Posts Tagged ‘Barsk’

November is here, and this time around it’s a three-convention month for me. The first of these, the World Fantasy Convention, has come and gone. Next up is Philcon, running from the 20th to the 22nd.

I have a fairly light schedule, the highlight of which will be my reading featuring chapter two from Barsk. I read this for the first time last weekend at WFC, and I have to tell you it was the single best reading that I have ever done!. So, if you missed it, join me at Philcon and we’ll see if it gets better the second time around.

Here’s my full schedule:

Saturday, November 21sr
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. (Autograph Table) Signing
Bring me something to scrawl my name on. Novels. Magazines. Small children. My signature is yours to command.

12:00 – 12:30p.m. (Executive Suite 623) Reading
As promised above, I’ll read from chapter two of Barsk. Meet the protagonist, Jorl, and hear him talk to his dead friend, Arlo. Yeah, that’s right, Arlo’s dead. Not a problem.

01:00 – 02:00 p.m. (Plaza IV) Using Language Creatively
From Hemingway’s spareness to Lovecraftian atmospheric density to Chandleresque similes, there are a variety of ways language can be used to enhance the worlds you write. How do language and syntax choices affect the way a story is perceived?
with A.T. Greenblatt (M), Christie Meierz, Joseph Berenato, L Hunter Cassells

Sunday, November 22nd
01:00 – 02:00 p.m. (Plaza III) The Uses of Time Travel
Why do you want to travel into the past or future? Knowledge? Loot? Talking yourself out of bad decisions? Setting up the best prank ever? If given the opportunity would you, or wouldn’t you?
with Lawrence Kramer (M), Michael A. Ventrella, John Ashmead, Michael L. Brachman, JJ Brannon

Also, on Saturday night, I’ll be hosting a party for the San Marino in 2019 Worldcon Bid. Check out the link, support the bid, and come to the party to celebrate the many incredible authors who have been nominated for the Campbell Award. Eat cake! Be audacious! And never, ever settle for just a city.

See you at Philcon!

As mentioned four weeks ago, I’ll be spending the post-Thanksgiving weekend in Timonium, MD attending Chessiecon.

My schedule has changed a bit from the initial posting, but you’ve still got a month to put the following particulars into your calendar if you’re determined to stalk me there (and I hope you are). Here’s the shiny new version of what I’ll be doing, where and when during the con:

Friday, November 27th
3:00 p.m. (Greenspring 2) Alien Language Q&A, Led by The Klingon Guy
Aliens. How can authors better walk the tightrope between making them sound understandable while at the same time keeping their language, well, alien. Lawrence M. Schoen, author, former professor of psycholingustics, and founder of the Klingon Language Institute, will help you make some sense of it all..

Saturday, November 28th
10:00 a.m. (Greenspring 2) Reading
To no one’s surprise, I’ll read from my forthcoming novel, Barsk

11:15 a.m. (Atrium) Signing
This is your chance to have me sign all the things! Seriously, all of them!

6:45 p.m. (Atrium) Mass Signing
Authors, artists, and musicians gather in one room for signing/book-selling/chatting with fans. This is your chance to have me sign all the things you didn’t have me sign earlier in the day!
with Ursula Vernon, Steve Kozeniewski, TJ Perkins, Cathy Hird, Heather Rose Jones, Intisar Khanani, Kim Headlee, Cristin Kist, Jeff Gritman, Tamora Pierce, Steve Haug, Margaret Carter, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, D.C. McLaughlin, Mary Fan, C.S. (Celia) Friedman, Tom Smith, Roberta Rogow, Harrison Demchick, Karen MacLeod, Seanan McGuire, Charles Butler, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Kelly A. Harmon

Sunday, November 29th
10:00 a.m. (Chesapeake 6) KaffeeKlatch
Sign up for this intimate chat and ask me all the stuff. We’ll talk about Life and Death, Klingon, Hypnosis, Language, and anything else you want. And, if I can convince my publisher, there’ll even be prizes!

1:45 p.m. (Greenspring 1) How Much Do I Worry About My Own Canon?
Writing a series? Sure, you don’t want to get major things wrong, or contradict yourself. But are you creating a work of art for which you have to bend the rules sometimes — or even do so deliberately, for effect, as M. John Harrison does in his Viriconium stories? Or is our increased awareness, through the internet, of fan readers, their concerns and reactions (and their attempts to write coherent fanfic) boxing us in? As major franchises mess with their Canon, what about us writers?
with Harrison Demchick, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Don Sakers (M), Steve Kozeniewski

This convention marks the one-month-to-launch date for Barsk. So, yeah, I’m more than a little excited.”

See you at Chessiecon!

For the last few years, I’ve spent late November in Los Angeles, but I have different plans this year. Instead, hot on the heels of Thanksgiving, I’ll be traveling to Timonium, MD and making my first-ever visit to Chessiecon.

I’m looking forward to seeing plenty of familiar faces as well as many new ones. This convention weekend also represents the one month mark before the release of Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, so I’m likely to be a little bit anxious.

In any case, here’s my tentative schedule of what I’ll be doing, where and when, at the convention:

Friday, November 27th
3:00 p.m. (Greenspring 2) The Klingon Guy Talks About Alien Languages
The title pretty much says it all. They’re giving me a room and an hour to answer your questions about the creation and use of alien languages in fiction and elswhere. Come on by for some linguistic fun and games.

Saturday, November 28th
10:00 a.m. (Greenspring 1) Reading
To no one’s surprise, I’ll like read from my forthcoming novel, Barsk

11:15 a.m. (Atrium) Signing
This is your chance to have me sign all the things! Seriously, all of them!

6:45 p.m. (Atrium) Mass Signing
Authors, artists, and musicians gather in one room for signing/book-selling/chatting with fans. This is your chance to have me sign all the things you didn’t have me sign earlier in the day!

Sunday, November 29th
10:00 a.m. (Chesapeake 6) KaffeeKlatch
Sign up for this intimate chat and ask me all the stuff. We’ll talk about Life and Death, Klingon, Hypnosis, Language, and anything else you want. And, if I can convince my publisher, there’ll even be prizes!

1:45 p.m. (Greenspring 1) How Much Do I Worry About My Own Canon?
Writing a series? Sure, you don’t want to get major things wrong, or contradict yourself. But are you creating a work of art for which you have to bend the rules sometimes—or even do so deliberately, for effect, as M. John Harrison does in ringing the changes in his Viriconium stories? Or is our increased awareness, through the internet, of fan readers, their concerns and reactions (and their attempts to write coherent fanfic) boxing us in? As major franchises mess with their Canon, what about us writers?

I have to say, that looks like a pretty good way for me to round out the Thanksgiving weekend. I hope you’ll come out and say “hi!”

See you at Chessiecon!

After the chaos and joy and travail of transportation that marked last month’s Worldcon, I’ve been resting up and recovering. But all too soon I’ll be on the road again.

The first event in what is shaping up to be a busy autumn takes place in nearby Baltimore. From September 25 through the 27th, the city will be celebrating a book festival in their inner harbor with lots of great genre authors showing up (including such fine folks as Anatoly Belilovsky, Tobias Buckell, Brenda Clough, Scott Edelman, Anna Kashina, Emmie Mears, Sarah Pinsker, Cat Rambo, Alan Smale, Michael R. Underwood, and Fran Wilde).

There will be panels, readings, signings galore, and even a chance for you to meet and greet many of the authors.

I’ll only be in attendance on Saturday, the 26th. Here’s where you’ll be able to find me:

Saturday, September 26th
3:00 p.m. (SFWA Tent) Reading Group 4
Four intrepid readers will transport you to other planets and magical lands, all without you leaving the comfort of your chair.
With Cinda Chima, Kelly Harmon, and Justina Ireland.

4:00 p.m. (SFWA Tent) Signing
I’ll have a limited number of free Advanced Reader Copies of Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard to sign and give away, so come on by!
With Kelly Harmon, and Justina Ireland.

5:00 p.m. (SFWA Tent) Earl Grey, Hot: Future Food, Fantastical Food
From food pills to food printers to the latest in Elven lembas bread, the panelists will whet your appetite for fictional food.
With K Ceres, Diana Peterfreund, Cat Rambo, Bud Sparhawk, and Fran Wilde.

6:00 p.m. (SFWA Tent) Meet the Authors!
Rub elbows with your new favorite science fiction and fantasy authors at this annual event!

And of course all weekend long under the SFWA Tent, you’ll find lots of writers, local and regional, published and self-published authors, all talking about their books.

See you in Balitmore!