October Newsletter: A Night of Local Horror, HonorCon, and (in November) William Gibson, NC Comicon, and NC Speculative Fiction Night

October Newsletter: A Night of Local Horror, HonorCon, and (in November) William Gibson, NC Comicon, and NC Speculative Fiction Night

Posted on 2014-10-27 at 12:09 by montsamu

Vol 4. No 10. October 27, 2014: Well, this newsletter is coming quite a bit late in the month, but we’ve got plenty to show for it, both in the rear-view and coming up in late October and early November including visits from Timothy Zahn, John Barrowman, and William Gibson, and! the first NC Speculative Fiction Night event in quite a while. First, a quick look at some highlighted upcoming events:

<img class="" src=“http://www.durhammag.com/downloads/2859/download/bitblt-222x320-5f84fd6964b2eb898af53d82355b04329a2c1633/424461_259197910829085_188460841236126_610866_1585953591_n.jpg?cb=f9b6602cd863d7018dfa8735b364d43f” alt=“Tuesday, Oct 28, Motorco Music Hall hosts “A Night of Local Horror” featuring 10 local short films. 7 pm.” width=“223” height=“320” /> 

Tuesday, October 28, Durham’s Motorco Music Hall hosts A Night of Local Horror [Facebook] featuring 10 short horror films from local authors including the local premiere of “Disengaged,” the follow-up to FOODIE and the world premiere of Roger Paris’ “The Vampire”. Tickets are $5 and the doors open at 6 pm.

October 31 through November 2, sf convention HonorCon in Raleigh with guests David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Keith DeCandido, and Emmett Plant. “Celebrating Military Science Fiction Literature and Honor Harrington’s 21st Birthday.” At the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown. Per a Facebook update, “Ticket Sales have been extended through Sunday, October 26th until 11:30pm! There is still time to get your tickets, so sign up! We have David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Keith DeCandido, and some people from Baen books who will be bringing up the Baen Road Show!”

Wednesday, November 5th is the launch party for James Maxey’s Bad Wizard at the Orange County Public Library: “Come celebrate the release of my latest novel, BAD WIZARD. This is a sequel to the original Wizard of Oz novel, steam punk flavored with an emphasis on high adventure and epic weirdness in the strange and deadly land of Oz.” (Mur Lafferty and I will be talking with Maxey on Carolina Book Beat on Monday, November 3.)

Friday, November 7th at 7:30 pm, The Regulator Bookshop hosts William Gibson for his new novel The Peripheral, at Motorco Music Hall.”Tickets are $30.00 each. One ticket admits two people and is good for one copy of his new book,The Peripheral, a high-tech thriller set partly in a decadent post-apocalyptic future.”

November 15-16 (Saturday and Sunday) NC Comicon returns to the Durham Convention Center. Guests include John Barrowman (Dr. Who, Torchwood, Arrow) and Carole Barrowman, Fiona Staples (Saga), and Bernard Chang among many others. Carole Barrowman will be holding a writing workshop on Saturday morning, Saturday evening will see a special “meet and greet” dinner, and this year the accompanying ComicQuest film festival at the Carolina Theatre expands to include the premiere of a new Kung Fu Panda short film.

And! I’m so excited to let you know that Sautrday, November 22nd at 7 pm is our next “NC Speculative Fiction Night” event, From the Trenches to the Stars: “The North Carolina Speculative Fiction Series presents an evening of interstellar adventure, military science fiction, and fantastic stories from North Carolina authors. Featuring David Drake, Tony Daniel, Richard Dansky, Lady Soliloque, Jay Posey, and Jaym Gates. Samuel Montgomery-Blinn will moderate.”

OK. That’s really a sampling of what’s going on: Little Green Pig’s “Treatbag” returns this year for some Halloween fun; Beth Revis and Megan Shepherd have two events in (very) early November as part of their “Compelling Reads” tour; and Garth Stein visits Quail Ridge Books on Thursday, November 20 for his new novel A Sudden Light. For more info on these and more events, see the full listings at the end of the newsletter. And! I have to direct your attention to a few “NEW” events down there, in particular North Carolina legend Fred Chappell’s two poetry readings in December from his new book Familiars and The Raleigh Review’s Southern Recitations reading and workshop series.

And now, some publication news and notes. First, a few September and October books which I did not get into the previous newsletter:

Second, a crop of new audiobooks, in quick gallery style:

And one more audiobook project in a bit more detail. Eric Flint’s Islands: An Audio Drama Based on the Novella by Eric Flint is a four-part, full cast audio play adaptation by Tony Daniel of “Islands,” a novella by Eric Flint set within the world of the Belisarius alternate history series created by Eric Flint and David Drake: “Epic adventure, the horrors and glory of war, and the dawning of authentic love combine in this drama based on a classic novella of the Belisarius series. 751 A.D. The being from the future known as Aide has brought technology to Byzantine Rome in an attempt to oppose another nefarious A.I. from the same future. This is a Roman Empire with the telegraph, muzzle-loading rifles, and steam-powered ships. In the midst of this transformed world: Calopodius Saronites, seventeen-years-old, and a Constantinople aristocrat who has gone to the front with General Belisarius to seek glory. And Anna Saronites, also seventeen, Calopodius’s wife by arranged marriage who seeks a life for herself outside the strictures of Constantinople society. As Anna journeys into the horror of war’s rear area hospitals and uprooted lives, she finds uses for her talents of which she never dreamed, even as her husband Calopodius remakes his life on the front after he is blinded by a terrible wound.”

I’ve talked about this in previous newsletters and posts — and with the scriptwriter Tony Daniel on Carolina Book Beat — as the radioplay debuted the past four weeks on Baen’sFree Radio Hour podcast. Here, once more, with feeling: “It was a thrill and an honor to have had a small part in the production, and to be able to take in first-hand the amazing performances of cast members Tracey Coppedge, Paul Kilpatrick, Lex Wilson, Jeff Aguiar, Izzy Burger, Rika Daniel, Carter, Paris Battle, Gray Rinehart, Pj Maske, and Cokie Daniel. (Between rehearsal takes, the talent on display just ad-libbing around for fun by this group was wonderful to be around.) Both Tony Daniel and director Jerome Davis were likewise amazing to work with, and to watch work.”

Available in DRM-free MP3 and (almost unbelievably) an 800MB WAV file, the dramatization includes an original score, fantastic sound effects from cannons to footsteps to the (almost ever-present!) telegraph dah-di-dah-dit. If it weren’t for the obvious amateur-hour fellow standing in as Captain Mendander, it would be a nearly spotless production. (Disclaimer: Yeah, I played Menander.) Wilson really steals the show as both Luke, Calopodius’ aide-de-camp and sometimes narrator, and Illus, an ex-soldier turned hired soldier in Anna’s service; working on his accents for the two characters is something I had the chance to talk to him about as well. Paris Battle gets perhaps the best line, as “puckle gun” operator Stavros, but I’ll leave that for listeners to discover and decide.

Plenty of short fiction and podcast notes, and I know this isn’t nearly a complete list of what people have been up to:

• "There is a Season" by Peter Wood in Every Day Fiction
• "2038: A Mars Odyssey" by Brian Biswas in Perihelion Science Fiction; speaking of Biswas his flash fiction “The Room at the End of the World” was recently picked as Episode 1 of the new Triangle-produced sf podcast Short Reads for the Long Road
• "Butterfly House" by Gwendoln Clare in Beneath Ceaseless Skies; also available on the BCS podcast
• "A Spotter's Guide" by Eric Gregory in Betwixt; his story "The Harrowers" was recently reprinted in the Paula Guran anthology Zombies: More Recent Dead
• "Suicide Chef" by Bill Ferris appeared in the Tales to Terrify podcast (read by the author!)
• Mur Lafferty's podcast of her audiobook Ghost Train to New Orleans reached episode #4
• Lafferty and I talked with Richard Dansky on Carolina Book Beat

• Maxey's novel Bitterwood will be free through the end of October on all ebook platforms: "Bitterwood has spent the past twenty years hunting down dragons, one at a time."
• Speaking of free, Lady Soliloque's radioplay Enoch the Traveler narrated by Torchwood actor Gareth David-Lloyd and a full cast was recently made available for free download.
• Stacey Cochran's novel Eddie & Sunny will be featured in the Kindle Scout program starting today October 27 through November 27, with reader votes determining whether it will receive a $1,500 advance and publishing contract: "Eddie and Sunny have never had much of value in life, save for each other’s love. For months they’ve lived in a car with their young son. A tragedy on the road one night turns the couple into fugitives of the law, separates them, and eventually leads each to believe that the other has died and all hope is lost."
• Speaking of starting today, Alex Wilson and Jason Strutz have a new 7-day Kickstarter out just this morning: Klay is a new one-shot comic about "A superhero sidekick with elastic/morphing powers crosses multiple realities to solve his own murder."

-Sam

PS: Print these flyers out and post them where you can, maybe hand out a few!

[handout-2014-10-25.pdf]

OCTOBER 2014

28 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Durham’s Motorco Music Hall hosts “A Night of Local Horror” featuring 10 short horror films from local authors including the local premiere of “Disengaged,” the follow-up to FOODIE and the world premiere of Roger Paris’ “The Vampire. $5. Doors open at 6 pm. More info: http://motorcomusic.com/ten-horror-films

NEW: 31 (Friday) 10 am to 8 pm — Ultimate Comics Halloween Comic Fest with free comics, candy, and a costume contest.

NEW: 31 (Friday) 4 pm to close — Atomic Empire’s Halloween Comic Fest activities. For more info, including how to enter the costume contest, please visit here: https://www.atomicempire.com/event.aspx?evnt=314

NEW: 31 (Friday) — Little Green Pig’s “TREATBAG” returns, at the Durham Fruit Company. More info TBD.

31-(Nov) 2 (Friday to Sunday) — HonorCon in Raleigh with guests David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Keith DeCandido, and Emmett Plant. “Celebrating Military Science Fiction Literature and Honor Harrington’s 21st Birthday  October 31 – November 2, 2014 in Raleigh, North Carolina.” At the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown.

NOVEMBER 2014

1 — NC author book release day for I Wish by Elizabeth Langston (Spencer Hill Press)

NEW: 1 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts a Compelling Reads Tour event with 7 YA authors including Martina Boone, Claudia Gray, S.E. Green, Kimberley Griffiths Little, Beth Revis, Megan Shepherd, and Meagan Spooner. (Teen)

NEW: 2 (Sunday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts a Compelling Reads Tour event. (See above for full info.)

NEW: 2 (Sunday) 8 pm — The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts Jad Abumrad of NPR’s Radiolab.

4 — Regional author book release day for The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Nov 4) — “To Master Thief Fin, an orphan from the murky pirate world of the Khaznot Quay, the Map is the key to finding his mother. To suburban schoolgirl Marrill, it’s her only way home after getting stranded on the Pirate Stream, the magical waterway that connects every world in creation. With the help of a bumbling wizard and his crew, they must scour the many worlds of the Pirate Stream to gather the pieces of the Map to Everywhere—but they aren’t the only ones looking. A sinister figure is hot on their tail, and if they can’t beat his ghostly ship to find the Map, it could mean the destruction of everything they hold dear!”

NEW: 5 (Wednesday) 6:30 pm — Launch party for James Maxey’s Bad Wizard at the Orange County Public Library: “Come celebrate the release of my latest novel, BAD WIZARD. This is a sequel to the original Wizard of Oz novel, steam punk flavored with an emphasis on high adventure and epic weirdness in the strange and deadly land of Oz.”

6-9 (Thursday to Sunday) – World Fantasy Con, Washington, DC with Guest of Honor Guy Gavriel Kay, Toastmaster Jane Yolen, and many, many more members including David Drake and Mark L. Van Name. More info: http://worldfantasy2014.org/

7 (Friday) 7 pm — The Barnes & Noble of Cary hosts Lauren Kate: Waterfall. (Teen.)

7 (Friday) 7:30 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts William Gibson for his new novel The Peripheral, at Motorco Music Hall.”Tickets are $30.00 each. One ticket admits two people and is good for one copy of his new book,The Peripheral, a high-tech thriller set partly in a decadent post-apocalyptic future.”

NEW: 8-9 (Saturday and Sunday) — The Raleigh Review’s Southern Recitations reading and workshop series presents Mining the Mirror: Turning Emotional Landmines into Good Literature with Zelda Lockhart.

NEW: 8 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Lauren Kate discusses her YA novel Waterfall. (Teen)

NEW: 8 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Robin LaFevers - ‘Mortal Heart’. (Teen)

NEW-NEW: 8 (Saturday) 7 pm — NC State’s Hunt Library hosts Tony Hale of Arrested Development and Veep for his new children’s book Archibald’s Next Big Thing. [IndyWeek]

NEW: 9 (Sunday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Robin LaFevers discusses her YA novel Mortal Heart (at Chapel Hill Public Library). (Teen)

NEW-NEW: 9 (Sunday) 2 pm — William Powers at Flyleaf Books for his new memoir New Slow City: Living Simply in the World’s Fastest City.

NEW-NEW: 9 (Sunday) 3 pm — Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde” at Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh. More info: http://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/event/wagners-tristan-and-isolde-5340

NEW-NEW: 10 (Monday) 7 pm — William Powers at The Regulator Bookshop for his new memoir New Slow City: Living Simply in the World’s Fastest City.

11 — Local author book release day for Revolution by Jenna Black, the latest in her Tor Teen “Replica” series.

11 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts CHRIS VAN ALLSBURG. “Celebrate the holidays with the multiple award-winning author of The Polar Express, Jumanji and other beloved, occasionally traumatic picture books, who is promoting his latest, The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie.” (via Indy Week)

NEW-NEW: 11 (Tuesday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Orrin Pilkey, “The Last Beach”, “an urgent call to save the world’s beaches while there is still time.” (Non-Fiction.)

NEW-NEW: 13 (Thursday) — The Museum of Life and Science in Durham hosts an adults-only event called Game Theory: “Once the sun goes down the Museum is turning into the ultimate gaming experience! Board games to card games, video games, party games - we’ve got a game for you. Dig deeper into the science behind gaming with researchers from UNC and Duke. Play the classic Prisoner’s Dilemma and learn how individuals and collective strategic decision-making impacts everything from climate change to capitalism. Talk with local game designers and create your own game to take home. Play live games at the Museum as you join a team for a round of Capture the Flag, Museum-style and grab a controller and prepare to joust in time with the beat while playing J.S. Joust. Consider yourself a gaming pro? Victors will be immortalized on our Facebook & Twitter feeds. Ditch those dinner plans - your favorite food trucks, Dump Pho King and Pie Pushers, will be parked out front and plenty of local NC beer will be available for purchase.”

NEW: 13-16 (Thursday to Sunday) — Kickstarter-backed (through Nov 5) stage play The Maltese Bodkin: “hiSTORYstage presents a film noir-style comedy mystery with a Shakespearean twist performed as a 1944 radio drama. ‘The Maltese Bodkin’ tells the tale of Birnam Wood, hard boiled detective, as it is broadcast across the airwaves to the homes of eager listeners on the day after D-Day. Shows will run Thursday, Nov. 13 through Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8:00 PM and Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2:00 PM. There will be a USO-style dance Friday, Nov. 14 following the performance until 11:30 PM. Dress to impress and practice your swing moves! Refreshments will be served.”

14-16 (Friday to Sunday) — AtomaCon in North Charleston, SC; a “family-friendly” Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Science and Technology convention. Literary guest of honor: John Jackson Miller, author of Star Wars: Kenobi. At the Charleston Plaza Hotel. More info: http://www.AtomaCon.org/

15-16 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon at the Durham Convention Center and Comiquest Film Festival at the Carolina Theatre of Durham. Guests include John Barrowman (Dr. Who, Torchwood, Arrow) and Carole Barrowman, Fiona Staples (Saga), and Bernard Chang among many others. Carole Barrowman will be holding a writing workshop on Saturday morning, Saturday evening will see a special meet and greet with John Barrowman, and this year the accompanying ComicQuest film festival expands to include the premiere of a new Kung Fu Panda short film. There is also a pre-party on Friday night (Nov 14th) at Motorco and an “All Ages” free signing with Neal Adams at Ultimate Comics on Friday evening as well. More info: http://nccomicon.com/

NEW-NEW: 17 (Monday) 5:30 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts the book launch for Daniel Wallace’s new children’s book The Cat’s Pajamas. [Facebook]

NEW: 19 (Wednesday) 7 pm — The Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts NPR’s Ask Me Another.

NEW-NEW: 19 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm — The NCSU Reading Series hosts Wiley Cash & the NCSU Fiction Contest Awards at Caldwell Hall Lounge on the NC State Campus. “North Carolina native Wiley Cash is The New York Times best-selling author of A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy, which are both available from William Morrow/​HarperCollinsPublishers. Wiley holds a B.A. in Literature from the University of North Carolina-Asheville, an M.A. in English from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. His stories have appeared in Crab Orchard Review, Roanoke Reviewand The Carolina Quarterly, and his essays on Southern literature have appeared in American Literary Realism, The South Carolina Review, and other publications. Wiley teaches in the Low-Residency MFA Program in Fiction and Nonfiction Writing at Southern New Hampshire University. Parking is available in the North Lot for readings in Caldwell Lounge and at the Coliseum Deck for readings in Thompson Hall.”

NEW: 20 (Thursday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Garth Stein - ‘A Sudden Light’ a multi-generational ghost story set in the Pacific Northwest.

NEW: 22 (Saturday) 2 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Elizabeth Langston - ‘Whispers from the Past’ and ‘I Wish’. (Teen.)

NEW: 22 (Saturday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NC Speculative Fiction Night series event From the Trenches to the Stars: “The North Carolina Speculative Fiction Series presents an evening of interstellar adventure, military science fiction, and fantastic stories from North Carolina authors. Featuring David Drake, Tony Daniel, Richard Dansky, Lady Soliloque, Jay Posey, and Jaym Gates. Samuel Montgomery-Blinn will moderate.” Featuring the local launch of War Stories, a new anthology of original military science fiction, The Savior by David Drake and Tony Daniel, and Enoch the Traveler by Lady Soliloque.

NEW: 29 (Saturday) 7:30 pm — “The Orange County Historical Museum would like to invite you to our fifth annual Home for the Holidays storytelling event! The evening takes place at Leland Little’s Auction gallery, and opens with a wine and dessert reception at 7:30 pm. At 8pm, four distinguished writers will share some of their favorite holiday stories. This year’s lineup includes Michael Malone, Nancy Demorest, Allan Gurganus, and Nathan Kotecki. The evening will also include live music by Pan and Brett Riggs and Rob Golan, and a gift basket raffle featuring items from local vendors. Tickets are available starting October 1st. Tickets may be purchased prior to the event for $20.00 or at the door for $25.00 (space permitting). Advance tickets may be acquired by visiting the Museum at 201 Churton Street, Hillsborough NC, or calling at 919-732-2201. All proceeds benefit the Orange County Historical Museum.”

DECEMBER

3 (Wednesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts John Flanagan for Scorpion Mountain, book 5 in his Brotherband Chronicles series for young readers following on his Ranger’s Apprentice series. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1439881922956094/

5 (Friday) 7 pm — The Regulator hosts Julia Elliott—The Wilds, her genre-bending collection from Tin House. “At an obscure South Carolina nursing home, a lost world reemerges as a disabled elderly woman undergoes newfangled brain-restoration procedures and begins to explore her environment with the assistance of strap-on robot legs. At a deluxe medical spa on a nameless Caribbean island, a middle-aged woman hopes to revitalize her fading youth with grotesque rejuvenating therapies that combine cutting-edge medical technologies with holistic approaches and the pseudo-religious dogma of Zen-infused self-help. And in a rinky-dink mill town, an adolescent girl is unexpectedly inspired by the ravings and miraculous levitation of her fundamentalist friend’s weird grandmother.”

9 (Tuesday) — Local author new book release: Beautiful Curse by Jen McConnel (Durham) — “A contemporary retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid.” (Swoon Romance)

NEW: 10 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Fred Chappell - ‘Familiars: Poems’. “Solitary, graceful, and contemplative, cats have inspired poets from Charles Baudelaire to Margaret Atwood to serve as their chroniclers and celebrants. They have appeared, wrapped in their inscrutability, in verse both sensual and spiritual, weary and whimsical. With Familiars, Fred Chappell proves himself a worthy addition to the fellowship of poets who have sought to immortalize their beloved cats.”

NEW: 16 (Tuesday) 7 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts Fred Chappell, “Familiars”. (See above for more book info!)

NEW: 31 — THE CLOCKWORK BALL: A Steampunk Masquerade at the Haw River Ballroom: “Attention Pilots of Airships and their Crews, Mad Scientists, Explorers of the Unknown, Admirers of Verbosity, Respecters of the Strange, Those Lost in the Throes of Opium or Absinthe, Teetotalers, Scallywags, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dandies, Fops, and Urchins… Our next event will be on NEW YEAR’S EVE: Wednesday December 31st, 2014. Hosted by that darling DJ duo - Emmett Davenport & Lady Nikolai Attercop (both of The Clockwork Cabaret). Jazz, Blues, Swing, Dark Cabaret, Gypsy Punk, Gypsy Jazz & Dance music from times gone by or times that never were. Doors at 8pm; Music begins at 9pm. Admission: All Ages; $10 in advance/$12 at door. Appropriate Attire is Encouraged, but never required.”

JANUARY 2015

6 — Local author book release day for Dragonbreath #10: Knight-napped! by Ursula Vernon.

9-11 (Friday to Sunday) illogiCon (“illogiCon iv: How Schrödington Got His Groove Back”) with guests of honor Jacqueline Carey and Chris Garcia at the Embassy Suites RDU. [Facebook Event]

NEW: 24-25 (Saturday and Sunday) — The Raleigh Review’s Southern Recitations reading and workshop series presents The Poet as Translator: Bridging the Language of the Universe and the Universe of Language with Malena Mörling.

FEBRUARY 2015

NEW: 14-15 (Saturday and Sunday) — The Raleigh Review’s Southern Recitations reading and workshop series presents The Secret Language of Fiction: Weaving Words into Elegant, Meaningful Stories with Marjorie Hudson.

NEW-NEW: 17 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Gabrielle Zevin discusses her novel The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. (Fiction.)

24 — Local author book release day for Tony Daniel’s Star Trek: The Original Series: Savage Trade.

27 to (March) 1 (Friday to Sunday) — MystiCon in Roanoke, VA with author guest of honor Alan Dean Foster, at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood. More info: http://mysticon-va.com/

MARCH 2015

13-15 (Friday to Sunday) — Wizard World Comic Con at the Raleigh Convention Center with featured media guests William Shatner and James Marsters. More info: http://www.wizardworld.com/home-raleigh.html

NEW: 14-15 (Saturday and Sunday) — The Raleigh Review’s Southern Recitations reading and workshop series presents Stories in Stanzas: Writing the Longer Narrative Poem with Joseph Bathanti.

APRIL 2015

21 — Local author book release day for Ursula Vernon’s Castle Hangnail, a new middle grade fantasy: “From the creator of Dragonbreath comes a tale of witches, minions, and one fantastic castle, just right for fans of Roald Dahl and Tom Angleberger. When Molly shows up on Castle Hangnail’s doorstep to fill the vacancy for a wicked witch, the castle’s minions are understandably dubious. After all, she is twelve years old, barely five feet tall, and quite polite.”

24-26 (Friday to Sunday) — RavenCon 10 in Richmond, VA with writer guest of honor Allen Steele and special guest Lawrence M. Schoen. At the DoubleTree by Hilton Richmond Midlothian. More info: http://www.ravencon.com/

MAY 2015

29-31 (Friday to Sunday) — ConCarolinas in Concord, NC with guest of honor John Scalzi and science guest of honor Catherine Asaro at the Embassy Suites Concord.

JUNE 2015

2 — Local author book release day for Clay and Susan Griffith’s The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key, #1) from Del Rey.

24-26 (Friday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2015: “ConTemporal is an experiential Steampunk convention being held June 24-26, 2015 at the Hilton North Raleigh-Midtown in Raleigh, NC. No sooner had the idols been recovered then they were stolen by a mysterious figure! Meanwhile, Lt. Com. Julius Cosgrove is trapped in 1632, near the location of the Grantville temporal incursion caught between the cultists and the Germans fighting the Thirty Years’ War.”

OCTOBER 2015

8-11 (Thursday to Sunday) Bouchercon 2015 in Raleigh. Bouchercon is the annual World Mystery Convention, and this is the first Bouchercon ever (in its nearly 50-year history) to be held in the American South.

– END –

Posted in newsletter | Tagged david weber, John Barrowman, Timothy Zahn, william gibson