Speculate Marathon + Fundraiser Nov 12th

Speculate Marathon Schedule graphic

Hi folks! I haven’t been very active on this feed, mostly because I’ve just now started returning to in-person cons and I’ve been hard at work on writing without as much news to announce.

But now I have news!

If you’re a long-time viewer or fan, you know that I co-host an actual play show called Speculate with my friends Gregory A. Wilson and Brandon O’Brien. We’ve played games from D&D to Blades in the Dark, Girl by Moonlight, and more. We’ve been making actual play shows for several years, we love making these shows, and want to make more!

Which brings me to the news. We’re going to be streaming an all-day event on Saturday, November 12th, starting at 3pm EST at Twitch.tv/Arvaneleron

We’ll be bringing you several segments of gaming fun, with the hope that you’ll get excited about what we do and help us to be able to do even more. We’re very proud of the work we do, but it’s resource-intensive, not just in time, but in costs – games, tech, paying for audio editing (worth every penny), and more. Right now, our primary pain point is resources.

Our goal is to be able to release episodes more regularly, going weekly for at least a couple of months, with some other options if we reach higher levels, things like a website refresh, some new tech for regular cast members, and new shows/programming.

Here’s a rundown of our schedule! All times EST

3pm – Greg is running a D&D one-shot from Critical Crafting with Skiffy & Fanty show cast members Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, and Trish Matson!

6:30 pm – Brandon, Greg, and Iwill dive into the world of Destiny 2, a game renowned for good shooting and interesting but largely underused lore. We’re excited to talk about the world and storytelling techniques Destiny is now utilizing to put the story more directly into the gameplay.

9pm – The Strange Friends Crew (as seen in The Case of the Cindered Seal and Fractal Spire) will be playing a one-shot of Blades in the Dark as we’ve done for Worldbuilders and other special events, but this time, with a major twist! We’ll be playing in Faerun’s famed city of Waterdeep in an adventure GMed by Iori Kusano!

Throughout the fundraiser, we’ll have special incentives for large donations, highlights/greatest hits reels from our shows to run during the breaks, and more!

So please mark your calendars and get excited about an entire day of storytelling awesomeness as we work to take Speculate to the next level!

Writefest Schedule!

I’m appearing virtually on panels for this year’s Writefest, a multi-genre conference run by Writespace. Find out how to register here.

You can see me on panels across the weekend:

Saturday April 30th
9am EDT
Podcasting: How Audio Can Grow Your Writing Career
Michael R. Underwood • Marshall Ryan Maresca • Meg Hafdal • Michael DeLuca

1pm EDT
The Query Letter: How to Land an Agent
Michael R. Underwood • Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam • Valerie Valdes • Cassandra Rose Clarke • Kate Pentecost

Sunday May 1st
6pm EDT
Worldbuilding: When Is Your World a Character?
Sean Morrissey Carroll • Georgina Key • Michael R. Underwood • Marshall Ryan Maresca • Valerie Valdes

Flights of Foundry schedule

This weekend I’m attending Flights of Foundry, presenting on panels and teaching a workshop. Flights of Foundry bills itself as “The world’s biggest multi-disciplinary, round the clock, international virtual convention” with guests of honor such as L. D. Lewis, Jana Bianchi, and Tobias Buckell, an intensive workshops series, and activities to fill the whole weekend, there’s something for everyone and more than you’ll make it to.”

Registration is donation-based, so you can attend whatever your economic circumstances!

My schedule (all times EDT)

Friday
3pm – Reimagining TTRPGS
9pm – Workshop – Power & Politics in Worldbuilding

Saturday
9pm – Building an Actual Play Podcast

Sunday
3pm – Synchronized Storytelling: Collaboration and Co-writing

BFGCon Schedule

This weekend, I’m headed to BFGCon, a regional games conference in Frederick, MD. I’m presenting on a few panels, but will otherwise just be hanging out and taking in the gaming goodness.

Friday

1300 – 1400 Turning Games into Art – A panel discussion

Ben Walker
Jess Comstock
Michael R. Underwood
Sarah Zeiter

Saturday

1430 – 1530 Next Level Worldbuilding — A presentation by me with lots of time for Q&A

Michael R. Underwood

Sunday

1300 – 1400 Social Justice Gaming – A panel discussion

Dan Layman-Kennedy
Jess Comstock
Michael R. Underwood
Daniel Laughlin

Kickstarter update + BaltiCon Schedule

First up, I have some fun news to share if you haven’t seen it already:

Kickstarter funded

That’s right – the campaign has passed the original funding goal, and now we’re pushing on for the audiobook editions of Episodes 3 and beyond! There’s still time to check out the campaign and get involved. (I’ve added some whimsy-based goals, as well as a limited edition hardcover level).

 

Also, I will be at BaltiCon this weekend, and if the site is to be trusted, this is my schedule:

Friday May 27, 2016
5:00 PM
Readings: Michael Kangal, Gary L. Lester, Christie Meierz, Michael R. Underwood
Renaissance – St. George
Christie Meierz | Michael Kangal | Gary L. Lester | Michael R. Underwood
Reading 52 minutes

 

Saturday May 28, 2016

5:00 PM
Sarah Pinsker, Alex Shvartzman and Michael R. Underwood Autographing
Renaissance – Autograph Table 1
Sarah Pinsker  | Alex Shvartsman | Michael R. Underwood
Autographs 1 hour

 

Sunday May 29, 2016

11:00 AM
Dangerous Voices Variety Hour
Renaissance – Ballroom (MD Salons CD)
Michael Underwood | Sarah Pinsker | Peter S. Beagle | Fran Wilde | Jo Walton | John Picacio
Special Event 1 hour 30 minutes

Monday May 30, 2016

10:00AM
Monday Gimungous Autograph Session
Renaissance – Kent
Autographs 1 hour 30 minutes

12:00 PM
What’s Hot Short Fiction?
Renaissance – Parlor 8029
Sarah Pinsker  | Michael R. Underwood | Jean Marie Ward | Scott Edelman | Alex Shvartsman
Discussion Panel 50 minutes

 

ConFusion 2016 Schedule

This week I will be attending Life, the Universe, and ConFusion in Novi, MI. ConFusion is a very cool smaller fan-run con, and I’ve been attending for several years now. This year’s promises to be even better, with more friends planning to attend, a new venue, and an exciting schedule.

I’ll have paperback copies of Genrenauts with me – including galleys for Episode 2 – hit me up if you want to get in on the inter-dimensional story heist-ing fun.

Here’s where to find me at the con:

Friday, January 22nd

9:00 PM – Charlevoix
Party with Angry Robots!

Drinks! Snacks! Prizes! Authors!

Robot Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, January 23rd

11:00 AM – Petoskey
Why Do I Pay So Much For Ebooks?

Many new releases debut with eBook prices not too dissimilar from the cost of a discounted hardcover. This had led to cognitive dissonance among readers and complaints that eBook prices are simply too high. Why do readers find these costs difficult to handle? What’s the sweet spot for eBook pricing today and will it rise or decrease over time?

Yanni Kuznia, Brigid Collins, Michael R. Underwood, Steve Buchheit (M), Sunil Patel

 

1:00 PM – Charlevoix
Adapting Science Fiction and Fantasy

Adapting beloved (and not so beloved) genre into other mediums (adapting books to screen, comics based on TV and media properties (Dr. Who, the new Star Wars comics, Mad Max, novelizations of films and tie-in novels)

David M. Stein, Michael R. Underwood (M), Lynne M. Thomas, Matt Pearson

 

5:00 PM – Manitou
Vigilante Justice in Urban Fantasy

The Urban Fantasy genre is built, in many ways, around glorifying extra-judicial violence. In this way, they might have more in common with the Western than the modern crime novel. Given the huge challenges in the United States with gun violence and criminal justice, should we be more concerned about the narrative shape of these novels?

Diana Rowland, Michael R. Underwood (M), Delilah S. Dawson, Jeannie Szarama, Melissa F. Olson

 

6:00 PM – Interlochen
The Fallacy of Commercial Fiction

Literary culture often derides the idea of commercial work, suggesting that marketability signals a lack of refinement. What exactly is commercial fiction and why is it snubbed? Furthermore, are science fiction, fantasy, and horror equally burdened by this dichotomy?

Devi Pillai, Laura Resnick, DongWon Song, Michael R. Underwood, Marko Kloos

 

Sunday, January 24th

11:00 AM – Manitou
Fantasy Fantasy: Live Draft

Fantasy sports has become an international phenomenon. It’s time for the ultimate conclusion: Fantasy Fantasy. Come watch the panelists conduct a live draft of their Adventuring Party from a pool of the most famous characters in genre history. The winner will be selected by the audience and then showered with confetti.

Tom Doyle, Douglas Hulick, Kristine Smith, Michael R. Underwood, Steve Drew (M), Cherie Priest

 

…and if all else fails, find me at The Bar. 🙂

LonCon schedule

LonCon 3 logo

Hi folks,

I hope to see many of you at LonCon 3 this week, where I’ll be supporting participating in panels, Angry Robot Authors, and having my first ever Literary Beer event at a very British hour of 11 AM. Expect publishing gossip, geekery, and/or marketing secrets.

On Wednesday at 6PM, I’ll be at Forbidden Planet for the Angry Robot/Titan event.

My LonCon schedule:

Thursday

Tolkien Society Presents: The Unpayable Debt?
18:00 – 19:00, Capital Suite 13 (ExCeL)

Friday

Diversity in Comic Books: The Good, The Bad, and the Missing
12:00 – 13:30, Capital Suite 8 (ExCeL)

Cities: Where, Who, Why? (Moderating)
18:00 – 19:00, Capital Suite 10 (ExCeL)

Saturday

Literary Beer
11:00 – 12:00, The Bar (ExCeL)

Autographing 1 – Michael R. Underwood
15:00 – 16:30, Autographing Space (ExCeL)

Sunday

The Fantastic Now
13:30 – 15:00, Capital Suite 16 (ExCeL)

I’ll also be attending the Hugo Awards as a part of the Skiffy and Fanty Show, nominated for Best Fancast! I will treasure my rocket pin for all time.

All signs are pointing toward a huge, exciting convention, and I look forward to seeing many of you there!