Friday, September 23, 2011

Celebrations, Winners, and What the Heck DID I Do This Past Summer?

Wow, what a week! So many awesome things to celebrate:

Blogger buddy M. Pax announced a release date for her book, Semper Audacia, at The Wicked Writers. Her short stories are awesome - can’t wait to read her novel.

RaShelle (who rocks) posted the Book Trailer for her upcoming book, Exiled.

Lydia Kang snagged an agent. Way to go, Lydia!

And my good buddy Rusty Webb decided that I needed a picture of me for my blog. (There really is a picture on my About Me page.) Rusty designed this:
Thanks, dude – now I look like a rock star!

Drinks for everybody!

Winners! We’ve got winners!

Jeremy (iZombie) was recently a guest and these lucky bloggers won:
Will Burke - a copy of Jeremy’s book, Chatterbox
Judy Harper - a zombie makeover

And the winners of The Arranger by L.J. Sellers are…
Amity at Dreams Are My Reality
Arlee at Tossing It Out/a>
Edit at
Edi’s Book Lighthouse

Another round of drinks! (Being drunk is not a requirement to enjoying my blog, but I’m sure it won’t hurt.)

And finally – what the heck DID I do last summer?

This is my entry for Michael di Gesu’s What I Did On My Summer Vacation Blogfest:

I didn’t really take a vacation. There were a few fun weekends with my wife, but not a real ‘vacation.’ I did watch a lot of movies. Mowed the grass way too many times. (I really need to install Astroturf.) But what else happened?

Well, there were two really awesome things that happened!

My second book, CassaFire, was approved and a release date of February 28, 2012 was set. The cover art just blew me away and my publisher is working on a book trailer. Yeah, that was really cool.

The other big event was the successful launch of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. From casual comment to large support group – wow! The responses from our first posting were so amazing – so many were encouraged. I really had no idea it would be such a big hit. (And if you haven’t signed up, click HERE for a full description.)


That was my summer! What did you guys do? Did you enjoy the Worst Movies Ever blogfest? Any other news this week? One more round of drinks and then you won’t even remember you were here!

110 comments:

Laila Knight said...

It's too early to drink...hmm, Bloody Mary. Congratulations to all the people you listed above! I figured you'd be too much of a workaholic to take a vacation. Aside from my camping trip and a visit to the zoo, I didn't do much either. :)

Isis Rushdan said...

Thanks for this wrap-up. I missed Lydia's news and just swung by her blog to congratulate her.

Big congrats to all the others listed.

My summer was so busy, thinking about it makes me want to take a nap, but at least I did have a vacay.

The blogfest was so much fun. Thanks for hosting it.

Sarah Tokeley said...

Congrats to the winners.

My Summer? The same as my Winter except I didn't have to get up at stupid o'clock to see the girls off to school.

Miranda Hardy said...

Congrats to everyone! I love great news.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Laila, don't worry - there was some goofing off as well.

Isis, glad you enjoyed the blogfest. Feel free to nap now.

Sarah, extra sleep is always good.

Cindy said...

Congrats on your upcoming release. :)

Natalie Aguirre said...

Thanks for sharing the good news, especially about your release and Lydia's good news.

I did enjoy learning about movies not to waste time watching. So thanks for thinking of it.

Ella said...

Congrats to all the winners! I rocked a 10wk art challenge in a hub of teen madness and went camping. I found a story that demands to be told. I'm not sure I'm the right writer for the job, time will tell. House was rarely quiet, but that is okay!
Great pic, you look like Thor, nice guns ;D Happy Weekend Captain~

Rusty Carl said...

I'm not sure I did anything this summer more exciting than your lawn mowing. I mean, who can compete with that? I washed a lot of clothes.

Jemi Fraser said...

It's been a busy coupld of weeks and I missed some of those pieces of good news! Thanks for letting me know - off to check them out...

Gail said...

Congratulations to all the winners.

Sounds like you've accomplished alot...unlike me.

Painting looks just like you!

M.J. Fifield said...

What an action packed filled blog today!

Love your rock star pic.

Old Kitty said...

Please don't have astro-turf! It;s much more fun to frolic on real grass...!

Take care
x

S.A. Larsenッ said...

So much good news going around the blogosphere lately! Congrats to the winners.

Laura Eno said...

Of course I had to run to your "About Me" page to see if there was really a photo. LOL!

Congrats to everyone for all kinds of cool things!

Workingdan said...

Summer? What's that? My summer is so uneventful that I can't pick out a single fun thing that I did. Drink beer, cook on the grill, and mowing the grass. That's all I did!

Congrats!

Tara Tyler said...

rockin picture dude! bang your head! (sorry, just came from nicki's 80s montage at mpax's)

always fun times here =)
have a great wknd!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Congrats on the lucky winners! I can't wait to see the trailer for your second book, Alex.

Jeff Beesler said...

Being able to beta read CassaFire was among my highlights of the summer. I'll have more highlights on my blog later today around 5 pm PDT. For now, I must get ready to head to work!

Unknown said...

Awesome news, Alex! Have a great weekend.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Natalie, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Ella, you did a lot!

Rusty, I'd rather wash clothes...

Gail, if it makes me look like a stud, I'm happy!

Laura, there's really a photo!

Danjor, that evil grass mowing...

George, neither can I!

Jeffrey, thanks!

Matthew MacNish said...

Dang, Alex, you look freaking awesome in that drawing!

Karen Lange said...

I did enjoy the Worst Movies Blogfest. Didn't get to every site yet but the ones I saw were great.

Congrats to the winners, and to you Alex, on the upcoming release!

Happy weekend!

Luanne G. Smith said...

I did my big trip back in February, so the summer was kind of quiet. We did a backyard make-over instead.

You are definitely the king of the blogfests. And I hope the new picture is going in the sidebar. :)

Anonymous said...

Like yourself, we never took a vacation oer se. But we did do a few local stays at hotels. Found some great deals on Screaming Daily Deals. Rock on, you rocker, you.

Charles Gramlich said...

a rock star! Let's party!

Talli Roland said...

Lots of great stuff going on - congrats to the winners, you on CassaStar... all good!

Talli Roland said...

Oops - CassaFIRE!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the links, will go visit now, and you Do look like a Rockstar :)

Budd said...

guess I need to clear out my reading schedule for March.

Suze said...

Al, my head's spinning a bit from that post but that was really fun to read. :)

Tonja said...

Sounds like you had a great summer except for mowing the grass.

dolorah said...

That's not a picture Alex, thats a silhoutte :) I like Rusty's version, way cool.

Congrats to all the winners. Your two major events are awesome though. Hard to top such success.

Have a good weekend.

...........dhole

Arlee Bird said...

Worst Movie Blogfest was great fun and a huge success. Nice job Alex! Now, what did I do this summer? Uh, why am I here? Oh well, pour me another drink.


Lee
Tossing It Out

Lydia Kang said...

Can't wait to get your new book! And thanks for the shout-out Alex. I'm still a little numb from surprise!

Katherines Corner said...

looking forward to having CassaFire on my Feb book list.Hugs and wishes for a joy filled weekend.

Dafeenah said...

My summer was the same as my winter. Work, work, work, and HOT. congrats on your book!!

~Sia McKye~ said...

Summer? What summer. I didn't really have one where I did fun things. There's always next year.

Congrats on the release date. I'm looking forward to reading this one.

My Muse came in like Arnold and told me to get off my duff and write. Not that she looks like Arnold but she sure has his kick ass mentality. lol! It feels pretty good to be clear headed enough to write again.

Have a great weekend, Alex!

Sia McKye's Thoughts...OVER COFFEE

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Matthew, I rock!

Karen, the blogfest was the best so far.

LG, it will be!

Thanks, Damy.

Budd, I appreciate that.

Donna, Rusty did an awesome job.

Lee, have as many as you like...

Lydia, I'm just thrilled for you.

Thanks, everyone!

Unknown said...

I did nothing this summer except host some family, visit the museums here in Chitown, worked some temp assignments and wrote. Not very exciting, I'm afraid.

But what I wrote, that has paid off as I challenged myself to write something different and now, Nathan's Angel will be out very soon.

Love the rocker avatar. And I LOVED the Worst Movies blogfest. It was fun to give free reign to my snarkiness.

Donea Lee said...

(it's ok if I just drink water, right?) Yes - great news about your 2nd book!! That's definitely something to celebrate about your summer. And some great news for Lydia!! I'll have to pop over and congratulate her!

And the Worst Movies Blogfest was awesome! :)

Nancy Thompson said...

Cool news about book 2! And I love & so appreciate the IWSG. As for what I did over the summer, well, besides the usual trip to see the folks & tripping around Portland, I took my son on his college tour from one end of California to the other. It was exhausting, but it's something I will never forget.

Nicki Elson said...

Spiked coffee, awesome! That picture by Rusty is fabulous. Congrats to everyone on their accomplishments and exciting announcements this week. I'm very happy you started the Insecure Writer's Group---it got so popular because it's a great idea.

Mary Aalgaard said...

I had a relaxing summer - no major trips, a couple summer camps for the boys, and visiting family and friends.
You look like a possessed rocker!

julie fedderson said...

Congratulations on a very productive summer! I worked mostly at the day job, but did have a fun family roadtrip in August. In retrospect, my summer was a lot like any other season I have.

Sarah Ahiers said...

Pshaaa, summer isn't over until i SAY it is! I don't think of summer as being done until we hit october.
But, i guess i didn't do much this summer. Though i did write another book, so that's pretty awesome

nutschell said...

Congratulations Lydia, and M. Pax and RaShelle! And Congratulations to all the winners. It's a Friday, you all deserve a drink!
nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Doralynn Kennedy said...

Sounds like a really great summer... especially the release date bit.

I wanted to comment on your remark at my blog. Netflix will no longer offer movies at home. They are only offering a streaming service now. (Actually it goes into effect in about 3 weeks.) If you still want to receive movies at home, you need to join another site. It is called Quickster. Your preferences and your DVD queue will not transfer to the new site. A new account will automatically be created for you at Quickster. You will be billed separately. And you will need to go to two separate sites for streaming and DVD's. There are other changes as well. Reed Hastings sent out an e-mail detailing the changes a few days ago. He had 10's of thousands of complaints at the Netflix blog within hours. The stock has plummeted, and the story is one of the biggest online right now.

Ciara said...

Not really any more news at my end. We just did the Disney thing with the boys, again. Have a great weekend.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

You have very skinny legs.

Christine Rains said...

Congratulations to all the winners. I loved your blogfest, Alex. It was so much fun. I have Trollhunter to watch this weekend. I hope it's so bad it's good!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Melissa, I think that was the best one yet! The reasons for movie picks were the best.

Thanks, Donea!

Nancy, I'm really glad so many benefitted from the support group.

Thanks, Nicki, and hope you had a good time here this week.

Mary, obssessed with Hot Tamales! Wait, you said possessed, didn't you...?

Sarah, OUR summer hasn't ended!

Doralynn, I'll probably just stick with streaming.

Michael, I do, don't I?

Doralynn Kennedy said...

If you decide to just stick with streaming, you'll have to cancel DVD's if you get them. Otherwise, they'll automatically set up an account for you at Quickster. Of course, they've lost they're Starz contract, so there will be 30% less content on streaming.

Amy said...

Great post Alex and congrats on both your sequel and the support group - you rock! :)

Mason Canyon said...

Wonderful news. It has been a busy week. Have a relaxing weekend.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Freelance Editing By Mason

Hart Johnson said...

Looking hot, Alex--I like the make-over. Though now your wife will have to get a pair of bad boots to fight off your groupees.

And I think the book acceptance and date are FABULOUS summer accomplishments!

RaShelle Workman said...

Alex - Sounds like you have a great summer. Can't wait for the CassaFire release! And yes, totally enjoyed the Worst Movies Ever blogfest. Battlefield Earth totally won. =D

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Like the drawing for you! You're way too busy to take a vacation, and all these Ninja Army folks would miss you way too much!!!

Monti

NotesAlongTheWay

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had a great summer, sir. I wrote, wrote, and wrote some more -- and had a few stories accepted. October may end up being my best month this year: 5 stories scheduled to be published.

Summer Ross said...

Congrats to the winners!

Alex- you did a terrific job organizing the support group and I agree it was very successful!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

LOL - I like the drawing.

The blogfest was fun. Second highest comments I've ever received.

Golden Eagle said...

Congratulations to the people you mentioned, and to the winners! :)

I had a lot of fun posting for the Worst Movies Ever Blogfest. And it was great seeing all the movies people chose!

Heather M. Gardner said...

Now I'm drunk.
Thanks.
Sounds like a great summer to me!
Heather

ali cross said...

Dude, you are all kinds of awesome. And the picture proves it!

Angela Brown said...

The Worst Movies Ever Blogfest was awesome and so is that rocking animation of you.

By the way, I must admit the support group is an awesome idea. As writers, we have to deal with any person with a pie hole spilling their opinions, some of them vile and considered cruel and unusual punishment. The group allows a chance to deal with that kind of stuff and just the doubts that naturally come with the program. Good on you.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Doralynn, yeah, it's going to be a hassle.

Thanks, Amy!

Thanks, Hart. I think my wife could kick any groupie's ass!

RaShelle, yes it did.

Monti, I'd like to think they would miss me.

Milo, you blow my accomplishments out of the water.

Summer, thank you.

Diane, glad you got so many.

Golden, that was half the fun, wasn't it?

Heather, I have achieved my purpose!

Ali, thank you.

Angela, thank you. I got so many comments like yours. I'm just really glad it helped so many writers.

M Pax said...

Thanks for the SO :) Awesome artwork by Rusty.

Nice essay. I worked all summer. Looking forward to a bit more down time this fall. But that won't happen. I started my own business, which I think is very exciting.

Julius Cicero said...

Congratulations on everything! I had a couple of short vacations, but a lot of work going on too. I could use a good drink. Bottoms up!

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I didn't quite picture you that way Alex.

Happy weekend to you.
xoRobyn

Michael Di Gesu said...

Well, sir Alex, you certainly had an awesome summer with some major focal points.

Congrats on the book, and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. You should be proud.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Mary, that is very cool!!

Robyn, um, neither did I...

Michael, thanks, but humbled is more the word.

L.J. Sellers said...

Congratulations on the new release! The cover art looks great.

And thanks for hosting me. I've contacted the winners of THE ARRANGER.

Chuck said...

Went to Fiji. Worked my ass off. Suffered through the hottest summer in Dallas history. The end.

On the plus side...never mowed a blade of stinkin' grass!

Leovi said...

You've been very encouraged, I took a couple of beers to your health.

Danette said...

The portrait is awesome. You look more like a super hero rock star. You should definitely keep it on the blog. And your summer sounds productive and fun! Congrats on the approval of CassaFire!!!

Belbin9 said...

You get more rest not really doing anything special on vacation anyways. Congrats on the new book release date! Can't wait to see the new trailer

erica and christy said...

Seriously, what the h was up with the lawn this year? I also feel like most of summer vacay was spent mowing!
erica

Elizabeth Mueller said...

Oooh, so do you have long flowing hair? ;)


♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥

Denise Covey said...

I'm so glad to see the real Alex at last! I recognised you by the guitar. Congrats on CassaFire being given the green light. Congrats to your winners. And thanks for all the other info as well.

Denise

Jules said...

Rusty is one talented dude and captured you perfectly. The shoes are little dated though. :)

Thanks for the lovely comment.
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Enid Wilson said...

LOL, tight orange pants. They are handy for your ninja act.

Every Savage Can Reproduce

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

LJ, that's great!

Chuck, you lucky dog...

Leovi, thanks!

Danette, thanks, and I think I can find room for it.

Belbin, thanks!

Erica, I have no idea. Some days, I could actually hear it growing.

Elizabeth, closest I ever had to that was a mullet back in the day.

Thanks, Denise!

Jules, but the ladies won't be looking at my feet! At least, I hope not...

Enid, Ninjas need mobility.

Birgit said...

Great news about your book-Love the superhero Fabio man. A drink every once in a while is great even if it is a bit too early. Loved the Worst Movies ever and hope another film adventure will come about. The summer...too hot, but soon too cold-wait sounds like porridge to me:)I swear I am not Goldilocks because I think the bears realized she was a good meal. Oops I carry on don't I

Donna Shields said...

The Worst Movies Ever Blogfest was great! I didn't get to participate, but liked reading everyone's lists.

By the way (And I know I'm like way late) love the cover of your new book. I can see why you were blown away.

Julie Musil said...

Alex, I love the rock star picture! That's awesome. This summer was a blur, with nonstop action with my husband and three sons.

Tanya Reimer said...

Yup living the rock star life! Good for you. lol.

Anonymous said...

I REALLY enjoyed reading all the Worst Movies Ever posts. So funny.

BTW, I saw WARRIOR yesterday. Have you seen it? Awe.Some. Might be my most fave movie of the year. Very raw and emotional.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Hi Alex -- I spent my summer finishing up this suspense novel that took me two years to write because I kept changing the plot. As of 9PM (MT) last night, I'm done.

Today I'm doing all non-writing fun stuff like picking grapes and washing windows. :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Birgit, glad you enjoyed the blogfest.

Thanks, Donna!

Julie, isn't it cool?

Liz, I haven't seen it yet.

Patricia, that's great news! Want to come wash my windows?

ediFanoB said...

Hooray!
I won a copy of THE ARRANGER by L.J. Sellers.

Thank you so much. I received the electronic copy and it works without any problems.

Donna K. Weaver said...

And those two awesome thing were big things.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Edi, that's great! I told her you'd be excited to receive it.

Thanks, Donna!

Leovi said...

Wonderful home, I like, very attractive and in action. Congratulations.

Unknown said...

summer? what summer?

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Mack, that's a bit of how I felt...

Unknown said...

Wow, sounds like your summer was really successful as well. Congratulations to your second book. I'm gonna read your first book soon. I got myself into sci-fi this summer, so finally I get to read it.
The cover looks great btw. (your new picture, too.)
Nahno ∗ McLein

Anonymous said...

What a great summer it sounds like you had! And congratulations to all of the winners!!
Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror, A Memoir of Shattered Secrets

Leovi said...

Yes, the truth is that I have enjoyed the worst movies, their reasons and their comments, it was fun.

Jennie Bailey said...

You always host the BEST blogfests - I love the WORST movies. It was fun reading everyone's picks! I can hardly wait for Cassafire!

Congrats to the winners!

Nas said...

Congratulations to all the winners!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Nahno, thanks - I appreciate that!

Thanks Ann!

And Jennie, that blogfest was the best.

Unspoken said...

Alex, you are busy over at your place and it's all good :).

Author A.O. Peart said...

Thank you for sharing the links! I really enjoyed RaShelle's book trailer. Now I want to read her book.

Congratulations on the CassaFire approval for the release. It's on my to-read list (togetehr with CassaStar!)

Love the red pants and the hair. Yep, definitely a cool rock star. Wink. :-)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had a busy summer... congrats on the success of your insecure writer's support group... awesome:)

Amity said...

I am always curious how u look in person Alex...:)

Even the rockstar look in you???

You know lots of movies...:P

Thanks for sharing so many reviews...

Shari said...

That is a rockin' awesome picture. I'd say it's gnarly, but that probably goes in the 80's post.

Lisa Potts said...

Yay for CassaFire! Love that cover. It's always nice to be able to celebrate something no matter what season it is.

Jen said...

Those are two, very cool happenings! The book cover is awesome!

I'm always at a loss as to what I actually did over the summer. I haven't been on a real vacation in years (waaay too many years) and without a vacation to break things up, the summers seem to just drift in sometime between spring and fall, the only demarcation being the heat!

Thanks for the drinks!
Jen

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Angela, thanks!

Amity, my photo is there for all to see.

Thanks, Lisa!

Jen, think we both need a vacation.

Arlee Bird said...

When I first commented on this post I totally missed that I had won a copy of The Arranger by L.J. Sellers. Then I got my autographed copy in the mail to day and wondered, "What the heck?". Figuring I must have won this somewhere I Googled "L J Sellers the Arranger Arlee Bird winner" and it led me to your post. Pretty slick eh? Thanks for the book. It sounds like a great read.


Lee
Tossing It Out