Steven Cavanagh's Blog, page 2
August 2, 2012
Consolidating at Goodreads
I've registered myself as an author at Goodreads, tracked down most of the books I'm in and linked it all up.
It not only gathers my works together, but allows you, the prospective reader, to see that well-paid lackeys think the books are awesome. It also provides one more place for me to have to upload a photo when I get around to it.
My author page also shows the feed from this blog, so you can keep clicking forever! Check it out!
It not only gathers my works together, but allows you, the prospective reader, to see that well-paid lackeys think the books are awesome. It also provides one more place for me to have to upload a photo when I get around to it.
My author page also shows the feed from this blog, so you can keep clicking forever! Check it out!
July 19, 2012
New Light Fantasy/Sci Fi Antho released!
Plate Armor and Spacesuits Both Hold Farts is now up at Smashwords! The fruit of my blood, sweat and chyle is now available for you completely FREE, in the hope a small percentage of you will favourably review it.
These quirky tales of sci-fi and fantasy will take you to realms where lightspeed meets light-hearted and you can't say awkward without orc. From the perils of being a dragon's beauty consultant to hidden benefits of software in whiteware, S J Cavanagh shows that he's outstanding in left field. Includes "Elf Esteem", which made ASIM's Best of Fantasy Vol 1.
Waddaya waiting for sweethearts, breakfast in bed? Go get it!
These quirky tales of sci-fi and fantasy will take you to realms where lightspeed meets light-hearted and you can't say awkward without orc. From the perils of being a dragon's beauty consultant to hidden benefits of software in whiteware, S J Cavanagh shows that he's outstanding in left field. Includes "Elf Esteem", which made ASIM's Best of Fantasy Vol 1.
Waddaya waiting for sweethearts, breakfast in bed? Go get it!
July 11, 2012
New antho coming soon!
With Axefall Echoes taking the world by.. uh.. light breeze, I'm also compiling some of my comic sci-fi and fantasy into a new anthology!
This anthology will be FREE and is entitled Plate Armor and Spacesuits Both Hold Farts. It includes Girl Power and Elf Esteem, short and flash fiction, the high fantasy to the lowbrow (but you already knew that).
Watch this space!
" " <-- and this one. Really.
This anthology will be FREE and is entitled Plate Armor and Spacesuits Both Hold Farts. It includes Girl Power and Elf Esteem, short and flash fiction, the high fantasy to the lowbrow (but you already knew that).
Watch this space!
" " <-- and this one. Really.
July 1, 2012
Axefall Echoes is out!
Axefall Echoes, an antho collecting seven of my horror stories, is out now on Amazon and Smashwords. Inspiration for the stories came from all over; my life growing up on the farm, commuting in the city, how a relative was treated when they got old, etc. Below are some things people have said about the stories so far:
Finding the wordsEasily the most powerful piece in issue 11 of Shadowed Realms. While technically horror, it’s a touching story of a man laying his daughter to rest. Cavanagh’s style is fluid and uses sense imagery to ground the reader in reality. It’s touching and it's tender and it's heartfelt, something I’m not used to seeing in horror.
-TangentOnline.com
a great story that really rounds out #11 well, and is a worthy winner of the 2006 AHWA Flash Fiction competition...a tale of parent-child tragedy, a topic that almost approaches taboo status to some authors and readers.
Mr.Cavanagh handles the subject deftly and with the greatest of sensitivity. This isn't really a scary story, just a very emotional and heart breaking one where we hear and feel every gust of wind, every rattle of a branch, every flutter of the narrators heart and, in the end, I shed his tears too.
-HorrorScope
Steven Cavanagh paints a heart-breaking portrait of a father’s loss
-Dark Scribe Magazine
I don’t recall having read anything by author Steven Cavanagh before, but I shall certainly be searching out his work in future. This story is an absolute gem.
-Chuck McKenzie
Finding the Words is a very innovative tale which explores the emotional power of loss (specifically the death of a child) under the guide of a horror tale. It is a superb and creative use of a genre tale to explore personal emotional pain.-Robert Black
Street Smartsgood thought for detail and a sensation of realism to it.
Starting [the anthology] off on a good foot. Keen-esque.-Skullring.org
The book starts off strong with “Street Smarts”.-monsterlibrarian.com
World of HurtA rivetting piece of flash fiction.-Sue Crawford
It's a well structured narrative with some original humour and is sharply written, especially towards the end.
-Prof Jane Goodall
Moving DadMoving Dad presents a clever parody of life after death. This story was highly original… Moving Dad has strong central characters that express real emotions, and we are able to feel for them because they are so lifelike.
-Shadowed Realms.
Steven Cavanagh’s “Moving Dad” was another favorite of mine... Using a magic-realism style, Cavanagh manages to capture a strange sense of grief and remorse, and it transfers through to the reader.-LitHaven.com
Cavanagh writes in a deliberately matter-of-fact style regarding a situation that is anything but and this, for me, is one of the highlights of the story
Beginning with whimsical familiarity, moving to poignancy. A lovely slow reveal, blurring the line between the infirmity of advanced age, and the shambling corruption of undeath. An exploration of a universal horror – the realisation of the mortality of the father – I won’t spoil the ending, but Cavanagh kicks off beautifully into an even deeper horror in the last line. Fantastic dialogue in this one too.
-Australian Specfic In Focus
Well, what are you waiting for? Go check it out!
Finding the wordsEasily the most powerful piece in issue 11 of Shadowed Realms. While technically horror, it’s a touching story of a man laying his daughter to rest. Cavanagh’s style is fluid and uses sense imagery to ground the reader in reality. It’s touching and it's tender and it's heartfelt, something I’m not used to seeing in horror.
-TangentOnline.com
a great story that really rounds out #11 well, and is a worthy winner of the 2006 AHWA Flash Fiction competition...a tale of parent-child tragedy, a topic that almost approaches taboo status to some authors and readers.
Mr.Cavanagh handles the subject deftly and with the greatest of sensitivity. This isn't really a scary story, just a very emotional and heart breaking one where we hear and feel every gust of wind, every rattle of a branch, every flutter of the narrators heart and, in the end, I shed his tears too.
-HorrorScope
Steven Cavanagh paints a heart-breaking portrait of a father’s loss
-Dark Scribe Magazine
I don’t recall having read anything by author Steven Cavanagh before, but I shall certainly be searching out his work in future. This story is an absolute gem.
-Chuck McKenzie
Finding the Words is a very innovative tale which explores the emotional power of loss (specifically the death of a child) under the guide of a horror tale. It is a superb and creative use of a genre tale to explore personal emotional pain.-Robert Black
Street Smartsgood thought for detail and a sensation of realism to it.
Starting [the anthology] off on a good foot. Keen-esque.-Skullring.org
The book starts off strong with “Street Smarts”.-monsterlibrarian.com
World of HurtA rivetting piece of flash fiction.-Sue Crawford
It's a well structured narrative with some original humour and is sharply written, especially towards the end.
-Prof Jane Goodall
Moving DadMoving Dad presents a clever parody of life after death. This story was highly original… Moving Dad has strong central characters that express real emotions, and we are able to feel for them because they are so lifelike.
-Shadowed Realms.
Steven Cavanagh’s “Moving Dad” was another favorite of mine... Using a magic-realism style, Cavanagh manages to capture a strange sense of grief and remorse, and it transfers through to the reader.-LitHaven.com
Cavanagh writes in a deliberately matter-of-fact style regarding a situation that is anything but and this, for me, is one of the highlights of the story
Beginning with whimsical familiarity, moving to poignancy. A lovely slow reveal, blurring the line between the infirmity of advanced age, and the shambling corruption of undeath. An exploration of a universal horror – the realisation of the mortality of the father – I won’t spoil the ending, but Cavanagh kicks off beautifully into an even deeper horror in the last line. Fantastic dialogue in this one too.
-Australian Specfic In Focus
Well, what are you waiting for? Go check it out!
June 28, 2012
I'm awake!
It's been a lot longer than I expected, but I'm out of hypersleep. It's really just blind luck that a deep salvage team found me when they did, I could have been drifting out there forever, not writing.
But even in hypersleep, I haven't been able to stop creating. My writing has been on hold for so long because I've been forging a weapon. This weapon will be wielded by those who suffer food allergies and intolerances, and used to fight against the lack of awareness most people have about their situation. It finds the food they can eat and (just as importantly) allows their friends and family to find food they can eat. It's called WotUEat, and now that it's out of the code-cutting stage I'm hoping to get back to writing.
Oh, I'm also finishing up an Android game that has involved some tight fiction writing, but nobody knows about that yet. Ssshhh.
But even in hypersleep, I haven't been able to stop creating. My writing has been on hold for so long because I've been forging a weapon. This weapon will be wielded by those who suffer food allergies and intolerances, and used to fight against the lack of awareness most people have about their situation. It finds the food they can eat and (just as importantly) allows their friends and family to find food they can eat. It's called WotUEat, and now that it's out of the code-cutting stage I'm hoping to get back to writing.
Oh, I'm also finishing up an Android game that has involved some tight fiction writing, but nobody knows about that yet. Ssshhh.
July 8, 2009
Another Best Of!
In spite of me not being able to write for months, my work is still moving on without me!
Girl Power has been selected to appear in Arcane Whispers 2: The Best of Sorcerous Signals 2008!
Oh, I also got a commendation in the last AHWA short fic competition with The Biting of Nails. Still haven't found a market for it though.
Girl Power has been selected to appear in Arcane Whispers 2: The Best of Sorcerous Signals 2008!
Oh, I also got a commendation in the last AHWA short fic competition with The Biting of Nails. Still haven't found a market for it though.
November 4, 2008
On Hold
I have stacks of short stories half written. I've planned out a novel and was gonna rip into it in NaNoWriMo, but now I've been hit with crippling arm pain. I'm talking can't lift a chocolate bar or use my left arm kind of pain.
Factor in that I've got a full time job that's the only income for my family of five, then factor in that I have three small boys.
Writing is, by neccessity, on hold. And I've already heard of voice recognition software, okay? I just don't write that way, though if this persists I'll be forced to try.
Factor in that I've got a full time job that's the only income for my family of five, then factor in that I have three small boys.
Writing is, by neccessity, on hold. And I've already heard of voice recognition software, okay? I just don't write that way, though if this persists I'll be forced to try.
August 14, 2008
Vote for Girl Power!
Sorcerous Signals has a voting page where you can vote for Girl Power. It already seems to have eight votes, so if everyone who reads this blog goes there and votes for it too, it might even reach double digits!
August 11, 2008
PMCT Conclusion Published.
Part 5 of Pardon Me, Coming Through has now been released to the wild by Infinitas. After a tantalising five months, I hope the ending has the punch to meet your expectations.
I origially envisioned the story as the start to a novel, but I'm so busy with the three other novels I'm chipping away at (and the tyranny of Normal Life) that it'll never happen. Maybe a novella sometime...
I origially envisioned the story as the start to a novel, but I'm so busy with the three other novels I'm chipping away at (and the tyranny of Normal Life) that it'll never happen. Maybe a novella sometime...
August 3, 2008
AHWA Commendation
The Australian Horror Writers Association has just judged their 2008 Flash & Short fiction competition, and my Pacific Highway themed story The Biting of Nails came up for a commendation! I didn't think it had the layers or resonation to win, so I didn't have high hopes for it. This is a pleasant surprise.
I should also point out that fellow writer Christian Girard came up with an er.. killer title for the story: Speed Demon, but I moved this title into the story instead, for two reasons. One, the story starts out realistic and then punches into speculative, and the title would have clued the reader in, and two, it made the protag's final revelations that much stronger.
While it was great getting a commendation (ie being in the top 5 out of 100 or so), it means that the story hasn't actually been accepted for publication, and now I have to send it out. Psst! Wanna buy a story?
I should also point out that fellow writer Christian Girard came up with an er.. killer title for the story: Speed Demon, but I moved this title into the story instead, for two reasons. One, the story starts out realistic and then punches into speculative, and the title would have clued the reader in, and two, it made the protag's final revelations that much stronger.
While it was great getting a commendation (ie being in the top 5 out of 100 or so), it means that the story hasn't actually been accepted for publication, and now I have to send it out. Psst! Wanna buy a story?
