fun books? There are 3 of them.

What are your thoughts about SciFi? 

Cover Reveal - "Pop Travel" by Tara Tyler

I've been a follower of Tara's blog for a while now and been fascinated by the little snippets she's let out over time, so I'm thrilled that she's so close to launching this story out in the world.

I'm excited today to be part of the cover reveal of Pop Travel.

Private Investigator J. L. Cooper always knew pop travel laser teleportation was too good to be true. Finding video proof of a disintegrating traveler is the stomach turning “I told you so.”

Cooper can’t broadcast the video on the nosy, government monitored Qnet, so he digs around, revealing more suspicious traveler disappearances, the death of his client, and threats to his political little brother, who is in jeopardy of turning to dust anyway for disregarding Cooper’s warnings not to pop. Cooper has to do everything himself. 

To stop the disappearances and save his brother he must shut down the ruthless mega corp Pop Travel International (PTI). And that means convincing Hasan Rakhi, the celebrity Creator of pop travel, to publicly admit the deadly flaw. No problem. Under constant surveillance, Cooper will have to be unpredictable, facing his fear of popping to crash a party at Hasan’s well-fortified plantation compound. Yes, the laser fences are real. As long as he survives his next pop, Cooper won’t let anything distract him from getting the job done. Not the android security guards, who aren’t as bright as they look, or even Southern Comfort in a purple dress, Geri Harper (an undercover Agent). Nothing Coop can’t handle.

Release Date: July 7, 2013
Publisher: Curiosity Quills

About Tara:

Math teacher by day, sports mom by night,

When does she have time to write?

Good question, but the Lazy Housewife makes time! Tara Tyler writes sci fi, thriller, and fantasy, with dabs of romance and humor and tips for efficient living. Something for everyone.

Literature and film have touched on interesting ways to quickly get from one place (or time) to another. There's apparting in Harry Potter. There's the fax-like transportation through time in Crichton's Timeline. And, of course, there's the transporter in Star Trek. The cartoon below is from a 1967 edition of Mad Magazine which did a spoof of classic Star Trek.

But it does address some problems inherent with travel of this kind. What do you think of it. Cool? Crazy? Would you do it?

Ninja Captain Alex's Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest

I didn't sign up earlier because my life's been a bit on hold. Since the edits haven't come in yet and I'm off work today, I decided to hop on board.

I don't think I could pick my favorites of all time, so I'm going to go with my favorites at this moment. Many of them would probably still be on the list, but there are others that could be nudged out (for the moment) by others.

These are in no particular order.

No comments necessary

I'm a Trekker (not a Trekkie) and have been since I first laid eyes on the classic series when it was still being broadcast. When this film came out, I saw it six times in the theater--and I grinned all the way through the film all six times.

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, and I loved this movie. It was out the same time Star Trek was, and I was dismayed to find I'd seen ST six times and HBP only five. I immediately went to the dollar flicks and watched it again.

Any surprise that a spoof on Star Trek would catch my attention? LOVE this movie. So quotable and I still laugh.

I'd always meant to read the trilogy but didn't until Fellowship came out (saw that one in the theater six times, too--thank heavens for the dollar movies). And the extended edition is the only version worth your money.

I remember stopping by a neighbor's house while she was flipping through channels. They came to this and I ahhhed. They said it looked stupid and I said it was awesome. So they left it on, and I stayed, and they became huge fans. Sometimes I think it can depend upon who you're with when you watch a movie that can impact how you take it.

I'd never read Austen until my daughter introduced me to this one. Now I'm a fan, and I own three versions of this. I think I'll donate one to the local library.

I missed this when it was in the theaters and borrowed it from a neighbor. Watched it every night for a week. My family used to watch this series when I was a kid. The filmmakers did an incredible job of bringing in bits from the TV show (including using the same TV announcer) to the film.

My youngest son and I saw this movie eleven times in the theater (I saw it twelve times--went with a friend and her daughters).

Got Stories Writing Conference

Last Saturday, I attended a conference put on by Rhemalda Publishing. There were a number of presenters who are published with Rhemalda, some were local while others were from other parts of the world. Here are a few of some of my notes.

J.S. Chancellor
Character Development

She recommended a book by Jessica Morrell called Between the Lines

J.S. said to be subtle and not put exaggerated traits on characters. It's easy to show a jerk of a husband being overtly insensitive to his wife, for example, when she's going through a difficult time. It's more subtle if, while she's crying, what he notices is how tacky her shoes are.

She suggested that we writers should know things about our characters that we'd never put in the book, especially our villains. "Even Hitler opened the door for someone." So the color of a childhood bedroom or a favorite song as a teen can provide a dimension we could miss as we're crafting that character's behavior. J.S. said it's more than knowing who the characters are now but who they were in the past are now but what they were in their past. We are the sum total of a million little things in our life.

Don't underestimate the power of what a character doesn't say.

T.J. Robinson
Five Keys to Getting Started

1.  T.J. started out by reminding everyone that no two authors are the same and all must find what works fro them. He suggested that the best way to pick your target audience is to try some short, sample pieces.

2.  He uses something he calls the Query Letter Master. He write his query before he writes the book, using it as a kind of outline for the story.

3. Push through when you want to quit. You may need to take a break from your writing, brainstorm with people, or try writing something completely different.

4. It's hard work to turn a great idea into a great book. Start simple and build on it.

5. Enjoy the ride. Don't let the inevitable rejection get you down.

Cas Peace
Designing a Fantasy World
(Sidenote: Cas and I met on Facebook when I did a giveaway last year of her book King's Envoy. She's from the U.K., so it was really fun to get to meet her in person.)

Cas noted that we are immersed in place. The physical properties in your world impact everything. Example: Is your world going to be round or flat? If it's flat, is it flat horizontally or vertically? How would the geography of your world impact the peoples and societies in it. The geography of your world can be a character, too. 

She posed a number of questions you ought to ask yourself as you create your world. Will it be similar to ours? If not, how will it be different? Are there continents? Are they static or move around? Is here plenty of water or is water rare? How are the seasons different? What is the weather like? How many seasons are there?When it rains, is it liquid that falls? Is there a single sun? Single moon? How do those impact the seasons and the weather? The tides?

If you can create a vivid and fascinating world, readers may ignore inconsistencies.

Cas raised an interesting question about religion on your world, noting religion is not always about "gods". People worship many different things. She gave an example of soccer, saying that many people in the U.K. worship soccer. Then she noted that all  societies curse. If there's no religion, what do they curse?

In world building, we need to consider things like technology and how it relates to travel, war. This made me think of the U.S. space program and how we have all kinds of everyday things that were originally created for astronauts: freeze dried foods and CT scans are just two examples that come into mind.

If your world has magic, it must be essential to your world and your people so neither can function without it. Magic must have limits or flaws--there must be a price for using it.

The small things make all the difference. Make it real, at least in reference (like potty breaks, though you don't have to belabor them). This made me remember a Star Trek book written about the classic series by they guy that did the Trouble With Tribbles episode. He suggested that since bathrooms are never shown on Klingon ships, that explains why they're so cranky.

Michelle Davidson Argyle

Writers Etiquette

Michelle reminded us to be positive--even when dealing with things like negative reviews. When you put your work out there it's no longer yours.

People remember a smiling face, good attitude, and positive words. Remember that people are very busy and may inadvertently come across as brusque. People pick up on insincerity. So be sincere but don't bring other people down.

When introducing yourself (in email or in person), mention how you know the person (read their book, met at a conference, etc.) Pay attention to body posture and be sensitive to what it tells you (arms crossed over chest can be a sign that the person isn't feeling particularly approachable).

Once you're published, you are tied to a publisher, so you need to be professional.

Those are a few of the speakers at the conference. It was fun to see some familiar faces in the audience, too.

And speaking of conferences, for anybody in my area, don't forget that next month iWriteNetwork is hosting a two-day conference with the Alpine School District.

The District's sponsorship makes it a very affordable conference. We'll have access to two computer labs. You even have the option of signing up for just one of the two days. You can register here.

You can check the iWriteNetwork blog for details on the schedule, if you're able to attend.

Do you have a writing conference in your summer plans?

If so, which one(s)?

Season of Celebration

Whether you celebrate this as I do.

This.

Or this.

Or even if you're just happy to be here.

During this special time of year, whatever special occasion you celebrate, I'd like to wish you all the best and thank you for stopping by. I appreciate the friends I've made in 2011 and how much you've all enriched my life. I'm off until January 1, 2012 (except for a book review post next week).

Has it really been that long since everyone was so excited about the Y2K issues?

So,

Merry Christmas,

Happy Hanukkah,

Happy Kwanzaa, and

Party on Dudes!

Happy New Year!