Content, Conventions
Research and Detail
This weekend I gave a presentation about how research can help writers of all stripes. Putting the text online if anybody wants it!
Word Document — Presentation – Research and Detail
This weekend I gave a presentation about how research can help writers of all stripes. Putting the text online if anybody wants it!
Word Document — Presentation – Research and Detail
I’ve got a couple of convention appearances coming up, so here’s my schedule if you want to catch up with me. I’ll be bringing my cool new steel bookmarks along to signings, so if you want one come say hi!
(All times local time.)
(This is still under construction, so stuff may be added as I get details. Here’s what’s solid.)
Tuesday August 12, 6:00 PM Fantasy in the Court, Goldsboro Books
Very impressive guest list for this, I’ll be mingling. You’ll need tickets, check the link.
Wednesday August 13, 6:30 PM: Fantasy-Faction Grim Gathering, Waterstones Kensington
I’m not a guest at this one, but it will be awesome, and I’ll be there. If you want me to sign a book, just come say hello! Check that Facebook link for details.
Thursday August 14, 12:30 – 1:00 PM: Reading, London Suite 1 (ExCeL)
Thursday August 14, 7:00 – 8:00 PM: “You Got Your SF in My Anime!” (Capital Suite 2 (ExCeL))
“If the cliche image of Western science fiction is spaceships and aliens, the cliches of anime SF might be giant robots and cyberspace — so let’s look a little closer. What’s distinctive about anime’s use of SF, in works such as Ghost in the Shell, Spaceship Yamato, Strike Witches or Planetes? What are the lines of influence between the Japanese and Western SF traditions, and what does each have to offer the other?”
Sarah Ash (Moderator), Juan Sanmiguel, Lars Adler, Django Wexler, Laura Mauro
Friday August 15, 10:00-11:00 AM: “I Like My Secondary World Fantasy a Little on the Techy Side” (Capital Suite 4 (ExCeL))
“Some secondary world fantasies, like Brandon Sanderson’s “Alloy of Law”, Francis Knight’s “Fade to Black”, and Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Shadows of the Apt”, have ventured into industrialisation. To what extent can the kinds of narratives common in secondary world and epic fantasies find a home in these kinds of settings? Is technological development less “believable” in a world with magic?”
Django Wexler (Moderator), Robert Jackson Bennett, Floris M. Kleijne, Glenda Larke, Adrian Tchaikovsky
Saturday August 16, 1:30-3:00 PM: “Where Have All the Clerics Gone?” (Capital Suite 8+11 (ExCeL))
“Every adventuring party needs a healer! A dedicated person of the gods to keep on hit points. While modern fantasies with their new fangled “magic systems” have replaced the old study oriented wizard, reinterpretations of the cleric are not as obvious. Has the cleric been redefined? If not, why not?”
Django Wexler (Moderator), Scott Lynch, Den Patrick, Danie Ware, P. C. Hodgell
Saturday August 16, 6:00 – 7:00 PM: “Coming of Age in Game of Thrones” (Capital Suite 14 (ExCeL))
“In a world were life and death hang in the balance for every character no matter how despised or loved, it is the children who pay the heaviest price. Their parents’ plots and intrigues sit squarely upon the shoulders of the Stark, Lannister, and Targaryen children, snatching their childhoods away and forcing them to wield their own power to survive the game of thrones. But have the adults underestimated their children’s value as players? Who will survive? Who will gain power? Will they have a chance to be children again? And who will be the biggest surprise? At what point do these children, despite their tender ages, take on the mantels of their parents and become adults themselves? Panelists will examine issues surrounding childhood and coming of age during a time of conflict where familial normalcy is gone and the rules of their world are in the process of being rewritten. *Spoiler Alert: Discussion will include all previously published books within the series.*”
Darlene Marshall (Moderator), Liz de Jager, John Hornor Jacobs, Django Wexler
Monday August 18, 10:00-11:00 AM: Kaffeeklatsch (London Suite 4 (ExCeL))
John Clute, Django Wexler. Requires signup.
Probably more to come on the London side! Watch this space.
A great deal of fun was had. I didn’t take many pictures, but you can check out my friend Autumn2May’s photoset. I’m going to revamp the site a bit to prep for the release of The Forbidden Library, but in the meantime you can already preorder at Barnes & Noble or Amazon, or find it on Indiebound. I’ll have more cool stuff to come!
My con events are finalized, but I’ll still have plenty of free time. If there’s anything fun going on (especially Thursday/Friday), give me a shout! Italics indicate something I’m on, rather than just attending.
Thursday Oct 10
1:15 PM – 2:30 PM — Private
Friday Oct 11
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM — Kill or Be Killed (Panel, 1A17)
7:45 PM – ? — Private
Saturday Oct 12
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM — Geek Geek Revolution (1A17)
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM — Seth Fishman signing (Booth #2129) — He’s my awesome agent and Penguin author, come say hi!
Sunday Oct 13
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM — Signing for Forbidden Library (Booth #2129)
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM — Young Heroes and Heroines (1A17)
3:45 PM – ? — Autographing (Table 21)
I have returned! Much fun was had. I’m not even going to attempt a wrap-up post since I’m sure to forget things, but I got to hang out with a bunch of awesome people and generally had a great time.
The next con is NYCC, the weekend of October 10th. Before then, I need to finish up this draft of The Shadow Throne, so you may not hear much from me. I’ll put up con schedule details as they come in, though!
I’ll have my phone with me, so if you’d like to say hello, you can @ me on Twitter, or e-mail me from the contact form!
This is mostly for my own benefit, so I can figure out how to not overlap things, but it doubles as a way to tell people where I’ll be. Bold is events where I’m speaking/signing/whatever, not just attending. I’ll update as my schedule comes together.
Thursday 8/29
5:39 PM — Flight in arrives.
Friday 8/30
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM — Panel, “US Animation Influenced By Anime”
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM — Attending Reading (Cat Rambo)
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM — Autographing (with Tobias Buckell, David Kyle, and Kay Kenyon)
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM — Podcast interview
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM — Panel, “Gender in Manga and Anime”
8:00 PM – 11:00 PM — Private
Saturday 8/31
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM — Attending Panel, “How to Write a Short Story”
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM — Panel and Signing at Viva books, “Talking About Faith Through Imaginary Worlds”
3:00 – 4:00 PM — Staffing SFWA Table (This is a good time to come say hi! Table C-13)
7:00 PM – ? — r/Fantasy Drinks With Authors
Sunday 9/1
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM — Staffing SFWA Table
Mon 9/2
6:00 AM — Flight out departs. (Ugh.)
In July I did a lot of guest posts, interviews, and other writing. You’ll be seeing a bit less of me in August — I’m hard at work on edits and rewrites for The Shadow Throne, the sequel to The Thousand Names. Then on to book 3!
Some fun stuff in the not-to-distant future, though. I’ll be at WorldCon at the end of the month, and New York Comic-Con in October. By then we should be getting ready for The Forbidden Library, and I will have some cool stuff to share!
So I am going to SDCC for the first time ever! Only slightly terrified.
My official events are as follows:
Epic Fantasy Panel – Friday, 2:30-3:30, followed by a signing at 4:00.
Signing at Mysterious Galaxy booth (#1119) – Saturday, 12 noon to 1 or so.
Other than that, I’m likely to be just wandering in a daze. If you would like to say hi, get in touch with me, via Twitter or e-mail!