Portraits From An Artist

If this blog is any indication, I run with the baddest crew. Case in point, my good friend, artist extraordinaire and awesome lady in general, Melissa Gay.

Gay recently did the interior illustration for DriveThruRPG and asked fellow artists/writers Kimberly Richardson, Kelly Potts Martinez, and myself for permission to use our likeness as models in her character designs. Have my likeness used by a talented artist and good friend, no way I was saying no. Martinez’s likeness was used to render Sheva the Witch.

As you can see in the next pic, Richardson was used as a model to design the Fighter of the group, and fittingly I was a model for the Magic-User.

Other excellent samples of Gay’s work can be found here.

The Place For Intelligent Radio

So while at Midsouthcon, I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting Walter and Misty who treated me to an interview for Witin Radio.

Two of the finest people you could ever meet, Walter and Misty were an absolute delight and I was honored to be interviewed and excited and a bit nervous as you can probably tell.

In the interview I tackle Hollowstone, race, representation, being a queer writer of color, and give a sneak peek for West of Sunset.

Have a gander.

 

Don’t Know What You Got Till It’s Gone

 

OMG! This weekend I completely sold every copy of my novel, this is horrible….. said no author ever.

Certainly not this one.

😉

Up In Memphis, The Music’s Like A Heatwave

 

 

Yeah this pretty much sums up this past weekend in Memphis. The moral of the story, using the Force to mudbomb a Storm Trooper isn’t always fun and games and as a friend said, never leave home without a light saber.

MidSouthCon was a blast and I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people, too many to list. I was truly honored to be invited back.

Congrats again to my girl Cherie Priest who rocked it as Guest of Honor.

Special thanks to Kara, James Tuck, John Hartness, John Pacacio and his lovely assistant Tara, Walter, Chris, my fans old and new, and my Con Ride or Dies Reagan and Cherie.

 

MidSouthCon 31 Itinerary

 

I’m currently in Memphis and I’m living it up like a rock star for MidSouthCon 31. Below is my itinerary for MidSouthCon 31 this weekend. If you’re in attendance, stop by and say howdy.

 

SATURDAY

10:00AM – 11:00AM W Diversity vs. Tokenism
Guests of Honor: Ross Lockhart, Kimberly Richardson
Panelists: Hilaire Playa, Laura Underwood, Denny Upkins, Stephen Zimmer

Writing beyond your race, sex, or orientation without tokenizing your characters

 

3:00PM – 4:00PM W Spread Too Thin 
Panelists: Robert Krog, Tracy S. Morris, Van Plexico, Kirk Stevens, Denny Upkins

How to prioritize and manage your time

 

8:00PM – 9:00PM  Ultimate Villain Showdown
Guests of Honor: Ross Lockhart
Panelists: Alexander Brown, Jenny Oldenburg, James Tuck, Denny Upkins, Michelle Weston

There can only be one! In a fight to the death, which literary villain would come out on top?

 

11:00PM – 12:00AM LGBT Characters In Speculative Fiction
Panelists: Hilaire Playa, Selina Rosen, Angelia Sparrow, Denny Upkins

LGBT books and characters in Speculative Fiction

 

SUNDAY

1:00PM – 2:00PM Monster Hunter: Are You Safe? 
Panelists: Walt Boyes, John Hartness, James Tuck, Denny Upkins

How to Identify and Protect Yourself From Monsters

March Madness!!!!!

So starting next month business begins to pick up for me. In addition to editing and writing, con season kicks off for me.

Exciting news! Yours truly will be back at MidsouthCon this year. Even more exciting is that I get to kick it with my good buddy Cherie Priest who is one of the Guest of Honors.

Oh yes. It’s about to go down.

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As you can see, my schedule is about to pick up and I can’t wait. I’ll be back at Norwescon this year. I’m very stoked to see all of my friends again and kick it with some awesome peeps. Seattle is one of my favorite cities and I’m always up for the chance to get back there. So if you’re in the area, definitely stop by and join us.

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To say Gaylaxicon/Outlantacon in Atlanta is a homecoming for me would be a major understatement. Can’t wait to see my family, be home and just party it up all weekend. And you will want to be there. No really, you will want to be there.

MidSouthCon: Review

MidSouthCon was an absolute blast. I had an amazing time and I can’t thank the people behind the con enough for inviting me nor can I thank the attendees and fellow guests for making me feel welcomed.

The panels were excellent. We had some great discussions on the broken people panel and the audience really got into it.

The diversity in spec fic panel was both eye-opening and bittersweet. I was reminded that progress is being made and yet….at the same time, we still have our work cut out for us.

The critiquing panel also had some excellent discussion and both the panelists and audience members had some memorable experienes about good and bad critique

What was really both awesome and humbling is that a number of people spoke to me after the panels. They thanked me and were really impressed with what I had to say. Apparently I’m good at that speaking thing.

Also signed some autographs and sold some books so win all around.

MidSouthCon Schedule

I am in Memphis this weekend for MidSouthCon and I am too stoked for words.

If you’re in the Midsouth area this weekend and you’re looking for something fun to do, come hang out with me and a host of other awesome peeps.

Friday, 3/23 9:00 PM Broken People “Writing characters with real flaws and real problems.”

Friday, 3/23 10:00 PM Diversity in SpecFic There’s no shortage of fantastic creatures in spec fic,but when it comes to humans are we lacking in variety?

Saturday, 3/24 2:00 PM Pro-Row Sat-2p Autograph Sessions

Sunday, 3/25 3:00 PM Give and Take Getting the best of a critique (or critique group). How to give useful information, and how not to take it personally.