Events and Signings

Busy week for science fiction and fantasy lovers in KCMO!

I will be at the brand new INKLINGS BOOKS & COFFEE SHOP this Thursday, May 22, starting at 6pm. Join us for an evening of pure imagination with fellow author M.C. Chambers and musician Rich Tuttle, singing songs inspired by Tolkien. Copies of Eolyn and High Maga will be available for purchase and signing.

Then, starting Friday, it's CONQUEST 44!  I am so excited for this year's con. Lots of  interesting panels, and great people on them. The main event will be at the Kansas City Marriott downtown.  Here's my schedule:

Friday
2:00pm Tough Women: Heroes and Villains (Lester Young A)
3:00pm Are there too many strong women? (Lester Young B)
6:00pm Readings from High Maga (Big Joe Turner A)

Saturday
11:00am Women of Ancient and Medieval Times (Julia Lee A/B)
4:00pm   Hadley Rille Books: Small Press, Big Plans (Lester Young A)

Sunday
1:00pm   Self-Publishing: Taking the Leap! (Mary Lou Williams A/B)



I've got a lot to prepare, so that's it for my post this week.  I do hope to see you in the coming days though, whether at Inklings or ConQuesT or both. Let's welcome the summer in style!

The merry month of May

May came and went in a blink of an eye this year.  From Virginia Beach to ConQuesT to the Arkansas Ozarks, there was not a day that passed that one could in any way call "boring".

Already ConQuesT seems far away, though it happened only last weekend.  We had a wonderful time with GoH Patrick Rothfuss and unofficial GoH George RR Martin.  Hadley Rille Books took the town with numerous editors, authors, and artists in attendance, including Eric T. Reynolds, Mark Nelson (launching his new book King's Gambit), Terri-Lynne DeFino, Christopher McKitterick, M.C. Chambers, Lawrence M. Schoen, Christopher Gerrib, and Tom Vandenberg.  For a great break down on all the fun, I invite you to visit this week's post by Mark Nelson on Heroines of Fantasy.

The day after ConQuesT, we jumped in a car and headed south for the first trip of our summer vacation.  This year we returned to the Arkansas Ozarks, which as some of you may remember, I also wrote about last summer in my post Music in the Forest.

I loved the Ozarks then; I continue to love it now.  The dense expanse of forest covering this ancient mountain range is simply magnificent, and late May is one of the best times of year to see it.  We stayed at Buffalo River Mountain Cabins, managed by the artistic and wonderfully friendly Merlyn Lazarow.  Our cabin was well off the road, nestled inside its own patch of forest.  I can still hear the wind roaring through the trees every evening, every night.  Utter peace and tranquility. 

On Wednesday we rented canoes and floated down a stretch of the Buffalo River.  The weather was perfect: sunlight over sparkling waters, occasional clouds and a constant breeze that kept the day warm without letting it get too hot.

I would have liked to have seen a bear or an elk, but you can't have everything, can you?   I would have also have liked to have stayed longer, but I am very grateful for the wonderful breather we had. 

One of the best parts of travelling is, of course, coming home.  While I was as happy for this homecoming as I have always been, it was also bittersweet because it marked the end of a truly great month.  The last of our ConQuesT guests departed yesterday, and now I have to wait another year before May offers its blessings again. 

That's not to say there's not more to look forward this summer.  First up in June: the Campbell Conference.  A small but friendly gathering of authors, scholars, editors, and fans, this is, hands down, my favorite SFF conference of all.  It has been offered by the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas every year since 1979. 

I also have Phyl Manning scheduled as a guest author later this week (complete with a contest and giveaway!), and toward the end of the month I will attend the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation meetings in San Jose, Costa Rica.

And of course, work continues on bringing High Maga to press.  The manuscript will go out for copy editing in the coming days, and Tom Vandenberg is poised to start his work on the cover art. 

Writing-wise, I'll spend the better part of the summer reworking the first 40,000 words (or so) of Daughter of Aithne, the third companion novel for Eolyn.

So stay tuned, as our summer adventure has only just begun.  I'm looking forward to enjoying it with all of you!

 

Photos courtesy of Rafael Aguilar Chaves

TolkienQuest and ConQuesT 44

We have a very busy weekend coming up with TolkienQuest on May 23rd and ConQuesT on Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-26.  Both of these activities are going to be a lot of fun, with opportunities to win prizes, take advantage of great discounts, and meet authors, editors, artists, and fans of fantasy and science fiction. 

TolkienQuest will be held from 4pm to 9pm at Prospero's Parkside Books.  Sponsored by Hadley Rille Books, Prospero's, and ConQuesT, the evening will feature a food festival, verse contest, and other games and activities.  TolkienQuest is FREE and open to the public.  For more information, including contest rules, visit the TolkienQuest event page.

ConQuesT starts Friday afternoon and continues through Sunday.  This year's guests of honor include author Patrick Rothfuss, artist John Picacio, and editor Teresa Nielsen Hayden.  There are many, many exciting panels and events scheduled, so to see a full program, please visit the ConQuesT website. 

If you're looking for me at ConQuesT, this is how my schedule is shaping up so far:

Friday, May 24

2:00pm -- Panel: Gendered Magick
4:00pm -- Panel: How to build realistic worlds for science fiction and fantasy

Saturday, May 25
10:00am -- Reading, Q&A, and signing
1:00pm -- Hadley Rille Showcase, including the launch of Mark Nelson's new novel, King's Gambit. This party will run until 3pm, so stop by whenever you get a chance.


As an extra special treat, Hadley Rille Books will be offering the Kindle edition and Nook edition of Eolyn for just $0.99 during the weekend of ConQuesT, May 23-26.

AND the Kindle edition of my short story Creatures of Light will be available for FREE download May 24, 25, and 26. 

I look forward to seeing you for a little magic, mystery, and mayhem this weekend.  Let the festivities begin!

Progress on DAUGHTER OF AITHNE, and Plans for May

I've been working this week on a scene with a new character, Mariel.  She is one of Eolyn's students, part of a new generation of magas, and a maga warrior.

I like Mariel a lot.  She has a lot in common with Eolyn -- similar origins and temperament. I tend to think of her as the kind of maga Eolyn might have become, had she not been burdened with the love of a King. 

Not that I have any issues with the kind of maga Eolyn became.  I love Eolyn just as she is!  But Mariel enjoys a freedom that her tutor did not, in part because of the constraints of her relationship with Akmael.

As much as I like Mariel, things will go badly for her in this third novel. The noose is starting to tighten around Eolyn and her followers.  Mariel is one of the primary targets of the enemies of the magas; they know that if they get to her, they can bring down almost everything Eolyn has managed to rebuild in a single, devastating strike.  Worst of all, Mariel has no clue as to her own importance, or the danger she is in.

I'll stop there -- have to, or we will start getting into spoilers.

May is on the horizon, and it is going to be a very exciting month.  I'll be returning to Virginia Beach for another writing retreat this year with Terri-Lynne DeFino and eight other magnificent women writers.  I am so looking forward to that week; I can almost taste the salty air of the sea already!

The last weekend of May, as I hope all of you already know, is ConQuesT, Kansas City's own science fiction and fantasy convention.  It's going to be a great weekend with authors and fans from all over the country, and a few from beyond the borders as well. Guests of Honor include author Patrick Rothfuss, artist John Picacio, and editor Teresa Nielsen Hayden. 

Hadley Rille Books will be well-represented, with editor Eric T. Reynolds, and authors Terri-Lynne DeFino, Mark Nelson, Lawrence M. Schoen, Christopher McKitterick, and Mary C. Chambers, among others.  Artist Tom Vandenberg will also be there.  HRB will be launching Mark Nelson's second novel King's Gambit, which just received an awesome review from Publisher's Weekly.

As a warm-up to ConQuesT, Hadley Rille Books and Prospero's Parkside Bookstore are hosting a Tolkien night the Thursday before the con.  There will be reading and food contests, games, roundtable discussions, and all-around Tolkien revelry.  I'll be talking about this a lot more as the dates get closer and plans firm up, so please keep an eye on this site (or follow Eolyn on Twitter & Facebook) if you'd like more information. 

I invite you this week to visit Heroines of Fantasy, where my post on empathy and fiction has inspired some fun discussion.  Does reading make us more empathetic?  Or do empathetic people simply like to read more? Hope to see you there!

To Arms

It's that time of the novel again.  I have two armies (three, depending on how you count things) about to face off in one of the climactic moments of High Maga, the up-and-coming companion novel to Eolyn. 
Those of you familiar with Eolyn-lore will be happy to know one of those armies is led by our old favorite, Akmael, Eolyn's erstwhile love, who has now consolidated his power as Mage King of Moisehén. 

The other is led by a new character in the saga, Lord Mechnes, a Syrnte prince seeking to conquer Moisehén and assert his niece's claim to the throne of Vortingen.  Mechnes is a wonderful villain, charismatic and brutal, intelligent, amoral and self-serving.  He's fond of women and music, but what he lives for is crushing the enemy.  I'm looking forward to finishing this novel so I can share him with the world.

In the meantime, I'm just a little worried as to what's going to happen when Akmael and Mechnes clash on the battlefield just south of Rhiemsaven. 

Battles are an interesting thing.  Even when we map them out as writers -- even as we come to understand the strategies and tactics of our fictitious commanders -- we cannot be entirely sure what's going to happen moment-by-moment when two armies meet.  I've spent the last few days, with the help of a friend, defining the terrain, positioning infantry, cavalry and archers, reading up on selected battles from ancient and medieval times, and now at last the two armies are poised to meet each other.  I can almost feel the tension coming off the sketch pad where I've drawn everything up.  Akmael has put together a rather daring plan to counter Mechnes' greater numbers and highly skilled soldiers.  

Daring, but will it work? 

Only in the writing will I find out.

Some very exciting events and signings are scheduled over the next few days in Kansas City, MO.  I hope that, if you are in the area, you will check them out. 

Thursday, May 24, Prospero's on 39th will host High Adventure with Hadley Rille Books, featuring eleven authors of fantasy and science fiction.  It'll be a fun evening of readings and discussions, with books available for purchase and signing. 

Then, Friday May 25 through Sunday May 27, I will be at Kansas City's own ConQuesT.  Look for me on the panels, or in the bar.  The final panel schedule is not quite up, so I will be posting updates on where I will be when through my Facebook page for Eolyn.  But here are a few things I know for sure:

Friday, May 25 at 8pm. I will be at the meet-the-authors-and-artists reception
Saturday, May 26 at 11am.  I will be at the Hadley Rille Books panel and readings
Saturday, May 26, at 3pm. I will be at the mass signing, along with several other Hadley Rille Books authors

Also on Saturday, May 26 at 4pm, I invite you to attend the launch party for Terri-Lynne DeFino's awesome new fantasy novel, A Time Never Lived.  To find out more about the launch, please visit my post this week on Heroines of Fantasy. 

Let the Festivities Begin

We had a great day Friday at Down to Earth, Hadley Rille Books' meet-the-author event and Earth Day Celebration.  Authors in attendance included James Gunn, Christopher McKitterick, M.C. Chambers, and me, as well as Eric T. Reynolds, founder and editor of Hadley Rille Books.  

The event featured readings from Hadley Rille's new anthology, Aftermaths, as well as from the novels Shaper's Veil and Eolyn.   Afterwards, we had a lively discussion with the audience regarding the environment and environmental issues in the context of science fiction and fantasy,  followed by a brief book signing session.  If you'd like to see more photos, you can view them in the Down to Earth 2012 album on my Facebook page for Eolyn.  

Delicious Eolyn cake at the pre-launch party,
April 2011 at the Hooley-Bundschu Library
at Avila University.

A season of celebration is upon us.  In just a few short weeks Eolyn will be one year old.  As part of the birthday festivities, Hadley Rille Books is sponsoring a Goodreads Giveaway for Eolyn.  Two free signed copies will be raffled off on May 7, 2012.  Any member of Goodreads can sign up; if you aren't yet a member, it's easy to join -- and free. 

Other events you may want to put on your radar:

ConQuest, Kansas City's own science fiction and fantasy convention, will be on Memorial Day Weekend.  About a dozen science fiction and fantasy authors from Hadley Rille Books will be in attendance. 

On the eve of ConQuest, Hadley Rille will host a meet-the-author event at Prospero's Books.  This event will be open to the public, and will include readings, a discussion panel, and the opportunity to purchase books and have them signed.

During ConQuest, Hadley Rille Books will have its own author panel, participate in the mass signing on Saturday, host a room party, and launch the novel A Time Never Lived  by Terri-Lynne DeFino.  Rumor has it there will also be a few Hadley Rille pre-launches that weekend.  I'll be sure to keep you posted on all the details. 

Author Kim Vandervort is up this week on Heroines of Fantasy.  As of this moment, her post hasn't yet gone live, but it should sometime today or tomorrow.  (In the meantime, if you haven't read last week's post Eternal Forests, now is your chance!)  Please stop by to share your thoughts and comments. 

Now that you're finished reading this week's post for Eolyn, go sign up for the Goodreads Giveaway!  And good luck.  :)