Category Archives: Conventions

Conventions, Writing

Kal’s January 2025 update

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Hey everyone, happy January. It’s 2025… I’ll still be over here dating everything 2019, don’t mind me.

All joking aside, I’m pushing towards completion on several books. I’ve been hit pretty hard with a variety of bad news over the past few weeks, and I won’t lie, that’s had an impact on my writing. I’m starting to get back into it, though and hopefully we’ll get some good news here soon to offset the rough stuff.

I’ll be at MarsCon in Virginia Beach next weekend, 17-20 January. It’s a fun little convention and if you’re in the area, I highly recommend it. I’ll have a table in the vendor’s room, so if you’re in the area, be sure to come see me.

I hope to have several books done over the next few weeks, so check in here for updates. Thanks for reading!

Conventions, Reading

Dragon Awards

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Hey everyone. The Dragon Awards nominations close in July, so I thought I’d post what I have that’s eligible (in what categories) for the Awards and what I think are good nominations for some of the other categories.

My stuff:

Young Adult: Shadows of Valor

Fantasy: Sorcerers of the Black Fortress

Below are some great entries that I personally think are deserving of nominations (go read/watch them for yourself and see if you enjoy):

Alternate History:

Annoyed with Lloyd

by Christopher Woods

Science Fiction:

Nothing but Time by JL Curtis

Best Movie: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Best TV Show: Andor on Disney +

Conventions, Fantasy, Science Fiction

See you at FantaSci

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Hey everyone, I’ll be at FantaSci in Durham, NC next weekend (24-26 March 2023). I’m going to have a book release party for Sorcerers of the Black Fortress on Friday, and here is the rest of my schedule. I hope to see some folks there!

Friday

1-2pm     Azalea                 The other 98% of the Military

5-6pm   Magnolia            A Discussion On The Coolness Of Dragons     

8-9pm   Camellia             Military Strategy             

Saturday

11am-12pm Azalea      Assassins           

4-5pm   Camellia             Monsters And Mythical Beasts

7-8pm   Camellia             What Doesn’t Kill You…    

9-10pm Camellia             No $*~!,There I Was…             

Sunday

10-11am Magnolia          Tanks, Ships, and Crayon Eaters

Conventions, Writing

Kal’s June 2022 Forecast

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June is here, and there is a lot going on!

I’m happy to say that the next main-line Children of Valor book, Valor’s Inheritance, is complete and will be coming this month! More to follow on the details of that launch (including cover, blurb, and more). I do want to say that part of the delay in this book was me determining the best way to tell the many stories in the Star Portal universe that I want to get told.

Also this month, I’ll be attending Liberty Con at Chattanooga, TN (June 17-19). Liberty Con is by far my favorite convention and it’s been too long since I’ve been able to see everyone there.

I’ve outlined and begun work the next Star Portal universe book, which is a spin off from the main series. My goal is to get that done this month. I’ve got a lot going on with a new job, still unpacking/getting settled in to the new place, and all the rest, but I am making steady progress writing again.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading!

Conventions

Kal’s LTUE 2020 Schedule

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Hey everyone.  Late post, but I’m headed to Life, the Universe, and Everything writers convention in Provo, Utah.  I’ll be a panelist again this year.  See below for my schedule.

The King of the Battle Field: An Introduction to Artillery
2PM · THURSDAY · BRYCE
Worldbuilding
Panel
How to Usurp a Kingdom
9AM · FRIDAY · ARCHES
Worldbuilding
Panel
When Life Isn’t Organic: Alternatives to Organic Chemistry for Life and Material Science
1PM · FRIDAY · BRYCE
Worldbuilding
Panel
Book Signing Event (6:30-8:00)
6PM · FRIDAY · EXHIBIT HALL B
Conventions

Kal’s Spike Con Schedule

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Hey everyone,

I’ll be at Spike Con this coming week.  Here’s my schedule:

Thu Jul 4 5:45:pm Thu Jul 4 6:45:pm Cats in Speculative Fiction
Stratus 9 Our feline friends, big and small, have always been in our tales of fear, magic, and even science fiction. They feature as pets, threats, and even protagonists. Come discuss your favorite books with cats in them and what makes a fictional cat believable.
Dr. Karen Purcell Elektra Hammond Gibbitt Rhys-Jones John M. Olsen Kal Spriggs

 

Fri Jul 5 4:30:pm Fri Jul 5 5:30:pm Kal Spriggs Signing
Autograph 3 Kal Spriggs Friday signing
Kal Spriggs

 

Fri Jul 5 7:00:pm Fri Jul 5 8:00:pm Yes, But What Are They Eating?
Stratus 9 World-building requires paying attention to all kinds of details, like government and monetary systems, climate, and more. But while food is something that every reader interacts with every day, it is often not considered during world-building. Our panelists talk about examples where authors have been successful in incorporating dietary habits into their world-building, and talk about what it takes to do it well.
Alastair Mayer K. D. Julicher Kal Spriggs Merri Halma Troy Lambert

 

Fri Jul 5 9:30:pm Fri Jul 5 10:30:pm Injury and Recovery for Character Building
Meridian E The injuries a character can sustain vary widely, as do the impacts of these injuries on the character and how well they recover. A look into reasonable injuries for various settings and how authors can use injuries to further the plot.
Anna Marasco Kal Spriggs Paul Genesse Robert E. Hampson Thea Hutcheson

 

Sat Jul 6 11:30:am Sat Jul 6 12:30:pm Playing Nice With Others: Shared Universes
Meridian E How do various shared universes work? Are contributors’ stories off to the side or integrated into the main plot? What happens when there are competing ideas of How Things Ought To Be?
Bradley H. Sinor Eric Flint Erika Kuta Marler Kal Spriggs Sue Sinor

 

Sat Jul 6 12:45:pm Sat Jul 6 1:45:pm Kaffeeklatsch with The Four Horsemen Universe
HIE Boardroom Kaffeeklatsch: From the German for “coffee” and “gossip”, an informal social gathering at which coffee or other beverages are served while chatting. Join your favorite presenters for all their insights. Seats are very limited so sign up at the Information Desk in the Sky Lobby 8am on the day of the social! Welcome to the world of Human Mercenaries in Mechs, killing aliens and getting paid. A new fandom featuring the works of Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy Publishing.
Kal Spriggs Robert E. Hampson Thomas Coonradt
Conventions

Kal’s 2019 Liberty Con Schedule

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Hey everyone.  I’m going to be at Liberty Con this year, but I’ve  got a bit more narrow of a window, as I’ll only be there Saturday and Sunday.

Here’s my schedule:

Day Time Name of Event
Sat 10:00AM Autograph Session (MJ Allen, Buettner, Del Arroz, Spriggs)
Sat 02:00PM Critters
Sat 04:00PM Chris Kennedy Publishing – The Year Ahead
Sat 05:00PM Author’s / Artist’s Alley (S. Osborn, Spriggs, Swann)
Sat 08:00PM Reading: Cedar Sanderson & Kal Spriggs
Sat 09:00PM Seventh Seal Press & Rob Howell present the Chris Kennedy Publishing combined Room Party and Book Launch for Alabaster Noon
Sat 10:00PM New Voices in YA Science Fiction
Sun 10:00AM Kaffeeklatsch
Sun 12:00PM Author’s / Artist’s Alley (Duntemann, J. Hunter, Ibson, Spriggs, Weyand)
Sun 01:00PM Author’s Alley (Q. Allen, J. Hunter, Malone, Spriggs)

If you’re attending Liberty Con, I hope to see you there!

 

Conventions

Kal’s Starfest 2019 Schedule

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I’ll be at Starfest this weekend, so if you’re in the area, I’d love to see you there!  I’m on two panels:

Combat in SF and Fantasy (Friday 9 PM)

A discussion of the good, the bad, and the ugly scenes of combat and action in Science Fiction and Fantasy. To include the differences between games, movies, and literature and examples of each.  Also a discussion of the morality and emotional impact both upon the audience and the characters involved

These Aren’t The Drones You’re Looking For  (Saturday 8:30 PM)

A look at modern cyber and drone warfare and delving into the future of where things are headed.  Killer Robots aren’t just in the future, they’re here and now.  We’ll talk about how to use them in writing as well as where it’s going in the future.

Conventions

April Update

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Hey everyone.  I try to post mostly positive stuff here, but the last couple weeks have been pretty rough.   Between my wife’s surgery and stuff happening with my family, I haven’t been able to focus on writing.   So I’m behind on getting Stolen Valor done and edited, which is going to push it back to next month.

On a more positive note, I’ve been invited to a books and beer event next week and I’ll also be participating in Starfest.  Both events will be happening here in Denver.

Halfpenny Brewing Company is having a meet Colorado Authors event on 24 April from 4:30 to 6:30.  I’ll be there and if you’re in the area, come by and see me or some of the other authors (and there’s beer!).  That’s Halfpenny Brewing Company, 5150 E Arapahoe Rd Unit D1-B, Centennial, CO 80122

For Starfest, I don’t have my final schedule yet, but I’ll post that on Monday.  It will be 26-28 April, at the Denver Marriot, DTC.

 

Conventions

Change of Schedule: Liberty Con

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Hey everyone.  If you haven’t heard, Liberty Con has shifted the date of their convention.  I’ll still be there (I hope) but the date is shifted from 30 May-1 June and is now 28 June – 30 June.  They’ll also be at a different hotel there in Chattanooga (Marriott rather than the Read House).  Last year the hotel situation led to some issues with space, the Marriot is adjacent to the convention center, but the convention didn’t have much of the spaces over there and there were weird restrictions on food and drink.  Hopefully they get all that ironed out, despite the short time to do so.

The change of dates makes Liberty Con back to back with Spike Con/Westercon/how-many-other-conventions-can-be-held-in-the-same-place-at-the-same-time-con (like, seriously, there’s at least 2 mini-cons and 3 official conventions, it’s sort of nuts).  My plan is to attend both, but it’s going to be a crazy week (4th of July is in the middle somewhere too…).

The only other convention I have on my radar right now is Starfest, though I haven’t heard anything from them yet about panels.  I hope to be attending, but since my wife is having surgery that month, I’m not sure how big my involvement will be.  I don’t know that I’ll have time for any other conventions this year, mostly because it’s looking to be a very, very busy year for me.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see folks at Liberty Con & Spike Con!