My First WorldCon

I have been reading science fiction and fantasy books for as long as I can remember. I am sure there are a lot of us who can say that because it turns out there are a lot of us geeks. You know who we are: not popular, not good at sports, not very social. Books were our life and that never stopped being the case.

 

As I have gotten older I have branched out to many types of books, but science fiction and fantasy in all its forms has always been my mainstay. In fact, I grew so enamored of it that I started attending conventions, working at conventions, have a room dedicated to geek fandom as well as my office being filled with geek toys. You know how it is, you love it, you love it all the way.

 

My new step this year was to become a voting member for the Hugo Awards. I am thrilled to have finally been a part of it. And what’s more, the convention itself was not far from my own home, so attending was also in the cards this year. WorldCon74 was held in KC, MO.

 

(BTW KC is great but that’s a separate post.)

 

Attending the world’s oldest science fiction convention has its pluses and minuses like anything does. I didn’t know anyone there and geeky people are not known for being easy to friend. Despite my efforts I didn’t do so well making new friends. But that’s okay. The panels were amazing and filled with great advice and world class writers. The Dealer’s Room took a lot of my money for books and gifts for friends. I checked out parties, the art show, a Paul and Storm performance (and I got to meet them!), a John Scalzi reading (which was remarkably fun), and of course I attended the Hugo Awards ceremony.

 

I knew going into it that there had been drama around the awards for the last couple of years. It was more than a little unnerving that  there was strife in the community. That it was aimed particularly at women and people of color, different religions and countries is frustrating since to me Science Fiction is the place where all walks of life, no matter how different, are accepted by each and every one of us (HELLO STAR TREK).

 

A lot of the female writers especially have been enduring an endless amount of harassment. As someone who is seeking to become a full time writer and has dealt with plenty of sexism and harassment at other jobs, I was more than a bit wary. 

 

However, women won big this year and that was truly inspiring. The community on the whole stood behind them and their amazing talent, myself included. The night of the Awards I was quite proud, plus Pat Cadigan was a funny, funny host. There is plenty of fallout from certain overly privileged people whom I refuse to acknowledge, but the winners are holding their own against them and it doesn’t change that they did amazing work and got the recognition they deserve.

 

The decriers rather baffle me as it’s not like there haven’t always been women writers or gay people or people of other races (besides white). They’ve ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF OUR WORLD. And them being here and also writing and getting recognition doesn’t detract from other good writers. The idea that it does is quite puzzling. Truly it does not even serve their best interest because people get bored reading the same old stuff all the time and if you turn people off to books, you turn them off to ALL books. Which means NO ONE IS BUYING ANYBODY’S BOOKS, which totally sucks.

 

Anyway, they don’t matter. The complainers are a group of hate-spreading opportunists growing ever smaller, most of whom just rile up who they can to get money out of them. There will likely always be a few of them, but hopefully they will join the rest of us here in the real world full of good books and many engaging voices. 

 

A few snaps from my trip:

The Girl With All The Gifts

href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19418277-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts">The Girl With All the Gifts: Extended Free Preview by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, Zombies.

I've read World War Z (I did like this), Zombie Survival Guide, a crap ton of Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies, Pride Prejudice and Zombies, Graveminder-the point is-I've tried and I just don't get into zombie stuff.

Walking Dead drove me nuts because I can only read/watch people making bad choices for so long. I know zombies are biologically impossible. Half my family is in the medical profession and they always treat the CDC in these stories as if they are the dumbest people in the world as opposed to what they actually are: the most intelligent. I get that it's a statement on the human condition but one only needs to read the news to also grow exhausted reading about it for amusement.

The dumb part is, I like vampire books. I've read so many vampire books, I made my friends intervene (no joke). Perhaps it's like classic rock: you can like the Rolling Stones or the Beatles but you can't truly love both.

My friend did not tell me what this book was about, giving it to me because I love Lucifer, which is also written by M.R. Carey. I have to be genuinely surprised by a book these days to be completely impressed by it. I know, I am a snot.

This book blew me away with its unique rendering of a brave new world after the zombie apocalypse. It didn't presume people were stupid, it didn't presume they were without heart or only possessed with dysfunctional decision making skills. It walks the thin line of horror based in reality successfully. Something that I find more unsettling than all out gore. Telling a story that blurs the lines as to who gets to be deemed living or not living. And what it really means to be a civilized human being. 

View all my reviews

Geek Craft Expo ..SUCCESS!

When I said I wanted to do my first craft show I really did not know what to expect. I tried not to hope for too much with the exception of myself getting a lot done. This got a bit sidelined with a serious elbow injury but somehow and with some great help I managed to pull it off. GeekCraft Expo turned out to be a great experience. It helps that it was in Madison, Wisconsin which is a great place all on it's own. I met nice people, I sold lots of jewelry and books(I even signed a few) and I saw old friends. I'll do a separate post on Madison later because the food is always amazing. Some snapshots from the weekend.

I hope to do more shows in the future and I am currently basking in the happy afterglow. 

Happy Geekery!

NerdCon Stories

A few weeks ago I attended NerdCon. A first time convention put on by Hank Green and Patrick Rothfuss. Hank Green is of course the brother of John Green and that is no small part to play. Together they do projects that seem destined to educate and possibly even make the world a better place. Patrick Rothfuss is best known for his Kingkiller Chronicle books and is from Madison, Wisconsin. The best city in Wisconsin. 

The convention itself seemed well attended for a first timer. And decently organized. In my mind there did not seem enough things to do but keep in mind the conventions I regularly attend run 4 days straight for 24 hours a day. Every one is different. The panels at this one were some of the best I've ever been to and I was especially happy to find ones focused on diversity. Something that books and media in general need more of in my opinion (and others as well!). One of my favorite speakers at the convention turned out to be Dylan Marron who is best known for his role on Welcome to NightVale. His talks and conversations about being a minority and gay trying to get cast into films were insightful and heartbreaking in a lot of ways. Something that is becoming more and more important to me as I write and just get older in general is carefully exploring commonly used phrases and just basically trying to see outside my own experience. So many things that spill from our mouths on a daily basis are steeped in racism. And that's often not an accident. People being out there trying to change the direction and raise the level of conversation is more important than ever and I was pleased that many of the guests at NerdCon wanted to talk about this subject. It's going to take place here again next year and I am really looking forward to attending again. I have a few snapshots but I didn't take many pictures. I generally was just trying to pay as close attention as possible. I didn't get one single autograph either. Which is fine as I am terrible at talking to people anyway.

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Everything You Need to Know About Books in Under 10 Minutes.

A couple of weeks ago I attended NerdCon Stories here in town at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It was a pretty great experience in some ways. It was the first convention of it's type and the panels and MainStage performances were especially fun. I am used to attending a convention that has stuff going constantly for 4 days straight, 24 hours a day: this was not like that. However, what it lacked in insanity it made up for with quality. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was a portion of the MainStage performance put on by Paul of Paul and Storm fame. The point of this convention was to explore on many levels why it is stories matter. But you can't do that without having some background information. So if you want to learn and laugh and love a completely nerdtastic book joke, watch this video:

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a remarkably powerful book. It explores the long lasting and devastating effects of slut shaming in a society that not only allows it but has often encouraged it. It moves into the very painful topic of suicide especially in teenagers and how the stigma attached to talking about it can be the final driving factor of a choice. If this isn't required reading, it really should be. I can only imagine how book burning zealots would seek to ban this story seeing it as smut. But as is almost always the case, that would be wrong. I highly recommend this book. 

View all my reviews" title="Books" target="_blank">A book review:

Fairyland and a girl named September.


The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
 by Catherynne M. Valente
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To say this is a delightful book is an understatement. It is quirky and charming. Very creative and colorful. Clever and full of sights, sounds and smells that are real indeed. I am looking forward to reading more of them and find myself wishing for a city made of fabrics and an entire Land of Autumn year round. It does of course, remind me that once again, clocks, keys and lanterns should be cared for quite carefully. Also-never underestimate the importance of a spoon or the library. Lest we not forget the Golden Rule: Never reveal your true name. 

View all my reviews" title="Books" target="_blank">The Fairyland Books

CONvergence 2015

Every fourth of July weekend or the weekend nearest it, I should say...for 16 years I have been attending CONvergence. I honestly don't know what I would do if this convention ever ceased to exist, I adore it so much. Plus, I adore throwing parties and we did that again this year for the 7th time. This is the second time we've had a party based on a book I've written. The first five parties were based on the Sandman Comics because I've been a Neil Gaiman fan for a very long time now. But then we sort of took a break having hit an apex of awesome with our last Sandman themed party. I had been slowly putting together my book series and was being encouraged to do more with it. Well, now I am glad to say I have two books done and two parties thrown and my very own mailing list (yes, I find that exciting). 

I have a bunch of pictures here. Some of them are from around the convention but the truth is when you have a party it takes away a lot of time of seeing the convention plus, to be totally honest, I had a very sick cat I was taking time away from the convention to spend time with and I am glad I did as she passed away shortly afterwards. So the weekend was great but it was marred by personal sadness. 

A few notes about the pictures: The giant sun dial you'll see was created by my friends Dan and Cecci. The symbols on it are all symbols from my books and created by Matthew, my partner and me. The necklaces are designed and put together by both of us as well. We built a skyline of a mythical city that is in my story Armand El Dorado. It is made out of wood, paint, metal brackets, glitter and weighted with bricks. We created the golden back drop with taffeta and tension rods and lit it from behind with LED strands. There were wooden shapes through out the party based on ancient Colombian art. All of the candy we give away is vegan and gluten-free, so anyone can have it. We make and bottle all of the beer, cider, wine and champagne we serve. I may think of other things to add later but there's some good stuff to look at here!

Behind the Scenes.... CONvergence Room Party

This year marks the 7th time my friends and I have thrown a room party at CONvergence. The first five parties were all based around the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman. At some point, I was approached by a handsome man who suggested to me that I write a book I've always wanted to write and then have a launch party based on the book. Which is what we did last year for the first one, Ella Cerulean. You can see pics of that party here: The Naturals. It was quite a success and so, it was offered that I write a second book and throw a party again this year. And then that happen. So here is some behind the scenes of prep for the party and then my next post will be of the party and convention itself.

My Second Book!

A few snaps of the first copy of my second Sci-Fi book! I actually can't believe I got it together and wrote the second one.

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Ok so here's the actual story of it's arrival:

I have been trying to distract myself all morning with videos and the like as I knew the first proof of my book was going to show up at any minute. (It turns out this isn't any easier the second time) I once slammed my thumb in a car door several hours from home and didn't shed a tear, nor when I was hospitalized off and on for a month nor when I had a biking accident that smashed my face into concrete and the ambulance driver kept calling me Brenda. But the doorbell rang and my hands were shaking as I signed for the parcel. As I opened it and felt the tears welling up because I am BAD ASS....My phone started to buzz uncontrollably with texts and calls. It turns out that I am also apparently having an affair with someone's husband. So yeah. This is even better than last year when a pallet full of someone else's book showed up instead of mine. Yes I laughed quite a bit. Even right now as I type this.

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Book Review, THE BESTEST AND AMAZINGNESS

Getting into this review business.

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book encompasses everything I love about fantasy. Using ancient mythological creatures feared, revered and misunderstood to tell a powerful story in the modern world. The devastating unending cycle of war that spreads like wildfire to the eternal hell that a world cannot recover from in the form of genocide. These books serve as a good reminder to never count out any genre of storytelling no matter what kind of book snob you may believe yourself to be. I cannot wait to read the next one. 

View all my reviews" title="Books" target="_blank">Laini Taylor is the best.

Always Late to the Party, The Green Brothers

I am always behind on finding out about awesome stuff. I don't know why really. I don't live in a cave or anything. Anyway, one of those awesome things is Hank and John Green and their Youtube channel. I am doing my best to watch every single one and as I go I am going to post some of my favorites. I'll explain why I am doing this soon. Take care!

Trigger Warning or My First Book Review Posted Here.....

Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It hurts to type this as I adore Neil for many, many years now but some of the writings in this book are dreadful. And I would've only given it a 3(my standard rating if you even finish writing a book because it is quite difficult) but for the ones in here that are great. So great that they deserve another star. The Sherlock story for example. The Eyes Only Dossier as another. But the building a chair poem? Blah. I could mention a few others but I will not. As he does say in the introduction that short story collections are essentially vanity projects. The grading curve on them is different. I've read his other collections and the ones that are great in this book are some of the best for sure. I would say to skip some of them but really reading them all gives you an idea of comparison of a very good short story and one that was probably only published because you are Neil Gaiman. Consider it a lesson. 

Ella Cerulean, Book 1 of The Connective

I have been one very busy lady. But I am so happy and proud of what I've been doing. Over the last 8-9 years I've been slowly putting together ideas for a new young adult science-fiction series of books. I never really sat down too much to write a whole lot till the last year. I've had notes on scraps of paper, napkins and even a chapter written on my iPhone. I finally was given the opportunity to work full-time on getting the first book out and well, I leapt in with excitement. My first book Ella Cerulean, Book 1 of The Connective is now out and available on multiple websites. I will note that these currently available editions will change a bit as we wanted to get the story up and out in time for a party we hosted at the local convention CONvergence (separate post to come). The party we had was based on the last three chapters of my book. It is so amazing to me how much work several people in my life put into making this happen. We worked countless hours to make this come to life and I couldn't possibly be happier.  The paperback version is available on Lulu.com and the digital versions are on Apple (this version is free and includes a mini-movie) and Amazon (which is currently .99 but will go up in price). The book is also available internationally. I am so pleased to tell you that the first week it was out it sat in the top 100 of Young Adult Sci-Fi books for a week. I couldn't believe it! It was on the list with The Hunger Games and Divergent! Allow me to share with you photos of the book cover and of the party we created and hosted for three nights in a row based on the book!

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We served homemade blue champagne!

Happy Birthday J.K. Rowling!

I got to go to Harry Potter's Wizarding World on Halloween last year (2011). It is AMAZING! As a total book geek, an entire amusement park made out of a young adult novel is very cool!

If you get the chance to go to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure-Go Go Go! It's so fun!