May 2009

Dreaming in Other Realms
Some days, when it comes to RPG writing, it feels like feast or famine. But, this is a good problem to have. At least, on the feast side of things. One of my pieces of Shadowrun fiction got through the slush pile with a couple of requested rewrites. I got those turned around in a couple of hours. From there, I talked to one of the line developers and he mentioned there might be more with tight turnarounds. I said, "Bring it on" and then that one piece of Shadowrun fiction became four pieces. This made me very happy. I adore Shadowrun on a number of levels. I really like the genre.

While I was finishing up Shadowrun, Andy from Cubicle 7 pinged me about a Victoriana RPG book that needed some work and done with a super tight turn around. I said, "Bring it on" and he sent me the 'must have' stuff and the 'would like to have' stuff. This was a project I talked about with him over a year ago. I will be working this project this week – after I get some of my "pays the bills" work done.

Somewhere in here, this month, I should get the red lines for my White Wolf SAS project, "Proverbial Monsters." I'm actually quite excited about this.

After BayCon, I will work on Colonial Gothic: Plymouth Rock.

The anthology front of my writing is really taking off. Grants Pass has blurbs and reviews coming in, in preparation for its pre-order in the next few weeks and for its debut in August at GenCon. I'm so excited. My first baby is about to hit the marketplace.

I have two anthologies I've been invited to write for that have due dates in September. I've got the basic story for each but I figure I will work on those after BayCon. Hopefully, I will get both finished before GenCon—plenty of time to spare.

Finally, I've started receiving stories for my new Apex Publishing anthology Close Encounters of the Urban Kind. The due date for that anthology for my authors is September. By October I will choose the anthology lineup. September is a good due date for things.

Ok. Maybe not finally. There is another possible anthology on the horizon for me as editor. We'll see. I've come to figure they are not real until contracts are signed and such. So, we'll see. I'll let you know as soon as I can.

In other news, I've finally joined up on Twitter. You can follow me or not as you like. I don't link twitter to LJ or FB. So, if you want to know what I'm tweeting, Twitter is the only place you'll see it. So far, I like it

BayCon is coming up where I am the Toastmaster. Jeff and I will be driving down to Grants Pass, OR, spending a night there and visiting one of the zoos in the area. Then, arrive into the Bay Area on the 21st. We'll be driving back on the 26th in one shot. Probably won't be useful until the 27th or 28th. I will have my computer but I don't know how much time I will spend on it. I don't have a schedule yet but I'll be out and about all over the convention site at events and panels. Come look me up. I'll have my chapbook, Mastication, with me. Maybe my audio CD, Tasty, too.

Traveling to Pyrocumulon
At 3am on Wednesday morning, I will get up and get ready to travel down to BayCon as its Toastmaster. This is my standard CA trip travel time. However, this will not be a standard CA trip. First, I will actually take two days to make it instead of my usual one. Jeff and I will drive down to Grants Pass, OR for the first part of our trip. I need to pick up some stuff from Grants Pass and we want to go to the Great Cats World Park that is nearby (All big cats all the time!). We will spend the night in Grants Pass and then head out at a much more civilized 9am in the morning.

On the way to the Bay Area, we are going to stop by Sacramento to visit with Heather for a couple of hours and pick up some paintings from her. It is always good to get some Heather time in and Jeff can see where she lives right now. From there, we will arrive at the BayCon hotel and check in. I hear that there will already be at least one party going on that I know of and I know the right people to get us in.

Friday begins my first stint as the BayCon Toastmaster with author Guests of Honor Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. I have to admit that I have been quietly freaking out about the whole Toastmaster thing. I know I have no fear of speaking in front of people but I think, in this particular case, I am terrified of making an utter fool of myself in front of my friends and a couple of authors I have admired for a very long time.

Now that I've acknowledged my nervousness and talked to some people about it, I'm hoping it will go away. I'll be reminding myself of the theme of BayCon, "Return to Pyrocumulon," and mentally coming up with stories told to me by my adventuress grandmother when she visited Pyrocumulon as a little girl. Also, as Jim assured me, I am a born storyteller. If nothing else, I can tell you a good story. Otherwise, I can ask interesting questions of the Guests of Honor and make them talk for a while.

I am really looking forward to this trip. I will get to see a lot of people I don't normally get to see in the flesh even if I talk to them online all of the time. I will also get to meet some people I've never met before and that is always an adventure and a thrill. Conventions are great for the ego and for the career.

Once BayCon is over I have my marching orders for my fiction writing schedule for between now and GenCon. Of course, I will be doing my "pays the bills" writing throughout the entire 2.5 months. In order:

1. Redlines into Eddy on Proverbial Monsters by June 8th.
2. Write Colonial Gothic: Plymouth Rock and turn it in by July 15th.
3. Write short story for anthology #1 (Urban Fantasy) and turn in by July 31st.
4. Writer short story for anthology #2 (Dark Future SF) and turn in by August 10th.
5. Start reading submissions for Close Encounters of the Urban Kind in July.

I hope I am not forgetting anything. I might be. If I am, I will figure out how to squeeze it in. I'm good at that. I work well on a deadline and having GenCon as a pretend "end of the quarter" deadline is a good milestone for me.

After GenCon, I have the WA release party for the Grants Pass anthology, whatever I am doing for Labor Day and then a weekend Trip to Victoria. In my current "future hazy" past that weekend trip to Victoria BC, I have nebulous plans to actually write that one-off horror novel I'm doing research for right now. I'm hoping that is what I can focus on but with Close Encounters of the Urban Kind author list due in October, well, we'll see.

BayCon and Grants Pass
BayCon was a pretty amazing experience with my first time as a Toastmistress. I learned an awful lot about what to expect, what to ask for and generally what is needed to be a GoH. It also cured my fear of adlibbing in front of hundreds of people at a time.

A toast to Programming Operations for making my experience wonderful. I know how hard it was to get scheduling right with all of the problems that went on. I appreciated all of the little things you guys did. Kate – for shoving water down my throat. Meg – for always having a smile to greet me. Kimmie – the box my gift basket came in has been claimed by the cats as a new bed. Chris, Jim, Tycho and Shane – for not killing me when you discovered what the 'problem with my room' was.

A toast to the Jackals and all their hard work. I know, as well as anyone, just how hard it is to get a publication out the door. You guys did amazing work in such a short time.

A toast to Steve and Stephen for my first ever podcast. Thank you for allowing Seanan to do the interviewing while you guys added in the comments. Plus, best end of the interview question ever.

A toast to everyone who came to my first ever reading. Especially with the time/location change. Doing stuff in public for the first time is always difficult. You guys made it so much easier.

A toast to my biggest fan and support system. The handsome man with me all weekend was my husband, Jeff. He was responsible for getting me to where I needed to be on time. He carried all my stuff, collected business cards and made sure I ate. Thanks to him, I was coherent the whole weekend.

While I was at BayCon, the pre-order link for the GRANTS PASS anthology went live and HorrorScope reviewed the book. I am happy-dancing in my chair at both of these bits of news.

"Grants Pass is a remarkable, disturbing, and worthwhile read, and one that is likely to stay with the reader for some time to come. I’m predicting that this anthology will be up for a swag of awards come the next round of Aurealis, Ditmar and Australian Shadows nominations."
-- Chuck McKenzie, HorrorScope (full review here)

Also, we received another blurb from Patrick Swenson:

"This is a unique anthology that deserves attention.  You’ll hear echoes of Stephen King’s The Stand, David Brin’s The Postman and even Cormac McCarthy’s The Road as you read this series of stories about the survivors of a great plague. The stories are varied and lively, and their talented authors lead you (sometimes kicking and screaming) toward sanctuary. If you’re reading these words now, dive into these pages, and meet the survivors at Grants Pass."
 -- Patrick Swenson, editor of Talebones Magazine.

Just before I left for BayCon, I set up a signing/release party for GRANTS PASS at Soulfood Books and Café in Redmond, WA. Jay Lake, Shannon Page, Cherie Priest and James M. Sullivan are confirmed to be there. Seanan McGuire is tentative but hopeful. I think it is going to be a fabulous release/signing party. August 22nd, 2-4pm. We'd love to see you there.

For those of you who will be at GenCon, remember that the GRANTS PASS anthology debuts at GenCon on August 13th. Ed Greenwood and Ivan Ewert will be on site with me to sign the book there, too.