Tag Archives: jordancon

I got my preliminary JordanCon schedule today! Looks to be a fabulous and fun lineup:

• “Flawed Worlds in Fantasy” – Real societies have problems, so should the ones we create. But how do we address race, sex, and class when writing? With Delilah S. Dawson, Patrick Rothfuss, Jana Oliver, Balogun Ojetade, and Eugie Foster. Sat (4/12) 10AM.
• “More Than Just Prose” – Our favorite books are more than just paragraphs strung together. From poetry to songs to hidden word play, what goes into doing it right? With Patrick Rothfuss, Eugie Foster, and Harriet McDougal. Sat (4/12) 11:30AM.
• “How to Polish” – What tools, tips, and tricks are there to taking that first draft up to a final? With Eugie Foster, Idaliz Seymour, Paul Stevens, Toni Weisskopf, Deb Dixon, and Peter Ahlstrom. Sat (4/12) 2:30PM.
• “Fairy Tale Hour” – A look at Fairy Tales in literature, TV, and film. With Jana Oliver, Eugie Foster, and Pat Rothfuss. Sun (4/13) 11:30AM.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this local literary convention is one of my very favorites. It’s amazingly well run, with awesome programming, and a great venue. This year, it’ll be on April 11 through 13. I hope to see folks there!

Had a fabulous time at JordanCon 4! And I continue to be impressed by how well organized and devoted the volunteers are at this convention.

Got to meet Emilie P. Bush, the author of Her Majesty’s Explorer: a Steampunk bedtime story (which is indeed a children’s steampunk tale; how cool is that?) and Paul Stevens, an editor for Tor, both of whom are awesome. Also got to catch up with Mary Robinette Kowal and Michael Livingston.

I met Mike at the first Launch Pad workshop in Laramie, WY, in 2007. Can’t believe it’s been so long since we last gabbed. I’m so pleased JordanCon had him as a guest this year, and I greatly enjoyed doing panels with him.

Mary was the guest of honor so was, unsurprisingly, booked up pretty solid. She also had a story deadline this weekend—which she made—and is getting ready to move to Chicago. Yet she still managed to find time to chat and party and conduct informative and entertaining panels. I am slack-jawed with awe and admiration. I particularly enjoyed her “Schmoozing 101” and “At The Intersection of Puppetry and Science Fiction” panels where she shared some fascinating tidbits of her writing process with puppets as both correlate and metaphor. She also regaled us with a tale of a Puppet Show Gone Terribly Wrong, which had the audience howling. I laughed so hard I had to wipe away tears, and I will never think of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale in quite the same way ever again.

JordanCon 4 is this weekend (April 20-22) in the Doubletree Hotel in Roswell, GA. I was way impressed by how well run this convention was run last year, and I’m thrilled to have been invited back.

Here’s what I’m scheduled for:

• Book signing (with Emilie P. Bush). Fri 2:30-3:30PM, Barrington.
• “Young Adult Literature” Harry Potter, Alcatraz, The Hunger Games, Twilight… why are full-grown adults reading this stuff? With Tiffany Franklin and Rachel Little. Fri 5:30-6:30PM, Goulding C.
• “Keeping it Short” A discussion on the differences in writing short fiction and novels. With Michael Livingston. Sat 1-2PM, Goulding A.
• “The Business” Our industry professionals talk about what goes on in the publishing world. With Emilie P. Bush, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Paul Stevens. Sun 10-11AM, Goulding A.
• “Folklore and Fairytales” Incorporating myth and tradition into fiction. With Michael Livingston. Sun 1-2PM, Goulding A.

Hope to see folks there!

And continuing the trend of conventions getting a massive head start on 2012, got a note from Jennifer Liang inviting me to be a guest at JordanCon next year!

I couldn’t send my “Yes, absolutely!” reply fast enough. In addition to Mary Robinette Kowal—who is fabulous—being their Author Guest of Honor, the JordanCon folks really impressed me with their organization and professionalism. They run an awesome convention, and I’m thrilled to be returning.

JordanCon was fabulous! It was extremely well run, with an amazingly on-the-ball and dedicated staff. It was, hands down, one of the best organized and conducted small conventions I’ve been to, and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in Robert Jordan’s work or SF/F literature in general.

Although I wish I’d been in better shape for it. I was all but dead on my feet, particularly on Friday, but also throughout the weekend in general, thanks to the rigors of last week’s session. Thankfully, Jana Oliver and David B. Coe were there to cover for me. In addition to being brilliant writers, they were both incredibly nice and forbearing, and also prepared, insightful, and articulate for our panels—all the things I wasn’t.

But now the legislative session is done, and the atmosphere in my office is totally different: quiet and peaceful and soothing. Ahhh. Going to try to catch up on all the back-burnered to-do items that have been piling up in my intray.

Unfortunately, topping that list by necessity is house repairs. The weekend storms seem to have done some damage to our roof. We had a leak on Friday night. It was only a bit of dripping—not a waterfall of destruction or anything dire like that—but it’s something that we need to take care of before it gets worse. I’m a bit anxious at how much that’s going to end up costing us. Ugh.