Muse Food – Bridges And Transitions
Transition scenes are, admittedly, my least favorite scenes to write. I have to get my character from one point to the other and I’m usually in a rush to get to that second point. That’s the scene I really want to write.
But transition scenes are like bridges.
And we all know bridges can be super exciting. The bridge over a steep drop could be holding on by a flimsy and rapidly fraying strand of rope. The bridge could be guarded by a troll who demands a price the hero/heroine isn’t willing to pay. The enemy could be waiting at the end of it. A giant eagle could swoop down and carry our hero/heroine off while they are attempting to cross the bridge.
Make that transition scene interesting, my friends.
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Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – April 12
I continue to work on the fifth installment of the Super Secret Project and I continue to have fun with it. Which is a GREAT thing because the fun is the only thing I can truly control. And isn’t it great that I CAN control that? (smiles)
Have a wonderful week, my friends. (big hugs) Take control of your fun. Remember that birthday party you dreamed about as a kid? Give yourself a bit (or all) of that party. Eat hot dog and potato chips/crisps for dinner. Or wear a tiara for a day. Or go to the zoo and hang out near the monkey exhibits. Have a blast. You deserve that joy!
Cyborg Sizzle Escape Omnibus
Half Man. Half Machine. All Theirs.
* * *
While these cyborg warriors battle to escape their cruel manufacturers, they find the human females they are destined to love for all eternity.
This omnibus includes the first seven stories in the Cyborg Sizzle series: Releasing Rage, Breathing Vapor, Being Green, Crash And Burn, Defying Death, Chasing Mayhem and Jumping Barrel.
All of these Cyborg Romances are set in a dark, gritty, often violent universe.
Releasing Rage
Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals–kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience.
Until he meets Joan.
Breathing Vapor
Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.
He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.
Being Green
Green, a cyborg warrior, cares for one being—his plant Windy. When Windy becomes sick, he’ll do anything to heal her, even venture across the universe to visit a worlds-renowned plant doctor.
He doesn’t expect to find love.
Crash And Burn
Crash was manufactured to be one of the best warriors in the universe. The cyborg has spent many human lifespans fighting the enemy. But, unlike his battle-loving brethren, he doesn’t enjoy killing. When he escapes the Humanoid Alliance, he vows to never end another life.
Then he meets Safyre, an infuriating human female, and he considers breaking his vow.
Defying Death
Cyborgs don’t show emotion. Death learned that lesson early in his long lifespan. To survive, he hides his fierce passions behind a stoic wall. He calls no warrior friend. He never admits to caring for any being.
Even the human female he’s destined to love.
Chasing Mayhem
Mayhem has spent his lengthy lifespan obeying the Humanoid Alliance’s rules. Finally free from their cruel control, the cyborg warrior plans to cause chaos. He infiltrates a remote settlement, provokes the savage locals until they want him dead, and allows himself to be captured by the sexiest little Retriever he has ever laid his mechanically-enhanced eyes on.
Jumping Barrel
Barrel requires an Expert for the Tau Cetian orphans. He’s looking for a female who is willing to commit to a lifespan-long role, who is comfortable with moving off planet, and who, preferably, has the ability to speak the offsprings’ first language.
His female, however, is looking for a hero.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon Canada:
https://www.amazon.ca/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus/id1488934271
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/992060
Topics: Cynthia Sax Weekly Update | Comments Off on Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – April 12
You CAN Take Time Off
The world is a bit of a tire fire right now.
Many of us are feeling stressed and we’re feeling tired.
Some of us might be thinking about quitting.
Quitting writing. Quitting an exercise program. Quitting hanging out with family. Quitting day jobs. Or quitting something else.
Quitting is fine. Quitting often creates space for other things to happen. It can be one of the best things we ever do.
But also know that it is okay to take time off, to rest.
We don’t have to quit, if we don’t want to do that. We can put the writing, the exercise program, the family meet ups, the day job, whatever else on hold.
Many companies have leave of absence policies for exactly this reason. (Which means so many people do this, put their jobs on hold, they needed to put a policy in place to deal with it.) Most gyms make it easy to pause memberships.
If you need to take a break or have a rest, do this.
Life is not a race. We’re allowed to take time off.
(smiles)
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Gladiator II And The Too Easy Solution
Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about Gladiator II, the long awaited sequel to Gladiator, a movie about…well…gladiators (grins) and it WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this half-naked-men-fighting-to-the-death-in-the-Colosseum movie, you might wish to skip this post.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I watched Gladiator II.
The first Gladiator was serious. It was well written. It was…well…not factual but it attempted to look historical.
This second Gladiator movie is silly. At one point, the Colosseum fighting ring is filled with water and stocked with very large great white sharks.
I often enjoy silly. Heck, I AM a bit silly. (grins) I wrote The Godrabbit. That’s a super silly concept.
But Gladiator II is also boring and predictable.
I knew this was a different movie when they once again killed off the hero’s wife.
When the wife or female love interest dies in a movie now, I brace myself for some lazy and uninspired storytelling.
And this proved to be true with Gladiator II.
They also killed the wife off for no good reason.
Because Gladiator II would have been a stronger, more interesting movie if she HADN’T died.
The wife was a warrior. She could have been a female gladiator. The hero might have faced her in the ring. Or fought alongside her. Or watched and worried while she fought and gained new urgency to free himself AND her.
THAT would have kicked a$$. And it would have been original, instead of striving to be a washed out copy of the first movie.
But, instead, the filmmakers reached for easy.
And they gave us boring.
If a solution in your story seems TOO easy, reconsider it. Interesting is rarely easy.
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Throwback Thursday – Warlord’s Return
It takes a special being to befriend a mini dragon.
Dragons are fierce and solitary and they don’t show affection to many folks.
Xareni, the human heroine of Warlord’s Return, is a special being. She’s tough. She’s honorable. And she’s a little bit broken.
As is Ariq, the alien warrior who is determined to win Xareni’s affections.
To do that, he has to convince her mini dragon he’s not their next meal.
(grins)
Warlord’s Return
Ariq is a barbarian warrior seeking a war.
He locates that battle when he meets Xareni.
* * *
Ariq is one of Chamele’s top warriors. A genetic predisposition to fighting, paired with intensive training and experience, has honed the scarred male into an effective killing machine. He loves war, can’t live without combat.
The Succession Wars, however, have finally ended and the Chamele sector is now at peace. Seeking excitement and purpose, the barbarian warrior accompanies his Second to the Refuge, an outlaw settlement on Carinae E. He hopes to locate the battle he’s been craving there.
Ariq finds that conflict and more when he meets his fated mate.
Xareni owes the Ruler of the Refuge a favor. That’s the only reason she has returned to the settlement. She doesn’t like crowds or structures or a certain barbarian warrior who insists on following her everywhere. It doesn’t matter that there’s a connection between them, that he makes her burn with desire, that he looks at her with heat in his dark eyes.
She’s a monster and monsters don’t need anyone.
* * *
Warlord’s Return is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a determined barbarian warrior, an equally resolute human female, and an eyeball-eating mini dragon.
Buy Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FTJY7P1
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08FTJY7P1
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08FTJY7P1
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlords-return/id1527631786
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-s-return
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1038052
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Aerogarden – Week 1
We have germination! Woot!
I see the Thai Basil seedling through the tiny hole in the algae-preventing sticker.
(grins)
Other seeds might have germinated also but I can’t see them through their holes.
(As shown with the photo of the Thyme pod. I can’t see anything in there.)
Which is one big drawback of the Aerogarden set up. My favorite part of gardening is when the plants first poke their tiny heads out of the soil. And due to the protective stickers over the pods, this isn’t easily seen.
But we do have life. And that makes me very, very happy!
Topics: Gardening | Comments Off on Aerogarden – Week 1
Weeding, Washing Dishes And Other Accomplishments
When I weed a patch of garden, extracting the plants that shouldn’t be growing there (which is THE definition of a weed – a misplaced plant), and I see how good it looks, I feel a sense of accomplishment.
Because it IS an accomplishment.
I accomplished a task, an important task. Sure, it might not be a task others care about. But it was necessary and it betters my world.
Accomplishments don’t have to be HUGE or high profile.
Washing dishes is an accomplishment. Getting up every day is an accomplishment. Reading this blog post is an accomplishment.
Be proud you’ve completed this task! Feel that satisfaction and happiness.
You ROCK!
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Muse Food – Slowing It Down
When I make a soup broth, I cook the ingredients in a crockpot for 8 hours or so. It is a slow process but, stars, it is SO good.
When I’m writing a scene in which I want the reader to cry while reading it, I slow that scene down. Tremendously. I have to give the reader time to sit with their emotions, to then express them.
The story I’m telling now (the Super Secret Project) is also slowly being told. It is a BIG story and it requires a lot of words and time. And that’s okay. It is what the story needs.
Don’t be afraid to slow things down. Some masterpieces need AND deserve time.
(smiles)
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Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – April 5
I continue to work on the fifth installment of the Super Secret Project. I’m having a lot of fun with this story, taking my time and the word count to tell it.
How many installments will it be?
I don’t yet know. I’ll write until the story is over. (smiles) That is such a treat to be able to do.
Have a wonderful week, my friends. (big hugs) If you can, take your time doing a task you enjoy. Sit back and listen to the birds sing while planting that row of peas. Take dance breaks in the kitchen when you chop up vegetables. Reread an especially poignant scene in a romance novel. Extend that hit of happiness as long as you can! It is precious.
Cyborg Sizzle Escape Omnibus
Half Man. Half Machine. All Theirs.
* * *
While these cyborg warriors battle to escape their cruel manufacturers, they find the human females they are destined to love for all eternity.
This omnibus includes the first seven stories in the Cyborg Sizzle series: Releasing Rage, Breathing Vapor, Being Green, Crash And Burn, Defying Death, Chasing Mayhem and Jumping Barrel.
All of these Cyborg Romances are set in a dark, gritty, often violent universe.
Releasing Rage
Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals–kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience.
Until he meets Joan.
Breathing Vapor
Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.
He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.
Being Green
Green, a cyborg warrior, cares for one being—his plant Windy. When Windy becomes sick, he’ll do anything to heal her, even venture across the universe to visit a worlds-renowned plant doctor.
He doesn’t expect to find love.
Crash And Burn
Crash was manufactured to be one of the best warriors in the universe. The cyborg has spent many human lifespans fighting the enemy. But, unlike his battle-loving brethren, he doesn’t enjoy killing. When he escapes the Humanoid Alliance, he vows to never end another life.
Then he meets Safyre, an infuriating human female, and he considers breaking his vow.
Defying Death
Cyborgs don’t show emotion. Death learned that lesson early in his long lifespan. To survive, he hides his fierce passions behind a stoic wall. He calls no warrior friend. He never admits to caring for any being.
Even the human female he’s destined to love.
Chasing Mayhem
Mayhem has spent his lengthy lifespan obeying the Humanoid Alliance’s rules. Finally free from their cruel control, the cyborg warrior plans to cause chaos. He infiltrates a remote settlement, provokes the savage locals until they want him dead, and allows himself to be captured by the sexiest little Retriever he has ever laid his mechanically-enhanced eyes on.
Jumping Barrel
Barrel requires an Expert for the Tau Cetian orphans. He’s looking for a female who is willing to commit to a lifespan-long role, who is comfortable with moving off planet, and who, preferably, has the ability to speak the offsprings’ first language.
His female, however, is looking for a hero.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Amazon Canada:
https://www.amazon.ca/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus/id1488934271
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/992060
Topics: Cynthia Sax Weekly Update | Comments Off on Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – April 5
Writers Are Struggling
Before I talk about writer struggles, I would like to reassure you that you don’t have to worry about me.
Not financially.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I are fortunate to have other sources of income. The Dear Wonderful Hubby, for example, referees pickleball games. I’m a business babe in my other life.
And we know how to stretch a dollar. We make many meals out of other people’s leftovers. (grins) I enjoy that challenge and I like that the food isn’t wasted.
We’re doing okay.
But other writing buddies are NOT doing okay.
Many of them are struggling both emotionally and financially.
We’re all dealing with the same world. And it is a tire fire right now.
People are worried about loved ones’ safety, freedom, health, keeping the lights on and putting food on the table.
Grocery prices are so fraggin’ high, aren’t they?
(shakes head)
And writers, most writers, don’t earn very much money from book sales.
(The rare few that do earn big dollars are the equivalent of lottery winners.)
One of my buddies, for example, publishes a romance novel every 3 months. She has over 30 novels published. And they’re great novels. I’ve read them and enjoyed them.
Yet she earned less than $1,000 US in 2025 from book sales.
That doesn’t cover the cost of maintaining a newsletter.
She is LOSING money by publishing her novels.
So please extend writers (and everyone else) some grace.
Be gentle with them. Be patient.
We’re all doing the best we can and we CAN get through this if we work together.
(big hugs)
Topics: Cyn-Sights | Comments Off on Writers Are Struggling
