Lunatic Fringe

As you may remember, I did a panel at MileHiCon about science in science fiction called Lunatic Fringe.  There was a review article posted about it at Sciencefiction.com.  You can read it at http://sciencefiction.com/2013/10/29/much-science-science-fiction/.

Having a blast

Towards the beginning of the year, I left my position with Sam's Dot (as taken over by White Cat), and started focusing on editorial duties for Nomadic Delirium Press, and I'd have to say that I'm having a blast.  I like this whole working for myself.  I've created a couple of anthologies that I'm now reading for, and I'm even thinking about starting a new webzine.  We're beginning to see an increase in readership and the zines are filling up faster than they have in a while.  It would seem that people like the direction I'm taking NDP...or at least I hope they do.
No matter what, it really is a lot of fun to be an editor and a publisher, and I'd love to make it a full time thing...we'll have to see...

MileHiCon recap

We've been back for a few days from the Con, but this is the first time I've had enough down time to really sit down and write this blog.  As always, we ran around like crazy, trying to do as much promotion of my stuff as we could, while still making sure that the kids got to do a lot of fun stuff.
Friday we had a panel about Mars, which started off a bit slow because most of the panelists didn't know the answers to the first couple of questions, but once we got past that, we had a really great panel with a lot of good conversation about the future of Mars exploration.  That night we did autograph alley, which didn't seem to have as much traffic as usual, but still managed to sell one book, while talking with some old friends.
Saturday started out with a signing.  During that time, there must have been some great things going on because traffic was very slow, and I've never seen so few people roaming around.  That afternoon, I did the Lunatic Fringe panel about science in science fiction.  This was one of the best panels I've ever done.  We managed to get a lot of information out, while we had a blast.  I don't think I've ever been on a panel with such "colorful" guests.  A really great time seemed to be had by all.
Sunday started with a reading, which was pretty well attended.  I just read a portion of the first chapter of A Problem in Translation as anything I'm working on is still too rough to share.  That afternoon I did a panel about the new era of publishing.  This was another great panel.  There were four self-published authors, and me as a publisher.  Again, we shared a lot of great information, and had a great time.
These were some of the best attended panels and reading that I've done.  I had to admit that when I saw the panels I was scheduled for, I didn't think they'd be that great, but they were really were.
As an author I didn't feel this was that successful of a con, but for Nomadic Delirium Press, I think this was a very successful con.

My final MileHiCon schedule

Here's my final schedule, with rooms and panel descriptions:

Friday:
3:00 p.m. Grand Mesa A Dreams of Red

The Dutch organization Mars One says its wants to put humans on the surface in 2023. The Inspiration Mars Foundation plans to fly astronauts to Mars and back on a 500-day mission in 2018. And of course, science fiction writers have been dreaming of a visit to the Red Planet for centuries. But how does fantasy stack up to reality? 

8:00 p.m. Atrium Autograph Alley

Saturday:
1:00 p.m. 2nd Floor near Art Show Signing

2:00 p.m. Grand Mesa B&C Lunatic Fringe

How fuzzy can the science be and still be believable?  

Sunday:
11:00 a.m. Mesa Verde C Reading

3:00 p.m. Wind River A New Era of Publishing: Good, Bad, & Ugly

What does it mean for both readers and writers? Good as in new professional markets like 47North and more choices for authors as well as the fact that books stay available as e-books, so readers don't have to worry about book one in a series being out of print when they discover book three, as well as more books coming back into print because authors have the rights and are publishing their back lists. Bad as in mountains of garbage that gets dumped on Amazon and Smashwords, and what that means for readers—how do you find the good stuff and avoid the garbage? The Ugly: the widening rift between indie and traditional publishing and those who try to bridge that gap with a foot in both camps (hybrid) and why it shouldn't matter because readers just want good books. And the online distribution stampede, with prices set by the distributors.   

A new novel

Although I'm still toying with the YA novel I started, I broke ground on a new novel today, and this one certainly won't be YA.  Yes, I'm back to writing dystopic fiction.  The new novel is once again about an oppressive government and the struggles of the individual to not only survive amidst the oppression, but to actually attempt to overcome it.
I've had the idea for a while, and I even knew a little about the main character, but I wasn't entirely sure who he was until I wrote the first 1000 words of the novel today.  Now I have a much better idea of who he is, what he wants, and what he might be capable of, so now I can sit down and at least put a loose outline together, so that I don't get lost in the rest of the novel.
Life is still very hectic, and the "real" job is still wearing me out, so I have no idea how long it might take me to write this book, but I'm pretty excited about it, so I'm hoping it will flow quickly.

Tantrums

Imagine someone sitting in a corner, fingers in their ears, crying because they can't have their way.  Imagine someone throwing themselves to the floor and kicking their legs and flailing their arms wildly because they can't have their way.
Am I talking about my almost three year old?  No.  I'm talking about these so-called leaders that we elected to Congress.  Get over yourselves ladies and gentlemen, and get down to what we are paying you to do...work.  Govern as we tell you you should.  It's not government by the few, it's government by the people.  You, you selfish jerks, work for us.  You have no right to hold us hostage, so get over yourselves and do your jobs.
As long as I'm still paying taxes for my government to work for ME, you damn well better work for me.
Rant over.  I have work to do...

My MileHiCon 45 schedule

It isn't set in stone yet, as I'm hoping to add a singing, but here's my schedule for MileHiCon 45 as of now:

Friday 3:00 p.m.: Dreams of Red
Friday 8:00 p.m.: Autograph Alley
Saturday 2:00 p.m.: Lunatic Fringe
Sunday 11:00 a.m.: Reading
Sunday 3:00 p.m.: New Era of Publishing: Good, Bad, & Ugly

I'll post more details about each of the panels in a few days.  Hope to see some of you there...

September recap

Glad that week's over
We've lost another one
Another one of my crazy ideas
Maybe I should have said something
Water water everywhere
Back to the intense pain