MathiasCavanaugh.com
Sometimes I Think I Have Too Many Ideas
It’s hard to know whether or not I have too many ideas that distract me from my other, more pressing projects. For example, I’d really like to get the first drafts of Her Lovely Blood and Cry of the Golden Wyvern done. Plus I’d like to make progess on Awakening, which is the first book of the Unmaker’s Saga.
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Hello There! Long Time No Post!
Well, it’s been a long time since I updated this site! There has been a lot of things going on in my life from a divorce, shifting to being a single patent of my two wonderful children, and, surprisingly in the midst of all that, meeting the woman of my dreams.
So yeah, this site has been a little neglected! I’ve still been working on my writing though. I have several short stories either done or near done, and work on my second novel, Outsider, has been slow but steady.
I have taken a hiatus from looking for a publisher for Under the Darkened Moon, but hope to resume down that path soon.
I have some plans about expanding the contents of this site a little as well. We’ll see how that goes.
I also want to thank everyone who has supported me and shown concern over this past year.
But, for now, keep watching this space. New stuff coming soon!
Giving Your Own Book A Five Star Rating Is Just Outlandish
Some people have no shame. I see it all the time with authors who give their own book a “5 star” rating on Goodreads and other, similar sites.
And the worst part about it is that they aren’t even shy about it. They plop it up there and are almost so proud that they are beaming with joy over their actions.
Does any author really not like their own work? If they don’t, they why are they publishing it? It is sort of implied that, when an author publishes a book, they think it is a great story that other people should read. But to advertise this by giving it a rating in such a bold manner is, frankly, outlandish behaviour that to me borders on narcissism. Especially when you consider how willing other people are to give even average works five stars whether for free, for a little quid pro quo, or even for money. (more…)
Let The Submission Process Begin!!!
Last week I officially started sending out queries for my epic fantasy novel Under the Darkened Moon. I started by selecting five literary agents and sent them all queries. I followed their submission guidelines and sent what they requested, whether it was just a query, a query plus a synopsis, or a query plus a synopsis plus sample pages.
A couple days later I got my first official rejection. It was a rejection based only on a query letter and a synopsis and not the actual story itself, but a rejection none-the-less. Now I am looking at my set of next five lit agents to send letters to. (more…)
January 2nd 2013 Book Reviews And Recomendations From Friends On Goodreads
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12/31 Joanna Penn gave 5 stars to: The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin
status: Read in December, 2012 I was part of Seth’s Kickstarter so I bought this early, and reading is has totally fired me up to commit to creating and sharing my own art. There were many parts of the book that resonated with me, but in combination with Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro, the message is really to pick yourself, and persist at the practice of creation. “Creating art is a habit, one that we practice daily or hourly until we get good at it … Art isn’t about the rush of victory that comes from being picked. Nor does it involve compliance. Art in the post-industrial age is a lifelong habit, a stepwise process that incrementally allows us to create more art.” This book is useful for writers, but I would also urge parents to read it in order to understand the world your children are growing up in.The industrial world is disappearing. The old world of standardized exams, tick-box education and guaranteed jobs won’t be there for much longer, and people need to be creative to survive the future. But more than that, life’s too short to spend it doing something that isn’t rewarding. So aim to thrive and not just survive. I spent 13 years as an IT consultant, a miserable cubicle worker, rewarding myself with sugar and alcohol in order to make it through each day. In September 2011, I finally broke out of that old life, and I couldn’t be happier. Sure, I have less money now, fewer trappings of (so-called) worldly success, but I am making my art, and this feels like real life. |
More Reviews From My Goodreads Friends
More Book reviews from my friends on Goodreads covering The Rise of Nine, Jackie Blue, James Potter and the Hall of Elders’ Crossing, The Dead of Winter, and The Red Pyramid. (more…)
Rewiews From My Friends On Goodreads
The following book reviews are from my friends on Goodreads. (more…)
Top 10 Books I read in 2012
Comments on this list before I begin. First of all, this is not a top 10 list of books published in 2012 that I read. This is a top 10 list of books that I read in 2012, regardless of year published. Only books that I read for the first time in 2012 qualify for the list. For example, I reread The Black Company by Glen Cook. which I have rated at 4.75 stars and my #18 favorite book. However, because it is a reread, it does not qualify for this list. Lastly, these are my opinions, and my opinions alone. (more…)
What My Friends On Goodreads Are Reading
Here are some recent reviews from my friends on Goodreads for books they have read. (more…)
The Naming Game
Under the Darkened Moon once had a character named Kal. Kal, alas, is no more. Oh, he still exists in the story, but he is no longer called Kal. His new name in the final manuscript is Tarek.
Why did I change his name? Ultimately it was because too many characters had names starting with the letter K. Kyel and Kath were enough, so I changed Kal to something else.
The decision was made easier during the live read edit when my wife was reading the story. She has this particular drawl to her speech where she constantly replaces the “a” sound in words with an “e” and visa versa. She also does the same thing with the “e”s to ”i”s for some reason. But she only does it on certain words. For example, pen is pin, but ten is not tin. She never pronounced one of the characters, called Den, as Din. (more…)
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