BookExpo America, Dragon+, & ApolloCon

Lots to report today, though only a few specifics.

First, the definite: The Valkyrie will be featured at BookExpo America, in Booth #3105, May 27-May 29, 2015. My thanks to Smith Publicity for making this possible. smile emoticon I'm hoping that many people who drop by the Smith booth will find my title of interest!

Next, the less definite, but still real:

I've been asked to be a part of a panel on the topic of "Writing Real Science: How to put real science in your fiction" at ApolloCon here in Houston. I don't know the time for the panel or the date yet (sometime the weekend of June 19-21, 2015 is all I know so far). As this will be the first convention I'll ever have attended, and the first time I've done any public speaking since leaving teaching behind, I'm looking forward to this with a mix of delight, anticipation, and mortal terror.

Here's hoping that the first two conditions prevail. ;-)

More seriously, everyone I've spoken with so far on the convention staff has been amazingly friendly and professional. It's been a delight corresponding with them, and I look forward to meeting them in person.

And finally, also in the definite future (as opposed to the indefinite future), Dragon+ is penciling me in for a podcast interview and an excerpt from Edda sometime in late July/early August. I'm really grateful for this opportunity, and thank them very much!

For those of you who don't know, or who might be too young to remember, once upon a time, there was this thing called Dragon Magazine. It was published by TSR, Inc., and as someone who grew up wanting desperately to play D&D with the geeks who were much cooler than I was, and as someone who devoured Forgotten Realms novels, getting a story published in that magazine was my GOAL for years. I submitted quite a few, and got just as many polite rejection letters. (Hey, I was sixteen. I'm sure the stories weren't good.)

Dragon Magazine got hit by the same pressures that have consumed many other magazines--printing costs, loss of the subscriber base, mailing costs, etc. When they went dark, it was a sad day.

But now, WoTC has employed a scroll of resurrection. They're back. And even better, their content's free. Give them a look. I have to say, they're making me quite curious about 5th editon, and I'm a crusty 3.0/3.5 stalwart.