Immortal Confusion Report

First thing’s first: I didn’t lose my head.

Now that I’ve made the obligatory Highlander reference, I can start with the report.

This was my first ConFusion, and the con’s first year at the venue. I had no real problems with the venue, though I think the restaurant management may not have taken the ConCom at their word when said ConCom informed them that a lot of people would be eating at their restaurant.

Since ConFusion is a smaller, more fan-focused convention, it had, for me, a more relaxed feel than a con like WorldCon or World Fantasy. It was closest in feel for me to WisCon, which is awesome, since I really like WisCon.

I came in on Thursday night, expecting programming to start right away on Friday. That just meant that I got some work and reading done before things got spooled up. Part of that spooling up was a good three-hour chunk of playing Talisman (yes, that Talisman. The newest version of it, at least), before we all gave up and went on our way. As is to be expected, I was turned into a Toad before I even had my first turn. Ah, Talisman, how I missed you. The game could definitely use a stronger built-in level of momentum toward completion.

Thanks to the generosity and cleverness of Programming Chair Dave Klecha, I snuck onto three panels.

The first was “Let’s Remake Star Wars,” where the dominant sentiment from the panelists and audience was “Actually, no, let’s not. But if we have to, here are some thoughts.” I think I was probably the panelist most forgiving of the prequel trilogy, which stands to reason since I was also the youngest panelist. I still think that Episode I was a big mess, and that the prequels pale in comparison to the originals, but in-between griping about the prequels, we did come up with some cool possibilities, including discussing what Disney might do with the franchise. I remain cautiously optimistic that we might see the new era of Star Wars be as successful as the Marvel Studios films and Avengers arc have been.

My second panel for the weekend as a participant was “Fandom vs. Social Media.” That panel was a bit odd, since the title of the panel didn’t exactly match the description. I was very excited by the description, which I’ll copy again here:

“Geek culture has become somewhat ubiquitous these days, and with its ascent, some of our pastimes and obsessions have really gone mainstream. With that comes criticism – some valid, some less – and with critique an almost inevitable fandom backlash. Is it good that some of our favorite things have become too big to easily evaluate in a critical way? Does the legitimacy gained by the popularity of a Game of Thrones come at the price of being able to point out some of its flaws, and is this a worthwhile trade when considering the vitality of the genre?”

That topic, right there, is one I was super-excited to dive into and pick fights with, especially with my Subcultural Studies background. Hell, it’s practically the dissertation topic I proposed while I was applying to Media Studies and Communications doctoral programs a few years back. We didn’t end up doing that version of the panel.

We were unfortunately missing two of the panelists, so it was just the three of us: the moderator, Peter V. Brett, and myself. We managed a decent chat about distinguishing public and private lives, how to protect your fannish activities from prying and/or disapproving bosses when you need to, and the utility of social media in fandom. But I was kind of pulling for the other topic. There will be other cons, and plenty of chances to share my opinions on the matter.

The third panel was probably the most interesting (to me) of my three. This one was called “What’s Still Taboo?”, discussing societal taboos and how to use them in writing. The panel focused mostly on the first part of that topic, though we talked through several matters as they pertained to writing, and despite a very sensitive topic and a fairly full house, the conversation was very amicable. I was extra-impressed with the maturity of all participants involved in handling the topic.

In addition to a variety of other solid panels, I managed to hit several readings by various writer friends, which included such great stories as highway-side zombie-on-zombie brawls; forensic analyses of a Wendigo; a three-way fight/conversation between an alien, a mugger, and a confused everyman; the machinations of a superhero and supervillain’s sidekicks; a badass critique of Spenser’s The Faerie Queene in the form of a short story; and a snowball fight told in Sword & Sorcery tone. I know some rockin’ writers, folks.

Awesome people met and/or hung out with over the weekend included: Saladin Ahmed, Scott H. Andrews, Brad Beaulieu, Peter V. Brett, Ron Collins, Myke Cole, Michael J. DeLuca, Scott Edelman, Jim C. Hines, Justin Howe, Doug Hulick, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Klecha, Mary Robinette Kowal, Holly McDowell, Peter Orullian, Bryon Quartermous, Lawrence Schoen (my gracious and tidy roommate), Amy Sundberg, Sam Sykes, Diana Rowland, Derek Silver, Patrick Thomlinson, Mary G. Thompson, and at least a half-dozen others who I am currently forgetting and/or whose names I forgot due to an over-abundance of awesome stimuli during the weekend.

Big props to the staff for a marvelously-run con. I always felt very welcome, and I’m very much looking forward to coming back next year.

ConFusion Full Schedule

The detailed schedule for this weekend’s Immortal ConFusion is now up, so I can give some descriptions and get wide-eyed at the awesome co-panelists on my programming. The panelists are a mix of people I’ve already met and hung out with at cons previously and others where this will be my first change to make their acquaintance.

I’m very jazzed about the topics, since they hit right in the center of several of my geekdoms (Star Wars, Fan Studies, Re-mix Culture/Transformative Works, Subcultural Studies)

 

Let’s Remake Star Wars

2:00p Saturday
Ontario
Star Wars stands as one of the most influential science fiction franchises in the world, but the titular movie is now 35 years old. In an era when a movie half that age is ripe for a remake, why would Star Wars be immune? What would a post 9/11, technologically more advanced original trilogy look like? How would characters change, as an audience would know who were twins, who gets the girl, and who is the father? Does the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 make this more likely, or less?
(Dick Smith, Dr. Phil Kaldon (M), Josh Parker, Michael Underwood, Saladin Ahmed)
Fandom vs. Social Media

4:00p Saturday
Southfield
Geek culture has become somewhat ubiquitous these days, and with its ascent, some of our pastimes and obsessions have really gone mainstream. With that comes criticism – some valid, some less – and with critique an almost inevitable fandom backlash. Is it good that some of our favorite things have become too big to easily evaluate in a critical way? Does the legitimacy gained by the popularity of a Game of Thrones come at the price of being able to point out some of its flaws, and is this a worthwhile trade when considering the vitality of the genre?
(Holly McDowell, Leah Zeldes Smith (M), Michael Underwood, Patrick Rothfuss, Peter V. Brett)
W00t!
You can see the full schedule for yourself here: http://confusion.stilyagi.org/cf2013/schedule-events

Obligatory Award Eligibility Post

It’s awards season! Or, more accurately, award nomination season.

 

Geekomancy is my only 2012 publication. It is a debut novel, so in addition to being eligible for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy/Locus etc. under the novel category, it’s also eligible for First Novel/Debut Novel awards.

 

Since my first pro-level sale was in 2010, I am not eligible for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer this year. Luckily, there are many awesome people who are.

 

If you are looking for other work to nominate, I’d draw your attention to my Favorites of 2012 post.

 

Happy nominating!

 

Immortal ConFusion

“Here we are…born to be kings we’re the”…wait, that’s not what they meant by immortal?

Next week, I’m attending Immortal ConFusion, a smaller-ish SF/F convention in Michigan. I heard amazeballs things about the convention after last year, including the Fantasy Author Old-School D&D session. I’m making a concerted effort to hit more conventions this year, so I’m putting my money where my mouth is.

Thanks to the kindness of the programming team, I will be appearing on a couple of panels:

 

Saturday          2:00:00 PM  Let’s Remake Star Wars

Saturday          4:00:00 PM  Fandom vs. Social Media

 

It’s like they know me or something. 🙂

 

Other than that, you can probably find me wherever the “writer professional development zones” (aka bars) are located. Look for the sharp-dressed geek talking shop about publishing using Star Wars metaphors.

See you there!

Looking Forward – January

I’ve got lots to look forward to in 2013: the publication of my second novel, the release of one and possibly two audiobook versions of my novels, and the hope of another book deal for work after Celebromancy.

 

But there’s also really exciting work coming from friends and colleagues, much of it right away this month.

 

Here’s what I’m looking forward to in January:

 

Between by Kerry Schafer (1-29-13 Ace Books) Kerry is the other Book Country All-Star, meaning that she got a traditional book deal from the Book Country community, a few months before I got mine. Since hers was a paperback and ebook simultaneous print deal, the schedule was set a bit farther out. Between is an urban fantasy focused on dreams and a Dreamworld, which considering she has a Psych background and is a mental health professional, shows a lot of promise.

Prodigy by Marie Lu (1-29-13 Penguin Putnam). I read Legend early last year, and loved it. It felt, to me, more directly in the tradition of the formative dystopian novels like 1984, Brave New World, and We than most of the books coming out of the YA Dystopian wave started by The Hunger Games. I had the chance to digitally meet Marie last year, since we are both represented by the Nelson Literary Agency. She was also kind enough to give me a blurb on Geekomancy. I’ve been chomping at the bit to read on in this series, and I definitely recommend Legend to any Dystopian YA fans.

Shadow Ops: Fortress Frontier by Myke Cole – (1/29/13 Ace Books). This is the second book in Myke’s Shadow Ops series of military fantasies. I read the first book, Shadow Ops: Control Point, and was blown away by the marvelously-realized world that is very effectively described by the blurb from Peter Brett of “Black Hawk Down meets the X-Men.” Magic returns to earth, and the US government rapidly cracks down on the magic and presses the gifted into national service…except for the prohibited schools. Anyone who develops those powers is Kill On Sight. Myke has experience in the military world, and the whole book drips with authenticity. The second book follows a different lead from the first, so it seems like a reader could jump on with either.

 

And in my day-job world, we’ve got awesome stuff as well:

Broken by A.E. Rought (1-8-13 Strange Chemistry). This is our January book from Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint I work for (through Angry Robot Books). Broken is a Paranormal Romance with strong shades of a literary classic. I was particularly struck by how the novel conveys the intensity of teenage emotion and omnipresence of school gossip.

She Returns From War by Lee Collins (1-29-13 Angry Robot Books). This is the follow-up to Weird Western The Dead of Winter. I have a special place in my heart for Weird Westerns ever since I played Doomtown and the Deadlands RPG. Definitely read The Dead of Winter first, because there’s great play with established horror tropes and western genre conventions.

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter, by Cassandra Rose Clarke (1-29-13 Angry Robot Books) For fans of the ‘Data is a person, dammit!’ storylines on ST: TNG and of literary SF like The Time Traveler’s Wife. This is a true romance, with some truly beautiful writing and a literary, character-driven approach as opposed to a Lots of Rising Action Plot-Focused one. Meditative, challenging, and packing several emotional gut-punches.

 

EDIT: I originally listed the author of She Returns From War as the author for The Mad Scientist’s Daughter. That’s what I get for blogging at 1:00 while waiting for the laundry machines in my building to work on the second try at drying. Mea culpa.

2012 in Review

Wow. What a year. It’s best to just start out with that. This has been a watershed year in quite a number of ways, and will definitely stand out in my memory as I look back on my life in the future.

So, the big list:

Signed with a Literary Agent (Sara Megibow, Nelson Literary Agency).
Sold my first and second novels (Geekomancy and Celebromancy).
Signed with a media agent for Geekomancy (Jon Cassir of CAA).
Sold audio rights to Audible for both novels (courtesy of above agent of awesomeness).
First novel published (Geekomancy).
Wrote Celebromancy (my first time writing a sequel)
Got a new job (North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books).
Moved from Indiana to NYC for the new job.
First trip to the United Kingdom (again, for the new job).

That’s a lot. Major milestones for my career in publishing and as an author.

On December 30th of 2011, I had recently finished the first draft of Geekomancy, and was hoping that with six months or so of revisions and edits, it might be ready for the market, and that if it sold, I might be able to expect the novel to come out in late 2013.

Things went much faster than that. Much faster. And as a result, all of the ‘you’ve sold a novel, now it’s time to become a Professional’ learning was compressed from the average 12-18 months into less than 6 months. I had a leg up already, having a number of published author friends and being a SF/F publishing professional, but wow was that a quick learning curve. I’m still learning, of course, and looking back over the year there are a number of things I’d do better if I could go back and give myself advice, but such is the way of things.

 

Awesome Things Read in 2012

I read a lot in 2012, especially the back half of the year, when I started working for Angry Robot. I’ve separated my list into AR books and non-AR books for clarity’s sake. The following is a representative, but not complete, un-ordered list of awesome books read this year.

 

Non-AR

Throne of the Crescent Moon
Shadow Ops: Control Point
Feed
Carrie

Nightshifted
Libriomancer
Fair Coin
Divergent
Bitter Seeds
Morning Glories Vol. 1 & 2
Saga Vol. 1
Very Near Mint Vol. 1 & 2

 

Angry Robot

Blackbirds
Nexus
vN
Between Two Thorns (2013)
The Lives of Tao (2013)
The Hammer & The Blade
Dead Harvest

Strange Chemistry
Blackwood
The Assassin’s Curse
Pantomime (2013)

 

I attended WisCon, GenCon, WorldCon, and NYCC, and got to meet more awesome people than I can count.

I count myself tremendously blessed, and the awesome has helped take the sting out of the less-than-awesome things (all non-writer/professional).

2013 has a high bar to live up to in terms of literary awesome, but I’m going to do my damnest to make this new year even better than 2012. I’ve got tons of notes and a more thorough plot outline than I’ve ever had for a novel, just waiting for me to dive in on Sekrit Project #5, which I will do tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

The Next Big Thing – Celebromancy

“The Next Big Thing” has been going around for a while, and I did a version for one project on my LiveJournal, but more people have come along and asked if I was going to do a post on my blog, so I’m giving it another go with Celebromancy.

Since I don’t like the endless obligation idea facet of chain letters, I’m just going to link to some awesome people at the end, who are in no way obligated to do anything with regards to The Next Big Thing.

 

1. What is the title of the work-in-progress that you’re hoping will get you Rowling/Meyer/King money?

Celebromancy

2. Where did you steal this idea?

When my editor (Adam Wilson) asked to schedule a phone call about Geekomancy, I had a pretty good feeling that he might be offering to buy the novel, and that if he wanted to buy one novel, he might want to buy more than one novel in the series. So I jotted down four possible sequel ideas, a couple of which I may yet use.

The one that ended up being the most viable was Celebromancy – where Ree manages to sell a script to a production company (Yay!) but then it turns out that the star is under a nasty curse that backlashes every time she uses her Celebromancy (the magic of fame/celebrity).

For Celebromancy, I wanted to expand the magical world I’d set up in Geekomancy, as well as developing Ree as an aspiring screenwriter. Mainly to put that dream up against the new life she’s gotten herself into as a Geekomancer and general do-gooder. I’ve also taken some ideas from the Unknown Armies RPG, and more than a little inspiration from a particularly famous film from 1950 (telling you which one is a bit of a spoiler).

3. What genre does your manuscript wear like a coat, and what’s the shockingly skimpy & alluring genre that shows up once you open the book?

It’s Urban Fantasy on the surface, and a Hollywood-themed comedy underneath.

4. Which actors would you kidnap and force to play your characters in a movie rendition?

If Natalie Morales wanted to play Ree Reyes, she’d have the role in an instant. But since Wendy Watson is Ree’s spiritual god-sister/god-mother, it might be too similar a character.

Barring that, I’d probably be casting Aubrey Plaza in the lead as Ree Reyes.

My internal conception of Jane Konrad, the cursed star, is based on Drew Barrymore (in her more recent work, ala Going The Distance).

The other major hero is Drake Winters (DRAKE WINTERS!), who in my head should be played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

5. When someone demands to know about this brilliant project, what’s the one sentence you give them?

Snarky screenwriter Ree Reyes gets her big break, but the production is doomed unless she can figure out how to unravel the curse which has turned the leading lady’s fame magic against herself.

6. If it doesn’t get repped/bought by an agent/editor, are you going to trunk it or self-publish?

Celebromancy will be released 7/15/2013 by Pocket Star.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Just over six months, which is the fastest I’ve written a novel while also working full-time. It really really helps that it was a sequel.

8. What other books in the same genre do you hope people will compare your story to?

Geekomancy, since that’s the first book in the series (natch), but also The Dresden Files series and Seanan McGuire’s Discount Armageddon.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A fascination with the social formulation of fame, the way that celebrities lives are rendered public topic of discussion, as well as a frustration with the way that female stars are held up to mutually contradictory and impossible physical and behavioral standards. Also, the fact that I’ve enjoyed films all my life and this was a chance to put my Geekomancy-brain spotlight on them more directly.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Because I am a masochist, instead of featuring a love triangle, I wrote a love quadrangle. Or a love rhombus, if you will.

Other cool things the book features:

Ree vs. a dragon
Our heroine breaking into the penthouse of a hotel using three outfits and one episode of Leverage.
More Ree and Drake buddy adventures
Smokey the terminator (not the lower-case T. No copyright violation!)

 

Awesome people to check out/stalk/read material by (a sampling):

 

Awesome Blurbabge

So, this happened:

“Geekomancy is a glorious blender of genres, like a sweet candy shell filled with pop culture and high heroism. Absolutely stellar.” – Seanan McGuire, NYT-bestselling author of the October Daye and InCryptid series.

How did this happen, you ask? The story, like the blurb, is awesome.

A while back, I got to chat with Seanan McGuire at Worldcon. I was working the Angry Robot Booth, and she was looking to snag a copy of Chuck Wendig’s Mockingbird. I bought Seanan’s friend Amy McNally’s awesome album Hazardous Fiddle based on her recommendation (you should buy it, too!), and when I mentioned my book, she said “You’re the Geekomancy guy?”

If nothing else, that would have made my day and left me happier. But in addition, Seanan asked for a paper copy of Geekomancy, since she prefers dead tree edition reading (I do too, but work necessitates lots of ereading).

Lo and behold, after a bit of a delay mostly resulting from Authorial Neuroses (mine), we were able to send off a tape-bound reader copy (from a very limited supply created for just this kind of situation), and Seanan very generously responded with the lovely blurb above, along with these two others:

“Fun, fast, and surprisingly deep, Geekomancy is self-aware urban fantasy of the highest order.”

“I can’t wait for the sequel.”

 

That sound you hear? That’s not the totally over-hyped not-ever-actually-predicted-by-any-Mayans-ever-apocalypse. That’s my happy author squee. Seanan is one of my favorite authors working in Urban Fantasy right now, and on top of running two strong UF series, she’s also writing smart, intense Sci-Fi as Mira Grant. So I take these blurbs as high praise.

Now, back to writing.

Writing Podcasts

I picked up a serious podcast habit while I was a traveling book rep, and have kept up with most of them even in my more localized gig at Angry Robot. These days, I do most of my listening while at the gym and during my commute.

People sometimes ask me about podcasts, and I thought it’d be cool to list my regular listens and talk a bit about each.

Most of this list is SF/F writing oriented, since that the world I live, eat, breathe, and work in for both my day and whenever-I-can jobs.

Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing – Hosted by Shaun Farrell, Moses Siregar III, and Brent Bowen, Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing takes the temperature of the SF Publishing world on a regular basis with news and topical discussion, as well as frequent interview segments with SF/F writers/editors, and professionals.

Functional Nerds — Hosted by John Anealio and Patrick Hester, this is the sister show to the SF Signal Podcast. The Functional Nerds podcast is balanced between the hosts discussing recent events in SF/F, Music, and Cool Stuff, as well as interviews, all from a perspective informed by the title — being geeky without being disconnected with or nonfunctional in the real world. Functional Nerds is going through a format change soon, so I’m interested to see what they’ll do next.

Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy – Hosted by acclaimed editor J.J. Adams and noted writer David Barr Kirtley, The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy gets some incredibly prominent authors and creatives on the show. I’m also a fan of their guest geek segments, where they have discussions after the interview with the assistance of guest geeks, talking about a subject (usually) related to the work of the main guest.

Once and Future Podcast – Hosted by Urban Fantasy author Anton Strout, The Once and Future Podcast was launched by Strout to give him a chance to share the awesome kinds of conversations from conventions, where writers would talk about their paths to publication, trade tricks, and wander off into awesome digressions about various bits of geekdom. Strout is a fun and probing interviewer, and I was honored to be a guest on the show last summer.

Roundtable Podcast — This show is one of my favorites for listening during workouts, as it helps really get my brain going in the morning. Hosted by Dave Robison and David Humphrey, each week delivers two episodes: an author interview and then a workshop episode, where the hosts and guest host help a courageous author to workshop their story idea into something truly awesome, in their eternal search for what they call…literary gold. I’m slotted to be a guest host in the new year, and I’m really excited for it.

SF Signal Podcast – Hosted by Patrick Hester, this is the Podcast for the Hugo-winning fanzine SF Signal, which features both individual interviews and panel-style discussions on a variety of topics. I find the panel discussions particularly awesome, but like all things, it depends on the mix of panelists and how well they mingle.

SF Squeecast – The Hugo-Award-Winning Podcast (!) comprised of a selection of participants including Paul Cornell, Lynne M. Thomas (moderator), Elizabeth Bear, Seanan McGuire and Catherynne M. Valente, as well as occasional guest stars. This show is imagined as a “never-ending panel discussion of vague positivity.” Participants bring shows, books, etc. to Squee about, giving vaguely-positive-to-total-squee level reviews and commentary. It’s also worth noting that this podcast is a Hugo Award Winner for Best Fancast.

Speculate! The Speculative Fiction Podcast for Writers, Readers, and Fans — Hosted by Brad Beaulieu and Gregory A. Wilson (both of whom I’ve had the fortune to meet in person outside of the podcast work). Speculate’s normal format is a bit different than most of the other podcasts I follow, in that they (mostly) use a triptych model. They do three episodes on one text, collection, or issue of a SF/F magazine. The first episode is Greg and Brad’s review of the text, where they’ll give a usually-low-spoiler evaluation, and raise thoughts and questions that they’ll bring up in the second and third episodes of the triptych. The second episode is an interview with a professional directly involved with the text, usually the author but sometimes the editor or the artist. The third episode is more free-form, with discussion of the text, the interview, and re-visitation of ideas raised earlier in the triptych  They also have occasional State of the Field podcasts taking a broader look at SF/F publishing. I had a great time as a guest on their second State of the Field podcast, along with the fabulous Mary Robinette Kowal.

Sword & Laser – Hosted by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont, this is the long-running podcast connected to the Goodreads group and Geek & Sundry YouTube show. The podcast is the backbone of the Sword & Laser world, with news, interviews, and book group discussion.

Writing Excuses – Hosted by Mary Robinette Kowal, Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells, Writing Excuses is a short-format show where the hosts discuss aspects of writing, panel-style, including features of audiobooks and writing prompts.