An Online WisCon

The con must go on. This weekend, instead of heading up to Madison, Wisconsin, I sat in front of my computer to watch panels and presentations on YouTube and chat with others via Discord.

The virtual format allowed me to attend events that I don't normally have a chance to watch, such as the Thursday night reading by the guest of honor and the speeches on Sunday night. On the other hand, there were only a few hours of programming instead of the normal all-day affair, and the choices were much more limited. I wound up watching more readings and academic presentations than I normally do at WisCon. For the first time, I even watched the "Not Another *#?! Race Panel," which is a staple at WisCon. This is a panel where people of color discuss anything other than race. Normally I would pick a more focused panel dealing with something I wanted to learn about, but I enjoyed this panel more than I expected. I learned about an awesome Filipino bakery in Chicago, and the discussions about bad Star Wars parents and how the Harry Potter characters would handle quarantine were funny. Would I attend the panel next time I'm at WisCon? It would depend on what else is scheduled at the same time.

I have to admit an online Dealers Room and Art Show don't have the same draw, and even though there were a lot of subject-specific channels on the Discord, I didn't feel like I had anything to add to the conversations. I missed attending Farmers Market Saturday morning, listening to readings at Michelangelo's Coffee House, and shopping at the Soap Opera. When you've been going to a particular event for so long you expect to run into a past self in the elevator, any change feels strange. Hopefully next year the con will go on in person. But if for some reason I can't attend, being able to watch at least part of WisCon online would keep the connection alive.

Storage Locations: Flash Drive vs. Cloud

Normally I like to write or edit on my lunch hour, but I used my time yesterday to write this blog post instead. That's because although I remembered to bring my netbook, I forgot to bring the flash drive where I store current versions of all my important documents. (Don't worry; the flash drive was on my desk when I came home. I had removed it from my laptop but forgotten to stick it in my netbook case.) This happens every so often. Normally I find something else to work on instead; for example, I might draw up a character sketch or plot another story. This time, I wondered if it would make more sense to start keeping my working copies of documents in cloud storage. I would probably use Dropbox, which would work not just with my netbook and laptop but also with my phone. Office 365 also offers cloud storage, and I know other places to get it as well.

The main reason I work from a flash drive instead of cloud storage isn't security or privacy concerns (although those are important), but access concerns. Internet is usually available in most of the places I normally go, but not always. If we're traveling somewhere , I try to squeeze in some writing time while my husband drives. Finding wifi on the highway wouldn't work in that situation. I suppose I could use cloud storage most of the time and upload files to my flash drive right before the trip. Still, sometimes it's easier to have only one spot for your working files. (I do agree that backups should be in multiple locations for safety.)

Where do you keep your current files? For that matter, where do you keep your backups? (Formats can become obsolete very quickly.) Did you remember to back up your files recently? Feel free to discuss in the comments.

Interview with Alex J. Cavanaugh

Today I have a special guest on my blog; you're probably already familiar with him, his blog, and his works. I originally hoped to interview Alex J. Cavanaugh for the Blog Ring of Power, but that format didn't work this time. So here's the full interview with Alex. Enjoy!

 When and why did you begin writing?

 I started when I was a teen and I wrote so I could read stories I couldn’t find anywhere else.

Tell us about your early works—what was the first thing you ever wrote?

I vaguely recall writing a few short stories, but I remember my first full length manuscript very clearly. It was incomplete and not very good. Sat in a drawer for thirty years before I decided to rewrite it from scratch. It became CassaStar, my first published novel.

When did you first consider yourself a professional writer?

I guess when I signed the contract for my first book. I still don’t feel like a professional though.

What genre do you write?

Science fiction – space opera/adventure

If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?

Rock star! Believe it or not, I don’t think I’d ever want to be a full time author.

How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life?

When I’m working on a manuscript, some things just have to go. Usually I play fewer games and watch less television, which is probably a good thing.


How much time per day do you spend on your writing?

Two to four hours during the week. On the weekends, it’s usually double that.

What is the strongest criticism you’ve ever received as an author? The best compliment?

Strongest criticism was that I was a child trying to rewrite Star Wars. It just made me chuckle.

My first book makes a lot of women cry, which they tell me is a good thing. (Although I still feel bad.) But the best compliment was from a reader connected perfectly with the characters and said I’d mastered emotion and intimacy.

Other than your family, what has been your greatest source of support?

This online community! I get so much support from fans and fellow writers here.

How do you deal with rejection and/or negative reviews?

I learn from them. I try to make the next book better.

Where do you get your story ideas?

Most are sparked through movies and music.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I don’t think I’ve ever had it. I outline my stories in so much detail before I begin writing that I never get stuck.

Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser” (do you plan/outline the story ahead of time or write “by the seat of your pants”)?

Extensive outline of the plot and characters – if I didn’t, my stories would wander into the desert and never return.

Do you use critique partners or beta readers? Why or why not?

Both! I have two test readers who get an early read on the manuscript and then several critique partners who go over it after many edits. All of them have helped me so much!

Is there anything you find particularly challenging to write?

I used to think writing from a woman’s point of view (or a kid’s) was difficult, but I’ve since done both. I guess now writing anything dark would be a challenge. My mind just doesn’t go there.

Tell us about your new book and when it is out? Where can people purchase it?

CassaStorm is the third book in the trilogy and follows Byron as he deals with galactic war, a possible alien invasion, and a son plagued by nightmares. It came out in September and is available in both print and all eBook formats: Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Goodreads.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Writing from the point of view of a ten-year-old. I don’t have kids and it’s been a LONG time since I was that age.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

Byron’s son has a surprise encounter with someone in the desert, and I really liked the scene and their exchange.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Acceptance, approval, and love. I tackle racial differences in this novel and the need of every human for approval, plus the love between parent and child.

Tell us about your book’s cover – where did the design come from and what was the design process like?

My publisher’s illustrator always asks questions before designing the cover art so he can capture the essence of the story. I think he did a really amazing job with the third book.


Tell us about your route to success –how did you land your agent/publisher?

I’d queried a lot of science fiction publishers with no luck. I started turning to small publishers, and that’s when I finally got an offer.

What are the most important elements of good writing?

I think the most important is connecting with the characters, because that can propel the reader through an average story.

What tools are must-haves for writers?

I could provide a long list, but I’ll just say critique partners are critical.


What do you feel is the key to your success?

I write stories driven by characters that appeal to readers outside of my genre. Success has also come because I was persistent in my online activities and involvement.

What are your current / future project(s)?

Right now, I’m not sure. I never imagined more than one book, let alone a trilogy. I’m not sure if I will continue writing or pursue my music instead.

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.

Website – Twitter – Goodreads -

CassaStorm, By Alex J Cavanaugh

 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…

“CassaStorM is a touching and mesmerizing space opera full of action and emotion with strong characters and a cosmic mystery.” – Edi’s Book Lighhouse

"Cavanaugh makes world building on the galactic scale look easy. The stakes affect the entire known universe and yet Cavanaugh makes it intensely personal for our hero. The final installment of this series will break your heart and put it back together." - Charity Bradford, science fantasy author of The Magic Wakes

Print ISBN 9781939844002 eBook ISBN 9781939844019

Science fiction-adventure/space opera

Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

$16.95 6x9 Trade paperback, 268 pages

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

 Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble -

Amazon -

Goodreads -

Book trailer

BRoP Interview with Sue Burke

Happy Monday, everyone! (If there is such a thing.) Today as part of the Blog Ring of Power, I have part of a progressive interview with Sue Burke. She's a member of Broad Universe, and she recently translated a book called Amadis of Gaul Book 1. This book was originally published in 1508, about a century before Don Quixote. (Don Quixote was actually written to satirize the earlier book.)

You can find the other parts of the interview through these links:

About You
The Writing Life
The Creative Process
About Your Current Work and the Business Aspects (coming tomorrow)

The Technical Aspects

1. How is this story different in English than the original language?

The original text makes good use of the ability in Spanish to create long, beautiful sentences. In fact, it was written to sound elegant and elevated when spoken -- this novel was made to be read out loud to an audience, which was how books were enjoyed in medieval times. English prose today has more strength than elevation, which makes it good for fight scenes, but a little weak for meditative passages.

Although it's easy to write a hundred-word sentence in Spanish even today, I generally have to use shorter sentences than the original. I always try to capture the word play, although again, English vocabulary has different strengths and weaknesses. But sometimes I succeed in capturing the charm of the original, as in this passage about Amadis's brother, Galaor, and a damsel he has just rescued:

"At this point the two damsels went to search through the castle with other women to find them something to eat, leaving Sir Galaor and the damsel, who was named Brandueta, alone, conversing as ye have heard, and as she was very beautiful and he was eager for such sustenance, before the meal was brought and the table set, together they unmade a bed that was in the hall where they were and made the damsel a woman, which she had not been before, satisfying their desires, which had grown great during the brief time they had spent gazing at one another in the flourishing beauty of youth."

2. What kind of research did you have to do?

One thing I had to learn was the names for the parts of a suit of armor: what does manopla mean, and what's the word for that in English? (Gauntlet.) I got some helpful reference materials from the Armory at the Royal Palace here in Madrid. I also had to master the names of the parts of a castle.

3. What tools are must-haves for writers and/or translators?

Good dictionaries. For Spanish, I recommend the Oxford English-Spanish Dictionary, the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española, and, if you can afford it, the Diccionario de María Moliner. These will run you about $550 altogether -- you're only as good as your tools, remember. (They're a little cheaper on this side of the Big Pond, thank heavens.)

You'll also need Internet access for the questions that all that money still hasn't answered. And English-language dictionaries and references. And of course a computer. You can also get specific translating software, which can be great time-savers, especially for non-literary translations -- technical manuals or legal contracts, for example.

4. Do you have any advice for other writers?

I think it's hard to appreciate how different people and cultures were in the past and the present. For example, in the Middle Ages in Spain, few people slept alone. Usually their servants were in the same room, sometimes in the same bed. Men who were friends held hands, and they wept freely when they were sad. Men also freely declared their love for each other -- non-sexual, of course.

Women rarely sat on chairs, but rather on pillows or low stools on a platform reserved for women in the best corner of the household. In households that could afford it, food was very spicy and meat was plentiful and fresh because knights and kings spent their free time hunting. Everyone at one point in their life, perhaps their whole life, had been a servant and considered it an honor. Everyone believed in what we would call magic today, although a different kind of magic than we're used to. And bawdy jokes were always appreciated.

5. Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I'll have an article in the February 2012 issue of Broadsheet, Broad Universe's magazine, about contemporary fantasy writers in Spain. The challenges they face might not be what you expect. http://www.broaduniverse.org/the-broadsheet-magazine/blog

I'll also have a science fiction novel, tentatively titled Transplants, published by EDGE later this year.

Justifying an Addiction

Since I joined Facebook, I've been trying lots of the applications people keep sending me. Some of them I try a couple of times and decide I don't care for them too much, but some of them can be practically addicting. One of the latter is Pet Dragons One (a sequel is in the works). It's a simple premise; a friend gives you a dragon egg, and you hatch it and raise the dragon. Every day you have twenty actions, or turns, you can use in feeding your dragon, letting it collect gold, or training it for combat with other dragons. There are a variety of different strategies one can use in this game; you can try to be the biggest dragon, the richest, the best fighter, or an all-around type of dragon. Although the game really doesn't require a lot of time (you can use all of your turns in a few seconds, and once you send your dragon off to combat, it can take up to twelve hours to resolve the battle), I still find myself checking the game constantly and learning as much as I can on the forum. I'm also looking forward to Pet Dragons Two, which should be coming out in the next month or two.

It didn't take me long to realize that a group of people who are interested in dragons might be interested in reading about dragons, especially the Firestorm of Dragons anthology. When I set up my dragon, I named her after a character in my short story, and I based her profile on that short story too. I did mention the anthology on the forum, though I did so in a thread devoted to dragon books. And tonight, when I earned enough gold to buy a custom title, I chose "Firestorm of Dragons." I wanted to make it "Read Firestorm of Dragons," but it didn't fit. I don't know if this marketing will have any effect, but I figure it's my best chance at turning the game gold into real cash.