BayCon, trailers and a free e-book

BayCon was last weekend in Santa Clara (read San Jose), CA. It had some competition this year in the form of two more local conventions of a similar nature, which definitely had an impact on attendance. I've never seen the dealers room so small, either.

The panels, though long (90 mins. a piece!), were great. I moderated two on Friday and sat on two more on Sunday. I brought my fiancé, Kevin, this year. He's by far a mundane, but this was his first convention. We went easy on him. ;) We both had loads of fun with my con friends old and new alike. The dance on Saturday night was uber lame, but I guess if you're 20-something and LIKE to jump up and down and flap your arms to techno, it was passable. I couldn't tell you as I couldn't stand hangin' in for more than two songs. I gave the masquerade a miss as well, opting instead to go off the reservation for dinner with buddies Bob Brown, Irene Radford, Jeff Lemkin, Dan Pietrasik (Yes, he won my flash contest, and no, it wasn't fixed. I wasn't the judge, remember?) and newbie writer Arley, who is astoundingly prolific and charming. Then we hung out in the lobby bar with Dani Kollin and a flock of new friends.

The parties, probably because of the aforementioned low attendance were also lame. We just cruised the party floor Friday and Saturday keeping our ears open for good conversation but finding none, alas.

I did meet Shahid of Phoenix Picks in the dealers room. Now he's not just some dude. Very nice man. I enjoyed chatting with him. Which brings us to his June picks. He also gave me the first two issues of the new mag, Galaxy's Edge edited by Mike Resnick. Mike's history of science fiction magazines at the beginning of the first issue is very entertaining. I'll review the mag in the next couple of weeks here.

Phoenix Pick's free e-book for June is L. Neil Smith's The Crystal Empire.
Use coupon code 9991642, which will be good from June 2nd-June 30.

About the book:
Earth is ruled by three mighty empires: The Saracen-Jewish Empire led by
the Caliph of Rome, the Mughal-Arab Empire, ferocious in its determination
to destroy its neighbor, and the great Sino-Aztec's Crystal Empire, led by
a living God.

Little is known about the Crystal Empire, which spans most of western
America. But it is the most powerful force surviving on Earth and its
might is unchallenged.

One man, however, will change that. Sedrich Sedrichsohn, a legendary
fallen fighter, has a chance at redemption and nothing will stand in his
way to reclaim his life and his purpose, even if he must fight the Sun-God
himself.

 The last episode of the first season of The Minister of Chance is here! Let me entice you with the following trailer.



I'd love to give you a review of the new Star Trek movie, but I was at BayCon all weekend and still haven't seen it. And, besides, you probably have. Instead, here's a trailer for a Will Smith (and son, Jaden) SF flick coming out this Friday.

BayCon 2010 with lots of pics

Baycon 2010 was a blast, although more tiring than usual. My back did great, but I sure pooped out fast. Friday, I popped in to get my badge and attend a couple of panels (I was staying with hubby in the city.) The first was "A pinch of improbability and a dash of implausibility," dealing mostly with the best and worse use of mcguffins. The second was on how YA differs from adult fiction. Wanda Kurtku sat on the YA (young adult) panel. She's a junior high school teacher and wrote the Star Trek Next Generation episode, "A Matter of Honor" (where Riker goes to the Klingon ship on an officer exchange program). Wanda and I had a nice chat in the green room on Saturday. She said she exposes her students to science fiction and fantasy books every chance she gets. I later emailed her a story that my husband said might do well as YA. It's been bopping around from one editor to the next. They all like it, but won't buy it for their mag. We'll see what Wanda's students think. Meantime, it's off to the next mag on my list.

My panel on Saturday was "Writing Workshops: Hit or Miss". We explored the benefits and pitfalls of various forms of writers workshops, MFAs and critique groups. Attendees were hastily jotting things down in their notebooks. That's a good sign. :)

And here we are left to right: Morgan Hua, Jay Ridler, me, Jon Cory.

(photo taken by Jeff Lemkin)

My husband, Patrick, and I had lunch with Jeff Lemkin and Mary Holland off-site at a noodle joint. And then dinner later with Cindy Pavlinac and her husband Marty Gregory. I met Jeff and Mary in the flesh for the first time that morning. Jeff and I found each other on someone else's facebook wall and Mary is a fellow Broad Universe member who was game for the BU RFR that wasn't. Cindy's a fellow CWC (California Writers Club) member and long-time friend. I'm sure she'll have more pics for me to share eventually.

Sneaky hubby Sunday morning.



Sunday, I led a panel on self-promotion for authors. Hubby took this one. Left to right are: Tony Todaro, Scott Sigler, me, A Kovacs, Emerian Rich.



The Dr. Who panel was loads of fun. It's always well-attended. And this year, I could actually participate since it focused mostly on the current Doctor and the latest incarnation of the show on BBC America. (rest of photos by Patrick Wilkes) L to R are Tim Crowley, Sandy Saidak, me, Bryan Little, Mette Hedin and Tadao Tomomatsu (standing).


If talking about Dr. Who wasn't enough to entertain everyone, about halfway through, a security guard comes in and whispers in Tadao's ear. Then Tadao turned to the panelists, microphone in hand, looking like he had some really bad or at least awkward news. Apparently, the water he gave all of the panelists was tainted. He poisoned the panel! Here's Bryan Little drinking the WATER!


Tadao collected half-empty glasses from a few of us and shook his head still more apologetically at those who had had their fill. We soldiered on in spite of the fact we might be running to the nearest restroom or becoming mostly dead any moment. Then some guy hits Tadao over the head with a rolled up program and tells him he's just been punked.

I think this is when I told them what I love about the Doctor and what makes him endearing and enduring. I illustrated his sense of wonder by telling the audience, "Just look at you! You're brilliant!"



Mette Hedin and Bryan Little attended in all their Oodness.


I horned in on a panel on Monday on SF Homemaking because I had just composed a list of things that would be great in my smart house for use in a future story or novel. In retrospect, I should have copyrighted my intellectual property first. ;) My favorite is my invisible repeller mat. You put it on your coffee table or dining room table and only things that have been added to the white list will stay there. Everything else that the household's clutterers try to put their will bounce right off. Is that way cool, or what?

Don't chuck your muck in my dustbin, my dustbin's full...

Still haven't been to a SF convention? You're missing out! Now I'm off to code my interview with Nnedi Okorafor, author of Who Fears Death. That's an interview you won't want to miss. The review and interview will post on Thursday. See you then!


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Sci-fi vids to make your Friday brighter

I'm making preparations for BayCon. I have my Indiana Jones hat, which I'll catch heck for not wearing. And my steampunk goggles. But where do I get a Dr. Who mile-long scarf? I'm still undecided about the new Doctor and am watching his first episodes a second time, since I'm on a Dr. Who panel again.

For your viewing and listening pleasure, Dr. Who clips set to Rocky Horror Show's Double Feature song.



I loved this video. Of course Dr. Who would have plenty of appropriate clips for this. I think it's the longest, continuously running science fiction show ever.

Here's two of my favorites - Queen and Dr. Who!



While I'm sharing videos, here's a sneak peek at the new Predators movie coming in July.


You have to wait till December for this movie. Remember TRON? I think I'll have to watch that again. I only vaguely remember it now.



And here's an oldie, but a goodie: Star Trek Meets Monty Python.



That's all folks. It's so way past my bedtime. zzzzzzz



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BayCon 2009 report part two

So, here's a recap on my panels.

On Friday I sat on the Stop Killing My Childhood panel. And pretty much just sat... That's what happens when you're the only girl on a five member panel. They talked about comics and cartoons while I listened. Although I did manage to point out that I preferred the remake of King Kong to the original. Why? Because of Kong's interest in her was because she did acrobatic tricks. She amused him. Far more believable -- if I can use that word about King Kong -- than him being attracted to Fay Ray because of her looks. Come on! Her arms were too short and she was far too hairless.

On Saturday, we had a lively discussion on the panel, Can You Hear Me Now, which was about social networking. Thanks Jennifer Brozek for representing the fairer sex with me. ;) She shared a rather disturbing yet interesting tale about being virtually stalked. And Jay Freeman had some doozies as well about Second Life. All in all a good, stimulating panel.

The next panel I was on was Editing a Manuscript. Wow! We could have gone on for hours. But I think we gave the forty or so attendees a lot to consider when they next take out their red pen.

The last one was Can Science and Magic combine in SF, or some such. The name was changed in the 11th hour. Anyhow, that was a rollercoaster ride. The panel had been named Metaphysics: Supernatural & Spirituality in SF. The moderator sort of went with both titles. You can imagine where that lead. You know that old saying that you shouldn't discuss politics or religion at the dinner table? There's a reason for that. Martin Young managed to reel things in, however, for an enlightening hour of friendly debate. That's Juliette Wade in the kimono and ElizaBeth Gilligan with Irene Radford.








Friday night was the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading. It was just me and Valerie Frankel again as all the other "Broads" were at WisCon.

I enjoyed getting to know some new writing friends and seeing some old ones.


Adrienne Gormley


Dani Kollin

And because I'm crazy for Dr. Who, this was my favorite costume. Recognize the episode? Look inside the helmet.



Sunday night, we went to the Tempest concert. It was ab fab. All the more so because it was a small venue and free with the price of the BayCon membership. They're impressive.







I got a great shirt in the dealers room. It has a scream painting on the front with this written over it: Stop me before I volunteer again! How appropriate.

BayCon 2009 report part one

BayCon was a blast. Hubby went with this time (as a con virgin). He had a wee bit of culture shock the first night, but he adjusted magnificently. He even took photos for them all weekend.

I had the opportunity to speak with some great writers, old friends and new friends. Photo highlights today. In depth report on Thursday with pics from the great panels I sat on, including one on editing. How can you cover editing in an hour?????


Here I am with Irene Radford, both of us blissfully ignorant of our reflective specs.


Here I am with Jennifer Brozek, this year's Toastmistress. She has a post-apocalyptic anthology. No, it's not coming out after the apocalypse. You can read the review and an interview with her by yours truly when it comes out in August.


This is Tony Todaro. I met him last year. We weren't on any panels together but did find time to chat.


Valerie Frankel, a fellow Broad Universe member. She read from one of her Henry Potty (Harry Potter parody) books for our Rapid Fire Reading on Friday night.


This is "RadCon Bob". He's the programming guy for RadCon in Pasco, WA. Irene tells me Radcon is the second largest sf con on the west coast. I'll be there next year. Bob already has me on the flier. :)

And here's a friend who couldn't make it, but who I managed to get a shot with at the CWC joint meeting in April. Meet Cindy Pavlinac, talented photographer and writer. Notice the hats.



People have come to recognize me by my hat. Sure, why not? I love my hat. It hides my witch hair. ;) So, now Irene decided she needed a signature hat. It's blue with a flower on the other side. Very nice.



I finally remembered about my blogger persona on Sunday. I was in author mode before that. This was the first con since I started doing regular interviews here. But I finally remembered and lined up some great authors for you.

And what a welcome home I received. I sold a reprint of one my stories today to Chaos Theory: Tales Askew. It should be published in a couple of weeks. Woo hoo!

I have a lot of reprints that I need to find homes for, but haven't made the time to shop them around. Wouldn't a nice anthology be nice? >sigh<

BayCon report

I had a blast at BayCon. I brought my buddy Judy, who loves conventions. My husband doesn't do Cons. My con journal follows. Bear in mind, I'm still sleep-deprived.

After only two hours of sleep...
Day 1: Betrayed by my eleven-minutes-slow watch, I made a late entrance to the first panel I was sitting on. I made the best of the History vs. Historical fiction panel, in spite of the fact that my histories are made up, being...well...of future humans or aliens. Walter Hunt and I exchanged cards. After discovering that Walter is a Douglas Adams fan, I gave him a copy of Awesome Lavratt.

Before heading back down stairs for a panel on “Is the Short Story Dead?”, I received an email that my story “The Heist” will be published in Every Day Fiction! ☺ I guess it’s not.

We hung out on the party floor for a while and I spoke with the BASFA (Bay Area Science Fiction Association) folks.

After six hours of sleep...
Day 2: I mentioned California Writers Club at the Sex, Lies and Publishing panel, which Tony Todaro (aka TN Todaro) was sitting on. He approached me afterward to talk about the CWC briefly and we exchanged cards. We spoke again at length the following morning in the dealer's room where I met his wife Lilly, an artist with a table and art in the gallery. I was also able to plug my SF Reviews List at that panel.

Tony introduced me to Tim Powers, who accepted a copy of my book, Awesome Lavratt, and handed it back to me with a pen for a signature! "This is so backward," I said to him. I spoke to Tim about The Anubis Gates (great book, btw!) and being on panels. I bought a copy of his book, Declare, before leaving the dealer's room. WWII espionage meets fantasy. It doesn’t get any better than that. I made sure to have him sign it on Monday.

I moderated the silly panel, My Dream Geek, and sat silently on the Evolution of Dr. Who panel. The latter ended up being the history of Dr. Who instead, and didn't get to the ones I've seen until it was time to vacate the room. The former was surprisingly well attended and very lively. See picture below.



The Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading I led that evening was, eventually, well attended. Valerie Frankel, author of Henry Potty and the Pet Rock: An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody, and I were both reading funny spec fic. I signed books after.

Back to the party floor.

After four hours of sleep...
Day 3:

I shared a panel with Deborah J. Ross, Tony Todaro, Maya Bohnhoff, ElizaBeth Gilligan, and Juliette Wade. (see picture below) Julia sold her first story recently. To Analog! It can be done. Find it in the July/August 2008 issue.


L to R= Tony Todaro, me, Deborah J. Ross (flash didn't cooperate)Everyone is excited about "firsts". I'm introducing them to my "first".


Did I mention how much I like to sign my book?


L to R= Tony Todaro, me, Deborah J. Ross, Juliette Wade, Maya Bohnhoff, ElizaBeth Gilligan. Notice the "firsts" smile on Juliette's face. :)

After a leisurely lunch on the terrace (the law of inertia, aided by the lack of sleep, prevented further activity for some time), we watched JPL watch the progress of the Phoenix landing in the ballroom on a big screen.

We went off campus for a nice dinner and then hung out in the room with my friend Cindy Pavlinac, who rode down with us to the convention. Then we danced every which way (the swim, even) to modern Trance? Techno? music in the ballroom. Next, we explored the warrens on the party floor where we found better music.

After two hours of sleep....

Day 4 (AKA Day of the Dead):

Everyone moved in slow-mo. We didn’t attend any panels. Hung out in the dealers room mostly and lunched on the terrace again. A fan from AZ found me at the closing ceremonies for an autograph. Will I ever get tired of that? I doubt it! Bless Serena’s heart, she carried a sign around her neck with the authors she was looking for for signatures and I was at the top. I’m glad she waited till the closing ceremonies to find me. Free advertising! ☺

BayCon, Towel Day and Novels to come

I received a tentative schedule for BayCon in Santa Clara. I'll be on 4 panels, reading and signing Awesome Lavratt and possibly organizing a Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading. It just occurred to me today that Towel Day will be during BayCon this year. I'll have to take another look at that schedule. Surely they haven't passed up the opportunity for a Towel Day celebration. Might have to organize an unofficial one, if that's the case. It can't go unremarked.

I've just sent off my story of sentient whale creatures to my online workshop for critiques. Meantime, I'm trying to put a mainstream novel to rights that I started years ago. Someone asked about it the other day and I need something to work on while I wait to send the rewritten story out. I don't want to work on my new novel until the story is sent off since they are both in the same universe covering most of the same events. Too confusing.

Anyhow, the mainstream novel is Blind Date Blues. It has a flaming co-dependent, sharp-tongued woman, a cowboy who doesn't know what to do with her and his buddy who is fond of death-defying feats and alcohol. Oh, and the woman's kid brother dies under suspicious circumstances and one of the three knows more than they're letting on...

I've also sent a number of short stories off to make the rounds again. I'm still waiting for that last mega-issue to go up at Nanobison. I'll keep you posted...

I've started a new regime. Maybe I'll actually stick to this one. I bet the successful writers are the ones that have found that thing, oh what is it?...ah yes...self-discipline. Meaning they can keep their butt in the chair typing away on their novels while ignoring the laundry, the email, the phone, etc. So I've blocked off two hours a day in which I will do NOTHING else. Wish me luck...

I'm going to be speaking at some high schools over the next couple of months. I'm hoping I can keep the students' attention and perhaps even inspire them. A friend of mind warned me about the continuation school. He was afraid they might eat me alive. I doubt it.

I see most of them when I'm out walking the dog. They hang out at the "420 bridge" over the creek behind my house. I've raised five teenagers. I've found that, generally speaking, they don't bite. I treat them all as though they were my kids' friends. I respect them and they respect me back. And they love our beagle.

However, one time, I turned the corner onto the creek path to find a teenage boy of fourteen or fifteen facing me while urinating on the path. He said, "Ahhh...sorry," and put "it" away.

What did I say? "You should be!" and "I don't even let my dog do that!" His friends just stood there. "You're friends put you up to it?" He could only look at his shoes. His friends were probably fighting laughter, though I didn't turn to look. But none of them said a word as I walked on by.

Not one of my more gracious moments. I guess my sense of humor was on the fritz just then.

What I'm Reading

Since Tim Powers is the Author guest of honor at BayCon in Santa Clara, CA, I thought I'd read some of his stuff. I have several titles on hold at the library and picked up a SFBC edition of The Anubis Gates at the library's used book store. It's got time travel, werewolves, Romany and evil clowns. Woohoo! And 100 pages in, I'm hooked.

Here's the preliminary BayCon guest list including yours truly.

I just finished reading Blackjack by Lee Singer. For the last third, I couldn't put it down. It's a post-apocalyptic tale of a torch singer/mercenary investigating a powerful family out to reunite some of the mini countries that are what's left of the US. Find out more and read the first chapter here.

BayCon 2008 and more

I'm on the guest list for BayCon 2008. BayCon is held in Santa Clara, CA over Memorial Day weekend.

My complete schedule of appearances (thus far) is up on my website. Four dates so far. The rest are in Sonoma County. Looking at possibilities in WA and OR.

Did anyone else notice the goof on Torchwood Saturday night? Toshiko dropped her purse on the pier, and it magically appeared back on her shoulder for her to drop it again.