|
|
|
Join our mailing list>
Balticon and the Hawthorn Moon
May 26, 2009
If it’s Memorial Day weekend, it’s time for Balticon, the con run by the Baltimore Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. Balticon is a larger con, and is exceptionally well run. This was my second year as a guest and once again I enjoyed it immensely.
On Friday, I was on a panel called “I Shot the Sheriff on the First Page” all about how to write a first page or first chapter that hooks the reader. My fellow panelists were Mark L. Van Name, Joshua Palmatier, Elaine Stiles and Jeri Smith-Ready. Later that night, the next panel for me was “Turning the Archetypes of SF Upside Down” and fellow panelists were Carl Cipra, Grig Larson, Elaine Corvidae and Bernie Mojzes. I had a great time getting caught up with Jean Marie Ward, Mur Lafferty, Chuck Gannon, Bud Sparhawk and Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit as the evening wore on. Also enjoyed shooting the breeze with web comic creator Bryan Prindiville, plus Nathan Lilly and Jagi Lamplighter. Of course the highlight of Friday was the Steampunk Ball—lots of amazing outfits. You can see Jean Marie’s costume on the video!
On Saturday, a panel called “Did We Win” looked at whether the recent popularity of sci fi and fantasy in paranormal romance, and on TV and movies has countered the genre’s outsider status. My fellow panelists were Steve Stiles, Rober4t Chase, Mary Jo Putney and Don Sakers. Later on, I was part of Broad Universe’s Rapid Fire Reading with fellow Broads Jean Marie Ward, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Kelly Harmon, Trisha Woodridge, Roberta Rogow and Roxanne Bland. Then in the dealer’s room, lots of great conversation including CJ Henderson, Tee Morris, Patrick Thomas, Tony Ruggierio, and more.
Balticon had a vibrant nightlife, from the Masquerade to live music and filking to the ever-present parties. This year, in addition to CapClave, other groups hosting get-togethers included RavenCon, NSFIC, PhilCon, a group of folks from Aberdeen making a joking challenge for NSFIC, and no doubt others. There’s also the video and anime rooms which ran some great classics—there is never enough time to see everything at a con! And of course the art show, which is also a favorite. One of the cool things with Balticon is that the con suite is open 24/7, making a great place for people to congregate, and this particular hotel gives us a big room with a 1950’s diner motif. That’s where Lawrence Schoen did his book launch party for “Buffalito Destiny” on Saturday night. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the other launches on Sunday that I wanted to attend: Mike McPhail’s “And So It Begins,” Christiana Ellis’s “Nina Kimberly the Merciless” and JC Hutchin’s “Personal Effects: Dark Art.”
Anyhow, you can watch the two videos here:
Day One-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmtQn_IuCI
Day Two-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz--XeHHGHE
In other news….Andy Remic (War Machine, Bio Hell) asked me to join his new Science Fiction and Fantasy Ethics group….it’s an attempt to lighten the pervasive gloom of recent sci fi/fantasy and to encourage folks to chill out a bit and urge a return to a civil tone as we all interact with each other despite differences in our favorite types of stories. Here’s what Andy has to say for the mission: “Our mission is to celebrate everything positive, funky and exciting in the Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror Universe! The SFFE is a core platform, a hub of authors who have banded together with the aim of celebrating all that is positive in genre fiction. We aim to leave cynicism and negativity at the door, and concentrate on what makes us smile, what entertains us, and what brings light and joy to our SF, fantasy and horror universe. That's not to say there is no place for criticism--- there's plenty bad in the world. However, this little digital corner is a place for positive progression, somewhere you will (hopefully) come if you want to smile.”
And mark your calendars for June 21—the Hawthorn Moon Event 2009 is coming up! I will have an update in the next week regarding who my blog and web partners will be this week, but we will have all-new excerpts, interviews, audio and more from Dark Lady’s Chosen, which will be released in January of 2010. Starting in early June, we will be attempting to Twitter the first chapter of Dark Lady’s Chosen before it is posted to my site, so please follow me at GailZMartin for this grand experiment.
Next weekend is ConCarolina here in Charlotte, and then I get to take a break. I’ve finished up the edits on Dark Lady’s Chosen, and I’ve written the outline for the next two books (plus ideas for more). I’m also finishing up the manuscript for a new book on book marketing that is slated to come out in the Fall, so more on that later.
Please check out www.GhostInTheMachinePodcast.com for my newest interviews—Kevin J. Anderson talks about his new “The Edge of the World” novel plus his CD of original music to accompany the book, plus interviews with Jean Marie Ward (With Nine You Get Vanyr) and KL Nappier (Full Wolf Moon).
I was also recently a guest at the Carolinas Writers’ Conference in Wadesboro. This was the first time for the event, and it went great. Robert Inman was the Guest of Honor, and his keynote address was as down-home and character-driven as his books. We had authors from a wide spectrum of genres and future writers with interests just as broad, so it was an interesting change from the genre-specific events I usually attend.
I was there to do a panel on Worldbuilding in Fiction, and it was a bit of a change to adapt it for an audience that wasn’t just thinking about fantasy or SF. Ran into Lena Claxon and Nancy Knight, and met Jim and Joyce Lavene as well. Had a blast and hope to be back next year. Here’s the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PguedqN9p5k
I’ve just been interviewed on Geekerati, SciFi Talks, XZone and Dragonpage radio, with an interview on Haunted Voices soon to be posted at http://www.hvrn.com
You can find the rest online at:
http://www.blubrry.com/geekarati/176573/gail-z-martin-discusses-the-blood-king-and-the-summoner-m/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ewenprime/2008/02/20/Todays-Author-hosted-by-David-K-Ewen-MEd.mp3?localembed=download
http://www.dragonpage.com/2009/04/28/cover-to-cover-358a/
http://scifitalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=319695
http://todaysauthor.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=235565
Thank you to everyone who has emailed me or posted a comment/tweet on my various sites about the books. I really appreciate it, especially when readers post to their favorite online booksellers or forums to help introduce others to the world of the Winter Kingdoms. See you online or in person soon!
|
|
