I am pleased to announce that I am attending WorldCon this year for the first time in Chicago. This, for me, is mostly vacation, an excuse to hang out with new (and old) friends, and a way to drown myself in awesome stories. Thankfully, Kodama (my netbook) is extraordinarily portable and has a long battery life so I can still write on the road.

This year, I’m two panels and I also have a reading. In addition to these events, I will be spending some time as a booth volunteer for my friend Jason Sizemore from Apex Publications on Friday from Noon to 4 p.m.

Steve Jackson (from Steve Jackson Games) will also be at the convention along with a host of other people from the gaming industry including Matt Forbeck and Kenneth Hite. I’m looking forward to hanging out with some friendly faces.

Should be a great time for all!

Panels and Readings

Saturday, September 1st

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Grand Suite 3, Conquering Writer

Has your story fizzled out or hit a wall before completion? There are common reasons for this, and common solutions which work for most writers. Pros discuss their tips and tricks for getting a story back on track.

Eldon Thompson (Moderator), Gene Wolfe, Monica Valentinelli, Russell Davis, Tom King


Sunday, September 2nd

11:00 – 11:30 a.m., Dusable, Reading

I’ll be reading excerpts from “Tomorrow’s Precious Lambs” and “Tailfeather,” which were stories published through Apex Publications. I am strongly considering the addition of chocolate or some other confection, because really… what reading shouldn’t have some sugar?!?!

1:30 – 3:00 p.m., Grand Suite 3, The Ethics of Book Reviewing

Discussion on what are the ethics of book reviewing? What biases or conflicts of interests need to be divulged? What kinds of statements are not appropriate? Is it OK to review a book by a personal friend (or an enemy)?

Michael J. Lowrey (Moderator), Jo Walton, Michael Levy, Monica Valentinelli, Roland Green

This year, for GenCon, I will be working in my capacity as Marketing Director for Steve Jackson Games. We have a giant eye-in-a-pyramid at the top of our booth so you can’t miss us in the Exhibit Hall. If you don’t spot that, we’re listed as Booth #1301 in the program book.

This is my first fan-facing convention for the company and I’m pretty excited about it. I coordinated a Munchkin Apocalypse preview contest on Twitter and the winners will be sitting down with the Munchkin Czar, Andrew Hackard, to play this upcoming release. (Hint: we also have a capsule machine in our booth and the last golden ticket… Er… seat will be won there.) There are also a ton of signings, interviews, and announcements planned.

On Wednesday, I’ll be headed to the Diana Jones Awards and am very anxious to see all my friends. Then, on Friday I’ll be representing our company for the ENnie Awards. Both of our submissions, GURPS Horror Fourth Edition and GURPS Social Engineering, were nominated for a total of four awards. There’s a ton of great games and supplements nominated; I’m sure it was very tough for fans to decide the winners.

And now, I pause for a bit of self-promotional awareness.

My Signings

The first is at the IPR Booth #2120 on Saturday from Noon to 1 pm for Don’t Read This Book, the anthology published by Evil Hat Productions for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG.

My second signing takes place at the DriveThruRPG Booth from 11:00 to Noon on Sunday, August 19th. I’ve been told there’ll be a ton of publications new and old at their booth including print copies of: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem, Falling Scales Part II, Exquisite Replicas, The Queen of Crows, Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror, Redwing’s Gambit, and quite a few other stories, games, and supplements!

At the same time, Stone Skin Press, the new publishing arm of Pelgrane Press, will have a signing for their new fiction line. I contributed to the New Hero anthology and The Lion and the Aardvark collection of fables.

Truth be told, there was only so much of me to go around this year. There’ll be other 2012 releases I’ve worked on debuting at GenCon, so be sure to review my latest publications or drop back for a post-GenCon update.

See you there!

Cross-Posted to FlamesRising.com