Tag: Golden Crown Literary Society

Post-conference

Hi, kids.

I kept thinking that I was going to do a giant “here’s what happened at GCLS,” but ultimately, I decided not to. The conference schedule is still available so you can see what panels were offered and who was on them (click HERE). The vendor layout is also available, so you can see where everybody was in the Grand Ballroom, which was the vendor room. I even took photos. You can see those HERE. And you can check out the list of Goldie finalists HERE and then the list of winners HERE.

I will say that the panels I was on included absolutely fab fellow panelists and moderators and I was extremely excited to be on them. I was also one of the awards presenters this year, along with fellow author R.G. Emanuelle. That was a new experience, but I enjoyed it immensely and considered it an honor.

So here, I’ll do a round-up of the crazy that goes into attending a conference. Some of you may remember that I did an earlier post on prepping for one. Well, here’s the bag of controlled chaos that goes into attending a con.

Continue reading →

by Categories: Conferences, Events, Random WTF stuffTags: ,

Updates

Hey, kids!

So I’ll be scarce the next 10 days or so because I’m scheduled to be on-hand at the GGLS conference. What that means is that I’ll be traveling for a couple of days and then I’ll be on-site at the con running around like a freak because I’ve got lots of things going on there this year, including panel appearances and an author chat. I’m also going to be available for chatting outside the formal panels should any readers who are in attendance see me bouncing around the halls.

Oh, and yeah. My third installment in my sci fi series, The Edge of Rebellion, made the finalist list for an award. I’m very pleased about that, and congrats to all my fellow nominees!

I was going to do a long-ass post on the process a manuscript goes through in terms of self-publishing (at least my process), but decided that was too long-ass for today. Instead, I’ll get you updated on a few things.

Fellow author/editor R.G. Emanuelle and I have finished up the edits for our forthcoming edited anthology, All You Can Eat.
AllYouCanEat-197x300

What does this mean? Well, it means that it’s about to go to the typesetter where it’ll be made all sexy-time. JUST IN TIME for its August debut. Yes, indeedie, friends, this dish is just about ready for the table. Y’all be sure to dig in, now.

In other news, I’m waiting for the final proof from CreateSpace for the print version of From the Hat Down. Jeeziz freaking Christ on a jet ski, but this damn project has been crazy-making. Getting the print version ready has been so amazingly WTF that I can’t even begin to describe it to you. About the only good thing that has come out of this process is that I now know a lot about what to look for and what to do when really weird unheard-of tech glitches pop up in a file and you’re trying to figure out what mystical sorcery powers you can draw on to attempt to fix it.
HatDown2a-small

On the other plus side, I’ll be ordering them to start printing it today. LORD WILLIN’ AND THE CREEK DON’T RISE!

I’m also working on some short stories for some upcoming anthologies. AND I’m almost halfway through the fourth installment of my sci fi series, the Far Seek Chronicles. Always something going on up in here, fer sure.

All right. I might post a couple of quick things at the con, but I can’t make any promises. In the meantime, y’all have a nice break (from me) and y’all come back now, hear?

by Categories: Announcements, Events, The Writing CrazyTags: , , 6 Comments

GCLS Writing Academy and other cool stuff

Hi, peeps —

WHEW. So I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire right now, and things are crazy in some respects. Had a chat with the designer for the cover of the follow-up to From the Boots Up, and we’re both kind of stoked about a particular image and we think it’s going to be awesome-sauce. Here’s hoping. 🙂

Just finished up a short story that I’m going to submit somewhere. We’ll see how that goes. I’m also working on another romance and the fourth in the Far Seek Chronicles. So I’m keeping busy. Heh.

Oh, for you lesfickers, would you like some hot n’ steamy intrigue-filled F/F reading? Then maybe check out the series Mariel Cove. You can find out all about that over at Women and Words today. One of the writers, Noel Meredith, stopped by to chat about the development of the series and how it works. Hit that link to get more info.

Also, if you’re a new or relatively new writer, heads up. The Golden Crown Literary Society (lesfic galore) conference is coming up, slated for July 2014 (here are the deets).

But what I’d like to note about the GCLS is that the organization has launched a WRITING ACADEMY. That is, a year-long intensive writing program that addresses the basic mechanics of grammar and writing structure as well as elements of writing fiction (e.g. dialogue, setting, characterization…you get the gist), what a writing life is like, and publishing. The program includes a mentoring element. Here’s some scoop from the GCLS website:

The GCLS Writing Academy is a year long program for new or relatively new writers who have at least half of a novel written and who want to learn the critical components of quality writing, plus various related topics such as researching your novel, the writer’s life, and the path to getting published.

Over the course of the year, the students ‘begin at the beginning’, covering the basics of grammar and writing, and then move on to the foundations of quality writing, research methods and sources, genre specific skills, the life of a writer, preparing to be published, and ends with a three month mentoring experience.

Sound like something that’s right up your alley? Well, hit the link and apply. Deadline is fast approaching. March 1, 2014.

If you’re accepted, you need to schedule your flight to the GCLS conference to arrive a day early for Writing Academy orientation/workshop on July 9. Read the info at the link.

Something to ponder, yes? Happy writing, happy reading, happy Friday!

by Categories: Announcements, Stuff going on, Writing, Writing Process, Writing tipsTags: , ,

I’ll be teaching a class

Hey, peeps!

As some of you found out last week, I’ve got some stuff in the hopper, some stuff comin’ up, and a new novella for your (hopefully) reading pleasure. Here, in case you missed that info.

I will also be attending the GCLS conference in Dallas this June. I’ll be on a panel and doing some chat stuff and all that good stuff. Oh, here’s the schedule, so you can see what’s up.

Yes, that’s me, there, teaching a master class. Not that I’m a “mas-tah” type, mind you. That’s just what these kinds of things are called. So I thought I’d provide a little bit o’ info for you, so you can see what this class is all about.

It’s called “Setting at the End of the World.” Uh-huh. One of those cryptic Andi things. Here’s the description:

Setting is part of the infrastructure of fiction narrative. Setting can determine plot arc, characterization, and subplots. The WHERE of a story is, in a sense, another character, because it can play into regional differences, the culture behind a character’s motivations and identity, and the parameters of actions that characters can take.

Authors can overlook it or don’t use its potential in their work. They take it for granted (easy to do, people. Don’t think I haven’t, either), and don’t observe the things that go on even in the every day places around them. Therefore, what I encourage authors to do — those who are just starting out and those who have been at it for a while — is to take an extreme scenario and use that as a backdrop to practice character sketches and plot outlines.

An extreme setting gets people out of their usual place, both literally and figuratively, and encourages them to pick its elements apart and apply those lessons to the settings with which they’re more comfortable.

So in this class, we’ll be working with a post-apocalyptic setting on Earth and explore how something like that can affect characters, their relationships with each other and the world around them, and the overall narrative structures and plot arcs of the fictional scenarios we come up with during the session. When we’re done, I hope to have demonstrated how important setting can be as an element in fiction, and ways to effectively integrate it into story-telling. I also hope to stimulate the powers of observation of those who participate, so that they take that with them back to their writing with which they can create deeper, richer layers for their narratives.

There you go. Sound groovy? Well, if you’re going to be at GCLS, hope you check it out.

Otherwise, happy writing, happy reading, happy Monday!

by Categories: Announcements, WritingTags: , , 3 Comments