I was thrilled to once again be invited to Confluence, the annual SF/F literary convention hosted by Parsec. I have a ton of fun, and this year was no exception.
FRIDAY
Road trip company is the best, and this year a friend drove to my place outside of Baltimore on Friday night to join me for the weekend. With her company, the 4.5 hour drive to Pittsburg was a breeze. We arrived in time for a late lunch at a bagel place up the street from the hotel, then I dove into my three panels for the afternoon and evening.
First up was an hour spent discussing “genre-blending” in writing popular fiction. The pros, the cons, what works, what doesn’t. It might seem easy to just throw a romantic subplot into just about anything, but it’s not quite that simple.
Next, I got to geek out about superhero movies! I moderated a panel where we discussed with the audience whether we were in the middle of a superhero movie bubble, and whether it had burst or not. Our main conclusion is that we’ve in the middle of a string of bubbles that has been going on for decades, and that studios are going to keep making movies they think will make money.
After a break for dinner with friends, my last panel of the night was a great interactive discussion about the various supernatural creatures present in popular media and literature and what their appeal is.
Then is was 11 PM at night and I was wiped.
SATURDAY
Notice how I did three panels on Friday? Those were it for the weekend! I was pleased to have the chance to sleep in on Saturday, a morning free from hungry cats who don’t know the meaning of “weekend.”
In the early afternoon, I spent an hour in the lobby signing books. Lady Sif stopped by to say hi!
Later, I enjoyed a reading with fellow Raw Dog Screaming Press authors Heidi Ruby Miller, who read from her newest novel Man of War, and Jason Jack Miller, who read from All Saints (forthcoming this year from RDSP). Next, it was my turn on the chopping block. The audience enjoyed the selection I read from Steel Blood (it’s not a Romeo & Juliet book without someone biting their thumb), and I joined friends for dinner afterward.
My final event of the convention was a late-night Rapid Fire Reading with other members of Broad Universe, where I read the prologue to Steel Blood.
SUNDAY
After a final perusal of the dealers room and art show, we hit the road and headed back to Baltimore! I spent the rest of a lovely weekend unpacking, sharing Ant-Man with my friend (she’d never seen it!), and watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones (OH MY GOD IT WAS AMAZING).
I can’t wait to go back to Confluence next year!
The final haul:
- Scary Tales of Scariness (The Drunken Comic Book Monkeys #1) edited by Jeff Young
- A Book Without Dragons and “Dance With Me” necklace, by Olivia Berrier
- The Resurrection Pact (Winston Casey Chronicles #1) by Jay Smith
- Mango and rosemary Ginger Kick
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