The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues, Creepy Freebies, and this week's giveaway winners

Yay for Friday!

Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Make sure to stop by this Sunday. It's the 13th, and I have a special guest that's writing a post for me.

Today I'm so excited to be interviewed by the lovely Heather Musk. She's been sharing her thoughts on the 13th Floor novellas for six weeks prior to October. Now she's picking my brain.

 This is another reason why I'm celebrating Friday.

Milo James Fowler is sharing free ebooks and raffles every Friday this month. Click on over and get yourself a treat.

Today I'm happy to be one of the authors who're participating. You can enter for a chance to win an ecopy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection. Yes! Another giveaway!

I'm honored to be amongst the great authors helping with Creepy Freebies. Today three more magnificent writers are sharing treats:

Simon Kewin

Roland Yeomans
Cate Gardner

Now for this week's giveaway winners!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners!

I've already sent emails your way.  

Friday Five for September 27, 2013

1. It's been a busy week. I'm all set for The 13th Floor Complete Collection blog tour. The book is already available on Amazon and Smashwords. It looks fantastic! Cherie Reich did an excellent job editing and formatting for me. We're making great progress with the print version. It'll definitely be ready for October 13th.

2. Click on over to Heather Musk's blog and read what she thought of the final novella in the 13th Floor series, THE GHOST. She'll be interviewing me on October 11th for my blog tour. Don't miss out!

3. I had a terrific time with Yolanda Renee on Monday. As promised, I used Random.org to pick a winner of an ecopy of MEMORIES OF MURDER. The winner is Catherine Stine! Congratulations, Catherine. I've already informed Yolanda that you were picked. Enjoy the book! Guess what? Yolanda is hosting me during my tour next month too. Join us on the 19th.

4. It's school picture day at my son's preschool. Last year I was the photographer's helper, and the boy refused to smile. This year, I won't be there, so hopefully he'll show them his cute dimples. It's been a long week with four days spent babysitting, a school board meeting, and an optometrist's appointment. Glasses have gotten so expensive!

5. Join me Monday for some creepiness. Julie Flanders' cover reveal for THE GHOSTS OF AQUINNAH and an announcement to give you the chills. In a good way!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Taking the World by Storm - Alex J. Cavanaugh's Cassa Trilogy

CassaStorm

By Alex J. Cavanaugh

From the Amazon Best Selling Series!

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

“Cavanaugh has created wonderfully moving moments of great poignancy… CassaStorm could have been a dark story full of hardship and angst, but instead it's a cleverly balanced story about hope and triumph.”
- Lynda R. Young, author of Make Believe

"Cavanaugh makes world building on the galactic scale look easy. The stakes affect the entire known universe and yet Cavanaugh makes it intensely personal for our hero. The final installment of this series will break your heart and put it back together."
- Charity Bradford, science fantasy author of The Magic Wakes

Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Amazon Kindle

Goodreads

Book trailer

$16.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 268 pages, Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Science fiction/adventure and science fiction/space opera

Print ISBN 9781939844002 eBook ISBN 9781939844019

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. 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. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

Stalk Alex here: Website * Twitter * Goodreads

My question to Alex: What does literary science fiction do best compared to other media forms of science fiction?

Alex's response: In books, it’s all open to our imagination and we can put ourselves into the story. That’s not so easy with movies or television. 
  

Congratulations to Alex! His books are phenomenal. Check out my reviews for CassaStar HERE and CassaFire HERE. I can't wait to read the final book in his series.

Join me tomorrow when I announce the winners of The 13th Floor Complete Collection cover reveal giveaway AND the winners of the MORE THAN JUST A KISS blogfest!

Also, make sure you pop on over to visit Heather Musk to read her thoughts on 1305 & 1306 - THE ORACLE & THE VAMPIRE.

Friday Five for August 30, 2013

1. First, I'm all giddy over Heather Musk's thoughts on THE ALPHA. She talks about Stefanie's strength as a wolf and a person. Pop on over and share your thoughts on the book.

2. I've been reading a lot this past month. A bunch of great indie books as well as big series like The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney. (Thank you so much to Clare Dugmore for recommending it to me!) I'm trying to keep up with reviews, but I don't have enough blog dates open for them all. On Monday, I'll have my review for POLAR NIGHT by Julie Flanders up, and later on in September, I have one for INDIESTRUCTIBLE.

3.  I'm way ahead of schedule for proofing the novellas for the 13th Floor Collection. I've also gotten a headstart on writing posts for the blog tour in October. It feels good to know I have a lot of breathing room. It's a big difference from earlier this year when I was frantic trying to meet my deadlines.

4. Having my son back in school has done wonders for both of us. He's excited every day we go to school, and he's even used the bathroom there by himself. A big deal for a boy who hates public bathrooms! I feel refreshed having three mornings a week to myself. I'm less stressed. By the end of the summer, I was feeling pretty frazzled. Next Wednesday is my first day to be the teacher's assistant. (Since it's a co-op nursery school, each parent has to volunteer ten times for the school year - about once a month - and help in class as well as bring the day's snack.) It's actually a lot of fun. I've always been a nerd when it comes to school. I love to go even when I'm not in class.

5. It's the long Labor Day weekend. We have absolutely no plans. It's lovely. I am ready to relax, maybe do some swimming at the lake and hiking, and sleep in. Eight o'clock is sleeping in for me! An extra hour makes all the difference. Enjoy your weekend, folks!

Friday Five for August 23, 2013

1. I want to first give a HUGE thank you to Heather Musk at Reading, Writing and Everything In Between. She started something new on her blog called Book Thoughts where she'll share her thoughts on the books she's reading every Thursday. Over the next six weeks, she'll be featuring the novellas from the 13th Floor series. She already has her thoughts on THE MARQUIS posted. Please stop by and have a read. She hit on exactly what I was trying to do with that first story.

2. I'm thankful that my son started preschool this week or else I wouldn't have had any time to be productive. I got my revisions done for my short story based on my CPs' critiques and sent it out to my beta readers. So far everyone loves the bonus story for the 13th Floor Collection. I put all the novellas and the short story together in one document to edit it for the collection, and it's over 139,000 words. Wow. I wrote, revised, and put all that out in a year? I'm a bit in shock and giddy with it.

2.5 My son had an excellent first week of school. He's comfortable with the new class and his teacher. He makes no complaints when I leave. Yay! I had my first school meeting, and I was saddled with more responsibilities. Not a huge deal, but I would've preferred to know these things before they were suddenly thrust upon me, and I had no clue what I was doing. I'm lucky to have some good helpers, though.

3. I sent out the info and cover for The 13th Floor Collection last night. I had a long list of people volunteering to help out. I'm so very grateful to you guys. You're awesome! Please forgive me if I forgot you on the mailing list. Just send me an email or leave me a comment if I forgot you or if you'd like to be part of the cover reveal on September 13th.

4. Have you heard of this wonderful group of speculative fiction writers called Untethered Realms? *wink, wink* This week, we all wrote a little something with the prompt: "awesomesauce." It's so much fun to see how different each one turned out.

5. Did you get a chance to peek at my workspace on The Writing Nut's blog this week? Please pop on over if you haven't yet. Here's another look into my world. I was excited to return to the library this week with my son's return to preschool. My usual spot is in a comfy chair at the end of the sci-fi/fantasy section, but unfortunately, that chair with its little table is gone. (You can see in the picture below there's a big empty spot by the windows where it used to be.) So I settled into the little desk with my laptop. It's not quite the same, but I'm trying out new spots. Hopefully I'll find a new favorite.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Day 1 of The Alpha blog tour

Today's the big day!
The Alpha is now available!
Amazon
B&N
Smashwords
Kobo

The first stop on The Alpha blog tour
is at Reading, Writing and Everything In Between.
I'm sitting down with the wonderful
Heather Musk for an interview.
Come on over and say hi. 

Today's tidbit: The cover for The Alpha was a quick and easy choice for me. I saw the image on Dreamstime, and I knew it was Stefanie. She has an intense gaze. A bit wolfish too!

The Next Big Thing and other reminders

The talented Cher Green has tagged me in The Next Big Thing.

Thank you, Cher, and here we go with 10 questions about my current work in progress!

1) What's the working title of your book? 1303 - The Dragonslayer.

2) Where did the idea come from for your book? I've had the idea of a modern day dragonslayer in my head for a while now. Taking a traditional epic fantasy character and putting him into an urban fantasy tale. I don't quite remember where I came up with it.

3) What genre does your book fall under? Paranormal romance.

4) What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Xan the dragonslayer is easy for me to cast: Alexander Skarsgard. No question in my mind. For Lois, maybe Jennifer Connelly. I'm flexible on this. A spunky brunette just over 30 years of age. And for the villain, the big bad dragon, Gary Oldman.

5) What is the one sentence synopsis for the book? A modern day dragonslayer misses his target and acquires an unwanted companion as he tries to flee the scene.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Self-published.

7) How long did it take to write the first draft of your manuscript? I'm still writing! I'm about halfway done. Maybe. It's a little longer than I expected. I need to cut out some of the chatter when I revise.

8) What other books would you compare this story to in your genre? A bit like Katie MacAlister's dragon series with having dragons in a modern day setting. I'm finding it hard to think of anything else it's like.

9) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest? Dragons! And a hot dragonslayer.

10) Hey, there was only nine questions. Is the tenth suppose to be where I tag other people? I'm not going to tag anyone. If you want to do The Next Big Thing, be my guest. It's a great way to share with readers what you're working on.

If you'd like to participate in the cover reveal for The Dragonslayer on January 18th, please send me an email at christinerains [dot] writer @ gmail [dot] com. Also, if you'd like to host me on The Dragonslayer blog tour during February 13th - 17th, send me a message. Check out the 13th Floor series page for all future tour dates and cover reveals.

Don't forget to enter my 400 Followers Giveaway! You can win the first two ebooks in the 13th Floor series.

The date for the next Writers4Writers Group event is set! Mark Monday, February 18th on your calendars. We'll be featuring two authors this time around. Sign up on the linky list and help your fellow writers.

You may notice a new badge on my sidebar. Untethered Realms is a group of seven authors that write speculative fiction. I'm honored to be a part of this amazing group of writers. Click the badge to "like" us on Facebook. We're just getting organized, but we're getting some great ideas.

Last but not least, tomorrow is the official release of 1302 - The Alpha and the start of my blog tour. Sunday is an odd day, but I have a fantastic interview lined up with Heather Musk. Yesterday she wrote a wonderful review for Fearless. Check it out and hopefully we'll see you tomorrow.