ConTemporal 2014 quick recap

ConTemporal is a local steampunk convention.  The nice folks who run it were kind enough to invite me as a guest, so I did one panel Friday early evening and two more appearances on Saturday. 

Steampunk cons provide some of the best people-watching of any cons.  The costumes are wonderful and plentiful; though I didn't do a serious census, at a glance it felt as if as many people were wearing costumes as were not.  I enjoyed roaming the halls and checking out the dealers' room.

My first panel was at 5:00 p.m. Friday and was on what professional writers' organizations can do for you.  The con had been open for only a couple of hours when we started, so the audience was predictably miniscule, but the other two panelists and I chatted amiably with those few who came to see us. 

I sat Saturday for an hour at a table in the dealers' room, but as a writer who does not sell his own books, I had nothing on offer.  I did chat with a few friends who were wandering the room, so that was nice.

My final event was a panel on world-building, which drew a decent audience for a con of this size.  We talked about many aspects of this part of writing, and the audience seemed interested the entire time.

If you're really into steampunk and live in this area, check out ConTemporal next year.

Catch me this weekend at ConTemporal

ConTemporal is a local steampunk convention that was nice enough to invite me to be a guest even though I've never written any steampunk stories.  I like to support local conventions, so of course I agreed to go.  I'll be participating in three activities at the con, so if you're going, you could do worse than to check them out. 

Friday, June 27, 5:00 p.m., Oakwood room:  A panel, It's the Little Things

I'll be joining Suzanne Warr and JM Lee in an hour-long discussion of the benefits (and possibly the pitfalls) for writers of belonging to a professional organization.  As a life member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), I do have a few opinions on the topic.  I may also discuss hamsters, gardening, getting off the Pope's grass, and who knows what else; once you get me rolling, it's hard to stop me.

Saturday, June 28, 12:30 p.m.:  Meet the Guests

I have no idea what I'll be doing at this event, nor where the event is, so anything might happen.  I may bring a boombox, or perhaps a book to read, or maybe cookies for all.  You can't know unless you come by.

Saturday, June 28, 6:00 p.m., Sandalwood room:  Worldbuilding 101

Starting only with a thimbleful of dark matter, my fellow panelists--Allen Wold, Todd Stewart, Tanith Tyr, Win Strock--and I will proceed to build new universes before your very eyes.  Will these miraculous creations result in rainbow unicorns--or in the reinvention of the platypus, a cruel joke of a creature if ever there was one?  Again, you cannot learn the answer unless you come to the panel.

Disclaimer:  I mean no offense to any rainbow unicorns or platypuses, living, dead, or imaginary. 

If you do attend any of these events, feel free to come up and say hi.

I hope to see you at the con!

ConTemporal, day 3

When I attend a convention, I almost always stay at the con hotel, so I'm finding it a bit odd to commute to this con.  That said, getting to work in my own office and sleep in my own bed is nice.  The distance, though, meant that after too few hours of sleep I had to get up in the nines--never a good thing on a Saturday--work, shower, and then drive to the con.

Well, not so much to the con as by the con and on to the Owens 501 Diner for late breakfast/early lunch.  I normally prefer to eat much later, but I was booked for five straight hours starting at noon, so it was either an early lunch or no lunch at all. 

After lunch, Laura Haywood-Cory, Jennie Faries, David Drake, and I presented the Baen Traveling Roadshow, a slide show and presentation in which we discuss upcoming and recent books, show their original cover art and ultimate covers, and give away lots of swag.  The session was smaller than it is at most conventions, but the audience was great, and we all had a good time.

I went straight from it to a panel on subplots.  Sam Montgomery-Blinn, editor of Bull Spec, moderated the discussion among Tonia Brown, JM Lee, and me.  I've mentioned Sam before and had already done a panel with Tonia, but I met JM for the first time here.  She's a fifteen-year-old writer who's working on her third novel; she and her dad, who acts as her manager, self-published her first two.  Sam kept us moving along as we covered everything from how to weave in subplots to how to know you have too many.  I'm not sure how helpful our answers were, but we certainly all gave it our best.

Next up for me was a panel on finances for writers.  JoSelle Vanerhooft moderated this one. She, JM Lee, JM's dad, and I dispensed advice for writers and answered questions.  My experience is that relatively few writers handle their finances well, but I'm hopeful that more and more will learn how to do so.

I then did a book signing, after which it was work time.

Dave was on an 8:00 panel on pirates, a topic about which he knows a great deal.  I enjoyed that session, and then I bid goodbye to the con, because I won't be back Sunday due to other plans.

I must commend the ConTemporal team; they did a great job for a first-time convention. 

Dinner tonight was a delicious birthday celebration with tasty Italian food from Chapel Hill's Il Palio. I'd write more, but I'm exhausted and still have work to do, so I must turn to it.

ConTemporal, day 2

Going to a local SF convention on a work day is an odd thing indeed.  I got up early after very little sleep so I could work, exercise, and have lunch.  I did a long work phone meeting in the car on the way to con. 

My first event at the con itself was a reading.  One person I didn't know showed up, as did three friends.  I read the first two chapters of No Going Back and answered questions from the person I didn't know. 

On the way out of the panel, I ran into Sam Montgomery-Blinn, editor of the SF magazine Bull Spec and general advocate of and for the local SF scene.  I foolishly posed wearing his odd metal Bull Spec glasses. 

I have never looked more like a fat, demented, freakishly short-armed dwarf than in this photo.  Wow. 

I spent the next couple of hours working in a friend's room, time that helped me catch up a bit, and then I was on back-to-back panels.  The first addressed the author/editor relationship, while the second covered revising to make a sale.  Both audiences were very small--only four people I did not know--but my fellow panelists and I did our best to be entertaining and answer all questions. 

The rest of the evening went to dinner and work, as one might expect.

Tomorrow, I hope to get to see a bit more of the con, though I also have four straight hours of panels. 

ConTemporal, day 1

The con kicked off today with a Guest of Honor banquet, which a group of us attended.  Most of the food was exactly what you'd expect--hotel banquet chicken--but the rice was reasonably fluffy and tasty, and the cheesecake wasn't bad. 

The conversation and fun at our table, however, more than made up for the food.  We got to chat for a few hours with local author John Claude Bemis, who proved to be a fine fellow and whom I look forward to getting to know better.  We also enjoyed a brief visit from the con's Toastmistress, Lee Martindale. I thought some sort of presentation would follow the meal, but after half an hour of sitting about, we gave up and headed home, where work into the wee hours awaited me.

Tomorrow, I will take part in three events in which I will give a reading (if anyone shows up), talk about the author/editor relationship, and discuss how to revise to make a sale.  If you're in the area, I hope to see you there!

Where I'll be this weekend

The Triangle area plays host to a new SF convention this weekend, and I'll be a guest there. ConTemporal portrays itself as primarily a steampunk con, but some non-steampunk writers, including David Drake and me, will also be there.

They're keeping me pretty busy, as you can see from the list of events on my Appearances page.  One event we forgot to put there is the Guest of Honor banquet Thursday night at 6:00, which looks to be gathering an interesting group of folks.  In addition to being on a bunch of panels, I'll be reading something Friday afternoon.  If you're there, you can help me decide what to read.  It might be sections of No Going Back, but it could also be a mainstream story I've never read at a con, or something else entirely; you never know. 

If you're in the area, drop by the con, have a good time, and find me at one of my events and say, "hi!"