The Big Idea, Cursing, and a Ton of News

I have the honor of a guest post at Sommer’s Tell Great Stories today! It’s all about the BIG IDEA. She is an awesome writer and motivator, so stop by after you’re done here…

The Movie 411 Awards are now open for voting!!! I’m up for two awards, but my buddies Cinemarvellous, Melissa, iZombie, and MsMariah are also up for awards and need your vote. Nebular’s Cinemarvellous is in the running for three awards including GOLD. I don’t care if you vote for me but please vote for my awesome buddies!!!

I was also asked to contribute an article to The Specusphere, an online magazine for Australian writers. It’s called The Long Road to a Surprise Best Seller, describing how CassaStar became an Amazon Best Seller a year after its release. Actually, it’s more of my best guess!! Anyway, I was really honored that they featured my article.

Fantasy Nibbles reviewed CassaStar this weekend and I couldn't be more pleased with the review! Thanks so much.

Some awesome new books:

Ground Rules by Cate Masters came out last week.

Marta Szemik’s Two Halves also came out last week. It’s available at Amazon



Congratulations, ladies!!

Other cool happenings:

Jamie’s Mithril Wisdom just celebrated two years of blogging.

MaineWords is holding a 200 followers giveaway.

My buddy TS at The Non Review just celebrated two years of blogging and is almost to 300 followers.

Jen at Unedited is competing in the My Heroine Tournament as Hermione and she needs our help to win the fight!

And Reid Kemper is hosting a Blog Swap Blogfest.

Jenna at Meandering in a Field of Words gave me the Great Comments Award.
I have so many awesome buddies who always comment! But I decided to limit it to five who stop by here every single time:
Nancy Thompson
Suze at Analog Breakfast
Laila Knight
Robyn at Life by Chocolate
Christopher at Socially Awkward

Recent posts by David Powers King and Michael Offutt tackled cussing in books. I thought that would make a good topic for a CassaFacts post.

I don’t mind cussing in books if it fits the story and the characters. I recently read The Lies of Locke Lamora and there was a fair amount of language – but the characters were low-life thieves, and as the story progressed and they became more wordly, the cussing decreased. So it fit.

Another example is Game of Thrones. There’s some cussing but it fits. Now Spartacus… that is SO over the top! I’m not sure why they even bother with proper sentences.

So, how much cussing is in CassaStar and CassaFire? Well, how much cussing do you see on my blog? In my books, it’s probably even less. And here’s why:

I write science fiction space opera. Like Star Wars. Now, how much cussing is there in Star Wars? It just doesn’t fit my genre.

While I don’t mind reading it, I could never write something that was curse-word heavy. It would just bother me, as I do feel my writing is a reflection of me.

I think back to the books I read when I was younger. Adult fantasy and science fiction rarely had anything inappropriate in the content, so I was allowed to read it when I was a child. My passion for reading came from books such as The Sword of Shannara. I wanted my books to be appropriate for young people as well. I wanted a kid who loves Star Wars to be able to read CassaStar as well.

And finally, while I’ve read plenty of books that used cussing excessively, I have never read a book and thought “You know, if the author had just dropped the F-bomb a few times, it might’ve been a good story.”

So I ask you guys – did I make the right decision with my books?

Now, go check out my guest post at Tell Great Stories and vote for the The Movie 411 Awards!

Comment Question and Some More Naked Facts

*Hart will be so happy with the naked title!

And hey, this is post number four hundred for me! That’s about two hundred per year. Yeah, I’m really burning up the blogging world…

Also, my buddy Sean at Civil War Horror has a new book! It’s a civil war horror novel called A Fine Likeness and is available at Amazon Congratulations, Sean!

First, another round of CassaFacts.

Hey, let’s just go with the question I get the most -  

Why were there no women in CassaStar?

1 - Wasn’t sure I could pull of a female character! Yeah, dumb but true.

2 - As I said before, there was a war going on - Byron really didn’t have time for a girlfriend. (Although he might’ve had time for one of those ‘fast women’ on Spaceport 89.)

3 - Since the story focuses on a mentor/brother friendship, set during a time of war, I didn’t want any other distractions, so I went old school with the war setting. (During WWI and WWII, it was mostly men in the trenches.) Since my father was military, I understand the bond when your buddies stand between you and death. I wanted that atmosphere, that focus. (And women are distracting - trust me! I'm thinking about Kate right now...)

4 - Finally, there really is a reason why Cassan women don’t pilot ships and why only a few serve on the various spacecraft. I explain it in the next book… (What, you didn’t think I was going to TELL you, did you?)

Now, as I am totally out of ideas, your turn - what would you like to know?

Second, I have a question about comments. All right, several questions.

If you read, do you always comment?

Are you ever afraid to comment?

Do you return comments? (As in, do you visit those who leave comments?)

If I read, I almost always comment. I sometimes wonder if others are afraid to leave a comment though. Do the amount of comments I receive scare some people. (Crap, some days they scare me!) And what about those who never return your comments? Do they only visit their regulars? I TRY to return comments!! Really, I do. Do you?

So many questions for a Monday morning.

And sorry no one was really naked. Just be thankful it wasn’t me!

CassaFacts and the Noughties Blogfest

Double shot today! Starting something I’ve dubbed “CassaFacts” – little bits of information about CassaStar and the upcoming CassaFire. If you have any questions or details you’d like to see covered, let me know. Although the Ninja does not tell all…

Everyone wants to know what celebrities resemble the characters. This question caught me off guard last year, as I knew what they looked like, but never matched that look to a celebrity.

Bassa was fairly easy. I think Sean Bean resembles him the closest.

Byron was tough. I had a visual – even had an actor in mind, but he was too old for CassaStar. At the time, I selected Chris Pine. (And do you know how difficult it is to find a photo of this dude NOT smiling? Byron doesn’t smile!)

However, since CassaFire takes place twenty years later, that actor now fits – Richard Hatch from the original Battlestar Galactica. He looks serious and intense – just the way I imagine Byron. (And he probably inspired the character as well.)

CassaFire introduces a female character, Athee. (By overwhelming, popular demand. Hey, CassaStar was about a war – Byron didn’t have time for a girlfriend!) 
And who resembles Athee? Come on, people! Kate Beckinsale, of course!

No, I’m not living out my own fantasy. All right, maybe just a little…

Anything else you’d like to know?

Dave at Dave Wrote This is hosting The Noughties Blogfest today!


“List something from each year (2000-2009) that you loved.”

I’m going to keep it simple and go with movies, music, and games. 

2000

Movies -Memento; X-Men

Music -In Flames: Clayman; Pantera: Reinventing the Steel

Games - Diablo II

2001

Movies - Fellowship of the Ring

Music -Andromeda: Extension of the Wish; Dream Theater: Live Scenes From New York

2002

Movies - The Two Towers

Music - Rush: Vapor Trails; Chevelle: Wonder What’s Next; Killswitch Engage: Alive or Just Breathing

Games - Need For Speed Hot Pursuit II

2003

Movies - Return of the King

Music - OSI: Office of Strategic Influence; Dream Theater: Train of Thought

2004

Movies - Spiderman II; Shaun of the Dead

Music - Ayreon: The Human Equation; In Flames: Soundtrack to Your Escape

Games - Half Life II

2005

Movies - Serenity

Music - Dream Theater: Octavarium; Shadow Gallery: Room V

2006

Movies - The Illusionist

Music - Vandenplas: Cristo; Dream Theater: Score

Games - Titan Quest

2007

Movies - Transformers; Ocean’s Thirteen

Music - Serenity: Words Untold and Dreams Unlived; Nightwish: Dark Passion Play

2008

Movies - Iron Man; The Dark Knight

Music - Seventh Wonder: Mercy Falls; Scar Symetry: Holographic Universe

Games - Fallout III

2009

Movies - Avatar; Inglorious Basterds

Music - Dream Theater: Black Clouds and Silver Linings; Alice in Chains: Black Gives Way to Blue

Not bad for someone who doesn't remember what he had for dinner last night!

What did you dig about the 2000’s?