One major rule: no fanfic ideas here, please. You put me in a bad position if you do post them here, and will force me to delete the post. Thank you.

If you want to post fanfic ideas, please start your own LJ.

I'm going to leave this poll up until the date the book is due to the editor so anyone who wants to can vote on it until then:



Poll #1379062
This poll is closed.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Should there be annotations for Portals of Discovery?

Friday, August 21

6:00 p.m. Media Tie-Ins
8:00 p.m. Religion in SF

Saturday, August 22

11:00 a.m. 10 panels in 60 minutes
12:00 p.m. Does Star Trek Have a Future?
6:00 p.m. Apocalypse Panel

Sunday, August 23

12:00 Genre Bending in Fiction
1:00 Research for writers
2:00 Hot Chicks With Books reading (with saraphina_marie, ktpinto and the Guest of Awesome her own self, girlyengine) shadesong is in the reading space right before us, so come for her magnificence--yes, I'll forgive you for not being at the Research panel--and stay for the craziness that is HCWB. :)


Realms Next Door: The Emerald Eire will be available with me for the super-low price of $5.00. Any spare copies of the Star Trek Magazine containing my interview with the frabjous Robert Picardo will also be available, as will as many copies of Wounds as I can bring with me. :)

Shore Leave is between now and then, so I honestly cannot guarantee how many copies of anything I'll have right now. I'll know more on that after Shore Leave. :)

Freedom Tower is out, World Trade Center is in

Someone finally got a clue. Seriously, would anyone have actually referred to it as the Freedom Tower? Really? I don't know anyone who's lived here for more than a year who refers to Sixth Avenue as Avenue of the Americas. Why bother thinking this name was ever going to stick? New Yorkers are going to call it what they call it. Screw "official" naming. How many still call the Pan Am Building by that name, and it hasn't been owned by Pan Am since what, 1980?

One World Trade. Good. I like it. Keep it. I think we all know what it is and what it means. It'll be an even stronger remembrance of everyone who died that day than some stupid jingoistic claptrap slogan that nobody ever would have used to begin with. Those who were here will never forget what happened. We don't need to pussyfoot around the issue. Avoiding a name for a building isn't going to let folks who lost loved ones that day forget what happened. That'll never happen. And those people are totally acknowledged. They have a grave to visit, even if it isn't where they thought it would be on 9/10/01. The people lost will never, ever be forgotten. We'll be telling their stories of heroism to our grandchildren in much the way our grandparents told us stories about fighting WWII.

What do I think going back to the World Trade name says? It's strength. It's focus. It's a city saying we will not bow down to petty despots who think they can scare us into submission. We are stronger than that. You can wound us, and we will lick those wounds and mourn our losses, but we will not be cowed from our purpose. We have the World Trade Center, and we will ALWAYS have the World Trade Center. It's more than a building. It's an idea. It's a rallying point that brought together a globe, if only for a moment. Having a physical object once again carry that name? It's the only logical choice. We remember, we'll never forget. And we'll move on, carrying the name World Trade Center with us just like we carry the names Pearl Harbor...Gettysburg....

To quote Abraham Lincoln:

we can not dedicate... we can not consecrate... we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government : of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Now, let's just get the damned thing built, okay?

Folks, I want to encourage you all to go to Unreality SF and vote for Dave Mack's Gods of Night for story of the year.

Now that I'm actually at the con, I've finally got a schedule of what panels I'm on.

Saturday:

1:00 p.m.--Chesapeake 1--Atlantis: Ronan on the River (yes, I'm going to hurt the person who came up with that name)
2:00 p.m. --Atrium Rear--Author Signing Table
4:00 p.m. --Atrium Rear--Autograph Line


Sunday:

10:00 a.m.--Atrium Rear--Autograph Line
12:00 p.m.--Atrium Rear--Author Signing Table
1:00 p.m.--Chesapeake 1--Stargate Expands Its Universe


Basically, I got what I asked for, which is something of a surprise, really. I'm not used to that.

At every signing, I will have books for sale.

Note, I have a limited amount of the preview chapbook for Realms Next Door, as well as some promotional material for my current projects (buttons for Wounds, Realms Next Door and kradical's A Singular Destiny, $1.00 folks).

I also have sample chapbooks, bookmarks, and pre-order forms for my fellow hotchixwbooks author saraphina_marie, the fabulous Sara M. Harvey's next book: The Convent of the Pure. Check her work out this weekend!

With the caveat that the manuscript must be approved before publication *waits as every tie-in writer reading says "No shit, Sherlock, they all have to be approved before publication"*, I've been given permission to say that the proposal for Portals of Discovery was approved by MGM this morning, and I am working with a 15 June deadline.

*party in the thread*

*pops champagne*

Saturday

My Fandom's Not Dead Yet--10:00 AM
They Can be Heroes--2:00 PM
Media Tie-Ins: Dead End Or Foot In The Door--4:00 PM

Sunday
British SF on TV--8:00 PM

Somebody thought it would be really frigging funny to make me moderator on the British SF on TV panel.

Funny as a migraine, guys.

And whenever I'm not on programming, I'll be hanging in the Hot Chicks With Books room (Room 347) on Dealer's Row!

I almost forgot to post my PhilCon schedule for this weekend!

Sat 12:00 PM in Plaza IV (Four) (1 hour)
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND SCIENCE FICTION

The influence of Sherlock Holmes in Science Fiction and science fiction stories about Sherlock Holmes

Sat 2:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Two (1 hour)
WHICH FRANCHISE NEEDS A STAKE DRIVEN THROUGH IT'S HEART?

Star Wars, Star Trek, Aliens, Stargate, Dr. Who, Indiana Jones, Dune... the list seems to go on and on of franchises that the audience is just plain sick and tired of. Which ones most need to be killed, which need to be rebooted, and which ones are actually still tolerable

[No, I'm not taking any bets on which one I'm going to pick first, because I think we all know what that would be..]

Sat 4:00 PM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
STAR TREK: WHERE ARE WE BOLDLY GOING?

We've gone from Star Trek: To Boldy Go Where No Man Has Gone Before, to Enterprise: Where The Heck Are We Going? And now a new Trek film, featuring the original crew played by new actors and directed by Hollywood wunderkind J.J. Abrams, comes out next year. So, where should Trek go from here

[Oh, I'm going to have FUN with this. Good thing Keith's modding, because he knows my rants better than anyone else. And he knows I have no use for J.J. Abrams.]

Sun 10:00 AM in Plaza II (Two) (1 hour)
THE INFLUENCE OF THE DETECTIVE STORY ON SCIENCE FICTION

How much has there been? We don't mean specifically the Science Fiction story about crime and detection. Is the Science Fiction technical problem story rooted in the detective story

[I have a feeling this is going to be one of those panels I'm the proverbial noob on. I mean, I've done my share of SF/Mystery stories, and I've read a lot of noir, but I'm hardly an expert on detective fiction.]


Sun 2:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Three (1 hour)
"WAIT 'TIL I POST THIS ON MY BLOG!"

[Panelists: Terri Osborne (mod), Orenthal Hawkins, KT Pinto, J.R. Blackwell, Jay Smith, Hugh Casey]

Blogs (Web-Logs) have become more and more part of the SF scene. Everything from book and movie reviews, to run-downs on conventions, to taping bacon to a cat (see Scalzi's blog...), to what my dog had for dinner seems to show up on blogs written by both fans and pros. So, what makes a good blog, and which ones whould you be reading

[The one where I edit whoever misspelled "would", that's what. *snerk* What, did people want me to shut up, so they gave me a modship on this panel? ]

The good folks at Unreality SF have posted an interview with me, in which those who've been wondering about the ending to Good Queen, Bad Queen,... can find some enlightenment, and I give a little bit (but never too much) about the Realms Next Door projects.

My thanks to them for the opportunity to talk about all of it. :)

(P.S. One thing that's come up since we did that interview? Primeval has become a new crack addiction to me. Add that universe to the short list of ones I'd still love to work in.)

I have in my hands a copy of this not-so-little gem:


Corps of Engineers: Wounds--Click here to preorder for the current price of $10.88

For both of my stalkers, my schedule for 3Pi-Con in West Springfield, MA, August 22-24:

Friday:

7:00 p.m.--Reading--leaning toward Love and Other Excuses on this one, but I'm still thinking.
10:00 p.m.--Incorporating Fables & Folklore into Fiction

Saturday:
10:00 a.m.--What do fairies mean to us?
11:00 a.m.--Does Star Trek have a future?
4:00 p.m.--Signing--Mike's Comics table in the dealers room

Sunday:
11:00 a.m.--Old Who Vs. New Who
2:00 p.m.--4:00 p.m.--Depression and Creativity Workshop

Title: When Stargate Writing Worlds Collide
Description:How do professional and fan writers & artists expand on the SG universe to bring us to new heights of SG adventures and appreciation?
Time: Fri 04:00 pm
Length: 1 Hour

Title: Women At War
Description: More and more women are writing military sf. More and more action heroes in these books are female. Why? What makes them different from the usual male protagonist? What's the same?
Time: Sat 04:00 pm
Length: 1 Hour

Title: Star Trek Authors Cavalcade
Description: Professional Star Trek authors and novelists Keith R. A. DeCandido, Terri Osborne and Josepha Sherman collectively discuss their published pride and joy as well as the perils and pitfalls of writing new fiction in the Star Trek universe.
Time: Sun 10:00 am
Length: 1 Hour

For both of my stalkers, my preliminary schedule for 3Pi-Con in West Springfield, MA, August 22-24/:

Friday:

7:00 p.m.--Reading--this will either be "Good Queen, Bad Queen..." or Love and Other Excuses, I haven't decided yet. I'll probably be down to how capable I am of pronouncing all of the Celtic names by then.
10:00 p.m.--Incorporating Fables & Folklore into Fiction

Saturday:
10:00 a.m.--What do fairies mean to us?
11:00 a.m.--Does Star Trek have a future?

Sunday:
11:00 a.m.--Old Who Vs. New Who

I've also offered to help out on the Depression and Creativity workshop, but I haven't heard back yet.

And there will be a Quality of Leadership signing with Mike's Comics at some point. We're still working the schedule out on that.

Ladies and gents, RUSH is on The Colbert Report tonight!


TOM SAWYER!!!!!!! *unintelligiblesqueeofbliss*

Sorry, the song that got me hooked on the band. It's still in my top 5 of their stuff.

And I'm adoring the spinning Neal statue beside Geddy's keyboard.

Friday, July 11:
Meet the Pros: 10:00 until we drop: Hunt/Valley corridor

Saturday, July 12:
"Cool Stuff on Sci-Fi: Stargate, BSG, Eureka, and Beyond": 10:00 a.m., Salon A

"Doctor Who: The Quality of Leadership": 3:00-5:00 p.m., Salon A

Sunday, July 13:
"Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures": 10:00 a.m., Salon F

I'm probably on this one on Sunday, too, considering that Malefictorum is finally seeing paperback release in October, but I haven't seen the panelist listing yet:
"S.C.E.: Corps of Engineers": 12:00 p.m., Salon B

live in a world without George Carlin.

I never wanted to live in that world.

Now we all have to figure out how to do just that.

The world is just as funny and stupid and asinine and idiotic as it was, now we just have to learn to be better observers of it ourselves.

I'm going to leave this one open and public. Feel free to post your favorite Carlin quotes, stories, or observations.

Here's one of mine:

"Religion convinced the world that there's an invisible man in the sky who watches everything you do. And there's 10 things he doesn't want you to do or else you'll to to a burning place with a lake of fire until the end of eternity. But he loves you!"

Rest in peace, George. Ya done good.

If there are ever books for In Plain Sight, I'm in.

Mary Shannon may be my favorite new regular character on a series since Elizabeth Weir.

Unreality SF has reviewed The Quality of Leadership, and I could absolutely not be more chuffed by the review:

Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen is a splendid Fourth Doctor trip by Terri Osborne. Concerning the Doctor and Romana's encounter with Boudicca, it starts off as an ostensibly innocent but interesting yarn, before becoming something genuinely surprising and potentially-controversial towards the end, with a fantastically innovative and daring twist. Additionally, Osborne's portrayal of Romana is arguably the most successful characterisation of the entire anthology, and the author's passion for the character really shines through in the pitch-perfect dialogue. Superb.

All I can say is thank you.

I'm going to dig into my old fogies file here. Some of you may recognize bits of this, as I have cannibalized this story for some Trek work since it was rejected from SNW, but here we go, in its original kinda glory: Impact Zone, a Star Trek: TNG story that never was.

All copyrights are fully acknowledged, no infringement is intended. Although CBS/Paramount now never gets to own the Angians since I've already got them in another story waiting for a plot.