Storm Continues – Space Opera Basics at Mithril Wisdom! Plus Launch Recap, CassaFacts, CassaTrivia, and Ninja News

Today’s tour stop is with the awesome Jamie at Mithril Wisdom! I met Jamie during the very first A to Z Challenge, so we’ve know each other a long time. He’s one sharp fantasy geek and studied Egyptology in college. My guest post today is an easy introduction into the space opera genre, covering books, movies, shows, etc. Plus – we’re giving away a Cassa Universe poster! Check it out.

And CassaStorm’s release week kicks off with prizes every day! Comment between September 16 and 20 to enter. (Ends 6:00 pm EST Sunday, September 22.)
Prizes include:
Cassa mousepad
Cassa Universe poster
Cassa magnet
Cassa mug
Autographed copy of CassaStorm
One person will be randomly selected each day and the five names will be drawn from a hat – first person gets first choice and so on.

This week I will be featuring my tour, unique Cassa facts, trivia, and prizes every day. Plus others are announcing CassaStorm’s release, and almost every post features a unique interview question. List of participants on the CassaStorm Page. So join the fun!

Launch Day Recap

Huge thanks to everyone who has made announcements thus far or purchased CassaStorm! Launch day was awesome – this whole week has been awesome!

The #RUSHED Twitter party with Lynn Rush was fun! Fortunately it wasn’t a huge turnout, or I would’ve been even more confused…

I wanted to point out some really special posts:

Many thanks to Edi at Edi’s Book Lighthouse for hosting me on release day with a review, interview, and giveaway.

Father Dragon Al had a wonderful, fiery tribute and touching review of CassaStar. (As far as I know, no dwarves were singed.)

Leovi posted the most amazing photo in tribute to CassaStorm.

Melanie Schulz posted a wonderful review of CassaStorm.

Tammy Theriault’s announcement was very amusing!

Randy at Not the Baseball Pitcher posted a review of CassaStorm.

And the links to announcement posts have been updated on the CassaStorm Page so you can go directly to the answers if that person has posted.

Thanks, everyone – you made the Ninja’s day!

Ninja News

Samantha Redstreake Geary, the genius behind the Illumination Collaborative Flash Fiction Challenge – Tree of Life, has a special announcement today and a giveaway!

Lynn Rush’s latest came out yesterday – Frostbite! Congratulations, Lynn.

Liesel Hill’s latest came out yesterday - Quantum Entanglement! Plus there’s a Goodreads giveaway in progress, so check it out. Congratulations, Liesel!

Movie Review

Hansel and Gretel
In a nutshell – dumb but fun! It’s a misfire, but an interesting one to watch. Add a weird mix of steampunk weaponry and medieval folklore and you have one strange twist. It’s bloody and violent, which actually works in its favor. (Water this stuff down too far and it’s unwatchable.) Leave brain at door.

Cassa Facts

“A lack of female characters…”

Yes, I heard that more than once. There were virtually no female characters in CassaStar. (Outside of a very brief scene with Byron’s older sister in the beginning.) And that is one of the reasons some readers have dinged it with a poor review.

There are two reasons why no women appear in the first book.

The first has to do with my skills as a writer. It was my first book. I knew I had a lot of things working against me. I didn’t want my incompetence when it came to portraying the opposite sex to be one of those. So I didn’t include any female characters, not even in casual passing on the Cassan Flagship.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think to explain the second reason in CassaStar, and readers didn’t find the answer until CassaFire. There is a legitimate reason why Cassan women don’t serve on Flagships or fly Cassan fighters. I won’t reveal it here, but you can read about it in CassaFire.

So for those of you who still wonder – no, I did not intend to exclude women from my books. I just wasn’t ready to write them in the first book. And as you’ll discover in the second book, their strengths lay elsewhere.

Cassa Trivia

For those who’ve read the Cassa books – or at least read the synopsis of each one! 

1 – Who was Byron’s first navigator?

2 – What was Athee’s relationship to Prefect Orellen?

3 – Who was Byron’s Cosbolt pilot friend in all three books?

4 – What was the name of the Flagship in CassaStar?

5 – What is the name of Athee’s home world?

Did you catch any of those cool posts? Excited about the new books? Seen Hansel and Gretel? Do you struggle with writing the opposite sex? (Or wondered why there were no women in CassaStar?) And do you know any of the trivia?

Don’t forget to visit Mithril Wisdom!