DragonCon Schedule!

This is the biggest convention I do all year, and one of the most insane.  I…can’t even measure the excitement / anxiety level right now…

Also, I ought to be in bed because I’ve got a Dark O’Clock flight… soon.

So, REAL QUICK, here are a few places you’ll find me at DragonCon… outside of the Westin bar in the evenings, the Voltaire concert, the Cruxshadows concert… buying band stuff, and possibly stalking some actors from The Expanse. And John Barrowman. Maybe.

If you’re there, hopefully I will see you!

Title: Readings in Honor of Kathryn Fernquist Hinds
Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: Techwood – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Description: Writers & friends celebrate the life of author, bard, poet, & teacher Kathryn Hinds with reminiscences & readings from her work.

Title: The Women of Doctor Who
Time: Fri 08:30 pm Location: Galleria 5 – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)
Description: From companions & villains to directors, writers, & producers (and soon the Doctor herself), women have had a lasting impact on the show over the past 54 years. Their changing roles & indelible footprints will be discussed.

Title: Steampunk/Urban Fantasy/High Fantasy, etc.
Time: Sat 11:30 am Location: Embassy CD – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Description: Is Steampunk loosing its steam? Is Urban Fantasy on the wane? Does anyone read High Fantasy any more? This panel discusses the many subgenres of SF/F and how to keep readers interested.

Title: 200 Years of Women in SF
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Embassy AB – Hyatt (Length: 2 Hours 30 Min)
Description: In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Taking that as a starting point, our panelists will discuss women in SF, how they have fared, who they are, and how things have changed over the years. Presented in conjunction with the Diversity in SF track. 90 minutes.

Title: Ursula K. Leguin: Honoring a Grand Master
Time: Sun 05:30 pm Location: International South – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Description: The field lost a great voice last year when Ursula K. Leguin passed. We will be honoring the author of The Left Hand of Darkness and Wizard of Earthsea (among others) by discussing her work and life.

 
Title: Where Do I Begin?
Time: Sun 07:00 pm Location: Embassy CD – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Description: You’ve decided to write a novel. Where do you begin? Let our pros tell you how to get started on that novel…and keep going.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  Happy DragonCon!

And This Week's Manic Happenings…

Wait, I can actually breathe and catch up this week! 

Or, mostly, catch up.

I owe my WoMag editor a list of bakeries for the next "______ Woo" series.

Cali's moving back to where I'm boarding her this week.

That email needs to get below 100.

I need to get back to updating the BSER Facebook page regularly.

And I need to finish the edits for both websites - eep!

Oh… and want to write down that short story that attacked me last week.

The Halloween weekend was pretty awesome.  We had a successful Halloween party, despite our lack of efforts in planning.  Before that, we'd kidnapped some friends for the annual Repo! The Genetic Opera event with Genetic Imperfection with the most kind and wonderful Terrance Zdunich, creator and star of the show, who's currently working on the excellent comic, The Molting.

My friend Stina, Terrance, and me - photo taken by H-of-A on Stina's phone.

After the party (where we were having too much fun to take pictures), we went to the wicked Voltaire concert. 

The awesome Voltaire & me, photo by line-friend Erin - love strangers who become friends in signing lines!

 I wrote about how much I love Voltaire in this blog, and I got a nifty interview with him for Worcester Magazine, which he signed.  You can read the article online here, too.

Squee!  He signed my article!

Tonight, I just got back from being a guest on Dr. Chris's Radio of Horror.  I touted the EPIC finalist placement for Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory and even read some poetry from The Unicorn and the Old Woman.  I also chatted about faerie folklore and legend and other various dark material.  I shared the show with some other cool people.  In the studio with me was the Husband-of-Awesome, T.J. May, Geoffrey H. Goodwin, and Brenda Sullivan of the Gravestone Girls.

So, now that I got to do a little planning and bragging, I'm off to bed in hopes of achieving this great "Catch-Up" dream in the week to come!

Working for yourself…

Dear Hooman, WTF?!

… is that constant, "I gotta get this done" mixed with the entire purpose of wanting to work from home or work for yourself: Freedom!

I don't wanna be chained to the desk or a schedule. 

I like that fact that I can shoot out to go visit a friend who, well, likely needs a friend.  Or I can escape to a wonderful artist studio to get some writing done.  Or I can write while eating a delicious lunch.  Or that I can make my schedule around playing with my horse.

But… I still have work to do.

When I'm sick, I can - in theory - take some time off.

But… no one else will do the work.

It's a constant mental struggle sometimes.  I have a strong work ethic.  (Thanks, Mom! :) )  I also know the value of being true to one's physical, mental, and spiritual needs.

Like not signing on right away on a Sunday after playing with friends and your horse because the kitty just looks so cute in this nifty bow that came from a gift basket you won at the latest horse rescue fundraiser…

I iz soooo impressd wit these ribbons and pumpkin. Can't U tell?

… besides that, as I think I've mentioned, I've been going straight for the past few weeks.  Saturday I finally got my "crash and burn" day and slept in until about 3PM before shambling downstairs for H-of-A's pumpkin waffles and then going out to dinner (ok, that "counts" as work as it was a review) and then seeing a movie (back to my Day of Rest).

I totally needed it.  I was getting cranky as well as sick.

Can't U C I'z trying to sleep?  GTFO of mai face with dat camera!

In any case, this week is….. HALLOWEEN! 

Samhain for many of my friends. 

Also coolness for this week:

A'ight. Wuz kyoot 4 u.  Food nao!!

Voltaire!!  Who I actually wrote a blog about a while ago because he's a great inspiration to me as an artist/writer/make-$-by-doing-what-I-love kinda person. He'll be HERE in Worcester!!  I'm so psyched!

And THEN, also coolness, I will be on the RADIO!  :)  Dr.Chris, who I met at Rock and Shock the last weekend ago, invited me, my H-of-A, and other cool horror-y writers and other folk to be on his radio show on Halloween!  So, if you are local, it's WCUW or hop online at www.wcuw.org and stream us from 8PM until midnight (Eastern Time) on Halloween!

Now, as for that whole freedom thing?  Yeah, announcements made:  I'm going to bed!

Happy Halloween & Blessed Samhain!

Was Willingly Kidnapped by Awesomeness Last Night… and how that relates to Writing

Sorry for the delay - but VOLTAIRE was playing at one of my favorite night club's Goth night (Haven at Diva's) last night.

Also, sorry for the lack of pictures. I fell back into my "living in the moment" personhood that generally results in a lack of pictures from conventions, too…

And Scott also forgot the camera.

(So, here's a picture from Voltaire's MySpace):



(Yes, he's that hot in person, too. ;) )

What does that have to do with Writerly Wednesday?

Well, A LOT!

Besides being a great wordsmith in songs, Voltaire also writes (& DRAWS) comic books, does stop-motion animation, has two cute little "coffee table" books about being Goth and decorating Goth, and he designs T-Shirts and toys. His T-Shirts also have some of the best quips on them too - more great writing!

Basically, Voltaire has made himself an entrepreneur doing what he loves the most: CREATING.

Isn't that what writers want to do?

Also - he obviously knows how to diversify!

Face it, most of us aren't going to make a living selling fiction. (My intentions are to break that statistic, BTW, but no arguing the numbers are against me!)

Most writers, I've also learned, have an OVERALL artistic streak, so there is probably more you can do than just write fiction… or even just write. What other things are you good at? What else do you love?

I love horses and food, so I write about those things. I also enjoy drawing - so I made myself an illustrated poetry chap book that I sell. I'm working on a comic with a friend, and of course, several fiction projects.

It kinda goes back to Kevin J. Anderson's advice that I often cite/paraphrase: You can put one piece of popcorn on the stove and watch it until it >hopefully< pops… or you can dump a whole scoop of popcorn and know that SOMEthing will eventually pop.

Who are some of your favorite independent artists? How do they support themselves? What do they do besides their topmost favorite endeavor (be it songs, animation, artistry, writing)? How do they market themselves?

Voltaire does an awful lot of legwork, too, and he is constantly making the most of the Internet and social media - in addition to live appearances and interactions - to cultivate a relationship with his fans. If you like his blog writing, for example, you know you'll like most of what he writes, and you (should) know what to expect if you get a chance to meet him or attend a live show. His attitude and personality shine (Oh my Goth… did I just say shine? Um… darkly glower) in everything he does. Even if it's entirely different media, you know what you're getting when you purchase something he's created, be it music, snarky Ts, comics, books, or toys.

Even though he's diversified, he remains consistent in his own "branding."

If someone picks up something of yours, how accurately could they guess its from you? What is your own personal touch that can make everything you create - no matter what it is - uniquely yours?

So, as a fan and one who appreciates his business savvy, check out Voltaire's work and buy some of his stuff. (Call it marketing research and right it off on taxes.) Also check out his MySpace and Facebook to find out more for yourself about what he does and how he markets himself.

Happy Creating!