Here’s a tentative run down of the panels I’ll be on, as like any convention, my schedule is subject to change. Penguicon is Apr. 30th thru May 2nd.

We Made It to the Oscars!
2009 had an unprecedented number of sci-fi films nominated for Academy Awards. Does this mean sci-fi is going mainstream?

Saturday 11AM
Daniel J. Hogan (m), Doselle Young, Catherine Shaffer

I’m looking forward to this one and it looks like I’m the moderator. It should be a fun chat and hopefully all in good fun. I like that they are listing moderators ahead of time. Since I’m modding this one, I had better come up with some questions or notes ahead of time.

Humor in Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Science Fiction is about Serious Things. Fantasy is about Causes and Quests. Wait, you mean they can be funny too? Puns, jokes, and running gags abound on this panel that pokes fun at works that take themselves a tad too seriously.

Saturday 2PM
Daniel J. Hogan, Jim C. Hines, Brian Briggs (m)

Jim, Brian and I were on this same panel last year and it was a hoot. I’m very much looking forward to this one as well. I think this would be the third time Jim and I have been on a panel focusing on humor in sci-fi and fantasy.

Publicity 101
You have a book coming out and a shoestring to promote it on. What’s an author to do?
Saturday 5PM
Daniel J. Hogan, Cherie Priest, Patrick Rothfuss (m), Brian Briggs

I certainly know a lot about this. The Internet and social media has made it easy and affordable to market yourself and your work.

Adapting a Novel to a Podcast
With our constantly-on-the-go culture, why not make your work even more available (and safe!) for our commuter-based society! Two veterans of aural performance help you get started.
Sunday 9AM
Mary Robinette Kowal, Daniel J. Hogan

I like that I’m described as a veteran of aural performance. That made my day right there. But, I guess with over 20 podcast episodes under my belt, that is an honest description. Heck, how many dozens of character voices have I done? Too many. But I love it. I was on a few panels with Mary last year and I’m looking forward to chatting with her again.

I’m only on four panels this time around (unless something changes) but that’s fine by me. I tend to over do it at some conventions and it’ll be nice to have time to relax (and I don’t have to worry about rushing down there on Friday either). Plus, I’ll have a girlfriend in tow and it wouldn’t be much fun for her if I was on panels all day and night.

I’ve scaled way back on how I do conventions vs. one and especially two years ago. I’m not even bringing any books this time. It is just isn’t cost effective any more and I feel I’m better off burning a bunch of podcast CDs and giving those out. I typically get a few online sales after any convention I’m a guest at, so I’m hoping that trend continues. I’ll confess that I’m always a bit nervous about being on panels with well-known writers and I kind of feel out of place at times, but typically everyone is very friendly and my worries are for not.

I really enjoy conventions. They are a great recharge to the creative batteries and I get to meet folks who have bought my book and/or listen to the podcast in person. Nothing in the world tops a stranger stopping you in a hotel lobby and saying how much they loved your book. Nothing.

The concept is that you take and upload a photo every day, for 365 days.  After the end of the year, you have a nice little collection of your photographic adventures.  Never one to back down from a creative challenge (says the three time finisher of National Novel Writing Month), I jumped at the chance to take part.

First Coffee of 2010, drank from my Attack From Outer Space mug.

I created a set on Flickr to hold all of my own photos, so keep checking that out every day for a new picture.

Will I miss days? Probably. Stuff happens and I’m not going to worry about it if I miss a day or two.  This is for fun and a good excuse to get me out there and take more pictures.  Photography is one of my favorite hobbies and I’m happy for a chance to do it more often.

This project may be the push to get me to finally buy a decent SLR camera.  I’m just using my Sony point-and-shoot for these.  I’ll probably have a few taken by my phone, but I don’t want to do too many of those.

I’m having fun so far–I was up nice and early, taking photos of my old typewriter and messing around with the manual settings on my camera.  I haven’t used the manual settings in a long while.  Then I played around with the picture in Photoshop.

picture of my Underwood typewriter. I do not know its age.

I deleted every color channel except blue in Photoshop and then messed around with the shadows and highlights.  I like the black and white look more, it fits the old time look of the typewriter.

This is exactly why I wanted to do this project: it is making me experiment with photos more.

Happy New Year!