As we were unable to fly out for Westercon, we’d been toying with driving out to Lancaster for the day and partaking of Grangecon, an extremely small relax-a-con.
Tempting as that sounds, given the weather & the 90 minute drive each way, I think I’ll pass. I have plenty of things to work on here at home. And plenty of things to read. And within a ten minute drive, plenty of things to eat. 🙂
This seems like as good a time as any to lock in for public viewing what my convention-going schedule is for the rest of the calendar year.
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Usually, I’d be at a convention right about now, settling in with every intention to linger with friends for the next several days. I’d do a few panels, sign a few books, maybe do a reading. It would be high energy fun.
This year is different. I’m still here at home, and I’m working on a novel. It’s a YA novel that I’ve had kicking around in my head for a few years. It’s been sitting in a box for a while, and it’s time to apply some of the tools that I acquired last summer while up in Taos. I’ve spent the morning re-reading what I’ve got, deciding what I like, what needs to be thrown out, what needs to be added. I’m feeling very encouraged, though I won’t be doing any of the heavy lifting on it until Sunday.
Instead, tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll be driving down to Baltimore and meet up with a friend for dinner. I’ve been wanting to have a long chat with him for months and months, and we keep missing one another. He’s at Balticon, so that’s where I’m going to meet up with him, but I’m not actually doing Balticon this year. Still, if you want to see me, I’ll likely be arriving in mid-afternon. My plan is to drop off some of my new postcards on the Freebie Table, and then hole up in the bar until dinner time. After dinner I’ll probably return and hang in the bar a while. Then, as long as I’ve made the trip, hit some of the evening parties. After that, I’ll drive home.
Sunday and Monday I’ll be going back to work on the YA novel.
I’m probably just as curious as you (okay, maybe more) to see what I have come Tuesday morning.
Memorial Day Weekend is a major convention weekend, and while I’m not actually attending any this year, I have helpers who are at several of them doing me the great favor of putting out my new postcards on the respective conventions’ Freebie Tables.
On one side, the card displays the cover of my second novel, Buffalito Contingency, in all its glory. Nice.
But it’s on the other side where the novelty lives. The middle of the card has a reduced image of the book cover. Above it is a QR code that owners of smart devices (e.g., iPad2s, Droids, iPhones) can use to instantly order the book from Amazon. We’re talking immediate gratification! But wait, there’s more! The QR code at the bottom of the card will automagically download a complimentary epub of “Buffalo Dogs,” the very first story from the Amazing Conroy series. It’s yours, whether you buy the novel or not.
As the technology continues to proliferate, I think we’re going to see more and more of this kind of self-promotion. SF readers are among the earliest of adopters, and when we find a book we want, we want it right then and there. QR codes allow authors and publishers to feed that ID. It’s a nice example of a win-win situation (which is the only game I want to play nowadays).
If you’re at Batlicon, Wiscon, MarCon, CONduit, or ConQuesT this weekend, pick up a postcard and try it yourself.
This past weekend marks my best experience at the Nebula Awards, ever! And I say this despite getting food poisoning on Thursday night, and my wife coming down with some kind of mid-con crud on Saturday night. Much praise is due to Peggy Rae Sapienza (and her all-star band of volunteers) for making this event such a success!
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I’ve just finished scripting, recording, coding, and scheduling the next seven days of my daily Klingon language podcast. jIDoy’qu’.
Still on the “to do” list, packing, loading the car, writing a business letter, and preparing for a television interview.
Tomorrow: Off to the Nebulas!
The annual Nebula Awards Weekend is coming up, and I’ll be in attendance. This year (and next) it’s being held in Washington, D.C., a not uncomfortable car trip for me. That’s especially convenient because it means I can load the trunk up with books I want to get signed.
That’s right, I said “signed.” If you’re in the area, you might be interested in attending the Massive Book Signing that’s scheduled for Friday, May 20th, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Attendance at the conference is not required, and there will be quite a few authors present to sign copies of your books, whether you bring them with you from home or buy them on site.
Here’s the list of authors scheduled to be there, and I suspect more will be added to the list:
John Joseph Adams, Christopher Barzak, J. Kathleen Cheney, Aliette de Bodard, Tom Doyle, Scott Edelman, Timons Esaias, Cynthia Felice, Andrew Fox, Kerry Frey, Laura Anne Gilman, Anne Groell, Joe Haldeman, Peter Heck, Vylar Kaftan, JohnKessel, Alethea Kontis, Mary Robinette Kowal, Geoffrey A.Landis, Allen Lewis, Tom Lewis, Lee Martindale, James Morrow, Catherine Petrini, Stanley Schmidt, Lawrence Schoen, Lansing Sexton, Bud Sparhawk, Allen Steele, Eric James Stone, Michael Sullivan, Robin Sullivan, Michael Swanwick, Brandie Tarvin, Mary Turzillo, Michael Whelan, Alexander Whitaker, Connie Willis
In particular, I want to point out J. Kathleen Cheney and Eric James Stone because along with other things I’ll have in the trunk of my car, I’m bringing assorted books published by Paper Golem, such as Alembical 2, which includes Cheney’s Nebula nominated novella “Irons Shoes,” and Stone’s brand new (and not “officially yet released”) collection Rejiggering The Thingamajig And Other Stories, which includes his Nebula and Hugo nominated short story “That Leviathan, Which Thou Hast Made.” These will be available for purchase during the signing. Also available will be my new novel, Buffalito Contingency, which also isn’t “officially” out either.
So come on down, join SFWA as we celebrate our own, and get some books signed (and, ahem, buy a few new ones too). And be sure to stop by and say “hi” to me.
