This has been a very interesting and extensive summer. On the book side of things, largely good, on the personal side it ended on the heartbreaking side, but I am looking forward to the fall for many reasons.
This summer involved conventions in cities such as Chicago, Charlotte, Louisville, Columbus, and more, including a couple where I served as the Literary Track or Writers Track director (Louisville's Fandom Fest on the former, Chicago's Duckon on the latter.) In some ways it was rewarding to get back on a Con staff, as I could help create opportunities for my fellow authors, and in others it was trying, as these always involve a lot of hard work, and you can't control everything (as in the case of very disappointing hotel management at the Fandom Fest site, which contributed to an environment that was more challenging than it ever had to be).
The summer ended with a couple of new things on the writing front. One, of course, was the latest book in the Rising Dawn Saga, Book 3, The Seventh Throne, and recent days also saw my latest Harvey and Solomon story, "An Island Sojourn", in Dreams of Steam II: Bolts and Brass (from the awesome folks at Kerlak Publishing).
The Harvey and Solomon story is something that brings me both increased joy and piercing sadness, as Harry passed away a few weeks ago due to complications with his FIV (kind of like the cat version of Aids). All I will say right now is that I'm doing my best to function, but it really tore away another piece of me, and in the case of Harry, a big part of me. The three years I had with this amazing cat were such a tremendous blessing, and the world is most certainly a darker place without him. He made a huge difference in my life, I love him immensely, and I can only grasp onto the hope that there will be a reunion in a much, much better realm one day.
Rest assured, there will be more Harvey and Solomon stories in the future. It is the least I can do for Harry.
The near future promises to be full of activity, even if I'm not on the road very much this fall. I am returning to work with Fandom Fest, and there's going to be an exciting new component with it, a kind of new zine, that will be very proactive in spotlighting authors, publishers, editors, artists, and more. We've got a building staff of writers for it, and more info will be coming soon.
Similarly, the Seventh Star Press blog has taken another step, with some new regular contributors aboard, new regular segments, and more. It is also going to do everything possible to bring a light to talented individuals and worthy organizations/companies in the publishing world.
Should be quite a bit of new online media generated, and I hope it does some good for everyone in this crazy publishing climate.
On the film side, the Swordbearer screenings have gone well, in terms of the feedback I have gotten from them. I am currently at the outset of developing a feature length project, which will be tough as it involves the largest budget I've ever sought by far. It is based on an original screenplay of mine and I hope to find some individuals interested in financing a project dedicated to creating a theatrical quality, ORIGINAL dark fantasy film with a couple of significant cast names. I think with all the remakes, sequels, things based on comic books, etc, people might be a little hungry for a truly original story, and I can assure you that this one has all the goods.
It also looks like I'll be taking on a screenwriting project for a talented producer. More on that later, but it is something I am very interested in doing.
I'll be working very, very shortly with Karen for the preparation for the third Fires in Eden Book. Very excited about returning to Ave, as I love that place! :)
I'll also be doing everything I can to help with PR and outreach for Seventh Star Press, which includes coordinating a new "street team", the Seventh Star Saints (anyone volunteering to help a small press out is worthy of sainthood, without question, LOL). I do a ton of work in the area of promotion for the SSP authors, but it is worth it as they are really a first rate group to be involved with. Michael, Jackie, Steven, David, and D.A. are just fantastic individuals, which makes the long hours worth it.
I'm sorry I got a little behind on my posting here, but the Fandom Fest tasks (my track alone had 55 panels, 20 workshops, and over 100 participating guest panelists), had me tunnel-visioned for a little while (except for my writing, of course, LOL), and then the situation with Harry knocked my awry for awhile. I'll be much better. In fact, I plan to be more candid about many things in the coming posts, as far as my insights on the worlds of writing, film, the industries involved, and more. Hopefully you will enjoy it!
So, I'm sorry for being a little shabby on my consistency lately on the blog here, but I'll be making up for it in a hurry!
:)
-Stephen
Showing posts with label Duckon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duckon. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Memphis-Clarksville-Nashville Book and Movie events this week
It is a little after 11pm, and I still haven't fully packed to head out at about 4:45 am for the first larger roadtrip of 2011, but I needed to get a post up here regarding this week's trip while the copies of the questionaires for the Swordbearer test screenings print out!
In a nutshell, this week involves 5 events in 4 days in 3 cities.
Here's the scoop:
Thursday: Memphis, Tennessee
6-8 pm book signing at Davis-Kidd Booksellers
I'll be doing a presentation with giveaways a little after 6, and will be on hand until about 8 to hang out, visit with reader-friends, and sign any books anyone wants signed/personalized. This is an amazing bookstore, part of the Joseph-Beth family (which is my hometown store here in Lexington). I encourage everyone to come out to show their support for small press authors and Davis-Kidd. This is my second visit to Davis-Kidd in Memphis, and I'm really looking forward to returning.
I will then be going over to Studio on the Square in Memphis, a fantastic screening venue, where at 9 pm we will be doing a test screening of Swordbearer. This will be the first live audience to see it on the big screen, and it will include the Author of Ascendant, David Blalock, whose book was the foundation for Swordbearer, and Fight Choreographer Allan Gilbreath.
Friday-Saturday: Clarksville
On Friday, February 4th, I will head to Clarksville for a 2 day event at the University of Arkansas' Ozarks Campus. It is called the Red Gunk Festival, and will be a celebration of speculative fictiion, with readings, workshops, and more. I will be doing a reading on Friday between 7 and 8. I will then be doing another test screening of Swordbearer.
The festival continues through Saturday the fifth, and I will be on hand in the morning to afternoon running an exhibit on my work in the lobby of the Fine Arts building there.
Sunday: Nashville, TN.
Then, I will finish the trek with a visit to Borders West End on Sunday, in Nashville TN. I will be doing a presentation/Q and A/discussion a little after 2, and then hanging out until 4, and I definitely hope all Nashville folks can make it. Due to a schedule conflict, I can't make Hypericon this coming summer (I do the programming for the Writer's Track at Duckon, and they are on the same weekend that Hypericon just announced for this year's Con), so this may be my major Nashville stop for 2011.
This is my first visit to this Borders, and I hope that we can have a successful turnout, as it will encourage Borders to do more events with small press authors in the future. Borders stores have been very good to me during the past couple of years, and I really would like to see this one become a new Nashville home for me.
I really hope that people in the three cities above will give some serious thought to coming out and supporting the events (and maybe help pass the word around). The road treks are far from easy to pull off...In truth, they are very difficult much of the time. (Someday, I will go into some detail about what is involved in these kinds of events, as they involve a load of planning, logistics, media, expense planning, and more, from months out until the day of the event).
It really does matter when I see a reader-friend in person. I can't say that enough. I also hope that my reader-friends see that I make every effort to be an accessible author, as well as an author who goes the extra mile with what I do for my reader-friends. So, take a few minutes, and come on out and say hi and visit for a little while if you live around Memphis, or Clarksville, or Nashville! All the events are free to attend as well!
In a nutshell, this week involves 5 events in 4 days in 3 cities.
Here's the scoop:
Thursday: Memphis, Tennessee
6-8 pm book signing at Davis-Kidd Booksellers
I'll be doing a presentation with giveaways a little after 6, and will be on hand until about 8 to hang out, visit with reader-friends, and sign any books anyone wants signed/personalized. This is an amazing bookstore, part of the Joseph-Beth family (which is my hometown store here in Lexington). I encourage everyone to come out to show their support for small press authors and Davis-Kidd. This is my second visit to Davis-Kidd in Memphis, and I'm really looking forward to returning.
I will then be going over to Studio on the Square in Memphis, a fantastic screening venue, where at 9 pm we will be doing a test screening of Swordbearer. This will be the first live audience to see it on the big screen, and it will include the Author of Ascendant, David Blalock, whose book was the foundation for Swordbearer, and Fight Choreographer Allan Gilbreath.
Friday-Saturday: Clarksville
On Friday, February 4th, I will head to Clarksville for a 2 day event at the University of Arkansas' Ozarks Campus. It is called the Red Gunk Festival, and will be a celebration of speculative fictiion, with readings, workshops, and more. I will be doing a reading on Friday between 7 and 8. I will then be doing another test screening of Swordbearer.
The festival continues through Saturday the fifth, and I will be on hand in the morning to afternoon running an exhibit on my work in the lobby of the Fine Arts building there.
Sunday: Nashville, TN.
Then, I will finish the trek with a visit to Borders West End on Sunday, in Nashville TN. I will be doing a presentation/Q and A/discussion a little after 2, and then hanging out until 4, and I definitely hope all Nashville folks can make it. Due to a schedule conflict, I can't make Hypericon this coming summer (I do the programming for the Writer's Track at Duckon, and they are on the same weekend that Hypericon just announced for this year's Con), so this may be my major Nashville stop for 2011.
This is my first visit to this Borders, and I hope that we can have a successful turnout, as it will encourage Borders to do more events with small press authors in the future. Borders stores have been very good to me during the past couple of years, and I really would like to see this one become a new Nashville home for me.
I really hope that people in the three cities above will give some serious thought to coming out and supporting the events (and maybe help pass the word around). The road treks are far from easy to pull off...In truth, they are very difficult much of the time. (Someday, I will go into some detail about what is involved in these kinds of events, as they involve a load of planning, logistics, media, expense planning, and more, from months out until the day of the event).
It really does matter when I see a reader-friend in person. I can't say that enough. I also hope that my reader-friends see that I make every effort to be an accessible author, as well as an author who goes the extra mile with what I do for my reader-friends. So, take a few minutes, and come on out and say hi and visit for a little while if you live around Memphis, or Clarksville, or Nashville! All the events are free to attend as well!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The week has been a blur, 4 signings and Duckon!
Yes, the past week has been a blur. The previous Friday, it was Empire Books and News in Huntington, followed by Borders Bookstore on South 4th Street in Louisville, and then Borders on Eastgate Blvd in Cincinnati. A couple days then to cram a week's worth of work in the office, and then off to Duckon this weekend in Chicago, and a signing at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines on monday evening.
Not the easiest thing in the world to undertake, but I'm managing to hold up still as I get ready for the third day of the Duckon convention in Chicago!
The three day swing in Huntington, Louisville, and Cincinnati went fairly smoothly, except for a fire alarm that went off about 45 minutes into the Huntington signing. The staff at each store really made me feel welcome, a definite godsend when you are making your first bookstore appearance in each of these cities (I have previously attended conventions in Cincy and Louisville, but had not yet done a store signing).
I had some activity, met some new readers, and saw some familiar faces. I can't state it enough how much it matters when you are on the road at a store signing like this and you look up to see someone that you know. It doesn't matter if they buy a book, it is the visit that really makes the difference for an author on the road. I truly appreciate the individuals that took the time out of their day to come out and make me feel welcome.
I left each store with a pretty positive feeling that the ball is rolling in those stores, and I am going to work to do a bookstore visit in Louisville, Cincy, and Huntington once a year.
Duckon is going fairly well. It is my first time in the Chicago area, so I am a very new face to the area and attendees. I did conduct a screenwriting panel/workshop on the first night of the convention, and then a followup panel on screen adaptations the next day. I have an exhibition table in the dealer's room as well. I am sharing the table space with my friend, the talented author TammyJo Eckhart and her husband Tom. The two of them are definitely favorites of mine on the convention circuit by far. So is Jon Klement, the guy who is easy to find at conventions because he is usually wearing a set of big purple ears, referencing his wondrous Smerdiverse. He's been very busy here at the convention, both for his writing endeavors as well as his podcast show, DragonTalk Radio, which covers Cons and features all kinds of guests.
At the reading hour I was given I met a pair of very cool individuals, one a guy named John Nicoulakos, who has been conducting some workshops and panels here, and a friend of his, Nate Defensor, who is the founder and head of a Filipino-Indonesian martial arts system. I really enjoyed visiting with these two guys, and Nate is going to be getting me up to speed on his particular martial arts system, perhaps for inclusion in future film projects or even writing projects. Nate is really doing some big things with it, as he was selected to represent the system at a big worldwide convention in Beijing that is coming up.
John and I are going to be keeping in touch in terms of some developments for next year, involving a new role that I apparantly am taking on here at Duckon! More on that shortly, as I get a little more detail.
I will be finishing out here at Duckon, and then off to Des Moines, where I am going to be visiting with Lettie Prell and her husband (Lettie's a fantastic fantasy author, who wrote Dragon Ring), as well as Shirley Damsgaard (writer of the Ophelia and Aby Mystery series), before doing a signing at Beaverdale Books on monday night.
Then, I will make my way back to Lexington, probably stopping for a lunch with Steven Shrewsbury and his wife (he just came aboard Seventh Star Press with his novel Thrall).
Definitely putting in a few road miles, but it is all part of the journey of an author! Next Friday, though, I am looking forward to the hometown signing and afterparty...time to kick back a little, and then sleep in for the first time in what seems like eons!
Not the easiest thing in the world to undertake, but I'm managing to hold up still as I get ready for the third day of the Duckon convention in Chicago!
The three day swing in Huntington, Louisville, and Cincinnati went fairly smoothly, except for a fire alarm that went off about 45 minutes into the Huntington signing. The staff at each store really made me feel welcome, a definite godsend when you are making your first bookstore appearance in each of these cities (I have previously attended conventions in Cincy and Louisville, but had not yet done a store signing).
I had some activity, met some new readers, and saw some familiar faces. I can't state it enough how much it matters when you are on the road at a store signing like this and you look up to see someone that you know. It doesn't matter if they buy a book, it is the visit that really makes the difference for an author on the road. I truly appreciate the individuals that took the time out of their day to come out and make me feel welcome.
I left each store with a pretty positive feeling that the ball is rolling in those stores, and I am going to work to do a bookstore visit in Louisville, Cincy, and Huntington once a year.
Duckon is going fairly well. It is my first time in the Chicago area, so I am a very new face to the area and attendees. I did conduct a screenwriting panel/workshop on the first night of the convention, and then a followup panel on screen adaptations the next day. I have an exhibition table in the dealer's room as well. I am sharing the table space with my friend, the talented author TammyJo Eckhart and her husband Tom. The two of them are definitely favorites of mine on the convention circuit by far. So is Jon Klement, the guy who is easy to find at conventions because he is usually wearing a set of big purple ears, referencing his wondrous Smerdiverse. He's been very busy here at the convention, both for his writing endeavors as well as his podcast show, DragonTalk Radio, which covers Cons and features all kinds of guests.
At the reading hour I was given I met a pair of very cool individuals, one a guy named John Nicoulakos, who has been conducting some workshops and panels here, and a friend of his, Nate Defensor, who is the founder and head of a Filipino-Indonesian martial arts system. I really enjoyed visiting with these two guys, and Nate is going to be getting me up to speed on his particular martial arts system, perhaps for inclusion in future film projects or even writing projects. Nate is really doing some big things with it, as he was selected to represent the system at a big worldwide convention in Beijing that is coming up.
John and I are going to be keeping in touch in terms of some developments for next year, involving a new role that I apparantly am taking on here at Duckon! More on that shortly, as I get a little more detail.
I will be finishing out here at Duckon, and then off to Des Moines, where I am going to be visiting with Lettie Prell and her husband (Lettie's a fantastic fantasy author, who wrote Dragon Ring), as well as Shirley Damsgaard (writer of the Ophelia and Aby Mystery series), before doing a signing at Beaverdale Books on monday night.
Then, I will make my way back to Lexington, probably stopping for a lunch with Steven Shrewsbury and his wife (he just came aboard Seventh Star Press with his novel Thrall).
Definitely putting in a few road miles, but it is all part of the journey of an author! Next Friday, though, I am looking forward to the hometown signing and afterparty...time to kick back a little, and then sleep in for the first time in what seems like eons!
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