I just got my Millennicon Schedule!

Saturday, March 19th, I have two evening panels:

4:00 Retrofuturism (with Captain Anthony LaGrange) in Taft

8:00 The Crimson Pact: Vol. 1 Reading (with Steve Saus) in MR 1216

I’m especially excited about that second one, as it will be my first reading of an excerpt from the anthology, and my very first time reading my own published work at a convention! Happy times!

I hope I’ll see some of you there!

Last night’s reading at AlsoGoods Gallery was great fun! I had forgotten how much of an adrenaline rush it is to read your own work in front of an audience and get a positive response! My ego definitely needed the boost. I also made new friends and contacts, heard some inspiring pieces by other authors, and got to have instrumental accompaniment to my first story, a horror piece, that I think really increased the Creepy Factor. Now I’m all spoiled and I want musical accompaniment all the time!

Here’s a picture of me reading, courtesy of my friend Christina:

I like this picture because it captures the vastness of the space and also the silliness of my facial expressions. It struck me last night that, for someone who writes horror, I’m awfully goofy.

I’ve had a couple of requests from people for me to post one of the stories I read last night, “It Wants,” a story about IBM’s Watson computer and post-apocalyptic Jeopardy. Yeah. Anyway, people really seemed to enjoy it and want to show it to their friends. I’m super-flattered and I want everyone to be able to read it, but at the same time I don’t want to post it publicly because the minute I do it’s considered “published” and no publisher will want to buy it later.

Originally I decided only to email the story  to anyone who attended the reading, but I changed my mind in the end and posted the story here. Enjoy!

Looks like this coming Saturday, February 19th, I’ll be reading a fiction piece at AlsoGoods Gallery, along with Joel Weston and Meaghan Lees.

This will be my first fiction reading in nearly ten years, so please come out and be amused by my frazzled nerves. The fiction costs $3, the stuttering is free! 😀

This past weekend was Ohayocon, a convention that, while local, has become one of the major anime conventions in the Midwest. While there I managed to have a fantastic time, hang out with lots of awesome people, win a costuming award, and buy a new top hat and a couple of Dragonball Z toys for some kids who have birthdays this weekend.

Here’s me in my Steampunk Catwoman cosplay, accompanied by Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.

We had a fancy photoshoot with The Enthusiasts so there will be better pictures soonish.

I’m probably adding Millennicon to this year’s convention schedule. More on that when I have specifics later this week.