Three Big Things

As always, seems like I'm packing SO MUCH into one blog that it feels like an "event." Today is three big things. 1) Battle of the Bands Outcome, 2) My Solo during the Easter Cantata, and 3) My blogger pal Alex's book reveal/scavenger hunt.

Wow. Should be something here for everyone.

Let's do a quick recap on Battle of the Bands. The song was Shameless. The contenders were Billy Joel and Garth Brooks. The votes by you tallied up to look like this:

Billy Joel: 13

Garth Brooks: 11

As you can see, this was a tight race up until the end. My vote is for Garth Brooks, but that only changes the vote to 13-12 and Billy Joel still wins it. Come back on the 15th for another exciting round of Battle of the Bands.

Second up, the singing. I actually have another ladies trio song to upload to YouTube and post here, but it takes so long, my Internet service has been iffy, and my brain is only functional 50% of the time (or less). Throwing all of these together, it should shock you that I've gotten the solo from our Easter cantata uploaded. I can't say it's the best singing you'll ever hear or even the best I've ever done (oh allergies, how I hate you!), but for a non-professional at church... well, you get the idea. I think they liked it fine. So, if you feel so inclined, take a listen. Try not to judge me too harshly. It's all about a joyful noise and all that...

  

Lastly, my blog friend Alex J. Cavanaugh is launching a new book, Dragon of the Stars, today. To kick this event off he's sent me a picture of mini-Alex, which is part of the scavenger hunt. If you visit the other blogs you can hone in on where mini-Alex is and try to win an awesome gift. So make sure to leave a comment and visit the other blog locations (you can find them on Alex's blog) for a chance to win. Congrats Alex on releasing another book!!!

SCAVENGER HUNT! Comment to win an autographed copy of Dragon of the Stars, tons of bookmarks & postcards, and a $20.00 iTunes gift card–where is Mini-Alex? Visit Alex for a list of the participants. (Open through April 11 – winner announced April 13 at Alex’s blog.)

Available today!

Dragon of the Stars

By Alex J. Cavanaugh

Science Fiction – Space Opera/Adventure/Military

Print ISBN 9781939844064 EBook ISBN 9781939844057

What Are the Kargrandes? http://whatarethekargrandes.com/

The ship of legends…

The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, son of a Hyrathian Duke. Poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen’s daughter, he’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But when the Alliance denies Hyrath’s claim on the planet of Kavil and declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray. Entrenched in battle and told he won’t make captain, Aden’s world begins to collapse. How will he salvage his career and future during Hyrath’s darkest hour?

One chance remains–the Dragon. Lost many years prior, the legendary ship’s unique weapon is Hyrath’s only hope. Can Aden find the Dragon, save his people, and prove he’s capable of commanding his own ship?

Purchase:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Stars-Alex-J-Cavanaugh-ebook/dp/B00S0DPUYU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1420814971&sr=1-1&keywords=dragon+of+the+stars

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragon-of-the-stars-alex-j-cavanaugh/1121069418?ean=2940046510720

Kobo - http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/dragon-of-the-stars

Chapters - http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/dragon-of-the-stars/9781939844057-item.html

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Stars-Alex-J-Cavanaugh-ebook/dp/B00S0DPUYU

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23521766-dragon-of-the-stars

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design, graphics, and technical editing. 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. He’s the author of Amazon Best-Sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm.

http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/

http://twitter.com/AlexJCavanaugh    

Alex J. Cavanaugh
http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/
http://insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/
http://whatarethekargrandes.com/

iTunes –https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dragon-of-the-stars/id957912496?mt=11

Amazon print – http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Stars-Alex-j-Cavanaugh/dp/1939844061/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1427824785&sr=1-1

Overdrive - https://www.overdrive.com/media/2130736/dragon-of-the-stars

A IS FOR ALEX J. CAVANAUGH

My theme for A to Z this year is a wildly different, but very exciting, HERE'S TO YOU all month long. 26 posts to be precise. The most difficult part was narrowing down the 26. All of you deserve your own post. What you will find here is a post by the featured blogger, with traveling music chosen by me that complements said post, and two links. One will link back to the original post and the other to the main page. This year's A to Z is all about making new friends!

A is for Alex J. Cavanaugh, Ninja Captain, Founder of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, or as I like to call him The News. If you want to know what is going on in the book world, Alex KNOWS. He is also a wonderful commenter (he has clones), a supportive friend, and a Man of Mystery. No one, other than his wife, knows what the guy looks like. He offers us this insight with Mini-Alex:

Let's bring on the traveling music:



Some Resolutions by Alex J. Cavanaugh
January 2, 2010

Okay, I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions. But since this will be a big year for me, and after a day of lazy overindulgence, thought I should set some.

First, I need to spend my computer time a little more productively. Less computer games, more time online. Still working on this blogging thing, but I think a set schedule of five times a week might help me out.

Since my first book is tentatively scheduled for October, I need to work on a second one!

More time for reading. I picked up several new books last month and there's several series I want to start.

And a fun personal goal - I want to become proficient on the guitar. Been playing for three years now and I practice every day. But I'd like to get through a whole song without a mistake!

There's my goals and resolutions for this coming year. Going to dive right into the blogging one tomorrow, too. Anyone else starting the new year with a resolution?

I like this post because Alex, who is a huge force in the blogging world, was just starting out (like all of us at one time) and has all of *four* comments on this post - other than his own. Four! And now he has 2,000+ followers. This post reminds me that anything is possible if you keep at it! I hope you go visit Alex if you haven't already!!!

Alex's EFG and Love Is In The Air ~ I Heart Joss Whedon

This post is late in arriving. I thought I'd read just a few blogs to see what was out there and now it's several hours later. You guys had a lot to say today.

Turns out that Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is close to reaching 2,000 followers. Can you believe that? 2,000! I remember that I had 9 followers for the longest time when I started this blogging thing. And I nearly fainted when I topped 100. I can't imagine what 2,000 feels like. Of course, I also can't imagine responding to all of those comments, reading all of the blogs, and generally just DOING everything he does in the blog community. And that is why he is famous for having clones. How else could he possibly manage it???? If you're not following the guy who started the IWSG (a bloghop that posts the first Wednesday of every month) and one of the founders of the IWSG website, then check him out by clicking HERE. There will be prizes when he hits the 2,000 follower mark. You don't want to miss out on THAT.

I am still posting Love Is In The Air clips until Valentine's Day. Yep. If you're new to this business, let me tell you how it all started...
 
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS asking for people to contribute their favorite romantic scenes from movies and TV. You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come up with this sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you read that right. Hours.


I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.

I was unsure of how to proceed today, but once I knew I was showcasing Alex, it all became clear.

Joss Whedon, in my humble opinion, is amazing. I loved all seven seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all five of its spin-off, Angel. I will pretty much watch anything he puts on the big or small screen. (His current TV show is Marvel's Agents of SHIELD... just FYI.) Anyway, back to Buffy and Angel... my all-time favorite episode from both shows is called "I Will Remember You." It was a cross-over episode. That means that Buffy crossed into Angel after it spun off. So many of these scenes are about the hugging, kissing, or that I Love You moment. Sometimes, love is about sacrifice. Haul out your hankies...

Here is a snippet from that show...




Joss Whedon also created the spectacular show, Firefly. It ran on the Science Fiction cable channel for all of one season before the execs pulled the plug. What were they thinking???? Anyway, the fan outcry was so long and loud that Joss Whedon wrapped up that story on the big screen with the movie Serenity.  Sometimes love means putting up a fight.

Here's a clip from the movie Serenity...