Meet Me at World Con

The schedule is short and sweet. Seems like they had no use for me on actual panels or as a moderator. The good part of that is I have NO prep work to do and won't run myself ragged like I did at Anticipation. And I'm not covering the event for any venues this year (IROSF and The Fix are long  gone).

I will be sharing the stage with some great writers and hope you can stop by and join us.


Friday August 31:

12-1:30

Kaffeklatsche with alumni of Taos Toolbox 2011 (AKA the Diesel Bears).  This will be a reunion of sorts  but if you'd like to learn more about the workshop and if it's right for you, please stop by. We are a diverse group, writing steampunk/weird western, alternate history, urban, young adult, and traditional fantasy, and science fiction.

Saturday September 1:
10:30-12

Book signing    

I will have copies of all my books for sale, and gladly sign books purchased elsewhere. I also have book card for ebook customers, some nice swag, and chocolate.

2-2:30

Reading

Ann Dulhanty, a fellow member of the Anticipation Workshops is confirmed and there are rumors that other Taos Toolbox alums will stop in and wow you with some of their published stories or works in progress.

We'll have a rapid fire reading and stick around afterwards to answer questions about the Anticipation Workshops and how to apply for membership. All those submitting manuscripts to the Chi-Con professional workshop should be sure to come by.

Ann Dulhanty (moderator of Anticipation Workshop Group 2) is a scientist, business person and believer in magic. She writes scifi and urban fantasy and sometimes both. Her style is jaunty and explores the foibles of human nature. Her life's goal is to use 'errr' properly in a sentence. She has published short stories in an anthology series called Twisted Tails ( volumes 2 to 6), edited by J. Richard Jacobs and published by Double Dragon publishing Inc.

Anticipation Workshop is a group of pro and semi pro writers organized into four groups (loosely organized by genre and form) who critique each other's work on a fixed schedule.

Ann Dulhanty

                                 

The Well by Andrew Richardson

The summer is winding down and it's back to work (and school) for me in September. I've been catching up on reading and long overdue critiques while recovering from the cultmination of a year of finishing, revising and submitting two novels. And a bunch of shorts fiction and nonfiction. I've read several things by my friend and critique partner Andrew Richardson.

Andrew writes two kinds of horror: terrifying and very terrifying. The Well, just released from eTreasures, is not mythic or supernatural (his forte) but the realism puts it squarely in to the latter category.

I was riveted from beginning to end and, as is typical of most of Andrew's stories, haunted by it.

When beautiful heiress Connie Straker wakes from a drugged sleep, she has no idea why she is at the bottom of a dry well.  

Connie anticipates freedom when her prison floods, but is dismayed to find she remains a captive.  If she is going to escape, she must outthink two violent brothers with a grudge against her family, overcome wild animals and find a way through the cage barring her way.  

Connie’s best chance of freedom might lie with the college nerd who has had a crush on her for years.  But Julian is a creep who Connie despises and she has to decide whether to trust him.  Can he overcome his fear of the brothers and help her escape?  Or will her captors put a violent end to Julian’s efforts?  Will Julian take advantage of her desperation and make Connie’s life-or-death situation even worse?

Excerpt:

Tear-blurred eyes blinked into darkness as Constance Straker turned a circle. Her palms pushed against the brickwork, and Connie's stomach churned.

She whimpered, and her head thumped.

I'm in a Goddamn well!

Connie ignored her pounding temples and stilled, forcing herself to calm. She turned, hands pressing against the bricks, feeling her way around the tight circle again.

Yes. It's a dried-up well. It must be!

She threw her head back and screamed; a yell of anguish and terror that bounced off the walls and echoed around her.

Connie swallowed back sobs and flicked a strand of hair from her face.

Remember. I must remember.

Lisa’s twentieth. The college gang was partyin’. I felt woozy. Then nothin’.

Some jerk tried to chat me up. Called me ‘Blondie’.

Connie leaned and bricks bit her back through her shirt. Her groan echoed around the well.

A hand went to her temple. Headache. Was I drugged?

Connie forced slow, deep breaths. Her fingers examined the stones, seeking handholds.

No. Nothin’ to cling onto.

She looked up.

Blackness. It could be worse. It could be full of water.

Connie’s sob choked a bitter laugh as she buried her face in both hands and cried.

This Path: Free Today Only

This Path, a collection of essays, was just re-released in electronic format. It contains two of my favorites, "The Dance Class" and "Endless Possibilites" and is FREE TODAY ONLY for Kindle

If you need it for Nook, please let me know.

And yeah, please let me know what you think about these two excerpts of Someday I'm Going to Write a Book.

I have two other pieces coming out this fall so stay tuned. One is a tribute piece to my grandmother entitled "Artichokes," by the same publisher.

The other still needs ink to dry on the contract,  but its a bawdy, girl talk romp.

Stay tuned.