Bull Spec

Posted on 2013-02-16 at 05:26 by angelablackwell

Your Humble Reviewers took a roadtrip to Roanoke, Virginia the weekend of February 8-10 to attend Shevacon at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. The hotel is a Doubletree hotel, which means you get chocolate chip cookies when you check in. The rooms are spacious and clean, although they are a bit pricey for a convention hotel; however, the location is so good that the expense is justified. The hotel bar serves good (though expensive) food and drink, but the appetizers and entrees are big enough for sharing. If you prefer to skip the bar and try your luck elsewhere, the entire downtown area of Roanoke, with all of its restaurants, bars and shops is within easy walking distance.

The meeting rooms where panels are held are all well-appointed and some even have very comfy chairs. The con staff kept a good supply of water on hand, which was needed because the heat was running so much. We had no temperature issues in meeting rooms or any other place in the hotel, which was quite good after many convention experiences with very hot or very cold rooms.

The dealer room is quite spacious; you don’t feel crowded while browsing, and the variety of dealers means there is a lot to browse. There are also artist tables in the hall outside. This area has lots of natural light due to the windows and is very wide so people can stand in front of tables and not restrict the traffic going by.

Programming has tracks for writing, art, costuming, Star Wars, and children’s activities. As writers our focus was on the writing track. This track had several guests who have published many books with major publishing houses and some who have published with smaller presses. This variety is good because it allows the panels to cover more topics. There were panels dealing with the mechanics of writing, like plot and characterization, and a writing workshop which helps writers develop hooks. Also there were panels dealing with larger issues in your writing universe like sex, religion, world building, and villains. Panels on marketing yourself were also available. All the panels we attended were interesting and had worthwhile content, which is quite a change from some conventions we have attended. The networking was good also because many of the writers had vendor tables in the dealer room, making them easy to find when they weren’t on panels.

Overall, the venue for this convention is excellent, the food available is good, and the panel content worth the drive, so particularly for beginning writers this convention would be a good one to attend. It is large enough you get plenty of panelists, but small enough that it won’t overwhelm someone new to conventions. Also, adult content is restricted to late hours with ID checks at the door, so it is family friendly. You can get info on next year from www.shevacon.org .

http://www.shevacon.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/slider_risingup_800x250-800x250.png

Posted in The Exploding Spaceship

The Exploding Spaceship Reviews Ever After by Kim Harrison (and also takes a look at Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh, NC)

Posted on 2013-02-16 at 05:11 by angelablackwell

Rachel has to help Trent and Quen keep their family together when enemies threaten in Kim Harrison’s latest Hollows novel. Rachel’s demon nature becomes both a help and a hindrance as she, Trent and Quen try to get everyone safely home. Rachel’s demon acquaintances are no help because the main enemy is a crazy demon created to help the demons conquer humans. This monster is damaging the ever-after and if the demons don’t do something about it their realm will cease to exist and magic will disappear.

Ivy takes a roadtrip and comes back to unpleasant consequences: she has a new friend who needs her help, but providing that help makes her some powerful enemies, and Rachel has to intervene.

Rachel’s ex Nick makes an annoying return, and Jenks and his family also have a role to play.

The Hollows is a fascinating universe with a history and a cast of characters worth following. Ever After includes all the major characters without piling on too much backstory, so even readers who are new to the series will have no trouble following the story. Definitely a must read for lovers of magic and paranormal romance.

Your Humble Reviewers and a packed house of enthusiastic fans got to meet Kim Harrison on February 2 when she stopped by Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh, North Carolina for a book signing and Q&A session.

Quail Ridge Books is an independent bookstore located off I-40 in a shopping center with a Whole Foods grocery. The store is big as independents go, with plenty of room to handle the crowd for a major author. By using a signing line ticket system only a small number of people had to queue at once, and those who had no ticket from purchasing a book were directed to wait at the end of the line.

The store stocks an extensive collection of North Carolina authors, as well as having a large display of recent award-winning books. There is a dedicated (and sizable) children’s section in a room of its own, which was very helpful to the traffic flow during the event.

Perhaps the most unique feature of the store is (of all things!) the restroom: every wall in the unisex facility is covered with framed autographed photos of the authors who have visited, and despite the crowd it was absolutely spotless.

With facilities like these (and a food source just a minute’s walk away), Quail Ridge Books is definitely a prime location for author events. Kim Harrison’s talk and the Q&A session that followed really felt more like a writer’s panel at a convention than a book signing.

Hopefully, the tours for the next two Hollows novels (which will bring the series to an end) will find their way to Quail Ridge.

Posted in The Exploding Spaceship

Friday quick updates: Cory Doctorow tomorrow at 2 pm, Brandon Sanderson on Wednesday night

Posted on 2013-02-15 at 22:06 by montsamu

With two of the biggest events of the year in the next five days, it’s a fun time to be a speculative fiction fan in the Triangle. You can still help spread the word, either by inviting friends via the Facebook links below, or posting or sharing or passing out one of the current flyers for the upcoming events:

FEBRUARY:

16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

16 (Saturday) 9 pm til late — Davenport and Winkleperry hosts The Clockwork Ball: A Steampunk Party. “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 Saturday February 16th, 2013 and… will feature a live performance by the outstanding FABLE CRY. Hosted by that darling duo, Emmett Davenport & Lady Nikolai Attercop. They will be spinning Jazz, Blues, Swing, Dark Cabaret, Gypsy Punk, & Dance music from times gone by or times that never were. Doors at 8pm; Music begins at 9pm. Admission: 18+, 21+ to Drink; $5. Appropriate Attire is Encouraged, but never required.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/434531459951000/

20 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm – Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. In addition, special guest Harriet McDougal will be joining Sanderson for the event. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/484713371567840/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — Durham’s Carolina Theatre hosts the Nevermore Film Festival. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/440070299375523/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — MystiCon in Roanoke, Virginia, with Larry Elmore, Rich Sigfrit, and more. More info: http://mysticon-va.com/

23 (Saturday) 3 pm and 7 pm — Hillsborouth author John Claude Bemis is a participant on the Murphey School Radio Show at the Shared Visions Retreat Center at the Historic Murphey School in Durham, NC. “Spend a couple of hours laughing and singing along as we raise the roof of the historic Murphey School auditorium, a 1936 WPA project that has been lovingly restored by the Shared Visions Foundation as a nonprofit retreat and community center. This event will be recorded live! PLEASE ARRIVE 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SHOWTIME!!! For the 3:00pm show, doors will open at 2:15pm with the pre-show warm-up beginning at 2:30pm. Due to live recording, anyone arriving after 3:00pm will be admitted during intermission. For the 7:00pm show, doors will open at 6:15pm with the pre-show warm-up beginning at 6:30pm. Due to live recording, anyone arriving after 7:00pm will be admitted during intermission.” This is a ticketed event with a sliding for-charity scale: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/302008

26 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Ariel Djanikian reads from her science fiction novel The Office of Mercy. Author Djanikian now calls Chapel Hill home, so let’s get out to welcome this new local author! More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/539125676117811/

Posted in Uncategorized

Two events, one flyer: Cory Doctorow and Brandon Sanderson

Posted on 2013-02-10 at 13:51 by montsamu

Operation wallpaper-the-town for two big-time events this month:

February 16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

February 20 (Wednesday) 7:30 pm – Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. In addition, special guest Harriet McDougal will be joining Sanderson for the event. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/484713371567840/

Here’s a 2-event flyer image to share:

And here are printable PDF flyers in color:

2013-02-08-cory-sanderson-color-144dpi

And grayscale:

2013-02-08-cory-sanderson-bw-144dpi

OK, I lied. I do have another “flyer”, the current handout sheet:

handout-2013-02-8-bw

Which looks like this:

Except the PDF is in grayscale.

Posted in events, flyers

Friday Quick Updates: Beth Revis and Morgan Rhodes on Monday! One week 'til Doctorow! Two 'til Sanderson!

Posted on 2013-02-08 at 21:40 by montsamu

Hello and welcome to Friday February 8th. There are several events early next week, and of course Cory Doctorow at Flyleaf Books next Saturday (the 16th), and Brandon Sanderson at Quail Ridge Books the following Wednesday (the 20th) — and also some brief news notes and mentions:

The latest episode of the Carolina Book Beat podcast is my hour-long talk from January about 2012 and 2013 in local and regional sf/f books: http://carolinabookbeat.com/2013/02/07/the-latest-from-carolina-book-beat-36/
Hey Triangle area hackerspace and makerspace folks: Cory Doctorow wants you to talk about your projects ahead of his reading at Flyleaf Books, per his podcast: http://craphound.com/?p=4479
The Exploding Spaceship returns with a review of the newest Liaden Universe novel, NECESSITY'S CHILD by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller: /2013/02/05/the-exploding-spaceship-reviews-necessitys-child-by-sharon-lee-and-steve-miller/
New local author story: "The Last Gamble" by Paul Celmer, in Nihilist Sci Fi: http://nihilistscifi.com/2013/02/05/the-last-gamble-by-paul-celmer/ -- Opening line: "Abrams stood in a gutter that lined a trash-strewn street on a world that was a bit too far from his own. He wondered if he was being set up."

Now, the upcoming events blast:

11 (Monday) 5 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts PETER LERANGIS – Children’s Fantasy With The Colossus Rises.

11 (Monday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Breathless Reads YA Tour: Meet Five Up and Coming Young Adult Authors – Fiona Paul (Venom), Beth Revis (Shades of Earth), Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms), Elizabeth Richards (Black City), and Jess Spotswood (Born Wicked). More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/531303460234320/

12 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Peter Lerangis, The Seven Wonders Book One: The Colossus Rises.

16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

Posted in Uncategorized

The Exploding Spaceship Reviews Necessity’s Child by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Posted on 2013-02-05 at 19:53 by angelablackwell

Necessity’s Child is a new Liaden Universe® novel out today from Baen. For those not familiar with this universe, it is a space opera, but one based around interplanetary trading rather than warfare. The “aliens” in the universe are humans (though of slightly smaller stature than the terrestrial variety) who came to the planet Liad from another universe many generations before. Liadens and humans from our universe are able to interbreed, but there are many cultural differences, and there are several worlds which are predominately Liaden.

This novel centers around Syl Vor, son of Nova yos’Galan, and his experiences moving from a Liaden-only family living situation to being on a planet with mostly non-Liadens. His cousins are all older and they go off to begin apprenticeships, so he is left with a tutor all to himself. The planet Surebleak is run by bosses who control territory and they are trying to start a school in a neutral area for all the local children to attend. Neighborhood schools have been started and those schools will then merge to form the large one. Syl Vor convinces his mother that it would be a good idea for him to attend: after all, how will the other bosses trust her support of the central school if her son does not attend?

Once in school he meets Kezzi, a bright interesting girl about his age, and decides that he likes (and hates) her so much he wants her to be his sister. He proceeds to drag her home with him and gets his mother to agree to his outrageous plan.

Syl Vor and Kezzi have several adventures together and learn about each other’s culture through games and questions. As a consequence of the book being centered around the children, the Surebleak and Liaden culture is explored as well as the culture of Kezzi’s family (which appears to be somewhat like futuristic Irish Travellers or Pavee), so this volume is a good first step into the Liaden Universe®.

Interestingly, the Liaden culture appears to have more in common with that of Kezzi’s family than it does with that of Surebleak, so the children bond through their own similarities and not by understanding the predominant culture around them.

This novel does not have the spaceships and the interplanetary settings of some volumes but the exploration of the cultures is very interesting and you get some idea of how the Korval clan plans to reestablish itself on Surebleak. The Department of the Interior makes an appearance and you get some idea of the damage Korval has done to them, but their interference on Surebleak has interesting results.

So overall, this is not a very space-operatic volume, but a very interesting one for those who have been following Korval for several books or for those not familiar with the universe. The children introduced will surely be important characters in books further down the timeline, as previous children presented in Liaden Universe® books have proven to be.

Posted in The Exploding Spaceship

Friday quick updates, February 1

Posted on 2013-02-01 at 17:08 by montsamu

Some quick updates this Friday, including two events tomorrow (Saturday February 2 — yes, today is February, and tomorrow is too), some fun local author news, and, hey, some local bookstore friendly e-reader news which is highly applicable to that fun local author news. (And now a bonus update!)

First, the events:

2 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NY Times bestselling urban fantasy author and NC native Kim Harrison for Ever After, the latest in her Hollows series. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/276517015784912/

2 (Saturday) 5 to 7 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts Jared Axelrod, author of the Tor graphic novel The Battle of Blood & Ink: A Fable of the Flying City. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/418137048267731/

Second, the fun local author news:

Leading with the news that Raleigh author JL Hilton’s Stellarnet Rebel was awarded the SFR Galaxy Award for Best Non-Traditional Romance: “Stellarnet Rebel covers a lot of science fiction ground, but what really makes it unique is the non-traditional romance. I love that the story took the romance in an unexpected direction. The author layers interesting social commentary about romance, marriage, and family through the lens of an alien culture. The experience prompted me to question my assumptions about how we define romance both in this subgenre and also in real life. In that regard, Stellarnet Rebel stimulates both the mind and the heart.”

And also that, as has been the case all week at least and so I don’t know for how much longer, Hillsborough author James Maxey’s Bitterwood is still free on Kobo, at Smashwords, and on Kindle.

Lastly, the local bookstore friendly e-reader news, applicable to the above:

For those who, like me, have been waiting and waiting on joining the ebook revolution until the DRM nonsense was a bit more sorted, and until the e-readers and e-bookstores figured out how to include the local bookstores in their machinations of the destruction of all that comes in dead tree pages, it looks like it's finally time to take the plunge. Late last year, the IndieBound stores and e-reader and e-bookstore Kobo announced a new partnership, and the readers have been slowly showing up in the local bookstores, who have also started updating their websites for browsing and shopping for these titles. Now through February 14, at least Quail Ridge Books and Flyleaf Books (couldn't confirm The Regulator Bookshop by phone this morning) are running a $59 sale on the Kobo Mini:

You can fondle and buy these devices in person at your local IndieBound store, and Quail Ridge Books has it available for online ordering as well. What to do with it? Why, load up on local author ebooks, whether the free variety such as Maxey’s Bitterwood or, and set up your local bookstore affiliate links first, Hilton’s Stellarnet Rebel., or anyplace else you come up with ePub files (from the Baen Ebooks store to Smashwords, to your latest Kickstarter backer reward copy from that book you helped crowd-fund, to wherever). I don’t see the Baen titles in Kobo directly yet, hopefully that’s sorted out soon.

UPDATE: There’s also a great News & Observer interview with local author, editor, and blogger Natania Barron:

http://www.trianglemom2mom.com/2013/02/01/2633467/meet-natania-barron.html

Posted in Uncategorized

February newsletter updated with tons of new events!

Posted on 2013-01-29 at 20:07 by montsamu

Yup, it always happens. I click “send” on the newsletter and shortly thereafter find out about a long list of upcoming events. Here’s a quick roundup:

FEBRUARY 2013

NEW-NEW: 2 (Saturday) 5 to 7 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts Jared Axelrod, author of the Tor graphic novel The Battle of Blood & Ink: A Fable of the Flying City. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/418137048267731/

NEW-NEW: 11 (Monday) 5 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts PETER LERANGIS – Children’s Fantasy With The Colossus Rises.

NEW-NEW: 11 (Monday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Breathless Reads YA Tour: Meet Five Up and Coming Young Adult Authors – Fiona Paul (Venom), Beth Revis (Shades of Earth), Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms), Elizabeth Richards (Black City), and Jess Spotswood (Born Wicked).

NEW-NEW: 12 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Peter Lerangis, The Seven Wonders Book One: The Colossus Rises.

NEW-NEW: 16 (Saturday) 9 pm til late — Davenport and Winkleperry hosts The Clockwork Ball: A Steampunk Party. “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 Saturday February 16th, 2013 and… will feature a live performance by the outstanding FABLE CRY. Hosted by that darling duo, Emmett Davenport & Lady Nikolai Attercop. They will be spinning Jazz, Blues, Swing, Dark Cabaret, Gypsy Punk, & Dance music from times gone by or times that never were. Doors at 8pm; Music begins at 9pm. Admission: 18+, 21+ to Drink; $5. Appropriate Attire is Encouraged, but never required.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/434531459951000/

NEW-NEW: 26 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Ariel Djanikian reads from her science fiction novel The Office of Mercy. Author Djanikian now calls Chapel Hill home, so let’s get out to welcome this new local author!

MARCH 2013

NEW-NEW: 2 (Saturday) 2 pm — David Drake will be at Circle City Books in Pittsboro — the bookstore was recently written up in the LA Times for its fantastic mural of a bookshelf (which features one of Drake’ss books, “With the Lightnings”: http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-now-thats-a-wall-of-books-20130123,0,3947937.sto

NEW-NEW: 9 (Saturday) 3 to 4 pm — The Regulator Bookshop hosts: “Two NC authors share their visions of the strange with us on Saturday, March 9, at 3 p.m. Nathan Kotecki brings us The Suburban Strange. Celia discovers girls at Suburban High are having near fatal accidents on the eve of their 16th birthdays. Can 15-year-old Celia solve the mystery before her own next birthday? For ages 14+. PT McHugh presents Keeper of the Black Stones: Stone Ends, the first book in a new series. It’s a thrilling combination of fantasy and historical fiction with a likable, funny hero in Jason Evans. For ages 12+.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/301390523317829/

NEW-NEW: 19 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts A. J. HARTLEY – With Children’s Fantasy Darwen Arkwright & The Insidious Bleck.

MAY 2013

NEW-NEW: 4 (Saturday) — Free Comic Book Day, including events and of course free comics at all participating shops. Ultimate Comics will be hosting a very large party/gathering/thing in and around their store, including two free Jeremy Whitley comic books, one a split issue featuring Princeless and Jamal Igle’s new title “Molly Danger” and the other an NFL RushZone book. Stay tuned for lineups and plans from other local stores!

Posted in events

February newsletter: James Maxey, Kim Harrison, Cory Doctorow, and Brandon Sanderson! More!

Posted on 2013-01-28 at 19:48 by montsamu

Vol 3. No 2. January 28, 2013:

Welcome a bit early to the February newsletter! I’m sneaking this one in ahead of the end of the month to make sure everybody gets a chance to hear about the Witchbreaker book launch party tomorrow (Tuesday, January 29!) as Hillsborough’s Purple Crow Books hosts James Maxey for the third book in his Dragon Apocalypse trilogy. More info below in the events, but if you miss it, you’re also missing Cheryl’s dragon cookies! (As well as, hopefully, the chance to hear James reading as a very confused and very male dwarf who thinks he is a princess, increasingly shrill falsetto and all. Well, one can hope…)

I saw many familiar faces at illogiCon, and either met or finally got to have a conversation with a few I’d only barely met before. I thought it was a great second year for the convention, certainly more active and vibrant and I very much enjoyed myself, from the opening ceremonies with author guest of honor Tim Powers and toastmaster Mark Van Name, through panels, readings, and getting to interview Powers, more panels, more readings… Next year’s author guests of honor, Mary Robinette Kowal and Lawrence M. Shoen, were announced, and memberships for 2014 are already available.

In almost random news, I wanted to pass along that “City of Shadow and Glass” by Erin Hoffman, originally published in Bull Spec #4, is the latest episode of Tina Connolly’s Parsec Award-winning Toasted Cake podcast! Also, ConTemporal is seeking volunteers on Saturday March 23rd at 6:15 P.M. for a promotional event with UNC TV’s pledge drive. For more information or to sign up please visit their Volunteer Information and Sign Up Form. Now, to the events, which include Maxey’s book launch, bestselling authors Kim Harrison, Cory Doctorow, Brandon Sanderson, and more — and that’s before we even get out of February. See you out and about,

-Sam

Updates 2013-01-29: As usual a big list of “NEW-NEW” events came in as soon as I clicked “send”. Look again, maybe you missed something of interest!

JANUARY 2013

NEW: 29 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Hillsborough’s Purple Crow Books hosts a book launch party for Witchbreaker by James Maxey, book 3 in his Dragon Apocalypse series after Greatshadow and Hush. Reading and signing and of course Cheryl’s dragon cookies! More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/121899164647826/

FEBRUARY 2013

2 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NY Times bestselling urban fantasy author and NC native Kim Harrison for Ever After, the latest in her Hollows series.

NEW-NEW: 11 (Monday) 5 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts PETER LERANGIS - Children’s Fantasy With The Colossus Rises.

NEW-NEW: 11 (Monday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Breathless Reads YA Tour: Meet Five Up and Coming Young Adult Authors — Fiona Paul (Venom), Beth Revis (Shades of Earth), Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms), Elizabeth Richards (Black City), and Jess Spotswood (Born Wicked).

NEW-NEW: 12 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Peter Lerangis, The Seven Wonders Book One: The Colossus Rises.

16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — Durham’s Carolina Theatre hosts the Nevermore Film Festival. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/440070299375523/

22-24 (Friday-Sunday) — MystiCon in Roanoke, Virginia, with Orson Scott Card, Larry Elmore, Rich Sigfit, and more. More info: http://mysticon-va.com/

NEW: 23 (Saturday) 3 pm and 7 pm — Hillsborouth author John Claude Bemis is a participant on the Murphey School Radio Show at the Shared Visions Retreat Center at the Historic Murphey School in Durham, NC. “Spend a couple of hours laughing and singing along as we raise the roof of the historic Murphey School auditorium, a 1936 WPA project that has been lovingly restored by the Shared Visions Foundation as a nonprofit retreat and community center. This event will be recorded live! PLEASE ARRIVE 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SHOWTIME!!! For the 3:00pm show, doors will open at 2:15pm with the pre-show warm-up beginning at 2:30pm. Due to live recording, anyone arriving after 3:00pm will be admitted during intermission. For the 7:00pm show, doors will open at 6:15pm with the pre-show warm-up beginning at 6:30pm. Due to live recording, anyone arriving after 7:00pm will be admitted during intermission.” This is a ticketed event with a sliding for-charity scale: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/302008

MARCH 2013

1-3 (Friday to Sunday) — StellarCon37 at the Greensboro – High Point Airport Marriott with author Eric Flint, artist Richard Case, and game designer Steve Segedy. More info: http://stellarcon.com/

NEW-NEW: 2 (Saturday) 2 pm — David Drake will be at Circle City Books in Pittsboro to sign the new paperback edition of The Road of Danger and read from the forthcoming The Heretic — the bookstore was recently written up in the LA Times for its fantastic mural of a bookshelf (which features one of Drake’s books, “With the Lightnings”: http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-now-thats-a-wall-of-books-20130123,0,3947937.sto

NEW-NEW: 9 (Saturday) 3 to 4 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts: “Two NC authors share their visions of the strange with us on Saturday, March 9, at 3 p.m. Nathan Kotecki brings us The Suburban Strange. Celia discovers girls at Suburban High are having near fatal accidents on the eve of their 16th birthdays. Can 15-year-old Celia solve the mystery before her own next birthday? For ages 14+. PT McHugh presents Keeper of the Black Stones: Stone Ends, the first book in a new series. It’s a thrilling combination of fantasy and historical fiction with a likable, funny hero in Jason Evans. For ages 12+.” More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/301390523317829/

NEW-NEW: 19 (Tuesday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts A. J. HARTLEY - With Children’s Fantasy Darwen Arkwright & The Insidious Bleck.

NEW-NEW: 22 (Friday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Hugo Award winning Pittsboro graphic novelist Ursula Vernon for book #8 in her Danny Dragonbreath series of graphic novels for young readers, “Nightmare of the Iguana”. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/4231658

NEW-NEW: 28 (Thursday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Jeaniene Frost for Twice Tempted. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/79120

TBD: We’re putting something together for the Bull Spec #8 launch party / slash / NC Speculative Fiction night. Stay tuned!

APRIL 2013

5-21 — NC Science Festival with events statewide. More info: http://www.ncsciencefestival.org/

NEW-NEW: 9 (Tuesday) 7 pm — B&N of Cary hosts Tony Daniel and David Drake for The Heretic. More info: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/78969

NEW: 13-14 (Saturday-Sunday) — Durham Arts Council’s Spring Art Walk. More info: http://durhamartwalk.com/

19-21 (Fri-Sun) — DeepSouthCon at JordanCon in Roswell, Georgia with guests Seanan McGuire, Eugie Foster, and Michael Whelan, along with the Phoenix and Rebel Awards.

23 (Tuesday) — World Book Night worldwide. For more info on how to get involved as a book-giver: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/how-do-i-get-involved/apply-giver-us

24-25 (Wed-Thu) — East Coast Game Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center. More info: http://www.ecgconf.com/

MAY 2013

JUNE 2013

May 31 – June 2 (Friday to Sunday) — ConCarolinas in Charlotte, with writer guest of honor Timothy Zahn. More info: http://www.concarolinas.org/

27-30 (Thursday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2013 at the North Raleigh Hilton, beginning with the Thursday evening guest of honor dinner and continuing all weekend, as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. Guest of honor Ursula Vernon, along with Lee Martindale, Tom Smith, toastmaster Sal Sanfratello, and more. More info: http://contemporal.org/

AUGUST 2013

NEW: 3 (Saturday) 7 to 9 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts the annual Bull Spec summer speculative fiction event. This year it is an absolutely fantastic lineup with Karen Lord, Nathan Ballingrud, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and Will Hindmarch!

OCTOBER 2013

NEW: 4-6 (Friday to Sunday) — Second Escapist Expo. More info: http://www.escapistexpo.com/

NOVEMBER 2013

9-10 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon will be returning to the Durham Convention Center. “Twice the space, four times the fun. It’s exponential.”

JANUARY 2014

NEW: 10-12 (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon iii: The Search for Schrödington’s Gold at the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle, with author guests of honor Mary Robinette Kowal and Lawrence M. Shoen. More info: http://www.illogicon.com/

Posted in newsletter

WUNC's The State of Things to air interview with Samuel R. Delany

Posted on 2013-01-24 at 15:32 by montsamu

Today (Thursday Jan 24) in the noon hour Eastern Time, WUNC’s The State of Things will have author Samuel R. Delany on in a taped phone interview segment. It will broadcast over the airwaves state-wide at noon, with a re-broadcast at 9 pm. Additionally, at both broadcast times, Internet listening is available through both MP3 streaming and Windows Media streaming, and later today the segment should be available on the show’s podcast, to which you can subscribe or check for episode listings both for iTunes and an RSS feed. The overall show topic is “white life” novels by African American Authors, and among other things, host Frank Stasio talks with Delany about his latest novel, Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders.

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“702”] Samuel R. Delany in Kyle Cassidy’s “Where I Write” project.[/caption]

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