Tag Archives: starfest

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, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Starfest 2017 Schedule

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Hey everyone.  Just a quick post.  Here’s my Starfest schedule for this year:

Friday, April 21
 8:00pm
Combat in Fantasy and Science Fiction
Saturday, April 22
8:30am
Supporting Casts and Creatures
Sunday, April 23
12:30pm
Villains, Masterminds and Ne’er-do-wells
Starfest is this weekend (April 21-23) in Denver.  They’ve got a lot of neat events and guests, so if you’re in the area, I recommend checking it out!
Conventions, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Starfest 2016 in Review

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Eshka Jedi at Starfest
Eshka Jedi at Starfest

Starfest is come and gone, gee that was quick!

They held it at the Crown Plaza Hotel near DIA this year, which was a new venue.  The new location was sort of a mixed bag, while I felt there was plenty more room for vendors, artists, and media, there was a bit less room for panels (which is a big part of why I attend!)

That said, it was a fun convention.  I was supposed to have three panels: Ow! My Spleen, Where Did This Chocolate Come From?,  and Combat in SF and Fantasy.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to the panel on Chocolate, though I heard it went well.

The Ow! My Spleen panel discussed injuries of characters, always a fun topic.   While I didn’t get everyone’s name from the panel, I was moderating, also participating was Sam Knight and  Chaz Kemp.  Both of them had some great contributions about what horrible things to inflict upon characters (all in the name of plot, story, and character growth, of course).

The Combat in SF and Fantasy panel went excellent as well.  We had Johnny Woodard, Betsy Dornbush, Chaz Kemp, and Courtney Farrel and one other author whose name I couldn’t remember (I think I have his business card, he had great things to say).  We had a very full room, with great discussions and I really want to thank Johnny Woodard and Courtney Farrel for their excellent expertise that they brought to the subject and it was awesome to have Chaz Kemp with an artist’s perspective.

All in all, I really enjoyed Starfest and I hope to be back next year!

Costumes at Starfest
Costumes at Starfest
Reading, Science Fiction, Writing

Kal’s March 2016 Forecast

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Okay, seriously, what happened to my winter?  Sunny and 70 degrees in Colorado since early February makes me wonder when the other shoe will drop…

But corny weather jokes aren’t why you’re here (I hope, because that wasn’t even funny for me, I’m just running at a severe sleep deficit right now).

The good news:  I’ve sent Renegades: Out of the Cold off to my alpha readers and as I get their comments, I’ll edit it and send it to my beta readers.  I’ve also started in on a book for submittal to a publisher, it’s titled Prisoner of the Mind and it deals with the origins of Kandergain and Shaden, two of the most powerful psychics in the Shadow Space Universe.  Right now I’m just over two thirds of the way done, so I hope to have it finished soon!

I hope to have it done by the end of the month.  And by hope, I mean I’m going to have it done.   Which is good, because my plan is to publish Renegades: Out of the Cold in early April.

My writing project for April is the fourth book of the Shadow Space Chronicles: The Sacred Stars.  For those of you wondering what happened to the Ghornath and Strike Leader Maygar… well, we’ll get into that!  Assuming that novel goes smoothly, the plan is to have that one available for my readers in June.

As a reminder, my Kindle Scout campaign for Valor’s Child is winding down, please nominate it if you haven’t yet.  Also, I’ll be at Starfest in Denver this weekend (11-13 March) so be sure to see me there!

That’s all for now, thanks for reading!

 

Conventions, Science Fiction

Starfest 2016

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I’ll be at Starfest 2016 here in Denver this coming weekend (11-13 March).

While I’m there, I’ll be moderating two panels: Combat in SF and Fantasy and Ow! My Spleen!  I’m also trying to get an author table, but I haven’t heard anything about that so far.

Here’s my schedule:

Saturday 12 March @ 1 PM Ow! My Spleen!

All too often in a book or movie, the characters undergo severe physical trauma, only for them to undertake heroic acts in the following scenes. How do you write realistic fiction where your characters are injured and face the consequences yet still manage to allow them to do what you need?

Sunday 13 March @ 11 AM Where Did This Chocolate Come From?

Every time our character turns a corner in a secondary world, it seems there is a decision to make. Even something as simple as a drink (and brawl!) in a tavern can lead to a thousand questions about commerce, culture, and connections. Our panelists will talk about these decisions, pitfalls and rabbit holes, and when to say when.

Sunday 13 March @ 3 PM Combat in SF and Fantasy

A lively discussion about what works (and doesn’t) in books and media as far as fighting and conflict. A friendly discussion about violence, bloodshed, and what effect it has upon characters. We’ll discuss what goes on in crafting a scene, what makes a fight scene realistic without being over the top, and we’ll dive into examples of combat done right versus where authors/directors have gone wrong.

If you are here in Colorado, I hope to see you there!

Conventions, Entertainment

Kal’s 2016 Convention Schedule

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Just a quick update since a lot of the conventions are posting guests and I have a good idea of my schedule. I’ll be attending a number of the same conventions this year, so I thought I’d post dates and locations for those of you who may attend the same ones:

Cosine – Colorado Springs, CO – January 22-23                                    (Completed, see my review here)

Starfest -Denver, CO -March 11-13

LibertyCon- Chattanooga, TN – July 8-10

MalCon – Denver, CO -August 12-14

Dragon Con – Atlanta, GA – September 2-5

Mile High Con – Denver, CO – October 29-30

I’ll keep this thread updated as things may  will change.  I’m looking at attending some other conventions, but it is hard to fit them into my extremely busy schedule.

Entertainment, Reading, Science Fiction

Kal’s April 2015 Forecast

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I thought about putting this up for the first, but I didn’t feel that was auspicious given the day.  April is finally here and I’ve already begun writing The Prodigal Emperor.  Here in April I’ve got a busy schedule for writing: I’ve got to finish The Prodigal Emperor (Book 3 of The Shadow Space Chronicles), I’ve got to finish the outline for two books due to publishers later this year, outline and do a cover for Renegades: Out of the Cold, and hopefully get some writing done on that as well.

I’m starting to hear back from my alpha readers about Wrath of the Usurper (Eoriel Saga Book II) and while I’ve got some editing to do, it is looking to be on track for release in early June.    I hope to have the cover for Wrath of the Usurper from the artist later this month as well.

In other news, I’ll be at Starfest in Denver, Colorado on April 17-19, moderating a couple panels with more details to come.  That’s all for now and thanks for reading.

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.