Category Archives: Announcements

Hey, there’s something coming up that I want to tell you about!

Announcements, Crossposted

MidAmeriCon II: the 74th World Science Fiction Convention

MidAmericonImageI’ll be in Kansas for the rest of the week. The World Science Fiction Convention is in Kansas City this year under the MidAmeriCon banner for the second time. Is this a weird way to name a thing? Maybe. Is it cool that the convention travels? Absolutely.

And Kansas City is awesome. I’ve been there before, and it’s definitely not a “flyover” location, though I’ll literally be flying over most of the state of Kansas in order to get there on Wednesday.

Potentially disappointing news for Schlock Mercenary shoppers: I am not exhibiting. No booth, no merch. Just me enjoying the show. We just finished our big show of the year, GenCon Indy, which is always a massive undertaking, and for which we have a team of six people. I’m way too tired to try to run a table with a team of just me.

I will, however, have a coupon code available. Catch up with me at one of my panels, or when I’m drawing comics in the hotel lobby (probably the Crowne Plaza) and I’ll teach you the magic word¹.

My Schedule

THURSDAY:

  • 3:00pm, Room 3501b — Combining Artistic Passions, with Erin Wilcox and Bradley Denton

FRIDAY

  • 11:00am, Room 2211 — Kaffeeklatsch: It’s an hour of unstructured discussion with me, you, and about 10 other people, possibly with beverages. You need to register for this one at the show. And you may need to bring your own beverage.
  • 5:00pm, Room 3501d —The Art of Games²: I’m moderating this discussion with Tanglwyst de Holloway, John Picacio, Peter Tieryas, and Brianna Spacekat Wu.

SATURDAY

  • 12:00pm — Autographs and Sketches: They’ve got me down for an hour in the Autograph Area. I will be very lonely. Come and get a sketch card from me (while supplies last.)

SUNDAY

  • 11:00am, 2503b — Zen Scavenger Hunt, with Jack Campbell Jr., Gail Carriger, and Mark Oshiro. It’s a game show of sorts³.

The rest of my schedule is my own, and I’ll probably random-walk my way into good times with my extended Convention Family. I will also spend a lot of time drawing comics, and if I’m up for company while I draw I will tweet my location. It’s totally okay for you to talk to me while I draw. There’s a big chunk of my language-processing brain that just sits idle while I make pictures.

I love WorldCon. Twenty years ago, back when I was ‘just’ a fan, I was told “you should come to WorldCon” by none other than James P. Hogan during an email exchange about his website. Ten years after that I attended my first WorldCon, and stayed up until two in the morning talking comics with him. He is no longer with us, but his welcoming attitude has always stuck with me. It’s just one of the reasons I will always do everything I can to make fans, friends, and fellow creators feel welcome at this event.

 

¹Sandra will teach the magic word to Patreon supporters.

²I’m incredibly excited about this panel, and honored to be given the opportunity to moderate it. My plan is to pump these guests for all of the information, and if you’d like to join me as I learn from them, please do.

³Panelists bring seven items. The audience sends us scavenging, and then each of us must explain why the item we produce from our stash is exactly what they’re looking for. There will be some thick fiction there, I’m sure.

 

 

Announcements, Crossposted

GenCon Indy, Booth #1343

Sandra and I will join Jim Zub and the Hypernode Corps of Conventioneers at GenCon Indy this week. You can find all of us at Booth #1343, an endcap installation featuring two hundred square feet of pure¹ magic.

GenCon2016-Booth1343
¹Note: Due to the relative scarcity of magic, current FTC regulations state that any product or service comprised of at least 15% magic may be advertised as “pure.”

Magic², you say? Absolutely! I have so much work on my plate that I’ll be spending much of my booth time penciling and inking comics. I’ll happily set that aside to do sketches in your books, so if you’re attending GenCon this year, please stop by!

Here’s my schedule:

Thursday

  • 10:00am, Causus: Writing What you Don’t Know
  • 11:30am-6:00pm*: Booth 1343

Friday

  • 10:00am-5:00pm*: Booth 1343
  • 6:00pm, Chamber: Writing Excuses Podcast Recording

Saturday

  • 10:00am-3:30pm*: Booth 1343
  • 4:00pm, Capitol 1: Writers and Mental Health
  • 6:00pm, Chamber: Comedy Gold (my solo presentation)

Sunday

  • 10:00am-4:00pm*: Booth 1343

If you’re trying to decide which of my panels to attend, I suggest “Comedy Gold.” That’s my solo presentation for writers who want to learn to be funnier. It’s all about refining the joke, and the presentation itself will probably be pretty entertaining whether or not you write.

The Writing Excuses³ session is also going to be quite cool. Dan Wells and I (the only two WX cast members at GenCon this year) will have several different guests on during the two-hour block, and our interviews with them will range across several topics. What will it be about? We don’t actually know yet.

 

²Not “Magic: The Gathering.” I don’t play. Sorry.
*I do take breaks from time to time. Stop by during that block, and if I’ve gone for a walk, the folks there will let you know when I’ll be back.
³If you’re not yet familiar with Writing Excuses, it’s a podcast for Writers which we’ve been doing for just over eight years now.

 

Announcements, Crossposted, Reviews

Force Multiplication, and Death by Cliché

We just got word that our pallets of Force Multiplication: Schlock Mercenary Book 12 will be arriving sometime “in the next week or so.” If you want your copy shipped soon, now is the time to place your order.

A great many of you have already placed your orders, and are reading this and asking what OTHER book you can maybe order. Well, as it happens, my friend Bob has a book out! You may remember Bob from his guest-review of Hardcore Henry. That’s his blog style, and while it’s not the same as his literary voice, the snark does shine through.

DeathbyClicheDeath by Cliché is Bob Defendi unchained. It is the story of a game designer who attempts to sneak out of the worst role-playing session ever, and ends up in the game itself, starting with a room “lit by flaming brassieres.”

This may be misleading. Death by Cliché is not full of puns and dad jokes¹. It’s a funny, frightening, poignant, and exhilarating exploration of a world in which RPG clichés and sloppy game design are the governing principles, the unseen hands pulling the strings.

UPDATED TO ADD: My 21-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son both grabbed copies² from Bob last night. Five hours later—FIVE HOURS LATER—they both got grouchy when we insisted that it was time for lights to be out so the old people in the house could go to sleep.

Which is to say that my review may not have gushed to the level that this book deserves for some readers, including a junior majoring in illustration and a junior-high student majorly invested in Minecraft.

 

¹There are puns and dad jokes in the book. I won’t lie. They’re there. Not everywhere, but there. Usually as the set-up for something that is actually funny.

²He only meant to give us one copy of the book at Writing Group on Thursday, but he had a stack, and my children, even the adult ones, can be grabby.