Events - Steven R. Southard (Poseidon's Scribe)

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You Can’t Out-Fox the Swamp Fox, But You Can Sign Books There

This past Friday, I sold and signed books at the Swamp Fox Bookstore in Marion, Iowa. I owe a big thank-you to owner Terri LeBlanc for providing me the opportunity.

Poseidon’s Scribe and his sister at the Swamp Fox Bookstore

I mentioned before why she gave her store that curious name. It honors Revolutionary War hero General Francis Marion, for whom they named the town. He earned his nickname, the Swamp Fox, by teaching American soldiers a form of guerrilla warfare.

However, viewed from modern perspectives, the general appears less heroic, since he owned slaves and helped hunt down escaped slaves. The Swamp Fox Bookstore stocks not even one book about him, and Ms. LeBlanc hasn’t found anyone who can tell her why a town in Iowa would be named for him.

All that aside, I had a marvelous time at the bookstore. My brother and sister showed up and helped, though only my sister got in the picture with me.

Thanks to those who stopped by my table and bought books. Thanks, again, to Terri LeBlanc for hosting a book singing event for—

Poseidon’s Scribe

August 23, 2026Poseidon's ScribePermalink Leave a comment

Will I See You at the Swamp Fox?

This Friday, August 21, I’ll be at the Swamp Fox Bookstore in Marion, Iowa from 2-5 pm. My book signing event earned a mention in the local newspaper.

Iowa

I live far from Iowa now, but grew up there, so I’m looking forward to stomping around in my old stomping grounds. It will be fun to see my family and also friends from my high school days.

Brigadier General Francis Marion (from Wikipedia)

The Swamp Fox

I puzzled over the name of this bookstore. You’ll find no swamps in Marion, Iowa, and I’m sure nobody’s seen a fox there in ages. Why choose that crazy name for a bookstore?

Then I got it. The “Swamp Fox”—18^th Century American brigadier general Francis Marion. That’s Marion, get it? The town’s named for him. They even hold a Swamp Fox Festival every year in September—too bad I’ll miss it.

Crazy name for a bookstore? Crazy like a swamp fox.

Stop By

If you’re in Marion, Iowa on Friday, feel free to visit the Swamp Fox Bookstore and say hi to—

Poseidon’s Scribe

August 16, 2026Poseidon's ScribePermalink Leave a comment

Sail the Soonercon Seas With Me

This coming weekend, from the 19^th through the 21^st of June, I’ll participate in Soonercon 34, a pop culture convention in Norman, Oklahoma. Despite Oklahoma’s distance from major bodies of water, their theme this year is “Through Salt & Storm,” which suits me well. Here’s my schedule:

Ship’s Biscuits, Limeys, and Rum: Food on the Seas

Friday 2:00 – 2:45

Panelists: Michael Dean (moderator) Cody Clark, Tim Frayser, and me

Writing the Inhuman: Crafting Non-Human Protagonists

Friday 3:00 – 3:45

Panelists: Joe Haldeman, Vickey Malone Kennedy, A.C. Smart, and me (moderator)

Book Signing

Friday 5:00 – 5:45

Stars and the Sea: Constellations in Myth and Legend

Saturday 10:00 – 10:45

Panelists: Charles Dane Clark (moderator), Dara Fogel, Gypsy Jess, and me

Building the Temple: Believable Religion in Speculative Fiction.

Sunday 11:00 – 11:45

Panelists: Dara Fogel, J.H. Fleming, Laura J. Underwood, and me (moderator)

The Golden Age of Sci-Fi: What Makes Classic Stories Endure?

Sunday 3:00 – 3:45

Panelists: Frank Hood, William Bernhardt, Mark Alfred, and me (moderator)

Location

You’ll find Soonercon 34 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Norman, Oklahoma.

Though you might have to sail “through salt & storm” to get there, please make the effort. If you do, be sure to shout a hearty “Ahoy!” to—

Poseidon’s Scribe

June 14, 2026Poseidon's ScribePermalink Leave a comment

Authors Playing in the Leaves One Afternoon

On Sunday, March 8, I participated in a panel discussion with other authors at Leaves Bakery and Books. I’ve appeared there before and blogged about my visits here, here, and here. They haven’t had enough of me yet, I guess.

Ashlee G. Rosales

I hadn’t met Ashlee before this event. She’s written a romance book called Let Me Protect You: A Granite Falls Romance. In the novel, a woman hires a bodyguard, but that protector turns out to be her ex-boyfriend.

Susan Ayres

The lone poet on our panel, Susan was another new acquaintance for me. She’s titled her newest chapbook of poetry Red Cardinal, White Snow. One reviewer wrote, “These poems are a master class in the art of becoming human.”

Scott Finley

I’d met Scott at a previous visit to Leaves, so was familiar with his Voyages of the Queen series. Each novel involves a ship’s nurse aboard an ocean liner in 1929 who ends up solving murders.

Me

I babbled some answers to the questions put to us by Tina, our moderator. I also read from my short story, “Weathervane Wally,” which appears in Ain’t Our First Rodeo.

A small audience showed up for this event. (A larger audience wouldn’t have fit in the available space.) Perhaps out of courtesy, they didn’t fall asleep during the blathering of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

March 10, 2026Poseidon's ScribePermalink Leave a comment

Did You See Me at FenCon 2026?

Things fell into place last Saturday when I learned I could set up a table to hawk my wares at FenCon, a science fiction convention based in Dallas, Texas.

I find the etymology of “FenCon” interesting. If “man” earns the plural form “men,” then what’s the plural of “fan?” Fen, of course. It’s a convention for more than one fan of scifi—way more.

The con organizers granted me a prime location for my table, where I sold several books and conversed with buyers and other passers-by. Fellow author Jan S. Gephardt—whom I’ve interviewed—stopped to talk while on the way to her next panel.

This marked the first opportunity to display my new glowing seastead pyramid. It attracted the eye of more than one potential customer.

Many thanks to the FenCon staff for providing a sales table for—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 26, 2026Poseidon's ScribePermalink

A Book Palooza? That’s READiculous

Consider coming to the first-ever READiculous Book Palooza on Saturday, February 28. It will be at the Oak Street Drafthouse at 308 East Oak Street in Denton, TX.

Though the Palooza starts at 1:00pm, you might wish to plan on being there at 6:00pm, when I’ll be reading from one or more of my books.

Hope to see you there! Several other authors will participate as well, not just—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 15, 2026Poseidon's ScribePermalink

Signing Event at Park Books

For those who attended my book signing at Park Books in Severna Park, Maryland last Saturday, I offer a profound thank you. Also, I express unbounded gratitude for the assistance of the bookstore staff in scheduling, setting up, and checking on me during the event.

As a beginning author, most of my previous book signing events consisted of watching people, trying to lure them over to my table, getting disappointed while they turned and walked away, and then waiting and watching again.

Not this one. I signed and talked with people the whole two hours. At some points, a short line formed. Yes, people lined up to have me sign books!

Some circumstances worked in my favor. My college had a reunion that weekend and I invited classmates to the signing. I also know other friends, as well as neighbors and relatives in the area, and I invited them. Thanks to all of you for supporting me.

My featured book, The Seastead Chronicles, sold well, but I offered several other titles too.

Again, thanks to Park Books and to the many people who visited that day to get books signed by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 13, 2025Poseidon's ScribePermalink

Author Panel at Leaves Bakery and Books

On Sunday, I participated in an author discussion panel at Leaves Bakery and Books in Fort Worth, Texas. What it lacked in audience size it made up for in lively conversation about books with like-minded writers.

Josh Hickman

Author Josh Hickman talked about his recent book Forgetting, The Trials and Triumphs of Caregiving for a Difficult Parent with Dementia. It details his struggles as a caregiver for his mother during her decline, and their ultimate reconciliation.

Scott Finley

Next, we heard from Scott Finley, who conducted exhaustive research for the writing of his Voyages of the Queen series. The first in the series, Shadow of the Queen, involves a murder on an ocean liner in 1929.

Craig Shaneck

After that, Craig Shaneck talked about his novel Athens Shrugged, a murder mystery set in Greece. He described it as James Bond on a budget, a nice tagline.

Oh, yeah. I might have yakked a bit about The Seastead Chronicles. Regular readers of this blog might have heard of it.

Many thanks to Challyn Hartogh and the rest of the staff at Leaves Bakery and Books for hosting the event. Several customers did stop by for their wonderful baked goods and tea, but not so much to hear—

Poseidon’s Scribe

September 30, 2025Poseidon's ScribePermalink

Did You See Me at Half Price Books?

Thank you to Michaela Huff and the rest of the staff at the Half Price Books store near Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth, Texas. I enjoyed a wonderful book signing event there on Saturday.

Staff member Jesse set up my table and chair in a commanding position just inside the front door. Incoming customers couldn’t help seeing me there. I focused on my new book, The Seastead Chronicles, but also offered several others, too.

I enjoyed talking to all the patrons who came in and stopped to chat. Friends I’d invited also arrived and kept me company.

If you missed that signing and wish to attend one, please click the Appearances tab on my site for a list of future events.

Again, a big thank-you to the staff at Half Price Books for the delightful book signing event last Saturday. They’ve earned the sincere gratitude of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

August 20, 2025Poseidon's ScribePermalink

Afternoon with Authors

I participated in an Afternoon with Authors event today at the Leaves Bakery & Books store in Fort Worth, Texas.

From left to right in the photo are Megan Dawn, Fabiana Elisa Martínez, Amanda Russell, and me. I learned a lot from listening to them discuss the writing process. Each of us, of course, does things in a different way.

We discussed our individual writing rituals, the reason we started writing, our writing influences, our preference for outlining or free discovery, the reasons humans like stories, and the ways we hope our stories affect our readers.

Each of us read some of our work. I read the beginning of my short story “Its Tender Metal Hand” from the new anthology Spring into Scifi (2025 Edition) by Cloaked Press.

I wish to thank, not only those fellow authors, but also the staff at Leaves Bakery & Books, and those who attended the event.