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ALEX CAVANAUGH INTERVIEW ON SUCCESSFUL BLOGGING AND CASSAFIRE AND CASSASTORM GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday Everyone! I'm happy to say that my daughter and I have survived the first two weeks of getting up at 4:45 am pretty well.

And in case you missed it last week, I joined Twitter! Follow me @NatalieIAguirre and I'll follow you back.

Before we get to my fantastic interview, I want to announce the winner of the September is for Sequels giveaway. We had 196 entries. Woo Hoo!

The winner is Mimi Smith who chose SCARLETT.

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your book. Please e-mail me by the end of Wednesday or I'll have to pick another winner.

Today I’m thrilled to have Alex Cavanaugh here to help celebrate the release of CASSASTORM, the final book in his sci-fi series, which releases tomorrow. Alex is very well known in the blogging community as a great supportive friend. He regularly has 150 or more people commenting on all of his blog posts. He’s the founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and a co-host of the A-Z Challenge. If you aren’t already following his blog, I highly recommend that you start following it HERE. And you’ll meet lots of enthusiastic bloggers through his group of friends. I know I have.


I don’t spotlight adult books, but really wanted to spotlight Alex’s book and have him share tips on how to make our blogs successful. I’ll be honest. I was nervous picking up CASSASTORM to read because I haven’t read an adult book in almost ten years and was worried I don’t like them anymore. And I wasn’t sure I would understand enough of the story since I haven’t read the first two books. I’m happy to say that I was totally engrossed in the story within the first few pages. Alex did a great job bringing the reader up to speed on what’s been happening. And I loved that the story was told from the points of view of Byron, the main character, his wife Athee, and his ten year-old son Bassan. Being a children’s writer and reader, I especially loved the parts written from Bassan’s POV. This was a fast-paced story with high stakes and danger. It was fascinating learning about the planet Byron and his family live on and then seeing more of the universe Alex created. This was a book I couldn’t put down. Even if you haven’t read the rest of the series, I think you’d enjoy reading this.


Here’s a blurb abut CASSASTORM:

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…

“With a talent for worldbuilding and a compelling cast of characters, Alex J. Cavanaugh combines high powered space battles and the challenges of family dynamics to provide readers a space opera with heart.”
- Elizabeth S. Craig, author of the Southern Quilting and Myrtle Clover mysteries

"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

“Cavanaugh creates such an unforgettable world, and these characters will stay with you long after their story is over.”
- Cassie Mae, author of Friday Night Alibi and How to Date a Nerd


Hi Alex. Thanks so much for joining us. And Happy Release Day tomorrow!

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.


I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and work in web design and graphics, I’m experienced in technical editing, and I worked with an adult literacy program for several years. I’m also a musician and play guitar in a band. Online I’m the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

I wrote some when I was younger, but I didn’t pick it up again until almost thirty years later when I found an old manuscript in a drawer. After a complete rewrite, many query letters to publishers, it became my first published novel, CassaStar.


2. That's awesome that you used to write and picked it up again. And I'd love to work with a literacy program some day. For those of us who haven’t read this series, tell us about it.


The series follows Byron, a very talented pilot who prefers his privacy. The first book follows him
through training and into war, learning what it means to be a friend along the way. CassaFire jumps twenty years ahead and finds him faced with training a woman pilot while delving into ancient alien ruins. CassaStorm also jumps ahead twenty years and finds Byron fighting not only for his young son, but for all the known races.


3. I know when you wrote CASSASTAR, you didn’t plan to write a trilogy. What were some of the challenges in continuing the story and how did you overcome them?

I think jumping ahead in time helped. It gave each book a fresh start. CassaFire was loosely based on a
short story I wrote as a teen, and I just expanded on the storyline. CassaStorm was the biggest challenge, as everything came from scratch. But it provided the opportunity to tie all of the books together and conclude the series.


4. That was an incredibly unique way to do it. And really keeps the story fresh. 

So I want to focus our interview on blogging advice. I know from following your blog that you started your blog when you signed your book publishing contract and your publisher told you that you needed to start a blog. Share how you started your blog and what helped it to grow too where it is today. What are some of your key recommendations for having a thriving blog with lots of visitors?


The first few months, I had no idea what I was doing. I started following and commenting, focusing on science fiction sites, but I wasn’t getting anywhere. It wasn’t until the very first A to Z Challenge that I began to gain momentum – I went from thirty to over eighty followers in one month. After that I found my groove by blogging about what I enjoy and featuring others.

I think the four things that matter most are involvement, support, leadership, and consistency. Blogging is a community, and you have to be willing to give back. You can’t focus on yourself or be negative, either. You want to be that person others flock to because of your genuine nature.


5. So true you have to be consistent and be supportive. How many blogs do you follow and how much time do you spend reading blogs every day. Tell the truth because I see you on many blogs I follow before I get there.

I’m just quick on the draw! I have around 2000 followers and I visit an average of a hundred blogs a day. (Far more on Mondays and double that on IWSG post days.) I spend anywhere from three to six hours a day online. While that might blow some people away, I do have the advantage of visiting blogs during the day from work. (Does my job rock or what?) But I do devote time in the evenings and on weekends. Basically, I’ve just made a lot of friends.

6. Wow! That's a lot of time reading blogs. You're so lucky you can do that from work. That would help SO much to follow more bloggers if I could at work. But I spend a lot of time on it too, which is why I think I have a good following. For those of us who can’t spend as much time following blogs as you do because of other obligations, what advice do you have for increasing on blog followings and being good blogger friends?

Focus on a core group of blogger friends. Visit those people as often as possible and the rest when you have extra time. It’s more important to have a small group of friends devoted to you than a mass of people who could care less. And the best way to increase your following is to follow and comment on other blogs, get involved in the community through blogfests and events, and give back at every opportunity.


7. Great advice. And as a follow up, in another interview, Alex recommended for those of us who can't devote as much time to blogging to follow a core group of about 30 bloggers regularly to be a good friend and develop a following.  And he's mentioned a key to having a good following: follow your followers back, especially the ones that visit you all the time. I so agree with this. I'm trying to do this as much as I can, even if I just follow some of the less frequent followers on the days they stop by.

Here’s a problem I struggle with how to handle sometimes and I’m guessing other people do to. I start following someone, often who has few followers, and they don’t follow back. Also I’ve noticed over the three years I’ve been blogging that some followers stop following and/or disappear from blogging. Do you have these issues ever and how do you handle them? Do you stop following people? When?


People come and go, and new bloggers don’t know the etiquette of interacting or returning follows. I have so many followers now that I don’t seek out many new ones, although I return follows if I can locate a blog. If I follow a blogger and a week or two passes with no interaction or reciprocation on his part, I will unfollow. I’d rather focus my efforts on those who want to be friends.


8. I hate to unfollow people, but I think your rule of thumb is a good one I plan to start following. Since the fall 2012, I’ve noticed a lot of aspiring author fatigue with blogging and discussions on whether or not people should continue blogging. In fact, I’ve saved at least 10 links to posts on this topic, including one you did last year. We saw a drop here in comments (though I’m not complaining because we do get lots of comments on popular interviews) and page views last fall. The good thing was that I made a lot of new blogger friends, many from your circle of friends, as a result and have really been focusing on following my regular followers.

But have you noticed this trend at all and where do you think blogging fits in an author’s social network platform?

There seem to be less people following new blogs, but there are always new bloggers to replace those who quit. I think it’s still viable for authors. My blog is also my website, so it doubles as an author site and a social network. Some authors do really well on Twitter, and some on Facebook. I think it’s all about finding what works best for the individual - what works best for each of us to spread the news and reach our audience.

9. I've found that to be true too--that there are new bloggers to become friends with when others disappear. Though it still makes me sad when people I like just disappear. Do you have any other advice that we haven’t already discussed?


Just get involved in this community at every opportunity. Blogging is about making friends. Find your groove and your theme and have fun. If it’s not fun, you’ll burn out and quit.

10. I know you’re debating whether to continue writing or focus on your other creative outlet, music. Have you made any decisions on that?


I’ve focused on my music more this year, but I haven’t made a final decision. I have an outline for another space opera, so who knows? But I’m not leaving the blogging world anytime soon, that’s for sure!


Thanks so much for sharing all your advice, Alex. Good luck with your book release. Here's purchasing info for CASSASTORM and Alex's  links below:


Available September 17, 2013

$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


Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Amazon Kindle

Goodreads

Book trailer


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.

Website
Twitter

Goodreads

So Alex's publisher Dancing Lemur Press has generously provided an ARC of CASSAFIRE (I won this through Goodreads First Reads) and CASSASTORM for a giveaway. There will be two winners. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment by September 28th. Please let me know where you are in the series and I'll try to match the winners with the books, though there is no guarantee. I’ll announce the winner on September 30th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, please leave it in the comments.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 or older to enter. International entries are welcome though I'll only pick one international winner at most due to postage costs.

I'd love if you'd also share your questions, your experiences blogging, and any advice to share with the rest of us.

Here's what's coming up:

Tomorrow I've got a fantastic Tuesday tip on school visits by author Sandy Carlson and a giveaway of her historical fiction story, THE TOWN THAT DISAPPEARED.

On Wednesday I’m interviewing another follower, debut author Christina Lee, and giving away an e-book of her new fantastic adult novel, ALL OF YOU, a contemporary romantic story with great characters.

On Friday I’m doing the Stuck In A Good Book Giveaway Hop. I’ll have lots of great choices for you to pick from.

Next Monday I’m interviewing debut author Peggy Eddleman and giving away an ARC of SKY JUMPERS, her fantastic upper grade middle grade post- apocalyptic story. I haven’t seen any post-apocalyptic middle grade stories and I really enjoyed reading about Hope, a girl who thinks she has no talents because she’s not good at inventing like everyone else in her small town.

Next Wednesday I’m interviewing Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson and giving away a copy of STARBOUNDERS, a MG sci-fi adventure story that sounds like it’ll really appeal to boys as well as girls.

The following Monday I’m interviewing a sixth grader in a writing club for my ASK THE EXPERT series and giving away a copy of THE DREAM THIEVES and ORLEANS.

And don't forget our Tuesday Tips and Casey's Thursday agent spotlights.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

82 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thank you again, Natalie!

Angela said...

Great interview Natalie and Alex.
Thanks Alex for sharing with us. Good luck with Cassastorm.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Thanks, Natalie, for the awesome questions. Alex, I feel I know you even better now. Alex is not only a great writer, he is a caring person which shows through his blog. Good luck, on CassaStorm. May you sell millions.

Teresa

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I love the way that you set up the series so that the stories skipped ahead in time to start back at a natural point. Great way to show character development, too!

I like your thoughtful answers here, and especially interested in your thoughts on developing blogging friends as opposed to just large groups of followers...important, I think.

Congratulations! Thanks to Natalie for hosting Alex.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Alex knows what he's doing when it comes to blogging. Congrats!

Jemi Fraser said...

I've loved Alex's series - hope he writes another one! Great interview - nice to learn more about you, Alex!! :)

Misha Gerrick said...

Excellent interview. I've also noticed the dwindling page views, but I'm now taking action to see this improve.

Hopefully it works. :-)

Creepy Query Girl said...

Great interview! Alex is such an inspirational blogger and I agree with the way he chooses how to follow/unfollow and keep track. Blogging isn't what it used to be, and even though I miss the good ole' days, I agree that other outlets like facebook and twitter have become more important when it comes to networking.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Teresa, thank you!

Elizabeth, skipping ahead made it easier. And good friends come in handfuls - easier to manage that way.

Misha, we are all working on it.

Thanks, everyone!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Loved this interview! Alex is amazing. He's a faithful and vivacious blogger and talented writer. Thrilled with all his success. :)

Side note: 4:45 AM??? Ugh....

Unknown said...

Great blogging tips amd wonderful interview. Alex deserves all the success in the world!

Stina said...

I get up at 5 am, Natalie. So I feel your pain.

Alex seriously rocks. I can't believe how he not only visits 100 blogs a day, he writes more than the typical 'great post!' that some people think they can get away with. Hello, when you do that, it's obvious you haven't read the post. You're just fishing for follow back comments. Not cool!

Matthew MacNish said...

Great interview! It's mind-blogging how prolific Alex is.

Old Kitty said...

Another space opera!?! Oh I hope so!! Would totally love to hear music from The Cap'n and His Transparent Underpants!! Take care
x

Kelly Polark said...

Congrats to Alex on his success! He's such a supportive, friendly blogger friend. Good luck to you in your music, too, Alex!!! You need to vlog you jamming!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Stina, if I comment, it's because I've read. Just wish I was a faster reader.

Kitty, you always make me laugh!

Kelly, that's a long ways off...

Pat Hatt said...

Great interview and yep bloggers sure do come and go. Agree with the follow rule as much as one should followback if someone follows and leaves a comment that is more than "nice post" but if they just follow to inflate their numbers, and that is it, pfft to any followback for that.

Stephen Tremp said...

Good luck Alex! Great that you worked with adult literacy. Its an awesome way to give back to the community in a real positive way.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for doing this. I seem to be struggling lately with getting that good balance and keeping it there and go in Fits and starts and...well...seems time to stop being a whiney mcwhinerton and just follow some advice! Also twould seem that I may worry a lot. (Insecure much?)

I think your books seem like a good foray into the world of adult fiction and will be sure to check them out.

B.E. Sanderson said...

Awesome interview, Alex. Thanks for having it, Natalie. =o)

Tyrean Martinson said...

Loved this interview! Thanks for the great blogging advice, Alex, and I love that you've been able to pursue both your music and your writing!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Pat, well said!

Stephen, it was trying but rewarding.

Thanks, Deb!

Karen Lange said...

Great interview! Appreciate the advice, Alex!

Chris Desson said...

I agree, Alex. It takes time for new bloggers to find their groove and learn the etiquette. Thankfully, veteran bloggers are patient. I can't wait to order CassaStorm tomorrow. Great interview and post as usual. (You're too good at this. It makes me sick!) Just kidding. =D oxox

TS Hendrik said...

That's what I need, a job that allows me to read blogs while I work. I'd also like one that comes with free sandwiches. I hear being independently wealthy is pretty nice. Maybe I'll look into that.

Cheers on the interview. Great questions and interesting answers.

Michelle Wallace said...

Great interview!
Hey Alex, maybe you can introduce a guitar-playing MC in your next story...

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Christine, thank you!

TS, go for independently wealthy.

Michelle, maybe!

J.L. Campbell said...

Hi, Natalie & Alex,
Again, I have to say I'm impressed with how much ground Alex covers in a day. I don't do nearly as much in trying to keep up with those writers I follow. Wishing Alex success with CassaStorm.

D.G. Hudson said...

I liked the answer to #10. I'm voting for Alex to combine the music and the space opera, so he can do both.

Very nice interview, Natalie. Best of sales, Alex!

Lydia Kang said...

Alex is one of the most generous bloggers out there. I've known him since I first started!

Al Diaz said...

So there is still the chance to read more space opera from you? That's great. Hopefully, you end up sharing your time with both music and writing muses.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Joy, and I've covered a lot today!

DG, a musical space opera?

Lydia, that you have! Thanks.

Al, we'll see.

Beth said...

An interesting interview! I love that he's torn between writing and music, and it's wonderful that he can do justice to both.

Jessie Humphries said...

Amazing interview And advice! I'm totally reinvigorated :) thanks to both of you :)

Kristin Lenz said...

How have I missed Alex's blog? Thanks for sharing his advice. It's wonderful that he keeps up with so many bloggers, but I like his advice to those of us who have trouble devoting that much time - to spent your time on a smaller core group of bloggers that you regularly interact with. And he's a musician too? I just wrote a post about songwriting. Hopping over to check out Alex's blog now... :)

Sherry Ellis said...

I really enjoyed this interview! A space opera in the future? That sounds cool!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Beth, it's difficult, which is why I can't do both.

Kristin, better a few close friends!

Mina Burrows said...

This was a fantastic Q & A with the Captain! Love it. I can't believe he dusted off that manuscript and turned into a best seller. I love it! Alex is such an inspiration.

He's right about the blogging tips. Excellent advice.

Unknown said...

Great to see the Ninja Captain on this blog! I know all about blogger fatigue ... I think the key is to take breaks every now and then. Otherwise you'll get to a point where it's all too much and you stop and never come back ...
Congratulations, Alex!

Christine Rains said...

Great interview and terrific advice.

Unknown said...

It's not secret how Alex visits so many blogs... he's a Ninja! He's also one of the best guys out there and refuses to let his blogging fame to go his head. Alex, you rock!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Mina, dusted and completely rewrote!

Rachel, and we don't want that.

Jenn, thank you.

Unknown said...

I almost forgot to come read your interview!
Excellent as always. Get that sleep you need. Tomorrow is a big day!

M Pax said...

Interaction is a key ingredient in all social media. Congrats to Alex!

Gwen Gardner said...

Alex is truly the Ninja Captain with all he does. I wish I had the energy. Thanks for the tips :) Congrats Alex!

Robyn Campbell said...

YaY Alex! It is such a pleasure to cyber know ya. What excellent tips you shared too. Congrads pal. I really mean that. *waves peace sign*

Robyn Campbell said...

*waves to Natalie* :-)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

David, I'll do my best!

Gwen, maybe I should bottle it and sell it?

Waves back at Robyn!

Anne R. Allen said...

Great piece by two of the best bloggers in the business. Alex and Natalie--thanks for all you do for your fellow writers!

Carrie Butler said...

Great advice! :D

Candace said...

This is fantastic advice! I can't imagine visiting 100 blogs a day but I do have at least 30 I *try* to visit daily. I often find new friends from bloggers commenting on my blog and I comment back and before long we're like old friends! I love the blogging community, it really is amazing!
Following blogs doesn't mean much to me. I mean, I follow blogs all the time but it's almost just turned into a number. I really just go by who visits me back. Usually they visit me first these days just because I'm so busy, but if they visit me more than once (and it's not just for a giveaway) then I visit them back.
This sounds like a wonderful series as well, I hadn't heard of it yet!

mshatch said...

Congrats to Alex and great ideas on how to make following work.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Alex is my inspiration of what I'd like my blog to be. I still need to get the knack of doing a lot of visits quickly. I go way too slow to visit 100 per day.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Natalie -- 4:45 am?!?! Really!?! That beats our house.

And I followed you on Twitter. Or unfollowed you and then followed you back again. I swear, that FOLLOW button blinks on and off so fast, I can't tell what I've done.

Alex -- congratulations on completing your trilogy. I don't think I've ever read a series that skips 20 years between installments. That's pretty unique, and knowing how things change between decades even now, must make for a fresh new universe in each book!

DMS said...

I always enjoy Alex's blog and impressed with the number of blogs he is able to hit in a day. Being able to visit blogs from work is definitely a plus- I wish I could do that. :) His advice about blogging seems spot on. How helpful!

Awesome to know that his newest book can be read and enjoyed even without reading the others. That says a lot. Wishing Alex the best of luck with this book and whatever he decides to do next.
~Jess

Rachna Chhabria said...

Its nice to see two of my favorite people together, Alex and Natalie. I always enjoy visiting Alex's blog. He talks less about himself and more about us (his blog buddies). Visiting 100 blogs a day, you are super awesome, Ninja Captain.

I am really happy that you have an outline for another space opera, I want to see you write more books. Alex, I had no idea that you had written a rough draft of this book nearly thirty years back.

Ella said...

Nicely done! Nice to meet you Natalie :D
It is always nice to learn a bit more about our Ninja Captain~

Congrats Alex

Denise Covey said...

Hi Natlaie

Lots of interesting discussion here. One of the reasons I didn't do the A-Z this year was the huge time commitment of visiting so many blogs daily. It is a time suck. But I'm with you re the regular blogging advice, except there are also other considerations. Google Friend is a bit dodgy - for example, I thought I was following you, have visited your blog for ages, but when you said that about people not following back, I re-followed you, and I was able to, which means Google Friend deleted me at some stage or I've been allowed to follow twice, which happens too.

I love interacting with my followers, but if I continually visit/comment on a follower's blog and they never return the favour, I either stop visiting them or visit them, read the post, and don't comment. I'm not into the unfollow thing as I think that's too onerous to do.

Blogging is reciprocal, it has to be. It is still the most useful of the social networking sites IMHO. Twitter is get in, get out, (just followed you there) Facebook is now all about selling books and liking authors who never like you back, etc., and invitations to join groups. Through blogging, we can learn so much and give something back to the community by way of craft posts, blogfests to improve writing skills, etc.

Denise

Tammy Theriault said...

HAPPY DANCES FOR ALEX!

Rosi said...

A lot of food for thought in this post. Very helpful. Thanks. I will pass on the giveaway. My TBR list is just toooooo looooong!

Unknown said...

Alex's powerhouse presence online shows that the community spirit really does work; and for those who don't have a great deal of time to follow and comment, having this core group of SuperFriends means you can reach out to the heart of your community without spending a ton of time.

Great advice, Alex!

Jocelyn Rish said...

Congrats to Alex on the release of his latest book! Wow, 100 blogs a day? I think I read too slowly to even attempt that. Thanks for all the great advice!

Empty Nest Insider said...

It's nice to meet you Natalie! Alex really is the Energizer Bunny of blogging which sounds like an idea for a children's book! It's great that you could jump right in to CassaStorm without having read the other books in the trilogy. Thanks for your excellent interview and review Natalie! Hooray for Alex!

Julie

Anonymous said...

Yay for Alex. He's a master writer, blogger, and ninja.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Candace, sounds like you have a good system.

Susan, I'm a slow reader and writer, so it's a miracle I can accomplish that.

Dianne, thanks, and a fresh universe was the plan.

Jess, thanks!

Rachel, that rough draft was rough all right.

Denise, well said!

Thanks, Jamie.

And thanks everyone!

Tina said...

Alex sure has some good advice! Some I'd heard before, but some was new.
I'm featuring Alex at my blog today!
New follower.
Tina @ Life is Good

Unknown said...

Great advice Alex. I am very new at this and like you started because my publisher asked me to. Now I just have to figure how to feature others and remember to comment - :)
Thank you!
Stacey

MeganC said...

I think that I am a minority in the blogging community. I don't blog, but I do follow a group of bloggers. One thing that I never realized is that there is a blogging community (bloggers following bloggers). Great advice! I don't think I realized how important it is to comment on your favorite blogs. Thanks for a good interview, Natalie.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Appreciate it, Tina!

Stacey, you will have a head start on me then.

Megan, blogging is its own social network.

Stephanie Garber said...

Great interview Natalie and Alex! I just started blogging this summer, and I really appreciated all of Alex's blogging advice! I love sci-fi, so I'm definitely going to check out his blog! Thanks again!

Tracy Campbell said...

Hi Natalie and Alex,
I thoroughly enjoyed this post. Wow, Alex...I can't imagine reading and commenting on blogs 6 or more hours per day. All the best with your book! :-)

Kimberly Gabriel said...

I love how much you enjoyed CassaStar! I can't wait to pick it up myself. Great interview!!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Stephanie, hope it helps, and thanks!

Tracey, it's just what I do.

Kimberly, thanks! Hope your class enjoys the third book as well.

Danielle H. said...

Thank you for the interview! I love the fact you saved your manuscript and picked it up later, revised and submitted it. Inspirational--never giving up. I will share this contest on Facebook. The reviews are fantastic and I'll put these on my to read list.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Danielle, thank you!

Liz Blocker said...

I love Alex, and I love this contest! I'm dying to start the whole Cassa series. Thanks for a great interview, too; Alex has been all over the blogosphere, and it's been great to read all of the posts, but this is one of the most informative.

RaveAir said...

Great interview with many good and interesting questions.
It can be very hard to "manage" a whole community, found new blogger friends, and keep their interests.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Liz, thank you! Hope you enjoy them.

Zoltan, it's like a juggling act.

AshleighSwerdfeger said...

Wow sounds like a interesting story! I love the interview. They are always fascinating to read :)

Toi Thomas said...

I'm going to be honest here, I was really enjoying this interview and then I saw that Alex has 2000 followers, reads 100 blogs a day, for a bout 3 hours a day...I was humbled. Wow! I know I'm new to this game, but I don't know if I could do what he does. Still it would be cool to have that many real connections and friendships...Oh, and of course I liked his comments about his books and the development of those.

Wanda said...

Hi Natalie, I enjoyed getting to know more about Alex and his blogging. Every time I visit his blog I'm impressed with the number of interactions he has and now I definitely see why the Ninja rocks.

Reid Kemper said...

Great interview, and great questions! I've always been baffled at how Alex manages to post on about every blog I visit. He surely has involvement, support, leadership, and consistency.