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Science Fiction Tag

Capclave's mascot, a dodo bird wearing a propeller beanie . Capclave's motto is "wearing reading is not extinct"

Where To Find Me at Capclave 2021

Capclave is a small local convention that concentrates mostly on short fiction, held every October in Rockville, Maryland. This year, Capclave will be on October 1-3 (they'll be requesting proof of vaccination for all attendees). I've been going to Capclave since 2013, and it's one of my favorite conventions (especially since it focuses on short fiction). The following are the panels and events I'll be a part of: Friday, 6:00 PM (Washington Theater) First Things First: How Do You Hook The Reader? (with Scott H. Andrews, David Walton and Darcy Wold) Many readers will pick up a book in the store and read the opening before they decide to buy. How do you compel this prospective purchaser? Do you write an elegant sentence, promising great literary merit? Introduce a captivating character that will be fun to spend time reading? Establish a mystery that will make the reader want to find out...

September 19, 2021
Public Appearance, Uncategorized
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Where I’ll Be At the Baltimore Book Festival 2019

I'll be participating in the Baltimore Book Festival (November 1-3) again this year and I can be found speaking at the area designated for SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) in the Columbus Center. Friday, 6 PM Making Magic Work For You: (with Ruthanna Emrys, Scott King, L. Penelope, Jon Skovron); Authors talk about infusing magic worldbuilding into their worlds, and how it can go beyond mere magic systems. Saturday, 5 PM All Fiction in A Day: The Beauty and Brilliance of Commute-Length Reads: (with Nino Cipri, AT Greenblatt, Barbara Krasnoff, LH Moore, Nibedita Sen, AC Wise)); Panelists make the case for why short fiction, whether in magazines, podcasts, anthologies, or collections, encapsulates the best of the SFF genres. Find out who you should be reading! ...

October 28, 2019
Public Appearance, Science Fiction
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There But For the Grace of Grunts Go I. . .

I enlisted into the Navy right out of high school. I graduated early and everything so I could make it to boot camp. My dad was the one who took me to the recruiter's offices on base. He let me get a feel for each of the branches of the military by letting me ask intermittent questions. There was something about the Marine recruiter's look that put me off. The Army guy was fine, but they only had openings for infantry. The Navy guy, though, made me take notice. Navy was looking to recruit for Intelligence Specialists, and with my ASVAB scores I qualified. My natural pessimism helped prepare me for the awfulness of boot camp in Orlando, Florida during the height of summer. Other recruits seemed bitter because their recruiters lied to them, or let them believe it would be different, which isn't that much different than lying. I made...

April 1, 2019
Military, Science Fiction, Writing
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Where I Can Be Found at the Baltimore Book Festival

Now that the schedule is official, I'm able to talk about where I'll be during the Baltimore Book Festival this year. I'll be at the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) pavilion, located in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore. This year, I'll be participating in a couple of panels, which I'll detail below. Friday, September 28, 4:00 PM Hey, You: Why You Should Be Reading SF/F Even If You Never Have Before Don't consider yourself a genre reader? Let our panel try to convince you why you should be reading SF/F, and some of their favorite entry points and gateway books. With: Sue Hollister Barr, Vera Brook, Christopher Mark Rose, K.M. Szpara, Andrea Tang Saturday, September 29, 1:00 PM Short Fiction: The Beating Heart of SF/F Novels may get all the press, but some writers do their most interesting work at the shorter lengths, where they are free to be more experimental. Find out the...

September 5, 2018
Public Appearance
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