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.

http://magicofeyri.com/2009/09/fantasy-writing-panel-podcast/

The panel featured Jim C. Hines (Goblin Quest series, Stepsister Scheme, Mermaid’s Madness), Phil Kline (Curse of the Kitsune) and myself.  It runs about 49 minutes and is worth a listen–especially when Jim starts talking about his werewolf-muppet story.

The audio quality is not on par with my normal episodes, as I just set up a recorder on the table and let it go, but I did what I could in GarageBand to make it a little better (tried to cut out some of the long pauses too).

Starting with the next episode, things really start kicking into high gear, action-wise anyway.  And we’ll meet some new characters too.

Event this Tuesday: I’m going to be part of the Fantasy Author Panel at the Delta Township District Library. Join Jim C. Hines, Phil Kline and myself as we rap about writing fantasy fiction. FREE. 6 PM to 8:30 PM.

We will be signing and selling books afterwards…well, I won’t be selling books, but I’ll be giving out free podcast CDs.  I may only put the first few episodes on there and make them audio CDs instead of .MP3s. We’ll see.

Chicago Comic Con, Part 1: – Fun With Mass Transit

I attended the Chicago Comic-Con this past Saturday and Sunday (would have went on Friday, but I had a prior commitment to be a guest at a teen writing workshop at my local library–which was a blast).

Bebop and Rocksteady search the Con for ‘Toytles’ to stomp.

This convention had been previously known as Wizard World, so named because of its connection with the comic book price guide/mag, Wizard.  Well, it appears that things are not all well in the kingdom of Wizard.  Both DC and Marvel pulled out of this convention, along with other publishers such as Dark Horse, leaving a huge void that couldn’t be filled, no matter how many Jake Buseys  or Todd Bridges were on hand (sadly, Gary Coleman was a no-show, another disappointment).

A friend summed the event up perfectly as “a glorified Motor City Comic Con” (our yearly comic con here in Michigan that has gone down hill, according to regular attendees).  Sure, there were neato guests and plenty of dealers, but the fun thing about cons for me is seeing the big companies there.

I may not read a lot of Marvel and DC titles as of late (I’ve been buying a lot of Dark Horse), but their presence (along with Dark Horse, Image and others) was what always separated the Chicago convention from Motor City Comic Con for me–the sense of scale.  I recalled in years past at Wizard World that there were more companies around, and not just the big comic labels.

Anyway, I digress.

I awoke at 5 AM on Saturday and prepped for my trek to Ann Arbor to pick up the Mega Bus at the  U of M Park and Ride lot.  Driving on the freeway just before 6 AM was interesting.  Thankfully, I avoided any construction (aside from a short detour in downtown Ann Arbor) and made it to the Park and Ride with time to spare.  The only bummer was that it started raining while I waited by the bus stop, causing some water to leak into my backpack–which made my change of clothes, podcast CD sleeves and such soggy.

The Mega Bus trip was actually rather painless, a far cry from the fiasco of my bus/train trip to the convention a year ago. We even arrived in downtown Chicago 45 minutes ahead of schedule.

I walked the block (give or take) to the nearest Blue Line train station and read a book during the 40 minute (give or take) train ride to the convention center).

I Checked in with my online ticket and was given a very annoying wristband.  They had done away with the badges of years past, and expected people to wear a stupid paper wrist band for the duration of the con (for as long as four days in some cases).

I’m sure this was to prevent people from sharing badges. I like the badges though, they make fun keepsakes, and mine came in handy years ago when I met Jason Mewes and had him sign the back.  When you have arms as hairy as mine, any kind of self-adhesive strip around your wrist is going to be painful.

I quickly noticed the absence of DC and Marvel upon entering.  Usually, they have large booths right at the entrance.  Instead, they crammed most of the guest celebs near the front, which created several log jams upon entering.

This year I wasn’t battling some kind of plague, so I enjoyed walking around the large convention center. I also started putting out podcast CDs in the freebie areas–this one thing I like about this con, they don’t care who puts out free stuff, unlike Motor City Comic Con, where you had to be a registered guest to put out freebies in the common areas.  I only brought 30 something CDs, which I quickly regretted after putting out the last of my CDs by mid-afternoon on the first day.

I also saturated the cafeteria areas with my podcast promo cards.

I didn’t buy all that much this year, I think I only spent around $100 over two days–and that included food, snacks, coffees and other necessities (ex: a six pack of Old Style). My most expensive purchase was a hardcover copy of the first Mouse Guard collection ($25), but I bought it in person from its writer/artist, Michigan-native David Petersen (whom I met a few months ago at the first Ink & Stein ‘drink and draw’ event in Ypsilani).  He also signed it and drew an amazing little sketch.

David Petersen, writer/artist of Mouse Guard, signs and sketches my copy of the first collection.

The rest of my purchases were mainly trade paperbacks of comic book back issues.  Since I’m more of a comic reader than collector these days, I opt for the cheap paperback collections over the separate back issues.  You can find booths a-plenty to score cheap trades.  Most will be half-off the cover price and another favorite stop sold all of their trades for $5.  Probably my best trade purchase was a large Judge Dredd collection that I got for only $7.  It didn’t have a US dollar price, only a UK price (13). I saw the next volume in the series at another booth on sale for $24 (US). Go me.

Stay tuned for Chicago Comic Con, Part 2-Obligatory Wrath of Con Joke

I wore my Ghostbusters costume at Motor City Comic Con while promoting it there and that helped a bunch (people asked for photos and I gave ‘em CDs or cards), but I can’t take my proton pack with me on the bus to Chicago, nor do I think it would survive the trip – I could still wear the flightsuit, but I don’t think it is worth it without the proton pack.

I’m not going to bother explaining how a thirteen year old is able to update a website while in a far away fantasy world, because there are other examples of people doing this.  It also gives me something to update in between episodes, and since my episodes are on a bi-weekly schedule (every other Sunday, Ep009 goes online this Sunday), I’m always worried about losing listeners.

And honestly, I’m having fun with it so  far–and it doesn’t cost me any thing, so why not? I’m still figuring out which direction to take it in (like do I reply to people or not, are the updates Magic of Eyri canon, etc), but I think it’ll just boil down to what I have time for and, more importantly, just having fun.

Last year, I took the train with my then girlfriend, L –we picked up a bus in East Lansing (at the train station, I think) and then took that bus to the train station in…uh, Kalamazoo I think. The bus trip was bad enough, with people having to stand in the aisle the whole way. The high point of this was one of the people standing was a very obviously hung over gentleman, who appeared to be on the verge of vomiting at a moment’s notice (I offered him my seat but he declined, saying that standing was better for him).

On top of this, I caught a cold the night before and was terrible shape for traveling. I spent the layover time at the next stop in a near-comatose state. The train ride wasn’t any better, as L and I couldn’t find seats together. And there was the whole riding backwards on the train thing, which did not sit well with me at all (I was sitting in the opposite direction the train was going).

Upon hitting Chicago, I was in even worse shape, allowing me to make a terrible first impression on L’s friend we met after dinner and would be staying with (the plan being, I go to the comicon with my friends and L spend the day doing what she wanted, both of us meeting up afterwards). This was Thursday night.

Friday morning, after a fantastic evening of night sweats and fever, I pulled myself out of bed and managed to make it to the nearest CTA train station–how, I don’t know. The con was fun, but when you have a fever and feel like you’re going to pass out at any moment, spending hours walking around a large convention center loses its appeal rather quickly.

I linked up with my friends, whom have moved out of Michigan in recent years, and did my best to enjoy the con. The plan was to grab dinner together that evening, attend a reading/Q&A by Warren Ellis (one of my favorite comic book writers) and hang out afterwards.

Well, that didn’t happen. I survived the afternoon at the con–barely. I almost left at one point, but since neither L nor her friend were home, I didn’t really have a choice. I had to forgo the traditional White Castle dinner in favor of something a little more pleasing to my weakened state (Subway, I think, so barely). I think I made it about 30 minutes through Warren Ellis’ reading before I hit rock bottom.

A couple of panicked phone calls later, I was on my way back to L’s friend’s house and so were L and said friend (forcing the two of them to leave a party or something). I was promptly pumped full of cold meds and put to bed.

Saturday started out great—and quickly got worse. I felt better at first, but after L and I trekked downtown to see the museums and such (Saturday was spend time with the girlfriend day), I was hardly able to stand. Needless to say, our museum outing was short lived. But here’s the best part:

L’s friend worked for the Obama campaign. And after we got back to L’s friend’s place (we had a spare key), she called us and invited us to the Taste of Chicago festival downtown, where Stevie Wonder was the guest. This would have meant getting back on the train to downtown, and standing outside in a 100 degree (give or take) sunny weather around thousands of people. L and I passed, opting to recover (she was exhausted as well, having spent the previous day downtown with friends).

The next day, we find out that had we gone, L’s friend could have gotten us into a private show put on by Stevie Wonder for Barrack and Michelle Obama.

Yes, that’s right. L and I could have met the now President and First Lady. And part of me thinks that if I had just taken some DayQuil, I might have been up for going.

(for the record, L’s friend had no idea–or at least gave us no prior indication–that this would happen, if she had said there would have been even a maybe chance, I would have cowboy’d up and went–and in some bizarre alternative reality, passed my plague on to the then presidential candidate, which would somehow cause him to lose the election. But, I digress).

That Sunday, the last day of Wizard World, I survived the outing but didn’t stay the whole day–and couldn’t because L and I had to catch the train back to Michigan. Catching our train was another bit of fun, as we had a hard time figuring out where to go inside Union Station. Yes, we almost boarded the wrong train.

So here I am, a little over a year later, and I’m toying with heading back.

I’m thinking of taking the Mega Bus time, which is faster than the train and way cheaper. And since I’m going solo this time (L broke up with me back in January), I figured why not? The Mega Bus gets my mom’s seal of approval and because of Chicago’s great mass transit system, all I have to do is hop on the Blue Line train after the bus drops me off at Union Station in downtown Chicago (seriously, their mass transit system rules–get with it Michigan) and I’ll be at the convention center around lunch time.  The ease of the mass transit system was something I really enjoyed last year.

Financially, I can make it work ($28 round trip on the Mega Bus is great) — and since I’m going there to promote the Magic of Eyri Podcast (give out cards/CDs) and myself, I can write off some of the expenses.

But I’ll have to watch my spending at the con itself (I think only having one bag to carry everything for the weekend in will help with that).

And honestly, I want a redo because last year was so horrible. I’m hoping that whatever is in my system at the moment (some kind of Black Lung/Bronchitis thing), will be under control by then (I’m on a new run of antibiotics so, I’m sure I’ll be fine).

But this time I’m going loaded for bear: bringing cold stuff just in case.

For me though, going to the con isn’t really about buying comics (or promoting myself)–it is to see my friends and to spend a fun weekend around like-minded people. As I’m getting older, I’m realizing I probably won’t have too many more chances like this down the road to have a carefree weekend with old friends (but I hope I’m very, very wrong).

As my dad likes to say, life is about ‘nuggets’ — little events or moments that may seem insignificant in the big picture, but make life all the more interesting.

Speaking of — both Gary Coleman AND Todd Bridges of Diff’rent Strokes are guests this year. How can I NOT go?