Convention readings tend to be a hit or miss proposition, because there’s so much cool stuff going on at one time that there’s no way of knowing how many people you’re going to get interested in your particular session. In this case, though, we had the benefit of three readers, matching me with Chris Jackson and (wait for it) Ed Greenwood! (Other conventions, take note: this method of pairing newer authors with more experienced/established ones is a great one, and I’m glad Ad Astra decided to go with the feedback they got from myself and some others from last year.) We had a reasonable turnout, particularly concerning it was the next to last session on Sunday after a number of people had already headed for home, and it was great hearing the other readings–particularly Ed’s stuff, which as usual was fun and flawlessly presented. (A D and D session with Ed would be, I think, the most hilarious thing ever. How could it not be?) Audio quality is okay here but a bit quiet; my part of the reading, if you’re only interested in that (but listen to the others if you have the time), starts about fourteen minutes in.
Category: Author
Ad Astra, April 11, 2010–How to Get an Agent
This was my last panel appearance at Ad Astra 2010, and since it was about an important topic (getting the agent who can get your work sold), we had good turnout in a sizable room. Most interesting was that everyone on the panel (which included Megan Crewe, Adrienne Kress and Ian Keeling) had different paths to getting their agent, which is, I think, instructive…and I was told by a few of the attendees they were glad that we had a story or two of the “work at it and build up to an agent” variety, rather than everything being the “here’s what happened that time that lightning struck” kind. Watch out for the few audio spikes here!
Ad Astra, April 10, 2010–Each Character’s Voice
My third panel at Ad Astra 2010, this one on keeping characters’ voices distinct. This was the largest panel I was on (always kind of a problem when you’ve only got a little under an hour to cover the topic)–I joined Hayden Trenholm, Grant Carrington, Karin Lowachee and Kate Story. Again, watch out for the couple of spikes in the audio volume.
Ad Astra, April 9, 2010–Same Old Settings
My first of four panels (three posted here, one over on the Academic side of my site) at the 2010 Ad Astra convention in Toronto, and I thought this was the best–it was ostensibly a panel on “overdone” settings in fantasy and science fiction, but as it happened the discussion ranged more widely than that…but without going off the rails, which can sometimes happen. Thoughtful discussion and a good mix of writers in the group made for a good panel (and actually well-attended, despite starting at 9 p.m. on Friday night)! I joined Rick Wilber, Karina Sumner-Smith, and Derek Kunsken for this one. (Be warned that the audio for all the 2010 Ad Astra material, while good quality most of the time, has some occasional volume spikes despite my best attempts to smooth them out.)
Conference Report–Ad Astra 2010
So much for the writing trick of “keeping secrets,” as Pat Rothfuss likes to put it–I think you all pretty much know what this post is about from the title, so I might as well dive in! It’s actually going up later than I intended…we’re in the home stretch of the spring semester, and so […]
Continue reading →Ad Astra 2010
Just a reminder that I’ll be at Ad Astra in Toronto this weekend–and other than leaving summer in New York for winter in Ontario, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m on the following panels: Friday, April 9, 9:00 p.m., Salon 343–Same Old Settings, with Rick Wilber, Karina Sumner-Smith, Karl Schroeder and Derek Kunsken; Friday, […]
Continue reading →Ad Astra 2010
This is my second go-round at Ad Astra, and beyond the fact that it’s a solid convention, any excuse to go to Toronto is a good one. The schedule looks like this: Friday, April 9: 9-10:00 p.m.–Panel–Same Old Settings, with Rick Wilber, Karina Sumner-Smith, Karl Schroeder and Derek Kunsken 10-11:00 p.m.–Panel–The Joy(s) of Teaching Speculative […]
Continue reading →Me and the media…
…so to speak! I’m happy to announce that thanks to the work of my friend and talented webmaster Kevin Grinberg, I now have a Media section on my website (both Author and Academic sides of it, actually), where you can find interviews, readings and even video clips of panel appearances I’ve done. Feel free to […]
Continue reading →International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts 2010
Hard to believe this is my third go-round at the ICFA, but time flies when you’re having fun (and I always do at this conference). My specific reading time is 4-5:30 p.m., along with Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Geoffrey A. Landis and Nick Mamatas, who’s got some serious credentials too…please stop by and check […]
Continue reading →Destinies Radio Interview–March 5, 2010
This was my first interview with Dr. Howard Margolin at WUSB, who has been running Destinies, the science fiction and fantasy show,for over twenty-five years–and though he may not have Jim Freund’s author list, he makes up for it with an incredible group of luminaries from all portions of the fantasy and science fiction spectrum (artists, actors, directors, musicians, authors and others). He’s also exceedingly well prepared, and asked a series of thoughtful and unusual questions I hadn’t fielded before. And since the DJ after him never showed up for his show, we ended up turning a planned half hour interview into a ninety minute long epic, which means I was able to talk about/promote just about every aspect of my professional life–an unexpected and very cool thing. (Plus he did it with the soundtrack of LADYHAWKE in the background–how cool is that?)
