UPDATE: The winner is…Diane Sallans!
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Psst! This blog is doing double-duty—also appearing over on the Delilah’s Collections website! Comment in both places for a chance to win! There are two prizes! And while you’re there, be sure to check out the posts and prizes from previous days!
May is nearly here, and it’s the final stretch of the school year. Even as merely a substitute teacher, I’m feeling very much the “What’s my Name? Who am I?” brain fatigue. And it’s also lacrosse season, which takes up the rest of the waking hours for my family. All of which is really too boring to blog about (and I’m honestly not sure I could cobble a cohesive blog together on any of those topics)… but the upcoming release of the Silver Soldiers: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology *is* something to talk about!
I’m thrilled to be part of this anthology! I’ve had a short story included in the past two anthologies, and it’s a treat to be in the company of such creative, masterful writers, and to see the variety of ideas that stem from a simple phrase such as “Silver Soldier” or “First Responder.”
I recently celebrated publishing my seventh book in seven years (not including an array of short stories in various anthologies, or the three children’s books I’ve written and illustrated). It’s easy enough to look at the company I keep with the other authors in this anthology and get depressed at my own slow progress… comparison can do that to a person. But this is one of the reasons I love the Romance community: we cheer each other on and remind each other that every step forward is cause for celebration.
So, I continue my writing progress, however slow-and-steady it may be. Because I love to write. And I love to tell the stories bouncing around in my brain, which lean toward futuristic, fantastical, or in a galaxy far, far away. I’m born and bred in a small city in Indiana. We have corn and basketball and the Indy 500. None of which light my fire. But when Star Wars came to the big screen, I was seven… and it rocked my world. My impressionable years were filled with strange creatures, droids with personalities, spaceships, lightsabers, and (of course) the wonderful sexual tension between Han Solo and Princess Leia. My love of aliens and the extraordinary—and falling in love—was solidified.
The upcoming Silver Soldiers anthology hits a little different for me than the previous anthologies. The timing is perfect because I am wrapping up a seasoned-romance, slightly-futuristic cyborg series set in my neck of the woods: Central Indiana. The second in this series, Tin Toy just released in December. The third and final book in this series is Tin Soldier, scheduled to release this August, tells the story of an older-soldier-turned-cyborg, and his love interest who is dealing with breast cancer. This anthology marks the first one where my story actually ties into a full book and series. The challenge was different this time. Everything mattered this time (names, backstory, goal, etc.) because it leads into the rest of the story. Yet I wanted it to have its own decisive HEA for the reader.
Fingers crossed I’ve succeeded!
If you haven’t already pre-ordered the Silver Soldiers anthology, do so today!
Contest: For a chance at a $5 Amazon gift card, what childhood movie was most influential in your life?
About Ava
Ava Cuvay is an award-winning bestselling author of out of this world Sci-fi and Paranormal Romance featuring sassy heroines, gutsy heroes, passion, and adventure… often set in a galaxy far, far away. She resides in central Indiana with her own scruffy-looking nerfherder and kiddos who remind her daily she’s not nearly as cool as she thinks. She believes life is too short to bother with negative people, everything is better with Champagne, and Han Solo shot first. When not writing, Ava is thinking about writing. Or wine. And she’s always thinking about bacon.
Her story inside Silver Soldiers: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology was “SNAFU—Situation Normal, All F***ed Up.”
A sidelined Army cyborg’s only joy is the dimpled smile of a curvy Pentagon admin until she offers him a proposition he should refuse…
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Thank you for having me (both places!) today! 😉
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Unfortunately, I don’t remember seeing any movies…in a theater anyway, as a child. That was so very long ago. One that I do remember seeing was Old Yeller & that was so sad. Even to this day, I choke up thinking of it & haven’t seen it since.
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E.T. was the first I remember seeing… we went to the drive-in theatre… it was something to see on that huge screen! I remember asking my mom for some sci-fi books… she was shocked because I hated reading for school.
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Oh that’s such a tough question! I can still remember seeing Star Wars in the theater. That was such a fun experience.
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probably The Sound of Music – wonderful songs, beautiful scenery, a bit of history and some romance.
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The Vikings with Kirk Douglas comes to mind. Made me want to look into my family history .
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can’t think of any
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The Never Ending Story. I still love it.
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I’m not really sure which movie influenced me the most as a child. Maybe Bambi at the movie theaters for my love of animals. As a child of a tv series it was a Wonder Woman. Yes I’m old 🤣
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I’m not really sure which movie influenced me the most as a child. Maybe Bambi at the movie theaters for my love of animals. As a child of a tv series it was a Wonder Woman. Yes I’m old.
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no films, for me it was books since i’m 6y
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Hmm I remember Journey to the Center of the Earth and I was so scared. I hate scary movies now. Now I am not sure why that movie scared me
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Yes, Old Yeller is a heart-wrencher… I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. Probably a good thing, since I cry at *everything*!
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Yay that it inspired you to read!! (Great movie to see at a drive-in!)
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I’m sad that the new Star Wars movies weren’t as life-altering for my kids as the original were for me… but they at least understood why I’m such a fan 🙂
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Big fan of that movie! I remember it was a big deal the once a year it played on TV… much anticipation!
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What a cool inspiration!
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The dog dragon kinda freaked me out… but the creepy creatures from The Dark Crystal did not. Hmmm, go figure 😉
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I’m old as well! I watched Wonder Woman, but was more into the 6 million dollar man for some reason.
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That’s awesome!!
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It was Pat Boone naked in the tree, wasn’t it. Lol!
There was a Schoolhouse Rock cartoon that literally gave me nightmares… so I understand how we are influenced by things that may not seem that big of a deal to others.
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Ooh… maybe The Empire Strikes Back? I think that was the first movie I saw in a theater with my dad, EONS ago, LOL!
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Thanks to Ava for running two contests! And thanks to everyone who commented!
The winner is…Diane Sallans!