There's nothing like the buddy system. I just joined a critique group again after almost 2 years away. It's helping me to prioritize my time better with regard to my writing. That's a very good thing. I'm actually finding time to write spec-fic again. Woo hoo! I'm currently cutting a 5100 word story down to 4K for my next target market. Only 350 words left to chop. ;)
I also joined a local MeetUp for Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fans. As the Mystery Science Fictionator, how could I resist?
I finished In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato and will be reviewing it at Mostly Fiction soon. I'm still chewing on it. That's a good sign. ;)
I receive a number of emails about new issues of magazines coming out. Just in case you're not on the same lists that I am, SF Crowsnest and Ideomancer have shiny new December issues available.
And these publishers are having holiday sales:
Five Senses Press
Mundania Press
Phaze Books
Awe-Struck Publishing
(For the last three, enter the code SANTA when you check out and receive 20% off your entire order.)
Looking for spec-fic books for yourself or for gifts? Try starting with the Beyond Reality shelf at Mostly Fiction. You can read reviews (many by yours truly) and click through to Amazon (which helps support the site) to purchase.
On my TBR shelf is Jack Skillingstead's collection, Are You There and Other Stories? Here's an interview with Jack at Locus. I became a fan after reading his stories in Asimov's. I'll have to hit him up for an interview here. He gave me a blurb for Awesome Lavratt.
71 more days till RadCon in Pasco, WA! I think I attend as many cons in the Pacific Northwest as I do right here in the SF Bay Area. It's great to see my PNW buddies.
vote it up!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Brenda Cooper - writer, futurist, speaker
I first met Brenda at OryCon last year where she received the Endeavor Award for her novel, The Silver Ship and the Sea, the first volume in a series. She just launched the third in the series on November 10th entitled Wings of Creation. The second volume is Reading the Wind. Brenda has also published numerous short stories which have appeared in major science fiction magazines and a number of anthologies. In addition to her own series, she co-wrote Building Harlequin's Moon with Larry Niven, whom she also collaborated with on some of her short fiction.
In addition to writing science fiction, Brenda is a technology professional currently working as Chief Information Officer for the City of Kirkland, WA., a futurist and board member on the futurist board for the Lifeboat Foundation, and a public speaker.
But this busy lady still had time to drop by SFOO for a chat. (photo by Joe Merkens)
AW: When and how did you first become fascinated with the future?
BC: My father is a rocket scientist – literally. He worked at Douglas Aircraft during the Apollo program, and that got me interested in science and rockets. I’ve always been interested in how the world works, and that led to wanting to understand how we would use science in the future. Then in the mid-90’s, I met the professional futurist Glen Hiemstra, and he has been a bit of a mentor for me on this. He has a site up at www.futurist.com with some interesting articles and a great blog if anyone wants to check it out.
AW: What advice can you give to a new writer about producing three-dimensional, complex characters?
BC: Watch people, listen to them. When I get stuck and wonder what a character might do in a situation, I often write a first-person journal entry from their point of view. I don’t keep lists of character traits, but I do imagine my characters in different situations and sometimes I talk like them when I’m writing.
AW: How did your collaborations with Larry Niven come about?
BC: Steven Barnes, who has also collaborated with Larry, has been a strong influence in my life since the 80’s when I met him in California. I met Larry when he came up to work with Steve on Saturn's Race, and had various opportunities to talk with him at other conventions. Eventually I showed him a story and he knew how to fix it. That became “Ice and Mirrors” which was our first published collaboration. Most of our work was in email and from a distance, and a lot of our early email exchanges were captured in the book Scatterbrain. I was truly lucky to have that opportunity.
AW: How do you find the time to write while still holding down a full time job?
BC: Well, I only write about an hour a day most of the time. Sometimes I get whole days or whole weekends, but most of the time an hour is all there is. But that’s two to four pages, and two to four pages a day adds up. I always have my computer with me, and a journal, and usually some pages I can edit, so if any time does show up, I can use it. Lunches, the hour before work, an hour in a coffee shop on the way home (Yes, it’s a cliché, but it works). I don’t let myself sleep until I’ve written at least 500 words a day, which is 2 pages. Most days I do more.
AW: Can you tell us about your involvement with the Lifeboat Foundation?
BC: The Lifeboat foundation is essentially a large group of people gathered from science, science fiction, politics, futuring, and other disciplines that is hoping to stave off the kind of event that might lead to the current movie “The Road.” So the group looks at everything from asteroids to climate change to disease. My part is much smaller than I’d like it to be – primarily because of my time. So mostly I read lists and sometimes comment, but I would like to do more.
AW: I noticed some of your works now have a Kindle version. Do you own a Kindle and find it helpful?
BC: I love my Kindle. I don’t buy everything on it yet, but I like the portability and the idea that I can hear about a book and be reading it five minutes later. It’s very easy to read on, and disappears in my hand the way a book does.
I belong to a reading group (not writers – just readers) and they try to make sure all of the books they choose are on the Kindle. I think the transition to ebooks is happening pretty fast, faster even than the move to digital music (I can’t remember the last time I bought a CD). I still love the physical form of a traditional book, especially a really pretty one. I just got Leviathan and practically swooned over the cover. So I love my Kindle, but I don’t like the idea that we will eventually lose physical books.
AW: Where do you think we're headed with information and media storage?
BC: It’s all going to be on the net, and we’ll make our own backups on our devices, but the net will be the primary. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook – hard to tell where. Maybe a blend. But we want information to be always available and that’s the place to achieve that.
AW: Is there a dark side to this glut of information at our fingertips?
BC: Yes. That’s a very insightful question, by the way. There are so many inflows of information in my life, that it’s hard to decide where to put my focus. Personally, I find it really seductive to skim along the intertubes and not really think about a problem. I’m easily distracted between Twitter and Facebook and my iPhone and the internet and and and … and so I sometimes don’t focus enough on the hard problems. This scales from me the individual to the society at large. Right now we have a lot of opportunity, but we have problems like climate change and population and nuclear weapons and the pending clean water shortage that take actual focused thinking. They are enriched by the available information, but I feel like we’re an ADD [attention deficit disorder] society right now, and sometimes I’m not sure we’ll find the focused thinking to solve these foundational issues. That’s really scary.
AW: What are you working on now?
BC: I’m having great fun with a new book series based loosely on the life of Eva Peron. I have a strong female character in a generation ship in the far future, and I’m using that closed-loop environment to play with the idea that one person can be so influential, and also so grey. Eva did great things for Argentina, and she also made awful choices. So I’ve created a society with that kind of class divide, a working class, and a certain ripeness for change. This is different than my other series, which is squarely all-ages adventure science fiction, since I’m working with more adult neurosis and politics and sexuality. It feels like a really big and slightly scary project.
Also, I’m gearing up to work on marketing a new book that will be coming out in about a year. If you remember, when I saw you at World Fantasy, I said that I might have some news. I do. Sean Wallace from Prime Books purchased Mayan December. This is a Mayan 2012 book, but very different from the movie that’s out now. The Yucatan Peninsula is one of my favorite places, and I’ve actually set a number of stories there (including one available now in Steampunk Tales #2). I created an adventure in the Yucatan across two timelines, and mixed it up with a little science, a little magic, a little legend, and a lot of research. I’m really excited that Sean liked the book, and so I’m trying to decide how to gear up to tell people about it and help them see it’s different than the apocalyptic 2012 books and movies I’ve seen out so far.
Learn more about Brenda and her works at www.brenda-cooper.com.
vote it up!
In addition to writing science fiction, Brenda is a technology professional currently working as Chief Information Officer for the City of Kirkland, WA., a futurist and board member on the futurist board for the Lifeboat Foundation, and a public speaker.
But this busy lady still had time to drop by SFOO for a chat. (photo by Joe Merkens)
AW: When and how did you first become fascinated with the future?
BC: My father is a rocket scientist – literally. He worked at Douglas Aircraft during the Apollo program, and that got me interested in science and rockets. I’ve always been interested in how the world works, and that led to wanting to understand how we would use science in the future. Then in the mid-90’s, I met the professional futurist Glen Hiemstra, and he has been a bit of a mentor for me on this. He has a site up at www.futurist.com with some interesting articles and a great blog if anyone wants to check it out.
AW: What advice can you give to a new writer about producing three-dimensional, complex characters?
BC: Watch people, listen to them. When I get stuck and wonder what a character might do in a situation, I often write a first-person journal entry from their point of view. I don’t keep lists of character traits, but I do imagine my characters in different situations and sometimes I talk like them when I’m writing.
AW: How did your collaborations with Larry Niven come about?
BC: Steven Barnes, who has also collaborated with Larry, has been a strong influence in my life since the 80’s when I met him in California. I met Larry when he came up to work with Steve on Saturn's Race, and had various opportunities to talk with him at other conventions. Eventually I showed him a story and he knew how to fix it. That became “Ice and Mirrors” which was our first published collaboration. Most of our work was in email and from a distance, and a lot of our early email exchanges were captured in the book Scatterbrain. I was truly lucky to have that opportunity.
AW: How do you find the time to write while still holding down a full time job?
BC: Well, I only write about an hour a day most of the time. Sometimes I get whole days or whole weekends, but most of the time an hour is all there is. But that’s two to four pages, and two to four pages a day adds up. I always have my computer with me, and a journal, and usually some pages I can edit, so if any time does show up, I can use it. Lunches, the hour before work, an hour in a coffee shop on the way home (Yes, it’s a cliché, but it works). I don’t let myself sleep until I’ve written at least 500 words a day, which is 2 pages. Most days I do more.
AW: Can you tell us about your involvement with the Lifeboat Foundation?
BC: The Lifeboat foundation is essentially a large group of people gathered from science, science fiction, politics, futuring, and other disciplines that is hoping to stave off the kind of event that might lead to the current movie “The Road.” So the group looks at everything from asteroids to climate change to disease. My part is much smaller than I’d like it to be – primarily because of my time. So mostly I read lists and sometimes comment, but I would like to do more.
AW: I noticed some of your works now have a Kindle version. Do you own a Kindle and find it helpful?
BC: I love my Kindle. I don’t buy everything on it yet, but I like the portability and the idea that I can hear about a book and be reading it five minutes later. It’s very easy to read on, and disappears in my hand the way a book does.
I belong to a reading group (not writers – just readers) and they try to make sure all of the books they choose are on the Kindle. I think the transition to ebooks is happening pretty fast, faster even than the move to digital music (I can’t remember the last time I bought a CD). I still love the physical form of a traditional book, especially a really pretty one. I just got Leviathan and practically swooned over the cover. So I love my Kindle, but I don’t like the idea that we will eventually lose physical books.
AW: Where do you think we're headed with information and media storage?
BC: It’s all going to be on the net, and we’ll make our own backups on our devices, but the net will be the primary. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook – hard to tell where. Maybe a blend. But we want information to be always available and that’s the place to achieve that.
AW: Is there a dark side to this glut of information at our fingertips?
BC: Yes. That’s a very insightful question, by the way. There are so many inflows of information in my life, that it’s hard to decide where to put my focus. Personally, I find it really seductive to skim along the intertubes and not really think about a problem. I’m easily distracted between Twitter and Facebook and my iPhone and the internet and and and … and so I sometimes don’t focus enough on the hard problems. This scales from me the individual to the society at large. Right now we have a lot of opportunity, but we have problems like climate change and population and nuclear weapons and the pending clean water shortage that take actual focused thinking. They are enriched by the available information, but I feel like we’re an ADD [attention deficit disorder] society right now, and sometimes I’m not sure we’ll find the focused thinking to solve these foundational issues. That’s really scary.
AW: What are you working on now?
BC: I’m having great fun with a new book series based loosely on the life of Eva Peron. I have a strong female character in a generation ship in the far future, and I’m using that closed-loop environment to play with the idea that one person can be so influential, and also so grey. Eva did great things for Argentina, and she also made awful choices. So I’ve created a society with that kind of class divide, a working class, and a certain ripeness for change. This is different than my other series, which is squarely all-ages adventure science fiction, since I’m working with more adult neurosis and politics and sexuality. It feels like a really big and slightly scary project.
Also, I’m gearing up to work on marketing a new book that will be coming out in about a year. If you remember, when I saw you at World Fantasy, I said that I might have some news. I do. Sean Wallace from Prime Books purchased Mayan December. This is a Mayan 2012 book, but very different from the movie that’s out now. The Yucatan Peninsula is one of my favorite places, and I’ve actually set a number of stories there (including one available now in Steampunk Tales #2). I created an adventure in the Yucatan across two timelines, and mixed it up with a little science, a little magic, a little legend, and a lot of research. I’m really excited that Sean liked the book, and so I’m trying to decide how to gear up to tell people about it and help them see it’s different than the apocalyptic 2012 books and movies I’ve seen out so far.
Learn more about Brenda and her works at www.brenda-cooper.com.
vote it up!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving grab bag
Calling all Jericho fans! Jericho, the comic is now available. If you're local, go to the Comic Book Box to get yours. Tell Kathy I sent you. :)
I just joined the SF Browncoats. If you don't know what a Browncoat is you're seriously Firefly deprived. Better fix that pronto!
Had a great time at the last Redwood Writers' Odd Month Reading right here in Rohnert Park. Here I am reading from Awesome Lavratt. I also emceed the event and managed to actually introduce myself this time. I keep forgetting to do that. I'll introduce the club and forget to give my own name. Doh! Anyway, I think I've broken that cycle.
Next author interview is with award-winning author, Brenda Cooper.
I'm almost done with In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato. I'm enjoying it, but I have to admit that these big 700-page books make me wonder if e-readers might not be a bad idea after all. They're hard to hold up when you're horizontal.
This isn't SF, but an excellent book I recommend, especially for women. I read it over my last vacation and it really touched me. It's Anna In-Between by Elizabeth Nunez. You can read the review and interview I wrote last month over at Mostly Fiction.
Now that I'm off-topic ... I discovered Rodrigo Y Gabriella on Friday. Wow! They play acoustic guitar and provide their own percussion with the guitars. Their fingers fly! Here's a clip from the Letterman show a few years ago. Their latest CD is 11:11, and it's amazing.
Now to start those pies. They won't bake themselves. Here's wishing everyone a wonderful holiday. I'm thankful to God for my family, friends, and freedom. Oh, and the food. The four Fs.
vote it up!
I just joined the SF Browncoats. If you don't know what a Browncoat is you're seriously Firefly deprived. Better fix that pronto!
Had a great time at the last Redwood Writers' Odd Month Reading right here in Rohnert Park. Here I am reading from Awesome Lavratt. I also emceed the event and managed to actually introduce myself this time. I keep forgetting to do that. I'll introduce the club and forget to give my own name. Doh! Anyway, I think I've broken that cycle.
Next author interview is with award-winning author, Brenda Cooper.
I'm almost done with In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato. I'm enjoying it, but I have to admit that these big 700-page books make me wonder if e-readers might not be a bad idea after all. They're hard to hold up when you're horizontal.
This isn't SF, but an excellent book I recommend, especially for women. I read it over my last vacation and it really touched me. It's Anna In-Between by Elizabeth Nunez. You can read the review and interview I wrote last month over at Mostly Fiction.
Now that I'm off-topic ... I discovered Rodrigo Y Gabriella on Friday. Wow! They play acoustic guitar and provide their own percussion with the guitars. Their fingers fly! Here's a clip from the Letterman show a few years ago. Their latest CD is 11:11, and it's amazing.
Now to start those pies. They won't bake themselves. Here's wishing everyone a wonderful holiday. I'm thankful to God for my family, friends, and freedom. Oh, and the food. The four Fs.
vote it up!
Friday, November 20, 2009
A conversation about SF/F conventions with M.H. Bonham
M.H. Bonham's new book, Howling Dead just came out on Halloween. It's in my TBR pile and will be reviewed eventually. Maggie's had 30 books published and seven of those are speculative fiction novels or anthologies. She's been everything from rocket scientist to animal behaviorist. When she's not sitting at her computer writing, editing or promoting, she's racing sled dogs or hiking in the Montana wilderness where she lives. And she's a ninja!
I met Maggie at a convention this year and we were instant friends. I thought it would be fun to have her share some tips about getting the most out of conventions. We considered collaborating on a full-on little SF convention survival guide, but alas, we're both too swamped for such an endeavor at the moment. This will have to do – for now. Who knows, maybe we'll surprise the world with a Con-going for Dummies book one day. ;)
AW: Do you have a special SF convention packing list?
MHB: I used to be pretty haphazard in packing until a friend at another convention told me how to pack for a writing convention (how much clothing, etc). I now know what I need to pack so I have set things I pack. I do about 8-10 cons a year so I have to have everything more or less down to what I need to bring. Basically, I'm there for three or four days. That requires two pairs of jeans, three or four shirts, socks, under things, etc. And my traveling clothes.
AW: What do you put in the suitcase for conventions that you don't for other trips?
MHB: Do I have other trips? (Add maniacal laughter here). I usually bring my costume (the Chi'lan warrior thing) and my con jacket (the red and gold one with the dragons). I drag books along much to the rampers' chagrins.
AW: Do make plans for networking while you're there?
MHB: Yes, but it's not formal.
AW: Do you google other panelists?
MHB: No, I'm too egotistical and too busy.
AW: Other Guests of Honor?
MHB: Half the time, I don't even know who the GOH is unless I know them, and even then, it's a crap shoot if I remember who it is before I get there. Are you sure you really want me to answer this? I sound unprepared, but I'm not. The reality is that I'm not there to run into a particular writer or play fan girl. I know certain people will be at a con and I know I'll have a chance to chat with them, but my number one job is to do my panels, meet with my fan base, and promote my books. If I don't do these things, then I shouldn't be there. This is just part of my job as a professional author.
AW: Do you read books by them? Bring them to get signed?
MHB: I sometimes read books by other authors at the con. Usually, I read them after I meet the person, but yes, there have been books I've read before I met the writer. But I usually won't read their books beforehand just because they're at a particular con. They've got to impress me personally, and then I'll buy their book at a con and read it. As for bringing books to get signed, that's nuts for me. See, I'm carrying my books and I'll buy books at the con, which means I'm going to break my arms lugging books around. So, no. Even if I have a book by an author, unless I buy it there, I don't bring them to get them signed.
AW: Do you make plans for visiting nearby attractions?
MHB: Usually not, but I have gone to the Space Needle and the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. I've had a fan take me to Pike Place Market too. That was cool.
AW: What about room sharing with convention friends?
MHB: Most of the time I don't, but lately I have to save on costs. I suggest if your readers want to do that, pick some folks you get along with, otherwise you will all go nuts.
AW: Does your husband join you?
MHB: Not out of town. He gets to take care of the pups. He enjoys the local con. I know he has a lot of fun there. He's met the folks around town, and he's taking a class on fencing. He also has a lot of fun going to panels.
MHB: If he did come with me out of town, he'd probably do the con, and we'd probably go see the local attractions.
AW: What about the green room?
MHB: I wish all cons had green rooms. Unfortunately, they don't, but I've dealt with it. It's nice to have a green room just to collapse in and decompress. Norwescon and Radcon have wonderful Green Rooms.
AW: Worst food?
MHB: I would say that the worst was when the green rooms weren't stocked or were under-stocked. Otherwise, I have had no bad experiences with food.
AW: Best food?
MHB: I'm holding out hope someone comes up with really awesome food in a green room. Probably Radcon is the best thus far.
AW: Do you pack energy bars just in case?
MHB: Energy bars are a must for travel in general. So, yeah, I have some 3 year old energy bars rummaging around my bag.
AW: Worst hotel experience?
MHB: The Freddie Krueger sheet episode. I was staying with some friends at a con. Naturally we got in the room at about 2 am. Being the mistrustful sort, I looked in the bed first. I found drops of blood on the sheets. My friends looked at their sheets after they got in bed and found tons of makeup on the sheets. So, we call to the front desk which was totally apathetic. We had to change our own sheets at 2 - 3 a.m. The whole story went around the con and it became known as the Freddie Krueger sheet episode. Yes, we did get a discount on the room at the end.
AW: Best hotel experience?
MHB: Any one I won't remember, because there were no issues!
AW: Do you bring a lap top and write during the convention?
MHB: I bring a laptop but the muse has yet to strike at a con. Usually, I'm using it to get online and feed my damn Hatchlings. (If you don't know what Hatchlings are, join facebook and accept an egg from me). I've known other authors who can sit and write at a con. Not me.
AW: Do you bring money for the dealer's room and art show?
MHB: I bring some money for the dealer's room. As for the art show, I have no idea how to bid and how the auction works so I stay away from that. Plus I don't want to try to bring a piece of art home.
AW: Do you bring costumes? Mending materials just in case?
MHB: Yes, I do bring a costume, but it's for promoting the book.
Mending materials? Ha! I didn't make my costume, so it's unlikely I could mend it.
AW: Do you dress for comfort or to impress?
MHB: Comfort. I can't impress anyone if I look uncomfortable.
AW: Books – do you sell them through the dealer's room, at the signing, both? How do you find out?
MHB: Depends. If my publisher is there, they sell them. I know vendors in the dealer's room at cons I go to, so I bring some copies just in case, but they usually have copies of my books. I'll bring a few books to the signing if the publisher isn't there.
AW: What's the best thing that's happened to you at a con?
MHB: I got to talk to a number of publishers who are interested in my work at World Fantasy.
AW: What was the worst thing that's happened to you at a con?
MHB: A bunch of my books got lost in the mail going to Worldcon. A missed opportunity. Oh well.
AW: Funniest con experience?
MHB: A friend of mine didn't get her badge in time because of glitches and ended up going through panels without it. That evening, we're sitting at a party and con security came up to us and demanded that she leave. I said "Don't you know who she is?" like I meant it. They apologized and scurried off.
AW: Luggage horror stories? How do you avoid them?
MHB: Two words: Carry on. Seriously. If you can't fit everything you need for a con in a carry on, something's wrong. Also consider shipping items via UPS, Fed-Ex or even the US Mail.
Read more about Maggie and Howling Dead, a techno-thriller "with a bite."
Excited about conventions now? Finding one near you is easy. The following websites have searchable databases of regional and world conventions. You might find there are more flavors of speculative fiction conventions than you realized.
Upcoming Cons
Containment Convention Finder
And here are the home pages for World Fantasy and Worldcon (SF).
vote it up!
I met Maggie at a convention this year and we were instant friends. I thought it would be fun to have her share some tips about getting the most out of conventions. We considered collaborating on a full-on little SF convention survival guide, but alas, we're both too swamped for such an endeavor at the moment. This will have to do – for now. Who knows, maybe we'll surprise the world with a Con-going for Dummies book one day. ;)
A conversation about SF conventions
AW: Do you have a special SF convention packing list?
MHB: I used to be pretty haphazard in packing until a friend at another convention told me how to pack for a writing convention (how much clothing, etc). I now know what I need to pack so I have set things I pack. I do about 8-10 cons a year so I have to have everything more or less down to what I need to bring. Basically, I'm there for three or four days. That requires two pairs of jeans, three or four shirts, socks, under things, etc. And my traveling clothes.
AW: What do you put in the suitcase for conventions that you don't for other trips?
MHB: Do I have other trips? (Add maniacal laughter here). I usually bring my costume (the Chi'lan warrior thing) and my con jacket (the red and gold one with the dragons). I drag books along much to the rampers' chagrins.
AW: Do make plans for networking while you're there?
MHB: Yes, but it's not formal.
AW: Do you google other panelists?
MHB: No, I'm too egotistical and too busy.
AW: Other Guests of Honor?
MHB: Half the time, I don't even know who the GOH is unless I know them, and even then, it's a crap shoot if I remember who it is before I get there. Are you sure you really want me to answer this? I sound unprepared, but I'm not. The reality is that I'm not there to run into a particular writer or play fan girl. I know certain people will be at a con and I know I'll have a chance to chat with them, but my number one job is to do my panels, meet with my fan base, and promote my books. If I don't do these things, then I shouldn't be there. This is just part of my job as a professional author.
AW: Do you read books by them? Bring them to get signed?
MHB: I sometimes read books by other authors at the con. Usually, I read them after I meet the person, but yes, there have been books I've read before I met the writer. But I usually won't read their books beforehand just because they're at a particular con. They've got to impress me personally, and then I'll buy their book at a con and read it. As for bringing books to get signed, that's nuts for me. See, I'm carrying my books and I'll buy books at the con, which means I'm going to break my arms lugging books around. So, no. Even if I have a book by an author, unless I buy it there, I don't bring them to get them signed.
AW: Do you make plans for visiting nearby attractions?
MHB: Usually not, but I have gone to the Space Needle and the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. I've had a fan take me to Pike Place Market too. That was cool.
AW: What about room sharing with convention friends?
MHB: Most of the time I don't, but lately I have to save on costs. I suggest if your readers want to do that, pick some folks you get along with, otherwise you will all go nuts.
AW: Does your husband join you?
MHB: Not out of town. He gets to take care of the pups. He enjoys the local con. I know he has a lot of fun there. He's met the folks around town, and he's taking a class on fencing. He also has a lot of fun going to panels.
MHB: If he did come with me out of town, he'd probably do the con, and we'd probably go see the local attractions.
AW: What about the green room?
MHB: I wish all cons had green rooms. Unfortunately, they don't, but I've dealt with it. It's nice to have a green room just to collapse in and decompress. Norwescon and Radcon have wonderful Green Rooms.
AW: Worst food?
MHB: I would say that the worst was when the green rooms weren't stocked or were under-stocked. Otherwise, I have had no bad experiences with food.
AW: Best food?
MHB: I'm holding out hope someone comes up with really awesome food in a green room. Probably Radcon is the best thus far.
AW: Do you pack energy bars just in case?
MHB: Energy bars are a must for travel in general. So, yeah, I have some 3 year old energy bars rummaging around my bag.
AW: Worst hotel experience?
MHB: The Freddie Krueger sheet episode. I was staying with some friends at a con. Naturally we got in the room at about 2 am. Being the mistrustful sort, I looked in the bed first. I found drops of blood on the sheets. My friends looked at their sheets after they got in bed and found tons of makeup on the sheets. So, we call to the front desk which was totally apathetic. We had to change our own sheets at 2 - 3 a.m. The whole story went around the con and it became known as the Freddie Krueger sheet episode. Yes, we did get a discount on the room at the end.
AW: Best hotel experience?
MHB: Any one I won't remember, because there were no issues!
AW: Do you bring a lap top and write during the convention?
MHB: I bring a laptop but the muse has yet to strike at a con. Usually, I'm using it to get online and feed my damn Hatchlings. (If you don't know what Hatchlings are, join facebook and accept an egg from me). I've known other authors who can sit and write at a con. Not me.
AW: Do you bring money for the dealer's room and art show?
MHB: I bring some money for the dealer's room. As for the art show, I have no idea how to bid and how the auction works so I stay away from that. Plus I don't want to try to bring a piece of art home.
AW: Do you bring costumes? Mending materials just in case?
MHB: Yes, I do bring a costume, but it's for promoting the book.
Mending materials? Ha! I didn't make my costume, so it's unlikely I could mend it.
AW: Do you dress for comfort or to impress?
MHB: Comfort. I can't impress anyone if I look uncomfortable.
AW: Books – do you sell them through the dealer's room, at the signing, both? How do you find out?
MHB: Depends. If my publisher is there, they sell them. I know vendors in the dealer's room at cons I go to, so I bring some copies just in case, but they usually have copies of my books. I'll bring a few books to the signing if the publisher isn't there.
AW: What's the best thing that's happened to you at a con?
MHB: I got to talk to a number of publishers who are interested in my work at World Fantasy.
AW: What was the worst thing that's happened to you at a con?
MHB: A bunch of my books got lost in the mail going to Worldcon. A missed opportunity. Oh well.
AW: Funniest con experience?
MHB: A friend of mine didn't get her badge in time because of glitches and ended up going through panels without it. That evening, we're sitting at a party and con security came up to us and demanded that she leave. I said "Don't you know who she is?" like I meant it. They apologized and scurried off.
AW: Luggage horror stories? How do you avoid them?
MHB: Two words: Carry on. Seriously. If you can't fit everything you need for a con in a carry on, something's wrong. Also consider shipping items via UPS, Fed-Ex or even the US Mail.
Read more about Maggie and Howling Dead, a techno-thriller "with a bite."
Excited about conventions now? Finding one near you is easy. The following websites have searchable databases of regional and world conventions. You might find there are more flavors of speculative fiction conventions than you realized.
Upcoming Cons
Containment Convention Finder
And here are the home pages for World Fantasy and Worldcon (SF).
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Overheard, underheard and misheard absurdities
We've all walked in on a conversation at an inopportune moment, catching a bizarre phrase or sentence out of context. Or maybe we've misheard something that made us laugh.
For instance, at the writing conference I attended in October, I was walking in a group of people all headed for the door to go to the next session and I heard, "She's a cow," said in the most matter of fact tone. I figured out that what she really said was, "She's at Cal." My version was funnier because it was so out of context.
A friend has been adopted by a homeless rooster that wandered into his yard one day and never left. I knew this, yet I didn't know he'd named it. I walked into the room to hear him talking to someone about Chicken Butt.
And kudos to a fellow staff writer, who had just been advised to trick his computer into doing what he wanted. Without skipping a beat, he said, "Computer, look, your shoe's untied." That wasn't half-heard, but it made me chuckle.
I'm seriously considering running a column for people to post their half-heard and misheard snatches of conversation. Go ahead and place your affirmative vote for such a column by adding a misheard or half-heard funny snippet to this post.
And I need to name said column. Suggestions welcome.
What does this have to do with writing or science fiction? Writer's need to be more than people watchers. We should be picking up dialog ideas, too.
In my inbox this week was an email directing me to this article on 15 Inventions Inspired by Science Fiction. See what you think and leave a comment there. Feel free to say Ann Wilkes at SFOO sent you. Unless of course you want to leave a nasty comment.
As I may have said before, I'm now running three interview per month now, with an occasional fourth. This Friday, you'll meet M.H. Bonham, author of Howling Dead, who will give us a sort of sf convention survival guide.
vote it up!
For instance, at the writing conference I attended in October, I was walking in a group of people all headed for the door to go to the next session and I heard, "She's a cow," said in the most matter of fact tone. I figured out that what she really said was, "She's at Cal." My version was funnier because it was so out of context.
A friend has been adopted by a homeless rooster that wandered into his yard one day and never left. I knew this, yet I didn't know he'd named it. I walked into the room to hear him talking to someone about Chicken Butt.
And kudos to a fellow staff writer, who had just been advised to trick his computer into doing what he wanted. Without skipping a beat, he said, "Computer, look, your shoe's untied." That wasn't half-heard, but it made me chuckle.
I'm seriously considering running a column for people to post their half-heard and misheard snatches of conversation. Go ahead and place your affirmative vote for such a column by adding a misheard or half-heard funny snippet to this post.
And I need to name said column. Suggestions welcome.
What does this have to do with writing or science fiction? Writer's need to be more than people watchers. We should be picking up dialog ideas, too.
In my inbox this week was an email directing me to this article on 15 Inventions Inspired by Science Fiction. See what you think and leave a comment there. Feel free to say Ann Wilkes at SFOO sent you. Unless of course you want to leave a nasty comment.
As I may have said before, I'm now running three interview per month now, with an occasional fourth. This Friday, you'll meet M.H. Bonham, author of Howling Dead, who will give us a sort of sf convention survival guide.
vote it up!
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