Summer in the Emerald City and Beantown

I’m in Seattle on our yearly trip to visit family (and given the heat wave hammering the rest of the U.S. including NYC, I’m grateful!), but this time around I’m also going to be doing some work–readings, panel appearances and writing workshops at Westercon, which just so happens to be in Seattle this year.  The […]

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Origins, June 1, 2012–The Art of the Short Story

This was one of my favorite panels from my first time at Origins, focusing on the short story–which, since my first real one is due out in two months, is very much on my mind of late. Daniel Myers, Jean Rabe and I took a look at the construction and commercial value of the short story, and we got some interesting discussion among panelists and audience members (how does one get that final punchline to have punch?) in the bargain.

Origins 2012 Report

This was the first time for me at Origins, and as promised I wanted to post a couple of my impressions about the experience.  Short version: I had a great freaking time.  The longer version: 1.  This is the second time I’ve been in Columbus, OH for a convention (the first time was for World […]

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Origins

This is my first time at Origins, its writing track now run by the inimitable Jean Rabe, and since Jean is the mastermind behind the runaway success of GenCon I expect things to run without a hitch.  Even if it doesn’t, the gaming emphasis (and presence of a lot of friends from the writing biz) […]

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Off to Ohio!

In just a few short hours I’ll be on my way to Ohio for Origins–my first conference of the summer and the real kickoff to what promises to be a busy writing season.  I’m looking forward to it qute a bit, insofar as I’ve heard a lot about it and never been able to make […]

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Ad Astra, April 14, 2012–Villains 101

Kind of a follow-up to last year’s panel on heroes (and with most of the same participants), this panel focused on the construction of a compelling villain, including examples of the characters we love to hate in speculative fiction–like Satan, Grendel, and Darth Vader, to name just a few. David Clink, Ed Greenwood, Gabrielle Harbowy, Rob St. Martin and I tackled the subject for nearly an hour, with some interesting contributions from the audience as well. Not recorded: the “villain” who demanded we start the panel or risk him destroying the world. I think he was kidding.

Ad Astra 2012

This is the fourth time around for me at Ad Astra, one of my favorite conventions (and my only regular international one).  The schedule is as follows: Fri 9 pm    Floor 2, Salon 2     The Intersection Between Academic and the Creative in       Speculative Fiction           JM Frey, Herb Kauderer, Gregory A. Wilson, Leah Bobet Sat 10 […]

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