Link to the Show / Show NotesOn Saturday, we started off with a writing panel on what to do “After the Writing is Done.” So we talked to a roomful of new authors or soon-to-be published writers on all the hard work that happens after you’re “done” with the book. Another panel on the paranormal touched on how US culture is becoming more accepting of the paranormal, both in fiction and as part of the world around us. Then on to a program on promoting podcasts (since I also do the Ghost In The Machine Fantasy podcast—www.GhostInTheMachinePodcast.com). Had some heavy hitters on the panel, with Stephen Euin Cobb (The Future and You), Stuart Jaffe (Eclectic Review), Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit (Mr. Adventure), and Nathan P. Butler (numerous fan-based podcasts). Had to sneak out for lunch—it was a four-hour straight line-up and I didn’t want to pass out on the panel!
Had a second paranormal panel after lunch, this time on whether the influx of curiosity seekers due to the new paranormal investigation TV shows helps or hurts the established ghost-hunting community. Saturday evening, I had a reading which was a lot of fun. I read from both “The Summoner” and “Dark Haven” and got to talk with readers. Later that night we had a rollicking panel on whether movies are scarier with buckets of gore or creepy things in the shadows. I was the on a panel with Mark Rainey, Torch of Single Cell Productions and the Adrenalin Group (who make horror movies). I think we did agree that the monster you imagine is always scarier than the monster the make-up artist creates, and that there’s a difference between a horror movie based on suspense and a splatter-fest.
By Sunday, everyone was running on caffeine. We had a really fun two-hour panel on how to create gods for a fictional or role playing universe. It was a huge panel, with James Maxey, Katherine Kurtz, David B. Coe, Faith Hunter, Misty Massey and Steve Cross. Then on for another discussion of sidekicks in fiction, movies and comics. My final panel of the con was a “Skeptics vs. Believers” which managed to have a lively dialogue, as well as unexpected drama and the chance for an unlikely hero to save a life.
RSS Feed