Tag Archives: Steve Kozeniewski

Virtually the Best SciFi Conference Ever!

Me, as I appeared to conference attendees. Just hanging out in my submarine.

Just wrapped up a wonderful weekend attending Chessiecon, the scifi and fantasy conference named for the sea monster of the Chesapeake Bay. This year they held it online, which made it easier in some ways, and more difficult in others. The programming team kept me busy, with five panels and a reading. In case you missed it, here’s the recap:

How to Get Published, with Meg Eden, Linda Adams, Nate Hoffelder, and Steve Kozeniewski. I served as moderator for this panel. Everyone provided great advice, making it a real how-to panel for beginning writers.

Humor in SF/F Writing, with Steve Kozeniewski, Don Sakers, and the Chessiecon Guest of Honor, Charlie Jane Anders. I moderated this panel as well. It was an hour filled with wonderful and funny advice on how to write humor. Writing humor is difficult to do, and the panelists handled did a good job explaining how to go about it. The audience asked inciteful questions and I thought the panelists really addressed those well. The ‘after-party’ post-panel discussions in Discord were hilarious.

Making an Unlikeable Person a Likeable Character, with Mary Fan, Steve Kozeniewski, Valerie Mikles, Karen MacLeod, and me. Here I served as a panelist while Mary Fan moderated. It was a fascinating subject for a panel, as it really got into how writers create and develop characters that change and learn. Mary Fan did a super job moderating the session and I learned a lot from the other panelists.

My reading was well-attended. I read “Reconnaissance Mission” which appeared in Not Far From Roswell, by Pole to Pole Publishing. I challenged the audience to write down all the Edgar Allan Poe references they caught in my story, which made it a little more fun.

How to Ruin a Revolution, with Ted Weber, Cathy Hird, and Don Sakers. I moderated this one, but the panelists were all so knowledgeable and cited so many historical and fictional examples, I think the audience was blown away. We covered revolutions, protests, and coups, both historical and fictional, with special mention of Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. We should have offered college course credit for that 1-hour session.

Humans are the Same, with D.H. Aire, Susan de Guardiola, and Meg Nicholas. I served as moderator and the discussion was wide-ranging, comparing people today with our ancestors and exploring the few ways in which people have changed. We discussed what historians leave out, and what misconceptions we have about those who came before.

Overall, I miss in-person conferences, but there are advantages to online cons. Attendees don’t have to dress well, or even leave their house, to attend. Attendees get more close-up views of books that authors hold up, and they can simply copy and paste book and story titles so they can more easily buy the books they’re interested in.

I know, I know, you don’t have to say it. The only books you’re interested in are those by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 29, 2020Permalink

Chessiecon, Day 2

Yesterday was a busy day for yours truly at Chessiecon, the science fiction conference being held just north of Baltimore.

Chessiecon panel — Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 200th Anniversary

First, I spoke as a panelist on the topic of “Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 200th Anniversary.” From left to right in the photo, that’s me, Jo Miles, C.S. Friedman, Steve Kozeniewski, and moderator Carl Cipra. What a great way to honor Mary Shelley’s titanic achievement. How many science fiction or horror works written today will have bicentennial celebrations in 2218?

Me, reading at Chessiecon

Later, I read my story “The Unparalleled Attempt to Rescue One Hans Pfaall” from the newly released anthology Quoth the Raven.

Chessiecon panel — Good Art, Problematic Artist

After that, I served on a panel speaking on the topic “Good Art, Problematic Artist” exploring how and whether one can separate good art or literature from its flawed creator. Don Sakers (left) moderated, and the panelists were Scott Edelman (who brought donuts!), Margaret Carter, and me. The topic verged into touchy areas, but Don, Scott, and Margaret handled it capably and the audience got something out of it.

The next panel was titled “It’s OK to Not Like Things” dealing with how and whether to express dislike for a story or movie everyone else loves. Sadly, the picture came out blurry, but Sarah Sexton, I, Valerie Mikles, and Timothy Liebe delved into every aspect of that subject with a very interactive audience.

Chessiecon – me at the group signing

That evening, I set up my table as part of a group signing. Probably twenty authors sat at tables around a large square, making it convenient for potential readers to roam from table to table. It’s fun to engage with readers and they love it when you sign the first page of your story in an anthology they’re buying.

One more day of Chessiecon to go. Make sure you attend, or you’ll miss the 12:30 panel, another great discussion that will include—

            Poseidon’s Scribe

November 25, 2018Permalink

Chessiecon, Day 1

The Chessiecon science fiction conference got off to a great start today. I served as a panelist at a session titled “How Not to Get Published.”

Chessiecon 2018 panel: How Not to Get Published

From the left in the photo, that’s our moderator, Steve Kozeniewski, then panelists Scott Edelman, Karen Osborne, yours truly, and Linda Adams.

We had a nice-sized audience for the panel. It surprised me that so many people suffered from the problem of getting published all the time and wanted to know how to make it stop.

I had no idea the condition was that widespread, but our audience had at least taken an important first step toward a solution by attending our session.

Fortunately for them, I’m a bit of an expert in not getting published, so I was able to offer many tips and tricks.

It was an honor to serve together with such a distinguished panel. They kept things interesting and informative for the attendees, and Steve Kozeniewski kept us on track and posed intriguing questions.

Tomorrow, it’s back to the con for three more panels, a reading, and a group signing. Attend if you can, or read about it here in a post by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 24, 2018Permalink

When and Where to Find Me at Chessiecon

You say you’ll be in the Baltimore, MD area during Thanksgiving weekend and you’re up for some SciFi excitement? Lucky you; you can meet lil’ ol’ me, Poseidon’s Scribe, at Chessiecon, a great science fiction convention running from November 24-26 at the Radisson North Baltimore Hotel.

  • On Friday at 3:00, I’ll moderate a panel titled “Is it Easier to Teach an English Major Science, or Teach a Science Major English?” about combating the fears people have about writing science fiction. I’ll be joined by panelists Michelle Markey Butler, Leslie Roy Carter, Nicole Jamison, and Valerie Mikles.
  • At 10:00 on Saturday, I’ll serve as a panelist for “Join the Mod Squad: Enhance Your Moderation Skills,” about how to serve as a moderator for panels at cons. The moderator will be Carl Cipra, and other panelists will be Don Sakers, Heather Rose Jones, and Annalee Flower Horne.
  • Saturday at 8:00 pm, I’ll participate in an Author Meet & Greet where we can chat; I’ll answer your questions and sign books. I’ll be there with other authors J.L. Gribble, Martin Wilsey, Steve Kozeniewski, Michelle D. Sonnier, and Andrew Hiller.
  • Finishing out the weekend, on Sunday at 11:15, I’ll read an excerpt from my science fiction artificial intelligence story “The Cats of Nerio-3” which appears in the anthology In a Cat’s Eye.

Go ahead—try to imagine a better weekend. I knew you couldn’t. I’ll see you at Chessiecon. In addition to super panels, workshops, art, and music, you can even meet—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 17, 2017Permalink

My Weekend at Chessiecon ‘16

What a great weekend! I was at Chessiecon, a science fiction/fantasy conference near Baltimore. In case you missed it, here’s the recap:

I moderated a panel on “Gadgets in Fiction.” We discussed how it’s easy to get too passionate about your faster-than-light drive or the workings of your hand-held ray gun, but your audience doesn’t want a textbook. How do you share your geeky idea without straying into too much? When does over-reliance on gadgetry start to take away from the plot and characterization?

The talented and knowledgeable panel members were Martin Wilsey, Nicole “Nickie” Jamison, and Steve Kozeniewski. They had some great ideas about how to discuss and describe gadgets in your fiction without boring readers.

chessiecon16-gadget-panel-2-2
Martin Wilsey, Steve Southard, Nicole “Nickie” Jamison, and Steve Kozeniewski

 

Later, I moderated another panel called “Care and Feeding of Critique Groups.” The blurb for that panel was—participating in a critique group can be a great way to improve your writing. Not all such groups work out well, though. The panel will discuss ways to keep a critique group helpful, vibrant, and long-lived.

My willing and able panel members were Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jay Smith, Margaret Carter, and J.L. Gribble. It became obvious to me that critique groups come in all sizes, shapes, rules, forms, etc. The keys to success appear to be setting expectations, actively participating, being fair in providing critiques, and being thick-skinned in receiving them.

chessiecon16-crit-panel-5-2
Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jay Smith, Margaret Carter, J.L. Gribble, Steven R. Southard

 

All that was Friday. On Saturday, I moderated yet another panel, this one called “Dive! Dive! Submarines in Science Fiction.” The idea of this one is that not all SF takes place in outer space. Panelists will discuss their favorite undersea fiction and undersea vehicles.

I called myself the Captain of this panel, and my crew was D.H. Aire, Leslie Roy Carter, Kelly A. Harmon, and Martin Wilsey. Sorry, no picture of this one. We had a great time discussing favorite science fiction submarines, and what sets submarines apart from other story settings.

catseye_final-72dpiAt my book reading, I read the entirety of “The Cats of Nerio-3,” my story from the recently published anthology In a Cat’s Eye. I hope the audience enjoyed the story at least half as much as I loved reading it.

chessiecon-16-book-signing-4I had a fine time at the book signing later Saturday night. For one of the copies of In a Cat’s Eye, the woman asked me to sign it to her two cats. First time I’ve done that! I hope her cats enjoy the story. I sold another copy to a young girl who just loves cats. I forgot to tell her and her mother that the stories in that anthology are a bit on the dark side. Oh, well…

All in all, a delightful weekend! It’s fun to gather with fellow authors who write, and with readers who love, science fiction. It just warms the heart of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 1, 2016Permalink