Monday, October 3, 2011

What an Awesome Week!

This promises to be an awesome week! Two blogger buddies have books coming out this week. I finally came up with an entry for Rachael Harrie’s Campaign challenge. Wednesday is the next post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. And, I have big news about my book that will just have to wait until Friday!!

Ciara Knight has a new book this week, Love’s Long Shadow. Congratulations, Ciara! She’s a very gracious, generous, and beautiful person, so visit her site and say way to go, Ciara.

Fellow science fiction writer and astronomy master, M. Pax, has a book coming out on Tuesday - Semper Audacia. She has several short story eBooks available (all excellent, by the way) and this will be her first novel. Congratulations, Mary!!! Visit the Wistful Nebulae for more information and to congratulate her.

And I missed the Platform Building Campaign’s first challenge, but I managed to come up with something for the second one. May it amuse you…

Must use the words miasma, lacuna, oscitate, and synchronicity. Bonus for using the word mirror, Imago in the title, and hitting two hundred words exactly. (I managed to do it all!)

I-M-A-G-O

“Miasma. M-I-A-S-M-A. Miasma.”


I glanced at the TV screen. Earlier, the sportscaster had dubbed these spelling bee kids ‘twitching little freaks.’ So far, I had to agree.


“The word is lacuna.”


That’s an easy word, I thought, returning to my report. I tapped at the keyboard, determined to finish tonight.


After a few minutes, I leaned away from my laptop. Reaching for a drink, my gaze returned to the TV screen.


“Oscitate. Can you use it in a sentence, please?”


That’s the key, isn’t it? Finding the word for a sentence that mirrors our intent.


Setting my drink on the coffee table, I continued with the report. I typed the final word and saved the document. Scrolling back to the first page, I read through my work. The content appeared solid and the report flowed well.


However, a red line appeared under at least one word in every sentence. I ran Spellcheck, allowing the program to correct my mistakes. Many were the result of typing too fast. It was the words I’d slaughtered out of ignorance that bothered me. Where the heck did I learn to spell, anyway?


Annoyed, I glanced at the screen.


“Synchronicity. S-Y-N-C-H-R-O-N-I-C-I-T-Y. Synchronicity.”


Twitching little freaks.


What do you think? Clever? Dumb? Cheating? I think can live with that last one…
Any other exciting news this week?
Oh, and DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude is posting the answers today to his "You Sure Do Talk Funny" challenge. Go see if you guessed which one was mine!

121 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I thinks it's clever Alex.

Good news about the new books,

As I will be away on Wednesday (am going to a concert won't tell whose) will write my Insecure post late Tuesday evening.
Return on Thursday.
Have a good day,
Yvonne.

Suze said...

I can't wait to hear about your book, Alex. And big confetti thrown in M Pax's honor!

Enid Wilson said...

Hehe, cheating cleverly. I expect to put up my feet next week and rest.

Every Savage Can Reproduce

Natalie Aguirre said...

Oh, you're going to torture us for the week. Can't wait to hear your news.

M.J. Fifield said...

Twitching little freaks... hahahaha. Very clever. Thanks for a good laugh before I head off to work this morning.

Gail said...

What a challenge! You passed with flying colors.

Miranda Hardy said...

Love the use of the words. Glad you came up with a story. Can't wait to hear your big news on Friday.

mooderino said...

Clever and very apt. Well done.

mood
Moody Writing
@mooderino

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Yvonne, that is fine!

MJ, sportcaster Tony Kornheiser has always called them that - just thought it was funny.

Thanks, everyone! I'm really excited for Friday.

Bish Denham said...

Clever and humorous. Being a terrible spelling I can identify. (Love those squiggly red lines.)

Unknown said...

Awesome news about the books coming out. I just finished my Insecure post for Wednesday. Can't wait to check out the other entries. Love your challenge entry.

Arlee Bird said...

Lot's of big news for this week.

Your challenge entry works. It's different from any of the others I've seen. And it makes a point. Good job.


Lee
Tossing It Out

Laura Eno said...

Awesome book week! I already have Mary's and I'm waiting for Ciara's countdown clock to stop. :)
Wonderful, humorous story, Alex! Maybe it's cheating but it's great. :)

Rusty Carl said...

Well done! I love those challenges. Love reading them, that is. I'd hate doing them. I didnt realize that those books were coming out this week. Looks like I need to pay closer attention.

Anne Gallagher said...

Cute story. Twitching little freaks. LOL. I love watching the spelling bee on tv. I think I'm going to make that one of The Monster's shows too.

Laila Knight said...

Ah, more books for my list...cool! And it figures your campaign challenge would involve a TV. :) I thought it was a clever way to channel your personality. Have a good day, Alex.

MISH said...

Whichever way you look at it , this sure is a smart and innovative way of "cheating" LOL !
My entry at no.#185

kjmckendry said...

It made me laugh! Clever way to get those words in.

Can't wait to hear your news.

Angela said...

I think it's awesome. So nice to see your creative juices flow.

Old Kitty said...

Oh I laughed out loud at the denouement!! LOVED IT!!!!!! Yay!!!!! Well done you - you clever captain you!! Take care
x

Dafeenah said...

Congrats on the books being released!! And that's mean making us wait til Friday!! Actually I think this is the best use of the words I've read so far. Great job!! I've yet to be able to participate in a challenge but hopefully soon!!

Charles Gramlich said...

I'm glad some folks are having good luck.

Luanne G. Smith said...

Nice way to deal with those "difficult" words in one piece. Bonus points for a creative solution. :)

And yay for new releases by blogging buddies!!

Anonymous said...

Yay!!!!! Ciara Knight's LOVE'S LONG SHADOW. Very nice! :) It's a great story.

Here's to a fantastic week, everyone!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Lee, good to know it's different! Maybe I'll score points for that.

Anne, the kids are amazing, just a little twitchy.

Dafeenah, I hope it's at least original.

Thanks everybody - glad I could make you chuckle.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Congrats to Sierra and MPAX! How exciting for both of you.

Alex, your entry wasn't really cheating.... actually it was very clever.

Tyrean Martinson said...

It's clever, but I think I would have gotten a bigger laugh if your character had misspelled one of the spelling words ... while listening to the spelling bee . . .

Birgit said...

Congrats to the book and to the others as well. I won't even begin to use those words and keep it 200 words exactly....love how you did it:)

L.C. said...

Twitching little freaks. lol. Clever, sir, definitely clever. Can't wait to see the news about your book on Friday! Though a bit "cheating," telling us about them so early. ;-)

Renee Silvana said...

Clever! That was entertaining.

Super Happy Jen said...

Both clever and cheating. Kudos!

Anonymous said...

That's good Alex. I missed doing mine. Just been away too much these past couple weeks. And best wishes and big thoughts going out to Ciara Knight and M Pax and the release of their novels!

Unknown said...

Very creative way to incorporate all those words. I will definitely be stopping by Ciara's blog. She's great. I can't wait for the next post of IWSG. I'm waiting edits for a story and I am nervous as hell.

Unknown said...

And for sure can't wait to hear what's in store for Cassafire. I'll have to do something at the Imaginarium for you.

Karen Lange said...

Very clever, Alex! I liked it!

julie fedderson said...

The campaign entry is awesome. The perfect way to use those crazy words! Although, I was in the North Platte spelling bee when I was in elementary school, so I guess I have to embrace my place in the group of twitching little freaks. I won a Dinosaur book. It was one of the best days ever.

Jeff Beesler said...

I fear I would be ostracized for using oscitate in an improper fashion.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Great entry in the second challenge Alex.

Anonymous said...

"Twitching little freaks," LOL, fun take on the challenge.

Thanks for the reminder on Ciara's book, I'd forgotten it was this week.

Tonja said...

I liked it. It is exciting how many people have books coming out. Very motivating.

Jennifer Lane said...

Very clever to use a spelling bee as a means of incorporating these challenging words. Loved the irony of the author's misspelled words and calling the spellnerds "twitching little freaks." Perhaps you should've called them twithing litle freeks? ;)

Nancy Thompson said...

I think it WAS clever. Most of those other stories I read were convoluted & I didn't understand them in context. Yours was different AND easy to understand. Great job!

Emily R. King said...

Cleverly done! I think spelling bee kids are freaks, as spelling isn't something that comes naturally to most children. I think you should get extra points for creativity. : )

Southpaw said...

Very fun. It's nice to see so many of our bloggie friends coming out with books.

Unknown said...

I suppose one could call it cheating, but I think it's a very clever use of the challenge words!

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I think it was clever! And thanks for the tips on the new releases.

Southpaw said...

Me again. I changed my URL and username back to southpaw, but managed to mess up my feeds.

Talli Roland said...

Clever, Alex, clever! And what a tease you are.

Congrats to all!

Johanna Garth said...

Clever! Nice way to follow the letter of the law.

Can't wait to hear your exciting book news.

Sheri L. Swift, Author said...

Congrats! Clever usage of the *words* ; )

Lydia Kang said...

It's not cheating! I thought it was clever. :)

Donna Shields said...

I'd still be scratching my head figuring how to use those words. Very clever.

Lily Whalen said...

Clever!

Amy said...

I now have two more books to add to my TBR list - thank you for sharing them, they sound great.

Nice little snippet for your challenge! :)

Isis Rushdan said...

Oh so clever! Love it, Alex.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Very clever, Alex, I love it.

Congrats to authors of the new books. I'm checking out their sites when I leave here.

Tara Tyler said...

ha ha! great job! there are so many words that seem just for spelling bees =)

the wild magnolia said...

Clever use of the required words.

Good job.


#188

Mark said...

I like how you narrate your creative process here,. Very cool and surprisingly hard to do sometimes:)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Thanks for the reminder about Wednesday. And yes, that was a sneaky way to use those words.

Nicki Elson said...

Clever all the way. :)

Hooray for Ciara and M.Pax!

Elizabeth Mueller said...

I love your writing style, though the only part I really understand are the book releases. ;)

Rachel's Platform stuff confuses me. So many things going on. I think my brain is going through meltdown here... Oy...



Please join my Darskpell Launch Spookfesta October 31st!


Ciara said...

OMW! Thank you SO much, Alex. You are such an amazing person. I can't wait to hear about your book on Friday! You know I'm a huge fan. :) Off to check out your Friday post. The Internet at the conference hotel was too difficult to visit blogs. Have a great day.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks, Michael. When looking at those words, a spelling bee was the first thing that came to mind.

Tyrean, surprised I didn't actually sepll one wrong!

LC, sorry about that!

Melissa, got your email, and thanks so much!

Julie, you don't seem twitchy to me.

Jennifer, surprised I didn't mispell it that way by accident!

Thanks, Nancy! They were such deep words - I just couldn't think of anything that deep.

ER, I hope so, as those may be my only points.

Tara, those words just screamed spelling bee.

Elizabeth, I knew I had to participate in this challenge since I missed the first one.

Thanks everyone!

Anonymous said...

"Twitching little freaks" =] Nice.

Empty Nest Insider said...

Congrats to Mary and the other authors! Alex, great story with clever twists! I like how you pulled it all together in exactly 200 words! Julie

N. R. Williams said...

Entertaining post Alex. Congrats to all the people getting published one way or another.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium

Copyboy said...

Love the synopsis for love's long shadow. The ultimate struggle between good and evil.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Milo, you like that?

Thank you, Julie!

Jemi Fraser said...

Creative cheating that doesn't hurt anyone - I like it! :)

So happy for Ciara & Mary!

Laura said...

Loved it! Cant wait for friday for the news... Have nipped over and given M.Pax a big chummy thump on the back... cant wait to read it :) Thanks for the heads up
Lx

Anonymous said...

Nice blog you have. :D

M Pax said...

Thanks for the shoutout, Alex.

I liked your story. I thought it was clever.

Kelly Polark said...

Congrats to M Pax and Ciara!

That is a tough challenge! And I can't think of any other way to do it!

Sarah Ahiers said...

Thank you for the reminders! I would've totally forgotten (again) without them. You are amazeballs

Leovi said...

Yes, there is a good week and you bring good news, I love your energy.

ruth.the.writer said...

I vote for clever, too! Neat idea to use the words that way.

I'm no. 44.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

haha yep, that's clever. Well done :)

Golden Eagle said...

Clever, definitely!

Anonymous said...

That's clever - really like it the play with words... nice... and last night I finally got to watch the first episode of Terra Nova - I think I'm hooked... can't wait for the next episode...

David P. King said...

That was excellent!

I wasn't sure if you were going to post this time around. Glad you did. I've yet to read about a spelling bee. Or, at least I think it is?

Great job, Alex! :)

Chuck said...

Not cheating at all...an absolutely brilliant way to use all those words.

I was going to watch Terra Nova but I decided not to take on another new show this season and opted to just to just add Person Of Interest. Then I read that Terra Nova may be one of the first canceled shows...who knows.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Mary, you are welcome!

Sarah, a new word for me! I like it.

David, this may be the only time. With the support group, blogfests, and guests, it's difficult.

Chuck, I'm with you - I can only take so many new shows.

Unspoken said...

Alex, slaughtering the spelling of the word is much different than slaughtering the word itself :)!

erica and christy said...

definitely NOT cheating! brilliant! the words inspired another entrant to use a dictionary in her entry. i thought that was great too! for the first time, i not only did the challenge, but followed all the rules. glad you participated. super entry. christy

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I love it Alex, especially the phrase "twitching little freaks." You are a word ninja. It's exciting to hear about so many blogger successes too.
xoRobyn

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Congrats M.Pax and Ciara!

WritingNut said...

Haha.. definitely very clever, Mr. Cavanaugh... and you're right, this IS a very exciting week!

Congrats to Ciara and M.Pax. I can't wait for your big news :)

Angela Brown said...

I'll take Clever and Creative for 100 Alex.

Very nice job, and you nailed it.

Going to giving writer's support to the two with new books. Thanks for the refs.

Anonymous said...

Great story. I just found your blog and have to say, I always love running into fellow writers blogs'.
Congratulations to your friends on finishing and publishing their books. I'll have to check them out too.
Feel free to poke around my site AlunaticPope.com

I'd love to get your feedback on some of my writings.

PaulaSJwriter said...

Clever solution, well handled. And congratulations in advance on the book!

Paula (#192)

Maggie Asfahani Hajj said...

Maybe a BIT of cheating, but lovely nontheless!! :)

Author A.O. Peart said...

I can't wait to hear the news about your book! I will be here on Friday biting my nails in anticipation :-)

Great entry to the 2nd challenge - very clever to use the spelling bee as the backbone of your story.


I'm going to visit Ciara's and M. Pax's sites to congratulate. Thanks for sharing. You're such a good sport!

Reka Sang said...

I enjoyed your droubble...very clever writing that clearly explains your success. :)
I loved M. Pax's short stories and it always nice to hear about a writer's getting published, Print or E book.

Rhonda @Laugh Quotes said...

Looking forward to your book announcement. As for some clever cheating, it's all fun.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks, Christy!

Robyn, thought that phrase would tickle you.

Thanks, Lunatic - I will!

K.T. Hanna said...

I think it was clever. And entertaining. Well done with the challenge and congrats to all those getting published!
My story was/is 17

Margo Benson said...

Laugh out loud clever!

Congrats to the new authors :-)

Christopher Hudson said...

Unfortunately, I'm not clever enough to figure out what was going on ... but then, that is a typical malady for me.

nutschell said...

what a tough challenge! definitely clever, Alex. :)
BTW, Come drop by my blog to claim your AWARD!

nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Donea Lee said...

Oh, that's TOTALLY cheating!! :) Congrats to Ciara and M.Pax and can't wait to hear your book news on Friday!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Nutschell, thanks!

Thank you, everyone.

Rebecca Emin said...

Oooh this is SO clever! I love the way you even got 'mirrors' in there. Really well done.

Amity said...

Well you did it triumphantly Alex! It was too easy for you...:)

I guess you were also clever and just cheating! Lols! Peace!

I am too entertained by your post this time...your Platform Building Campaign Post I mean...:)

I could see the funny side of you when you write this way...no serious one huh!

Posted now my first for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. I dunno if I have to link it somewhere Alex!

Li said...

Good news indeed :-)) Spellcheck is helpful - autocorrect, not so much. I've had some awfully embarrassing substitutions...

F.E. Sewell said...

Some people may think it's cheating but I think it's clever!

Great job!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks, Amity. Don't know if I'm funny, but I do think my snark came through. And as long as you are signed up on the list for the group, you are good to go!

Rebecca and FE, thanks!

Unknown said...

So much in one post! Great to hear about Ciara's book...already know of Mary's!

Off to write my IWG post :D

Lisa said...

There is always positivity here. Good place to visit and be.

DL Hammons said...

I just finished my Insecure post also. I hope it resonates with everyone. :)

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

How cool--111 comments! Good grief, and you got a a little short short story for the contest. Good luck!

Monti
NotesAlongTheWay

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Damy and DL, looking forward to your posts!

Monti, sometimes it blows my mind! Doubt my entry will place since it's at the bottom of the entry list. But it was fun

Jennie Bailey said...

Very clever! I love it! And I love how much you promote other writers, Alex. I learn about so many books from you that I wouldn't have even known about otherwise. You rock! Except for the whole waiting until Friday for your book...I should have made that a Wednesday Wish - that I get the news early. ;-)

Maurice Mitchell said...

Nice word usage. I don't even know what one of those words means. LOL M.Pax is awesome so I'll head over there.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Jennie, just one more day now!

Jess said...

Oh I love it! Really clever and MAYBE cheating lol. Love it :)

(I'm entry #112)

Trisha said...

LOL. Twitching little freaks... I feel sorry for the kids, but I think they're kinda twitchin' too. ;)

Pat Tillett said...

I'm here from the future and congrats!
I'm on my way to Mary's...

Jen said...

Love this! Twitching little freaks, LOL!

Anonymous said...

Clever:-)

ScottTheWriter said...

Well, if it's cheating, then it's also clever. It worked.

It succeeded to this extent: it held my interest to the end.