I’ll be on a few panels (see schedule) below, catching up with some friends and resurrecting my annual lunch date with Byron (I hope). Uncertain whether I will do any interviews for Adventures in Scifi Publishing at the convention, but may line some up for after (the con does have a nice guest list).

Now, at this point, you know on my whereabouts than my wife does.

My Schedule

Friday, May 22, 2015

• Podcast revival (so much more than ‘Serial’) 5 – 6 p.m.
  Panelist: Jim Yellon
  Moderator: Yours truly

Saturday, May 23, 2015

• Do the Hugo Awards still matter? 11 – 12 p.m. (If you want my expanded take on this, go listen to Adventures in Scifi Publishing episodes 291, then 289 through ??)
  Panelists: Yours truly, Chris Gerrib, Diance Lacey, Dave McCarty, Donna Munro
  Moderator: Will Frank

• Why Indie bookstores are on the rise again? 5-6 p.m.
  Panelists: Zo Allen, Lou Antonelli, Dennis Young
  Moderator: Yours truly

Sunday, May 24, 2015

• Sports and Science Fiction 10 – 11 a.m.
  Panelist: Brent Bowen, Al Ling Chow
  Moderator: Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Shaun (left) and me … When I worked for the University of Kansas, helping families and their children get acclimated to college life … we called this session, “Holding on and letting go …”

June 7 (my 40th birthday coincidentally) marked the end of an era. No. It had nothing to do with me or any odd behavior on my part because I’ve reached mid-life. Yet, it was the end of a period for Adventures in Scifi Publishing.

Shaun Farrell, the show’s creator, stepped down after seven years of podcasting magic. Now, the show will carry on (and continue to be well-produced I might add) under the caring leadership of new Executive Producer Timothy C. Ward.

But I do want to thank … need to thank … Shaun for the show he created. See, before I got involved as co-host and interviewer, I was a HUGE fan. Shaun was (still is) a tremendous interviewer who opened up the world of speculative fiction and its culture to me and countless other listeners.

I’ve told Shaun this a number of times but if it weren’t for him, it would have taken me a decade to not just find Viable Paradise … but to find it accessible. That’s what Shaun did: He not only shared his passion for genre, but also made it so you knew he was still learning about it, too.

I’ll miss Shaun dearly, but the show must go on … I encourage you to share Adventures in SciFi Publishing with friends and to read Shaun’s work.

“Restoration Saturdays” will include prior blog posts that are still relevant but recently lost to my own stupidity (i.e. not backing up my database). I know. I know.

Here it is: The concept cover for my interactive novelette project, “Benandanti’s Belle.” Looks lovely, doesn’t it? The credit goes to my two graphic designer friends that I’m working with on this fun, rewarding project.

I first talked about the project publicly in May 2012 when I joined my cohorts in crime from Adventures in SciFi Publishing on the AudioTim podcast.

In short, our li’l project team will be creating an electronic book that integrates photography and other multimedia. The overall goal is to see whether we can use these tools to complement the story without ruining the immersive quality – something I’m told can’t be done.

How’d we get started?
My two co-creators read some of my work and have wanted to collaborate for some time. When they read Benandanti’s Belle, a 10,000-or-so word story that melds Werewolves, Dutch holiday origins and 17th Century European slave trade; they demanded THIS be the story.

Having just read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children — and seeing how coupling a reader’s imagination with interspersed photography could powerfully serve the story — I was easily sold on the idea myself.

I’ll track our progress here over the next several months, providing snippets of storyline or concept media as they come available. We’re targeting a launch for this holiday season on Apple’s iBooks platform. Other platforms will follow.

Can interactive stories succeed? And can they be as immersive as prose?
My time at the Campbell Conference certainly gave me new perspective on using interactive forms to tell story. One example given was the web stories of Slender Man, the video series of Marble Hornets as specific example.

While there are many works deriving from Slender Man, our project will resemble something more like The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (with less game-type interactivity and more prose).

So … What cool examples of interactive storytelling have you seen?

ConQuest, as always, was a fabulous time. Caught up with old friends, met new. Apparently, there was record attendance this year. With literary titans such George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, the Nielsen Haydens and more, who would expect less.

I thought the programming was spectacular this year, and that had nothing to do with me participating. I generally judge the programming by how deeply conflicted I am on what session to attend. And that happened often.

Of the three panels I moderated, all had a guest of honor attached, so you know the conversation would be lively. The panels also were cool because the “Worldbuilding” and “Books on Tour” conversations had a neo-pro or newly published author slant. Patrick Rothfuss took part in those two panels, and if you’ve not heard him chat live, it’s worth the price of admission — he’s equally thoughtful and engaging.

In fact, the panels were so interesting that I’m going dedicate separate blog posts to each over the next couple of weeks.

John Picacio’s (Lone Boy) Loteria cards

Another highlight was having John Picacio at the convention. I could listen to him talk about his artistic process all day. Even though I’d seen it before at Bubonicon, I had to see his slideshow — and I told anyone who would listen that they needed to do the same.

I also interviewed John for Adventures in SciFi Publishing (in the meantime, listen to our interview with him from a few years back). Based on what I saw at the con (and the story I heard behind them, which we’ll discuss in the forthcoming interview), his Loteria cards are off the chain. For now, you can learn more at his site.

On the friend front, I spent a good deal of my non-scheduled con time with the Hadley Rille Books tribe and KC tribe (per usual I thoroughly enjoyed my annual lunch with Byron — though it was bit rushed this year and didn’t include the requisite pork tenderloin sandwich. Byron does recommend an interesting sounding book, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake ). Read Mark Nelson’s blog post at Heroines of Fantasy for a sense of what the HRB crew is all about — great people and amazing authors widely regarded by Publishers Weekly.

Though I didn’t have a chance to really catch up with them much (though I did get a great hug from Teresa), it was amazing having my former VP instructors the Nielsen Haydens in the building. I heard whispers from people all over the con talking about their insights.

Speaking of which, I, like Teresa, had the opportunity to participate in Journey Planet’s “Themed For Your Pleasure” podcast. My segment with the zany Christopher Garcia is not up yet (it may never be made available), but Teresa’s is, so check it out.

As many of you know … I’ve been MIA the last six to seven months, so also watch for my “Restoration Blog” and “If only I were a Time Lord …” posts over the next few months. I’ll recount some things worth noting from my hiatus.

Well, if you want to see me in the flesh at ConQuest … here you go (though there are much cooler people to see at ConQuest than me, namely Patrick Rothfuss, George RR Martin, John Picacio and Teresa Nielsen Hayden to name a few):

ConQuest 44 (and pre) schedule (All times CT):

Thursday

4 p.m. — TolkienQuest at Prospero’s Parkside Books 208B NW Highway 7, Blue Springs, Missouri 64014

Unfortunately, I may only be here early, but plenty of my friends are participating in some pre-ConQuest Tolkien fun. The event includes games, Tolkien trivia, readings and $200 in prizes. It’s free and open to the public.

Friday

3 p.m. — Theme’d for your pleasure podcast

Saturday

Noon — Worldbuilding — Knowing vs. Showing (Moderator)

2 p.m. — The Good, Bad, Ugly Movie Adaptations (Moderator)

3 p.m. — Books on Tour (Moderator)

Sunday

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend Sunday so I can assist family in Oklahoma.

But trust me, you can overdo it — on both counts simultaneously — too. The trick is striking the perfect balance.

Of late, fear has consumed me. It has consumed me to the point I’m exhausted. To the point I’ve been mentally paralyzed. As a result, I stopped use of social media the last six or so months (things went strangely south the end of October).

I folded in the tent and, if you weren’t a member of my immediate family or a friend who has beat down my door, you didn’t speak with me. I certainly haven’t been reaching out to people. And, in many cases, you might have called, and I didn’t answer. I’m sorry.

Oh, I’ve been busy and I’ve had legitimate reasons to be afraid: my son’s had health issues, I’ve had health issues, and I’ve been stressed and was working seven days a week during until mid-February. We’re both much better now, too.

Still, that’s no excuse for picking up the phone or answering email. I don’t if I’d call it arrogance, but it’s certainly selfish. And I’m truly sorry. If you’ve stuck by me or already forgiven me, thank you.

Well, I was so preoccupied folding in the tent that I let my original blog languish and (somewhere in between lays blame from my own neglect and shoddy work by my hosting provider) I lost everything from the old blog.

Welcome to the reboot: for me personally and the blog. Hopefully, from this point forward, you’ll find me somewhere with right mix of fear and arrogance.

And because I’m not a Time Lord, hopefully, you’ll oblige me in the coming weeks by reading some of the best that was (and reading email responses six months old) while I wallowed in fear.