AnachroCon Approacheth

It is time for another appearance amongst humanity (writers can be an antisocial lot on occasion). Tomorrow I shall don the ancient garb (in this case Victorian) and send my person toward AnachroCon, our local alternate history/steampunk convention. I have been given a lovely list of tasks to accomplish, will meet up with friends both old and new, and generally have a grand time.

The timing is good. My copy edits shall arrive tomorrow via the Brown Truck and after the con I shall cease to exist on most folks' radar until that task is done. I'll post more on that subject down the line. 

My schedule at AnachroCon is thus:
Friday
1:00 p.m. -- Opening Ceremonies1:15 p.m. -- Somewhere in Time: Time Travel Romances
2:30 p.m. -- Victorian Sci-Fi Lit

Saturday
10:45 a.m. -- An Hour with Jana Oliver (I won't just be talking about moi. I'm suspecting some Jack the Ripper might intrude)

So if you're keen for some fun this weekend, drop by and introduce yourself!

New Reads I Recommend

What with lots of good stuff going on in my world, I thought it only right to share news of others. In particular, friends o'mine. So here's some of the new books just waiting for you to give them a whirl --

Aching to draw cool fantasy pictures but don't know how? Then check out FANTASY ART TEMPLATES by my friend Jean Marie Ward and illustrator Rafi Adrian Zulkarnain. "The author-illustrator team provides templates for more than 50 fantasy types, including wizards, male and female warriors, elves and fairies, giants, pirates, mythical gods, angels and devils, dragons, griffins, ogres, ghouls, goblins, sirens, and many others. Generic templates capture each prototype fantasy figure in a series of action poses that designers can adapt to portray famous characters or invent new ones."


Today sees the launch of BURNED, the eighth book in the wildly popular HOUSE OF NIGHT Series by P.C. Cast and her daughter, Kristin Cast. This series is hitting the top of the New York Times and USA Today lists and has the most dedicated group of fen (plural of fan) imaginable. They so love their HoN!

 

   

 And on May 4th author Jeri Smith-Ready's debut Young Adult novel (SHADE) will hit the bookstores! I had the joy of reading the first draft of this novel and it's great. A strong heroine paired with a unique story premise and you've got good reading. Jeri's already known for her fantasy novels and her WVMP vampire series. SHADE will introduce her talents to a whole new group of readers.

Of Coming Events

Breaking my radio silence to announce that the next couple of weeks are packed with event. Actually that should be events. Though my chat with a class at North Springs H.S. has to be rescheduled (they're having a pep rally) I'm on for two conventions back to back. And somewhere in the middle of all that my copy edits will be landing in my IN box. Luckily they're not due back until mid-May. (wipes brow in relief)

Both cons are in Atlanta because this year I'm staying pretty close to home. 2011? Let's not think about that for the moment. With the new series out there I'm going to be all over creation and most of it will involve flying. Ack.

But I digress....here's what's cooking at Convention The First -- JordonCon (Apr 23-25), the annual fan convention honoring the late Robert Jordon, author of the Wheel of Time Series. Why am I there you ask? JordonCon has a new writers track this year and I'm thrilled to be part of it. And as you will see, I have my work cut out for me.

My schedule is thus:

Friday, Apr. 23 (2:30 p.m.)
Ins and Outs of Getting Published
So you've written a book, now what? Jana Oliver explains the ins and outs of taking a finished manuscript and getting it published and into your readers' hands.

Friday, (5:30 p.m.)
Alternative Publishing by Jana Oliver and David Wong
Is your work too weird and wonderful for mainstream? Or do you just like to have control of your stuff? David Wong and Jana Oliver reveal the pros and cons of going it alone.

Saturday, April 24. (10 a.m.)
The Future of Publishing by Brandon Sanderson, Jana Oliver and David Wong
E-publishing, Amazon vs. Macmillan. Blogs and viral marketing. What does this all mean for writers and readers? What can we expect as technology develops and readers desire to interact more with writers?

Sunday, Apr. 25 (10 a.m.)
Book Building by Jana Oliver
Jana Oliver takes you through the process of creating a book from first concept to final edit.

Hope to see some of you this coming weekend. Local cons are more laid back for me (Dragon*Con being the exception) so I'll have time to prop up my feet and chat. For more information on the guests, the schedule and where the con is located please see JordonCon's site.

The weekend after that is AnachroCon, but I'll post more later on.