Tag Archives: ChessieCon

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Con Report: ChessieCon 2017

ChessieCon 2017The curtain has closed on my final convention of 2017. For all the other drama of the year, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every convention (new and old) I’ve attended this year, and I can’t wait to do it all again in 2018.

FRIDAY

Since ChessieCon is held less than half an hour away from my house, I commuted instead of staying at the hotel. After seeing Coco with my husband and mother-in-law in the afternoon, I ate a quick dinner of Thanksgiving leftovers and headed north. The first thing I did was reunite with my friends Cristin Kist and Jeff Grittman, of the science-fiction comedy Prison Dad series and Silly Talks About Science Fiction podcast.

My two events that evening where the rapid-fire reading with Broad Universe, where I read the prologue to Steel Blood. Then, I participated in a panel on “What We’re Watching on TV.” I plugged my current favorite shows, such as The Magicians, The Expanse, and The Good Place, and learned about some other awesome series to check out. The conversation didn’t just stick to the usual sources of television shows, but also branched out into YouTube series and short discussion about why SF/F has had a bit of a renaissance on television in the past decade.  Continue reading →

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ChessieCon 2017 Schedule

chessielogoThis weekend, I’ll be attending ChessieCon 2017 at the Radisson North Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, MD! This is a local convention to me, so I’ll be commuting from home rather than staying at the hotel. I’ll still be around most of the weekend if you want to grab a snack or drink with me!

Where you can definitely find me over the course of the weekend:

  • Friday, 8 PM: Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading
  • Friday, 9:15 PM: What’s good on TV?
  • Saturday, 12:30 PM: PowerPoint Improv
  • Saturday, 8 PM: Author Meet & Greet
  • Sunday, 12:30 PM: Reading from Steel Blood

Did you know that I did improv comedy in college for almost four years? Well, now you do. So I’m really looking forward to exercising my ridiculous, much-neglected talent on Saturday afternoon. Before that, on Friday night, be amazed by how much I DVR and catch on Netflix as I tell you about the best stuff on TV to catch these days.

Please let me know if I’ll see you there!

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Con Report: ChessieCon 2016

chessielogoI had a fantastic time attending my first ChessieCon convention this past weekend! Everyone on the convention staff was lovely, and I made some great new friends.

I’d also like to specifically commend this particular convention for their dedication to accessibility throughout the events, such as offering gender neutral restrooms and reserving seats in every room for people with physical or sensory issues who might need them.

Friday

lee-and-jon-concert

Lee Budar-Danoff and Jon Budar-Danoff in concert.

I had no issues picking up my participant packet on Friday, and I arrived in time to see my local NaNoWriMo organizer perform her concert! Lee is a fantastic guitarist and singer, and I enjoyed listening to both original works and covers during her “Dystopian Set.” (Her husband Jon provides lovely backup.)

Since I had some time to kill before my reading, I ducked into the last half of a presentation on “Finding the Funny in Star Wars and Star Trek.” The presenters were delightful, and I managed to stalk them the rest of the weekend (more on that later).

Afterward, Lee and Jon were kind enough to return the favor and attend my reading, where I read short passages from both Steel Victory and Steel Magic for the audience. Continue reading →

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My ChessieCon 2016 Schedule

chessielogoHere’s my schedule of events for ChessieCon this upcoming weekend at the Radisson North Baltimore Hotel!

Friday, November 25

5:30-6 PM: Reading: Scenes from Steel Magic

6:45-7:45 PM: Panel: Care and Feeding of Critique Groups

Saturday, November 26

5:30-6:30 PM: Panel: Evolution of Women Fantasy

6:45-7:45 PM: Group Book Signing

9:15-10:15 PM: Game show: What’s My Line?

Sunday, November 27

10-11 AM: Panel: Being a Woman on the Internet

1:45-2:45 PM: Panel: Why Do They Keep Doing That? Common Scientific Mistakes in Film and Books

There are lots of other cool things on the full schedule. I hope to see you there this weekend!

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October Wrap-Up & November Goals

This month I traveled to Delaware, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. I also attended three weddings in three weekends. Frankly, the fact that I managed to do anything during my “free time” besides curl up in a little ball and watch Netflix is pretty impressive.

October Wrap-up:

  • I wrote 15k words instead of 20k words, but I’m wrapping up the month at a solid 40k for book 4. I’m almost halfway through the book, lengthwise. I’m not quite that far through my outline, story-wise. Geep! I foresee lots of cutting in my future, especially the passages where Toria gets especially rambly about multiverse theory.
  • This month’s book reviews:
  • This month’s convention reports:
  • And finally: husband acquired! He is officially home from school, where he graduated with honors. It’s so nice that life is getting back to normal around here.

November Goals:

  1. I’m not officially participating in NaNoWriMo this year because it didn’t seem fair to disappear on said husband for a month just as he’s getting home. The compromise is 30k words on book 4, which is much more manageable. I’ll still be attending the write-ins with my awesome local NaNoWriMo crew.
  2. I got lots of reading done on my travels last month, so I’m now 13 books behind on writing book reviews. I have this crazy idea that I’m going to prewrite a lot of them today and tomorrow. We’ll see how that works out.
  3. Only one convention on the slate this month, but I’m looking forward to my first appearance at ChessieCon in Baltimore the weekend after Thanksgiving.
  4. My cousin is getting married in the Caribbean, so I’ll be disappearing for a few days to celebrate with her. It’s a nice excuse for a vacation with my husband now that he’s home.

I’m kind of happy that this destination wedding is the last trip I have planned for quite a while. Winter is the time to hang out at home with my cats. I’m not even going anywhere for the holidays this year!

How’s the fall shaping up for the rest of you? Who’s participating in NaNoWriMo, and what are you working on? Keep me posted!