Tag Archives: Convention

Conventions

CoSine 2016 in Review

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CoSine Panel on How to Intelligently Torture Your Characters
CoSine Panel on How to Intelligently Torture Your Characters

CoSine 2016 is now come and gone.  As with last year, I really enjoyed this convention and I fully plan to return next year, schedule permitting.

 

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get much time at this year’s CoSine, since I had to work all day Saturday and Sunday.  I did get to participate in a couple panels on Friday and the author signing on Saturday.  The Guest of Honor this year was the most excellent Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files.  If you haven’t been reading his books already, you really, really should.

My first panel was on Doing Horrible Things To Your Characters (Intelligently).  It was a fun panel and I got the chance to be on it with Sarah Hoyt, Jim Butcher, and Connie Willis, with Marie Desjardin as the Moderator.  It was a fun panel, with references to Joss Whedon, Twilight, George RR Martin… and that was just the opening question.  Without a doubt, my favorite panel thus far this year and setting a high bar for future panels.  Marie was a great moderator and all the panelists had some great things to say.

The signing on Saturday was great, although I wish I’d been able to attend more than just that.  Still, it was good to talk with some of my readers in person (and hopefully to convert a few new readers as well).

Speaking of which, the opening release of The Freeport Mutineers went great!  It peaked out around #6 on SF and Fantasy Short Reads on Amazon and I’m hoping that it reached a lot of new readers.  If you missed it while it was free, don’t worry, I’ll put it up for free again in March during Starfest in Denver.

All in all, CoSine was a great convention and I’ll definitely be returning next year (hopefully with more time at the convention!).

 

Conventions

See Kal at CoSine

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For those of you in Colorado, I’ll be at the CoSine convention in Colorado Springs this coming weekend (22-24 January 2016).

CoSine is a smaller convention but one I really enjoy because they have fantastic programming, great organization, and everyone there is super friendly.  The guest of honor this year is none other than Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files.   There will also be a host of great authors and panelists.

One of the cooler aspects of the event is they have drinks and food on Saturday night at the Author Reception and Signing.  For authors, it’s a great way to hang out in a much more relaxed situation.

I’m a bit more limited this year because I’m also having to do Army Reserve training during the weekend, so I’ll miss out on most of Saturday and all day Sunday, but I’ll attend a couple panels Friday afternoon and I’ll be there at the Author Reception on Saturday.

Here’s my schedule:

Friday:

4 PM: How to Intelligently do Horrible Things to Your Characters

5 PM: The Singularity and Social Media

Saturday

5:30 PM: Author Reception and Signing

Please come down and see me at the Con (or that other, way more famous guy, Jim Butcher).

Conventions

Kal’s 2015 Mile Hi Con Schedule

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Here’s my schedule for Mile Hi Con this year:

Friday, 23 October: 6 PM: Fantasy Primer: From Alexander to Zelazny

Saturday: 24 October: 8 PM: Violence in Fantasy

Sunday: 25 October: 10 AM: Pow! Bam! Writing Good Fight Scenes

Mile Hi Con is at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver.  It’s one of Denver’s bigger conventions and this will be my first year attending.  I’m really excited to be there and if you’re in the area, I encourage you to come.

Conventions, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Wait, It’s Already Over? Liberty Con 28 in Review

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20150627_171831Liberty Con has come and gone. It was my first Liberty Con and I had the unique experience of being both a panelist/author, a “First Timer”, and also shepherding around my one year old son. I don’t think I saw nearly as much of the event as I would have liked, but I managed to make it everywhere I was supposed to, more or less awake (the latter part being particularly difficult with a teething one year old).

For those who are fans of Baen authors, this is an amazing convention to attend. For those who just like military SF and Space Opera… well, this is still a great convention to attend. You pretty much can’t throw a rock there without hitting a Mil SF author in the side of the head. It is also a very social convention. Every area seemed to have old friends and new acquaintances chatting each other up. It’s a great place to meet new people, network (for authors, artists, and publishers), and generally have a fun time.

I met a few new and interesting people there and I think I learned a good deal too. I had the pleasure of meeting fellow Henchman Press author, Mark Wandrey. I had a great chat with Chris Kennedy about some of his techniques to stay in contact with readers and build a good network. Lastly, I think I made a great friend with Terry Maggert, who also looks to be a fantastic author and is a charming individual.  Links below for their works and websites.  Trust me, you should check them out.

Mark Wandrey just released the newest book in his ongoing Mil SF series: Etude to War.  Mark is an awesome guy and if you’re a fan of military SF, he’s writing a truly epic series.

Chris Kennedy writes a variety of books and his current best-seller, Janissaries, looks to be amazing.

Terry Maggert not only has amazing cover art but he has an awesome take on contemporary/post apocalyptic fantasy as well as epic fantasy.  I’m excited to have a copy of his book, Banshee, to read.

I met a lot of other great people at Liberty Con, though I’m afraid that child-imposed sleep deprivation has robbed me of many of their names.  It was a great time and I’m already planning on returning next year.  From what I understand, they’ve capped membership again and they’ve already sold over three hundred of their seven hundred and fifty total memberships, so if you want to be there next year, you should hurry up and get yours soon.

Conventions, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Liberty Con at Chattanooga This Weekend!

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I’ll be at Liberty Con 28 in Chattanooga this weekend.  I’m really excited to be participating in this convention, as it is one I’ve heard a lot about but I’ve yet to attend.  A lot of people I’ve met at other conventions will be there and a lot of people I’ve only met online will be there as well, so I think it will be a lot of fun.  I’ll be bringing print copies of my books as well as the Renegades shirts and I’ve posted a copy of my schedule below.  If you’re coming, I hope to see you there, and if you aren’t, well I’ll tell you all about it next week!lc28-banner

 

Day Time Name of Event
Fri 04:00PM What’s new in Space Opera?
Fri 05:00PM Opening Ceremonies
Fri 10:00PM Author’s Alley  (Holo, Maggert, Spriggs)
Sat 02:00PM Author’s Alley  (Raufson, Spriggs)
Sat 08:00PM Reading: Thomas Mays & Kal Spriggs
Sat 09:00PM What’s New in Epic Fantasy?
Sun 10:00AM Kaffeeklatsch
Sun 01:00PM Author’s Alley  (Maggert, Spriggs, Wandrey)
Fantasy, Reading, Science Fiction, Writing

Kal’s Liberty Con 2016 Schedule

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For those of you going to LibertyCon, I’ve got my schedule.  This will be my first year attending and I’m really excited to be there.

Day Time Name of Event
Fri 04:00PM What’s new in Space Opera?
Fri 05:00PM Opening Ceremonies
Fri 10:00PM Author’s Alley
Sat 02:00PM Author’s Alley
Sat 08:00PM Reading: Thomas Mays & Kal Spriggs
Sat 09:00PM What’s New in Epic Fantasy?
Sun 10:00AM Kaffeeklatsch
Sun 01:00PM Author’s Alley

 

Hopefully this will only be the first of many years in attendance.  I’m not sure yet what I’ll bring to the reading, but if anyone has any requests, feel free to comment here or on my FB page.  I’ll also have copies of my books on me for signing for those of you who prefer paper to ebooks.  I’m told that they’re almost sold out of memberships for LibertyCon, so if you haven’t got your tickets yet and you plan to attend, hurry and get your membership.

Conventions, Fantasy, Science Fiction

CoSine 2015

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Just a quick update.  I’ll be at CoSine 2015 in Colorado Springs this coming weekend.  The convention will be held at the Hotel Elegante and it runs 23-25 January.  There’s a lot going on for a relatively small convention, so if you’re in the area, I recommend checking it out.

I’m excited for this convention because it has a good guest line-up and it looks like I’ll be on several interesting panels.  Friday night I’ll be on Applying Modern Morals to Speculative Fiction with Connie Willis, Saturday at 1 pm I’ll be on Repercussions of Magic with Sarah Hoyt followed by Female Characters in F&SF at  4pm, and then Sunday at 2pm I’ll be on Research for Fiction Writers.   I think they’ll all be fun panels.

I’ll also be at the author signing on Saturday from around 5pm to 7pm both to sign books and if anyone wants to get paperback copies, I’ll have a few extra on me.

Conventions, Entertainment

Myths and Legends Con 2014 Experience

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From the Game of Thrones Murder Mystery Dinner (The real mystery is who survives)
From the Game of Thrones Murder Mystery Dinner (The real mystery is who survives)

Myths and Legends Con, also known as Malcon, is a Denver, Colorado convention.  This was my first year both attending and being a guest.  All in all, it was a fun experience.  I met a lot of folks, both writers, fans, and that interesting group of people who just sort of show up, not really knowing what a convention is all about.

Malcon was not a large convention, but it had the feeling of a group of friends hanging out and talking that you don’t get at some of the other conventions I’ve seen.  Everyone was friendly and was there to have a good time.  There weren’t any arguments (well, okay, some rabid discussion about plot twists, character arcs, stories, etc. of some big name authors, but that was all in good fun and no one drew blood… mostly), and there was a very relaxed attitude for the whole weekend, with little of the stress of racing to the next event or panel.

Part of that was due to the excellent organization by the staff.  They managed the entire event very professionally and with few of the issues I’ve seen at other conventions as far as double scheduling panels or guests and that sort of thing.  They managed this despite having to shift venues at the last minute due to a conflict with the former location.  They also had to deal with a major highway (I-25) being shut down in the middle of town, which obviously threw a lot of people’s schedules into a bit of turmoil.

Victorian Steampunk
Victorian Steampunk

All in all, Malcon was a lot of fun and I’d love to attend next year, as well.

Conventions, Entertainment, Fantasy, Reading, Science Fiction, Writing

Starfest Denver 2014

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Boba Fett and Han Solo discuss their plans for Starfest.
Boba Fett and Han Solo discuss their plans for Starfest.

 

 

I had the opportunity to attend Starfest last weekend as an author and participant.  It was a great time, all in all, with the highlight being the Combat in Science Fiction and Fantasy Panel.  We had a great turnout for that panel (almost standing room only) and excellent audience participation.  Sunday was May the 4th, which is Star Wars Day.  So there was a huge turnout of Star Wars fans as well.

A Star Wars Rebel Steampunk Pilot
A Star Wars Rebel Steampunk Pilot

It was a great opportunity for me to meet folks, both writers, editors, and readers.  I had some great conversations with people and really enjoyed myself.

The highlight for me, as I said, was being on several panels, especially the Combat in SF & F one that I organized.  We talked about a number of things, to include pet peeves as readers and viewers, awesome scenes in the genre, as well as writing tips and techniques for doing a combat scene.  The other two panels were pretty awesome as well, and I really had a great time overall.

Fortunately there were first responders on hand in case of any health issues or zombie breakouts.
Fortunately there were first responders on hand in case of any health issues or zombie breakouts.
Conventions, Fantasy, Reading, Science Fiction, Writing

Denver Starfest 2014

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I’ll be attending Starfest 2014 in Denver, CO this coming weekend (May 2-4).  This will be my first convention as a participant, so I’m  pretty excited about it.  As of yet, it looks like I’ll be on three panels.  May 2nd at 7pm I’ll be on “You Got Your Reality in My Fantasy.” May 3rd at noon I’ll be moderating a panel “Combat in Science Fiction and Fantasy” and May 3rd at 3pm I’ll be at “Alternate History in Fantasy and Science Fiction.”  For those interested, I’ll have some extra copies of my books.

I’ll be wandering the halls for most of the event.  It’ll be my first time at Starfest, so I’d like to see what it’s all about.  I hear there’s a lot of Klingons…

Update: Click here for how it went.