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ConCarlolinas Was a Blast!
June 4, 2008
Last weekend, I attended ConCarolinas for the first time as a guest author. What a great weekend! To kick things off early, Misty Massey (Mad Kestrel) and Faith Hunter (Host, Seraph) and I had a joint signing at a local bookstore. Misty, Faith and David B. Coe were all guests on my Ghost in the Machine podcast as a pre-ConCarolinas kick-off. They returned the favor by having me as a guest on their blog. You can listen to the interviews on my homepage, along with my newest June interview with Jeffrey Thomas (Deadstock).
Having done RavenCon, BaltiCon and ConCarolinas in a row, it was beginning to be like old home week. I saw many of the same authors at two out of the three events, and some at all three. Tony Ruggiero, Davey Bauchamp, Michael D’Ambrosio, David B. Coe, Stuart Jaffe, the PodioBooks crew and podcasters Mur Lafferty, Stephen Euin Cobb, and author Danielle Ackley-McPhail were just some of the folks I had the chance to hang out with on several of the weekends. You’ll recognize some of the other folks from the Ghost in the Machine podcast—Sabrina Luna, James Maxey, Ed Schubert and David Talon. I met John C. Wright at BaltiCon and RavenCon, and Mike Resnick at ConCarolinas. And Elaine Cordivae and I had to travel all the way from the outskirts of Charlotte, NC where we both live to Baltimore to reconnect!
The panels at ConCarolinas were a lot of fun—a good thing, since I was on nine of them! Some of the titles included Podcasting 101 and Vampires, and on Sunday, gamer Charles White and I ended up on two panels about using myth and religion in writing and gaming, and I was on a large panel about the paranormal along with several ghost hunters and psychics. And of course, there were the great costumes, the dealer room, and a fun con suite. Check out my interview with Stephen Euin Cobb on “The Future and You” podcast: http://www.thefutureandyou.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=346310
I was also reminded about one of the things I truly love about conventions—the enormous generosity and compassion of fandom. Author Lynn Hardy was soliciting books from all of the ConCarolinas authors for the project she founded called DedicatedToOurDefenders.org. Lynn’s program sends SciFi and fantasy books to the troops overseas—a good book can be read by up to 200 military personnel who often have few other ways to spend their free time. Davey Bauchamp had his “Writers for Relief” edition available—a compilation of short fiction from a variety of well-known authors to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Fandom has always had a big heart. I am also so moved by the compassion in action I see at every con in terms of inclusiveness and creating a space where everyone can be valued for his or her contributions. Con volunteers—and especially the dedicated folks who run the con suite—are a rare and wonderful breed. For many people, fandom is a family. That’s true magic.
Want to see more of ConCarolinas? Take a look at my day-by-day videoblog--Day 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3x5_-UICLU ; Day 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp1YAuymN1E ; and Day 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExD281qlU9A
Coming up next! June 21 is the sneak peek for Dark Haven. Two excerpts, web audio readings, a special videoblog, interviews with me (and with Tris and Jonmarc) and best of all—a first look at the amazing cover art by Michael Komarck. Giveaways, my latest interview on DragonPage radio and other good stuff will be spread out over a number of SF/F web sites, so check back here to get all the details. And on June 30, fantasy author Mark Chadbourn (Lord of Silence) is my next Ghost in the Machine guest.
I’m also now on Facebook and Squidoo (www.squidoo.com/summoner), so be sure to friend me.
Next up—making final edits to Dark Haven so that I can start writing book 4!
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