So Balticon happened. I’m not really going to do a full rundown of it here. Not that it was bad. It was a very full, very successful weekend. But I’ve tweeted all the good stuff, and I prefer to keep the stuff which set my teeth on edge between, well, me and the people who set my teeth on edge. And there were only really two of them, and I don’t think they can be trained to not set my teeth on edge, so…
Hey, it’s Balticon weekend and this sale is still on! Thanks to the many who’ve attended my panels and stopped by to chat thus far!
Thanks to all who attended our “Fantastic Quartet” presentation at the Howard County Library (as well as those who were there in spirit… deadbeats!) Howard Weinstein, Bob Greenberger, Dave Galanter and I were all pleased to see every seat filled, and additional chairs being added by the event organizers throughout the evening. We were proud to kick off HCL’s “Meet the Author” series. We’ve already been asked to return next year!
As an offering of thanks, I’m offering some discounts on my eBooks. Mutiny Springs Eternal is even free, and it’s a great place to jump on board my award-winning Arbiter Chronicles series. Just click the links below and enter the corresponding coupon code to purchase the eBook from Smashwords. They’re available in every eReader format, including Kindle, Nook and iBooks. Let me know if you have any problems!
FREE! The Arbiter Logs – Mutiny Springs Eternal – Coupon Code: ZH77W
99 Cents! Peace Lord of the Red Planet – Coupon Code: TC75G
99 Cents! Taken Liberty – Coupon Code: WC32M
99 Cents! Unfriendly Persuasion – Coupon Code: SS94B
If I disagree with someone, I don’t like to do it out of hand. I like to hear their argument first. Sometimes I only need to hear a few words of it to decide that this person is too stupid to formulate an opinion, or has formed an opinion without adequate information, or is plainly and simply divorced from any concept of reality. There’s no arguing with such people, there’s only coping. It’s impossible to change their opinions. Opinions can only be altered if they’re based on reason and adequate information.
Most opinions are not based on reason and adequate information. In America, most opinions are based on what our parents taught us and on what we heard on television. Because God knows the guy who hosts the evening talk show is a much better public policy analysts than a philosopher, a political scientist or any of America’s Founding Fathers.
So, many people ask me, “What do you do when you go to a convention? Do you dress up in costume?”
“No,” I tell them, “I generally speak on panels.”
“What are panels?”
Sigh… So, yeah, I do a lot of panels. For the uninitiated, a “panel” is a “panel discussion,” where a team of “experts” tackled a question or problem which is described in the title of the panel. Sometimes “experts” just means a team of volunteers or draftees, but it usually means a team of people who at least have an interest in the subject. Below are some examples, which also happen to be the panels I’ll be appearing on at Balticon in just two short weeks.
I’ve left off times and locations, as my schedule is only a draft, and I don’t want to add to anyone’s confusion!
Favorite Science Fiction Authors – Naming them is easy. Defending WHY they’re your favorite almost as much. Responding to those who HATE your favorite? Therein may lie a challenge. Robert Heinlein pissed off a lot of people in his time. L. Neil Smith (bless him) continues to do so. But I’ve even met people who actively dislike Alan Dean Foster. Go figure.
Flipping SF Archetypes – I’m not sure, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
Aged Characters in Fantasy – I don’t even recall signing up, but okay. I can talk about Dumbledore, Merlin, and perhaps (because I don’t read much fantasy) even Lazarus Long.
Forgotten Works in Sci-Fi / Forgotten Works in Fantasy – Hmmm. I guess I’ll talk about Eric Frank Russell? Or John Morrissey? Perhaps Gordon Eklund.
Shortening Your Books and Stories – Somebody’s gonna say “Murder your darlings.” Writers love that phrase. I never murder my darlings. I just remember that narration doesn’t need to be as complex as I’m tempted to make it, and that written dialogue only has to SOUND like real speech, it doesn’t actually have to be as baffling and confusing.
Bars in Science Fiction and Fantasy – Well, I’m not Spider Robinson, but I’ve written a half-dozen scenes set in bars. Bars are time-honored in the genre. All the best stories are told in them, and they’re where you go to get the lay of the land in a strange place. Did you know that the origin of the term “gossip” is actually, “go sip?” It meant to go have a drink at the pub or tavern and hear what was being said by the locals. It was a reliable as CNN and probably less annoying.
Converting your eBook for multiple formats – Some panels are less discussion and Q & A with the audience, and more, “This is how I carry out a task.” But seriously, there’s a LOT more to creating an eBook than dumping your Word doc into Kindle’s upload form.
Etiquette in Science Fiction and Fantasy – Very important to a lot of authors. Asimov’s robot novels were very concerned with etiquette. Lots of Star Trek episodes, too. Remember when Wesley Crusher trampled the flowers and almost died? Yeah, he got that reaction a lot, in the days before the Big Bang Theory.
Good and Evil in Genre Literature – or the lack thereof? Actually, SF & F spend a lot more time discussing the nature of these two than most other forms of literature.
Your Novel: Getting to Second Draft – Perseverance. Any questions? Oh, there are? Okay…
Firebringer Presents – Firebringer, if you don’t know, is my publishing company. Here’s our chance to tell our audience what we’ve got coming next. Come early, it’s usually standing room only.
And I’ll probably have an autograph session and a scheduled reading of my work as well. Busy weekend. Costumes? If I took the time to get into costume, I might not have any time at the bar!
Howie and I pose with some of the many collectibles in my office. (Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun / April 28, 2014)
Howard Weinstein, Bob Greenberger, Dave Galanter and myself, Howard County, MD, residents all, will be appearing this week at the Howard County Library’s East Columbia Branch to talk about science fiction writing and publishing. The Baltimore Sun gave us a very nice profile as a lead-in to the event.
Continuing my review (Part One was last week) of the first six Avengers issues written by comics legend Jim Shooter… For those who just want to dive in without reading part one, know that I like Jim Shooter. He did phenomenal work on the Legion of Super-Heroes as a very young teen, and he did a nice job with these issues. But, later, he wrote some phenomenally bad Avengers issues. I’ve often wondered why his second visit to the Mansion was so unsuccessful. So I revisited some of those early, favorite stories of mine to see if I could see the seeds of the bad in what I thought was the good.
