The Insecure Writer, Me

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Brain Child

Bonkers

Because I strive for writing fame,

BONKERS is my middle name.

Please tell me that in future days

My words will have some worthwhile praise.

Readers, help the writer me

to cast off INSECURITY.

Monday Moods

Asilomar Beach Tidepools

Today's MONDAY MOOD is tired, but with post-Asilomar SCBWI Conference inspiration to off-set it. The conference is at the Pacific Ocean's backdoor, so before or after sessions there's nothing better than a stroll across Hwy. 1 to peer into a few tidepools.

Dan Yaccarino and Naomi Kinsman

As usual the faculty gave excellent presentations filled with encouragement and helpful information for writers. At the final panel, Media Presence: Go Social in 2012 here's what they had to say about writers who blog:

• If you're going to blog be professional. 
•  The first thing most agents do if they are interested in a manuscript is Google the author.
•  Never post anything you don't want others to know. Realize that anything on any forum should be treated as public information.
• Blogging is an excellent tool for promoting, but doing only promotion for your books is deadly. Give something your readers need or enjoy; don't just push your work with "buy" messages.
• Being a blogger doesn't replace writing an excellent book. 

We've all heard these comments before, but it's good for those who've been at this a while to be reminded; then there are always new writers/bloggers who might not have. What did I miss?

Catch Fire! Blog Party

Woot and Double Woot! 

Here comes a super book and a super give away. You can't miss this one. From February 27 through March 9 anyone who comments on ALEX J. CAVANAUGH'S posts during that time can win a special package from his publisher: a copy of CassaFire and of CassaStar, a large tote bag, and a mug. 

The Catch Fire! sign up form will close 9 pm EST Monday night, February 27, and the five winners will be listed on Alex's blog post the following morning.

Be sure to join the Twitter Party, too. The Twitter hashtag for the party is #CatchFire . . . Make CassaFire Catch Fire!

And now . . . Drum Roll Please

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 Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog. 
Get his Book Trailer. 

Cassa Fire at Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

Monday Moods

My mood today is EXCITED. We're at the end of February and one month closer to the A-Z Blogging Challenge. If you haven't signed up DO IT! The goal is 1,000 bloggers all slogging with grace through the alphabet. One post each day (except Sunday.) It should be wild with so many participating.
Here's the LINKY to see who's already signed up, so visit and join.
 

Young Adult Teen (almost) Tuesday-v

I've been posting about Young Adult writing for four weeks now, and I've focused on intercultural themes. Well, here's another book in a series of books that have intercultural relationships at their core--two of them are just for a slightly younger reader; one is an adult book. However, I'd like to feature them here anyway on this Tuesday because of their related theme.

I met the author, FREDDIE REMZA, a few years ago at the SCBWI conference in New York, and she impressed the heck out of me with her interest and full-throttle drive in this business of writing for young readers. And I think we connected because we both love to travel. She was also a great companion in the Big Apple, and we've kept in touch. So today I'd like for you to get to know Freddie and find out about her books.

 Hereeee's Freddie!

Okay, now that I have your attention…I’m Freddie Remza, author of the middle reader, The Journey to Mei, its YA sequel, Ride the Wave, and the recently published adult novel, The Orchid Bracelet. 

 I love traveling.  I love being taken out of my comfort zone and placed in a spot on the globe where I’ve never been, consuming things I never imagined could be eaten, and talking to people who dress differently than me and live in houses I’ve seen in the National Geographic.  I don’t want a replica, a simulation, the Disney version.  I want the real thing.  I’ve always been like that. 

When I was an elementary teacher, I noticed that kids from other countries knew more about us than our children knew about them.  That bothered me and so I set off on my own private mission to change that.  The world map had a prime location in the front center of the classroom.  I continuously pulled it down to perhaps explain the location of the recently erupted volcano or to compare the desert communities of the world.  One of my favorite quotes is by Rudyard Kipling.  He wrote, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”  So after retirement, I came up with this excellent idea of joining the two…traveling and writing stories that will not only entertain, but also let kids know where a plane ride can take you.  My goal was to create a storyline where these settings could naturally unfold.  They would contain real, live-sounding people with everyday problems and situations to resolve. 

THE JOURNEY TO MEI is about an American family who decides to adopt a child from China.  Their 10-year-old birth child is not too keen on that; that is, not at first.  So off I went to China to learn about the country, visit an actual orphanage, talk to the people about the one child policy, and use what I learned in my writing.  As it turned out, there was a need for this type of story.  This middle reader not only became a teacher read-aloud, but was also used by adopting families.  They found it to be a sensitive vehicle that opened up conversation between family members and the adopted child. 

But my young readers were not satisfied.  They wanted to know what happened after the story ended.  Oh, the emails I received!  They loved the family and didn’t want them to disappear, and quite frankly, I also became a little attached.  So back to the laptop I went and the sequel, RIDE THE WAVE, was born.  This book has the family moving to Cape Town, South Africa.  Our 10-year-old birth child is now 15 and simply does not want to leave her friends, her activities, her comfortable life…not even for a year.  And so, the theme of a teen adjusting to change seemed pretty evident, as well as issues of bullying and harassment.  Halfway through the story I joined my pretend family as they made that long flight over the Atlantic.  What’s an author to do?  I learned first-hand about this country—the apartheid, effects of global warming, Cape of Good Hope—and used them as needed; much like a well-crafted jigsaw puzzle.

On the other hand, THE ORCHID BRACELET forced me to come up with a different set of people.  There I was in Vietnam running around snapping photos, filling two notebooks with observations that were insignificant to the average tourist.  You see, I wasn’t a tourist; I was a traveler.  There is a difference.  I made note of everything from the duct tape covering the slit on a vinyl couch inside a Vietnamese home, to the gravel on the pathway that a barefooted child walked upon as she carried her younger brother on her back.  But it wasn’t until an unexpected conversation I had with a young Vietnamese teen that I realized I needed to go in a different direction with my story.  That’s what experiencing the setting first hand will do.  And when that last page has been read, if the reader feels a little stirring inside that makes him sit and think about things…well, then my job was done correctly.
   

“The Orchid Bracelet” by Freddie Remza
Available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Kindle
   
                                                                     

Monday Moods-Tag, You're It!

On this Monday, I'm in the Mood to play and Kelly Hashway has provided the perfect game.  Here's how the game goes.

The Tag rules:

1. You must post the rules! OKAY CHECK.

2. Answer the questions and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged. YIKES!

3. Tag eleven people and link to them. SIMPLE TO FIND 11 GREAT BLOGGERS. HARD TO CHOOSE ONLY 11.

4. Let them know you’ve tagged them. WILL DO.

If you could live in a fictional world, where would that be?
I'd like to try Dune. I don't know why. I just know that the way Herbert described the waterless world intrigued me.Do you read in noisy or quiet places?
I don't care where I read, but in general I prefer quiet places, so I'd opt for that.

What was the first book you ever read?
I don't have a clue.
If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
That would be a terrible fate. I can't imagine reading the same book over and over again. I'd wind up rewriting that thing no matter how much I loved it at the beginning.
Favorite author?
So many favorites: Faulkner, Asimov, Penn Warren . . . good grief I can't choose.
Do reviews influence your choice of reads?
Not really. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion and tastes vary. This is what Kelly said. I say so, too.

Fiction or Non fiction?
I love both. Each has so much to offer.
Have you ever met your favourite author?
No. I think they're all dead. What does that say about me?
Audio books or Paperbacks?
Paperbacks
Classic or Modern Novels?
I love the classics, but I always enjoy finding a new voice.
Book Groups or Solitary Reading?

Solitary

Okay, now it's my turn. Here are my 11 questions.

1. What's the best part of reading a book you love?

2. What book(s) have stayed in your head?

3. If you could write one book only, what would the main character be like?

4. What book(s) do you love to read to your kids?

5. Do you ever read books aloud to others?

6. Do you like discussing books with others?

7. If you hate a book, do keep reading anyway or put it away?

8. What kind of books do you like best? Sci-fi, Realistic, Historical Fiction, Biography, other.

9. Are you transitioning into the digital age with a Kindle or a Nook or a I-Pad? Or are you sticking with those hard copies? Do you mix it up?

10. How much do covers influence your buying a book?

11. Any new books you'd recommend?

I'm tagging these peeps!

1. Kurt Chambers

2. M. Pax 

3. Misha Gericke

4. Susan Fields

5. Margo Kelly

6. Meradeth

7. Sally

8. Writing Through College

9. Carrie Butler

10.Theresa Milstein

11.Leslie Rose

Young Adult Teen Tuesday-iv

Thanks to Sheri Larson for the YATT

Here I am at Young Adult Teen Tuesday-iv! I have more to say about this thing called culture, and this time it's about including it in our stories.

When we're writing stories that include people of other cultures than our own we have so many  opportunities to explore differences. We also have a chance to increase the depth of our stories and add tension between our characters if we understand some cultural rules, then break them.

I love to put two characters together who know nothing about the other's culture and let them interact. Here's one example. Say we have Paulo from South America and Kevin from Wisconsin in a hallway. They like each other and even want to ramp up their friendship, but something about each of them bothers the other. Here's a possible scene:

"So, about that movie." Kevin stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair. He wished Paulo would stay back a little and stop breathing on him.
Paulo stepped forward, smiling. "I can go, but not early. After four is good."
"Sure. That works." Kevin took another step back and bumped into the wall. Paulo was in his face and Kevin had no way to put more distance between him and this guy. "Can you back off, man? You're crowding me here."
At first Paulo didn't seem to understand, then hurt flashed across his face. "What? I don't smell good or something?"

These two may not go to the movies after all; they may not get to know each other better, and that's only because of a little cultural issue called "personal space." Personal space is an invisible area that members of different cultures find comfortable. In north America we tend to need more of this space than other cultures, and if someone invades that space who is not an intimate (a mom, a husband, a child) we don't like it. Usually we back up until we're in our "comfortable" zone again.

Poor Kevin. He's only trying to put the right distance between himself and Paulo, but then so is Paulo. In South America being close is comfortable.

Using this kind of cultural insight allows you to create a lot of different outcomes:

Paulo and Kevin could have a fight, so you have a dramatic scene.

They could back themselves up and down a hall, so you have a comic scene.

Have you tried any cultural clashes in your stories? If not, next time you have a chance, add a bit of cultural misunderstanding between your characters and see what you come up with. Next Tuesday I'll see what little cultural tidbit I can find to blog about.