Gen Con Next Week!

Next week I'll once again make the trek to Indianapolis, IN for Gen Con! Gen Con is one of the premier tabletop gaming conventions out there, but they also happen to have a superb writing track in the shape of their Writer's Symposium. Most of the Writer's Symposium events will take place at the Downtown Marriott, near the Indianapolis Convention Center, and that's where all of my panels will be. (My signings, on the other hand, will be in the massive dealer's room of the Convention Center.)

Check out my schedule, (mostly) complete with provided panel descriptions!

Thu 1 Aug

1:00 PM (Ballroom 3): What Are You Reading?

This one didn't have a description, but I assume it is The Panel in which we talk about what we're reading at the moment, and what we've read recently that is awesome!

4:00 PM (Ballroom 2): Who Said What? Clarifying Dialog

"He said, she said...does dialog always need tags? How can you keep readers from getting confused?"

Fri 2 Aug (Which is turning out to be an incredibly busy day for me)

10:00 AM (Ballroom 4): Scrivener Demystified

"So you've decided to ditch the notebook or Word to give this whole Scrivener program a whirl. Can this program make your process better? Come learn from LaShawn Wanak, A.E. Greenwood, Christopher Husberg, and more."

11:00 AM (Ballroom 1): Capturing the Creepy: Getting the Details Right

"Horror and suspense writers want to captivate their readers without grossing them out, or worse, boring them. Lucy Snyder, Richard Byers, Christopher Husberg, and others discuss how much detail is necessary."

12:00 PM (Ballroom 1): Business Plans for Writers

"Writing is a creative endeavor, but it's also a business. Which means...you need a business plan. Shanna Germain, Matt Forbeck, Christopher Husberg, and Keith Law discuss making one."

1:00 PM (Austin/Boston): Fractal Narrative: Understanding Story Structure

"Are you an outliner? then you need to understand story structure. A discovery writer? You need it, too. Archetypal structure is for everyone, and Christopher Husberg will tell you the basics." (This one's all me! It's also incidentally an adaptation of the presentation I gave in Brandon Sanderson's creative writing class earlier this year :-D.)

2:00 PM (Ballroom 4): Character Relationships in Stories

"Relationships are the backbone of your story. Our panelists Kristin McFarland and Christopher Husberg discuss writing realistic friendships, romantic partners, frenemies, and more."

3:00 PM (Atlanta): Midpoint: How to Get This Pivotal Moment Right

"Midpoint is considered one of the most important moments for character development in a story. Christopher Husberg, Kristen Britain, Bill Fawcett, and Elizabeth Vaughan tell you how to get it right."

5:00 PM (Vendor Hall): Signing

Sat 3 Aug

2:00 PM (Vendor Hall): Signing

Salt Lake FanX April 2019

I'll be at Salt Lake FanX this Friday and Saturday. I've got one panel about Marvel's The Defenders series on Netflix (i.e. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, with a smattering of The Punisher thrown in there). That particular selection of programs is interesting to talk about, if only because there are such extreme highs and lows throughout.  If you're interested, check out the panel in Exhibit Hall 1831 at 6pm on Friday!

Otherwise I'll just be selling books at Bard's Tower, as usual. Come say hello and buy my amazing books if you haven't already.

2019 Schedule

So, the last month or two (actually the last five months, but who's counting?) have been pretty crazy. But, generally, things are going well, and I think I'm finally getting back into a decent routine.

So, that said, I'm finally posting a belated 2019 schedule! I'm not attending quite as many Comic Con-style events this year, but I'm pretty excited about the schedule overall. I'll post more details as each event approaches. And, as always, if you find yourselves at any of these events, come say hello to me!

14-16 February  |  Life, the Universe, and Everything  |  Provo, UT  |  My Schedule

19-20 April  |  Salt Lake FanX (Spring)  |  Salt Lake City, UT

18 June  |  Fear the Stars Book Launch!  |  Utah (exact location TBD)

20-22 June  |  Fyrecon  |  Layton, UT

1-4 August  |  Gen Con (Writer's Symposium)  |  Indianapolis, IN

15-19 August  |  Dublin 2019 (Worldcon)  |  Dublin, IE

5-7 September  |  Salt Lake FanX (Fall)  |  Salt Lake City, UT

8-14 September?  |  Witchy Kingdom/Howling Dark/Fear the Stars Book Tour  |  TBD

31 October - 3 November  |  World Fantasy Convention  |  Los Angeles, CA

Gen Con 2018!

I'm returning to Gen Con this year! I had a great time last year, and I'm very much looking forward to my second appearance at the Con. I'll be participating on a number of panels and other programming items as part of Gen Con's writer's symposium, so if you're attending, find me and say hello!

Thu 2 Aug

12:00 PM (Boston): Artificial Intelligence and Speculative Fiction
I'm particularly excited about this one. I've been researching artificial super intelligence quite a bit lately, and I think this could be a very fun discussion.

3:00 PM (Ballrooms 3-4): Religion in SF/F
Some of my bread and butter, you could say. Religion plays a very significant role in the Chaos Queen books, so no surprise here.

4:00 PM (Ballroom 1): Finding Inspiration
Not sure of any details but I think it'll make for an interesting, and hopefully helpful, panel.

Fri 3 Aug

1:00 PM (Signing Table in Dealer's Room): Signing!
I'll be signing books! I'll also have a few for sale in the dealer's room.

Sat 4 Aug

2:00 PM (Atlanta): Vampires: Undead, or Just Dead?
Vampires! Because Astrid! And BtVS!

Sun 5 Aug

9:00 AM (Boston): Read and Critique 3
I think you have to sign up for this in advance, so if it interests you, look into it!

Upcoming (and tentative) 2017 Schedule

Hey folks! Figured I'd post a schedule of all the conferences, conventions, books tours, etc. I'm hoping to do in 2017. A few things are still up in the air but once I have those nailed down I'll get it up on my website as well. I'm excited for the year--there's some really cool stuff ahead!

16-18 February  |  Life, the Universe, and Everything - My Schedule  |  Provo, UT

2-5 March  |  Emerald City Comic Con - My Schedule  |  Seattle, WA

8-10 June  |  Fyrecon  |  Layton, UT

20 June  |  Dark Immolation Release Party!  |   Weller Book Works - SLC, UT

July  |  Dark Immolation and Witchy Eye Book Tour!  |  PNW

Monday 10 July - Mysterious Galaxy Books
San Diego, CA

Tuesday 11 July - Borderlands Books
San Francisco, CA

Wednesday 12 July - Reader's Guide Bookstore
Salem, OR

Wednesday 12 July - The Book Bin
Salem, OR

Thursday 13 July - Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
Portland, OR

Friday 14 July - University Bookstore
Seattle, WA

Saturday 15 July - The Rediscovered Bookshop
Boise, ID

2 August  |  Reading/Signing  |  London, UK

9-13 August  |  Worldcon  |  Helsinki, Finland

17-20 August |  Gen Con  |  Indianapolis, IN

September  |  Dark Immolation Book Tour Part 2!  |  UT, NV, AZ, CA

Details and Locations TBA

21-23 September  |  Salt Lake Comic Con  |  Salt Lake City, UT

2-5 November  |  World Fantasy Convention  |  San Antonio, TX

World Fantasy 2016

I'll be at the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, OH next week.

World Fantasy always seems a different animal than some of the other conventions I've attended. It has a more intimate feel; they usually cap the attending memberships at around 1000, I believe.

This year I'll have the pleasure of participating on a couple panels (see schedule below)! I'm very much looking forward to that, and if you're one of the folks attending, come say hello. I don't know as many people going to this con as I usually do, so I'll be looking for new friends :-).

Friday 28 October at 1PM (Delaware CD): Fantasy Emerging from Crisis
Are there trends in fiction that can be tied to global crises? E.g., certain kinds of fantasy emerged from the instability that led up to WWI. The Lord of the Rings is a clear response to the Great War. Are there directions we can anticipate with near-future environmental conflicts (water wars), destabilizing natural disasters, rising seas, income inequality issues, etc. perhaps leading to more political works (especially considering the popularity of Game of Thrones)? 9/11 produced Lavie Tidhar’s World Fantasy Award winning Osama and also inspired stories by Lucius Shepard, Richard Bowes, Jack Ketchum, and others. Fantasy inevitably arises from the zeitgeist. It can also come right out of the headlines.

Saturday 29 October at 5PM (Delaware CD): How George R.R. Martin Has Changed Fantasy
Will imaginary-world fantasy ever be the same? A whole generation has grown up reading A Song of Ice and Fire. As Martin’s epic fantasy comes to a conclusion, where will those readers turn next? ASoIaF is rife with strong female characters, both good and evil, disabled characters with real power, and lack of security around the characters they love. What kinds of stories should we be writing for those fans? What is the long-term influence likely to be, beyond the obvious cash-ins and knock-offs? Great works inspire real growth. What should we anticipate?

CONduit Schedule!

Hey alls!

So I'll be attending CONduit in Salt Lake City next week, and I'm going to be on a few of the panels. This is particularly cool because I've never really participated in panels before...so, while I'm a bit nervous, I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Sat 23 May (Snow): The Heroine's Journey
I'm particularly excited about this one--it's a panel I proposed, based largely on what I've been studying about the Hero's Journey and the Virgin's Promise recently. While Campbell's monomyth (another name for the Hero's Journey) has certainly revolutionized how we view and analyze story, it's been good for me to broaden that view a bit and include more perspectives in that analysis. This panel (I think, I don't know who's moderating it so you never know) will address whether the Hero's Journey is outdated or not, what value we can find in tweaking it (if any), and what alternatives exist.

Sat 23 May (Arches): The Lovecraft Panel
As far as I know this will be a pretty typical Lovecraftian panel, talking about elder gods, Cthulhu, and Necronomicons galore! I've been a Lovecraft fan for a number of years, now, so I'm excited to chat about his work.

Sun 24 May (Arches): A Touch of the Macabre
I'm not entirely sure what this panel will be about, but I think it has something to do with horror, dark fantasy, and the line between the two (if one exists at all). This will be a fun one, I think, as my stuff is usually in the dark fantasy realm, but I've also dabbled in horror. And, based on a few things I've seen and studied lately, I'm more invested in good horror than ever before. I'm excited to share some of the insights I've had.

So, there you have it, folks! I'm definitely looking forward to participating in my first panels; I'm looking forward to talking about all three topics. If you're going to CONduit, you should definitely consider coming to one of these, because I'm pretty sure they'll be awesome. But even if you don't, you should find me anyway :-D!