Nicole R. Murphy's Blog, page 8

Swancon–the last two days

Combining these because Sunday was so short.

I spent the morning and lunch with my Perth family (and a ring-in from the Blue Mountains) and after being dropped back at my hotel decided to nap in order to see if I could overcome the con lurgy. I still haven't, but it's never got any worse, which I guess is a good thing.

Got up, dressed up and headed to the Hyatt and got RAINED ON! One of the few instances of rain in Perth in months and it was on me. Maybe the sky didn't like my purple dress…

A party to celebrate Ticonderoga and launch Dead Red Heart and More Scary Kisses. Unfortunately, I didn't do anywhere NEAR the bookbuying I wanted to – budget was extremely tight and I had to choose between books and food. But they both look fabulous and while I do have an author's copy of MSK, I will buy DRH at some point.

Got to read and was really pleased by the number of folks who commented later on how well I read. Reading aloud is something that I love to do (comes from the primary teacher days) and if I get a reputation and get to do it more often – good. Also, someone fan-girled me over The Anstruther Woman, my story in Scary Kisses. I wonder if that will ever get tiring?

Glenda and I then found ourselves in the launch for Swancon 2012 and how wonderful – young folk! Apart from one, they were all early 20s. There was such a sense of energy and enthusiasm, I was quite captivated. If I was a Perthian, I'd definitely be going to Doom-con. Unfortunately, as an Eastern Stater, I doubt I'll get to go but I wish them all the best.

The Orbit/Gollancz cocktail party next, and I got to catch up with folks such as Peter M Ball and the Battersbys. Then the Tin Duck and Ditmar award ceremony. I was delighted to present the Tin Duck for best WA professional long work to Juliet Marillier. As an award ceremony devotee, taking part was one of the best moments of the con for me.

The night can be summed up with three names pretty much – Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts. The intriguing things the three of them are doing, as a unit and separately, have brought a lot of energy to the Aussie SF scene and I hope they'll inspire others to see what their contribution to the industry will be.

After, chatter in the bar – swapping stories with Sean Williams, Glenda, Ju Landesse and others. Then to bed.

The last day. Glenda and I forked out for the hotel breakfast (baked beans on hashbrowns – YUM!!!!!) and booked out. Then, to the con. I hung a bit, chatting with Simon Brown (so fabulous to see him again – I think the last time was the Conflux I chaired, where Simon was a guest). Swancon was also great for meeting new folks to talk all things SF with – *waves to Tracey and Em*.

I had lunch with an old friend. When I say old – we first meet in Year 3 of primary school. Two hours of fabulous catching up and reminiscing. So wonderful to find folks who have discovered their passion. The joy they take from just being alive shines out of their eyes.

Back at con – more chatting, then the last panel with the three guests. The closing ceremony, which was I thought a wonderful celebration, then time to think about going home.

Made plans, which involved a fabulous meal at a pub in Mt Lawley (wagyu beef burger – wow!) and then one final drink at a quiet but nice room party in Ellen Datlow's room.

Was sad to say goodbye. I got to catch up with lots of friends, and made some new ones. Having the opportunity to get to know Ellen and Justina Robson was particularly lovely – both such intelligent and enthusiastic women, with such intriguing and at times utterly soul-matching (with me) views on writing and the industry.

Cab to airport with Rachel Holkner, Cat and Rob. Got to have one last catch in lounge before flights took off and we dispersed.

I had such an incredible time – I feel that for the first time, I've experienced a con the way most people do. Not that I've had bad times before, but I was either a) still feeling too new or uncertain to really embrace it or b) been on committee. But this time it was about the communication, the connections, the chatter.

Congrats to Alisa and the team – you had an ambitious agenda when you began this journey and I believe you've pulled it off. The bar has now been set for the other cons.

Swancon–day three

This was my mega busy day – workshop, kaffeeklatsch, panel. It was also the most funnest day so far.

The romance crew arrived – complete with swag. I'm really intrigued by the swag of romance, versus the non-swag of sf. Gonna have to figure this out. Met them, had a chat then headed out to the Swancon panels.

I attended two of the panels of the writer's stream – one on writer's use of social media and the need for writer's to be publicists as well, the other discussing the mid-list crisis. The first was an interesting discussion on what publishers expectations are, and how writers should approach the entire social media world (the consensus – work out the platforms you're comfortable with and just do them. Better to do a couple of things well then a lot of things bad). I had to leave the second a bit early, but it was an interesting discussion of what the mid-list meant and what the changes in publishing mean for long-term career.

Grabbed a quick lunch before the sex scenes workshop, which from my perspective went really well. It was a lot more talk-oriented than I would usually do (I gave the activities out for people to work on if they wished) but certainly the impression I got was that everyone picked up something to consider next time they're writing a sex scene, which was a fabulous result.

I then ran straight to my kaffeeklatsch, picking up a lovely woman (whose name escapes me – I apologise!) on the way. Turned out there were another couple of women waiting for me too – Tracey who I've corresponded with a bit on Twitter and her friend Em. We had a fabulous conversation about process, how to get published and what it all means. For my first ever kaffeeklatsch, I think it was a hit!!!!

Then to Ian Nichols' presentation on writers and making money – v. interesting. Finally, the Meet the Voyager authors panel which ended up being fun as we shared our stories of how we coerced the wonderful Stephanie Smith to publish us [image error]

Dinner was with all the Voyager gang and a few ring-ins and it was one of the most incredible meals of my life! We went to a French restaurant – the wine kept coming all night. I had escargot for the first time and loved it!!!! Then venison – I figured if I'm here, I should go the whole hog. I'll blog a little more about this for the Voyager blog later in the week.

Back to con for a quick boogie, then a quick visit to Ellen Datlow's room party, and then home. As I said to Glenda on the way back to the hotel – I think I'm ready to call this the best con ever!!!!

Not spending a lot of time at the con today – morning and lunch with my cousin and her family. But this arvo at 5pm is the Ticonderoga Party, celebrating 15 years and launching Dead Red Heart and More Scary Kisses. Then the Ditmars. It should be fun!!!!

Swancon–day two

Another wonderful, fun-filled day. Started going to some panels, hooking up with Theresa Anns – with her encouragement, ended up in a  panel about the old ITC shows and some looked really cool – I might have to work on getting hold of some.

Lunch with Jo Anderton and Glenda, and then more panelling. We went to the one of SF and the Social Network, which we found out was supposed to have been cancelled, only we convinced Alan Baxter to come down and lead an interesting discussion anyway. We started talking about how we use social media, then moved into it's impact on SF writing and whether near-future stuff is almost impossible to write because of the massive movements of technology at the moment.

A break for coffee – Jo, Glenda and I were cold! Then we went to Jenny Blackford's interview of GoH Justina Robson, who spoke about some issues she touches on that are close to my heart – self-esteem, doubt, control or lack thereof in our lives. Her books are now at the top of my 'I want to buy' pile.

Then a panel curiously titled 'Simon Brown v Sean Williams'. Simon and Sean, long friends and collaborators, first met in the flesh at Swancon 15 years ago and had a now legendary panel where they argued the merits of immortality. Programmer for this Swancon, Robin Pen, was at that panel and decided it would be nice to pick the argument up fifteen years on. Simon and Sean willingly had audience participation and so it was a wide-ranging discussion. At the end, Simon posed the question that if we had the choice to offer our children a normal life-span or immortality, what would be choose? We were all pretty loathe to make any choice. Very interesting.

Twelfth Planet Press launched their Twelve Plants series, then dinner with Glenda, Theresa, Robin and a mystery gentleman whose name escapes me – apologies. More of the intriguing, free-flowing discussion that is so great at cons, although I started to feel a bit droopy during dinner – the cold I arrived with appears to be migrating to a chest infection. Great.

Then back to the con (unfortunately missing Kaaron Warren's screening of A Positive – sorry Kaaron) in time to liquor up for the erotica panel.

We talked a bit about our own interest in erotica and where it came from, then we read. I read from Power Unbound – the scene where Ione and Stephen first end up in bed together. It was well recieved [image error]

Then an 'early night' – well, came straight back to hotel and straight to bed, but still after 11. I'm heading off to con early, just in case people don't get the message my workshop time has changed. Hopefully they have, and I'll be able to come back to bed and rest up before the real workshop time of 1pm. Then I have my first ever kaffeeklatsch (eek!) and a panel with the Voyager authors at 4pm, before dinner with the Voyager peeps and then disco time!

Assuming I haven't collapsed in a fit of coughing by then.

Day one–Swancon

Ah, Perth. What a delight you are – bright and sunny. Just turn the temperature down a titch and we'll be right.

Day one began with Glenda Larke's arrival, after a long flight from KL. We had a fabulous chat, then met up with Kaaron Warren for a walk before lunch.

Lunch – the meet the guests/fundraiser – was at a Vietnamese restaurant. The room itself wasn't that much, but the food was wonderful. I love how all the various Asian countries have their own style on the classic Asian tastes. And the fried icecream was great!

Had a fabulous chat with guest of honour Justina Robson, where along with Glenda and a few other peeps, we discussed things like whether men's drive for success is a biological imperative or not, life in country towns and where the line lay between pornography and erotica. Fun stuff.

Glenda and I came back to the hotel room for a nap, then we upped and got ready and headed to the Hyatt for the con. It's a lovely hotel and the bar is in perfect position – you can just sit and grab people as they wander past.

I hadn't done the 'sit in the bar and grab people' thing for such an extended period of time before and it was fun – I can see why some folks do this for their entire con experience.

I had a reading scheduled for 9.30 but no-one showed. I'm starting to wonder about the value of readings at conventions.

Then at 10.30pm was my first panel on paranormal romance. I was scared no one would show and those that did would be too tired for a really good session but not the case. We had a pretty good crowd and had some interesting discussions on what PR is, the differences between YA and adult and what are some of the developments. Someone came up after and said he enjoyed my story in ASIM 50, so I was extremely happy.

Bit more time in the bar then Kaaron (hotel across the street), Glenda and I wandered back home. In bed after midnight, quite happy.

Best first night of a con that I've had.

Today, I'll be going to a few panels – someone (I think Thoraiyer Dyer?) asked if I still attended panels or was I a permanent fixture in the bar nowadays. I'm definitely a panel attendee because I'm a fan, and open to learning. Plus I'm a little bit cheap and I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of my money [image error]

Tonight, at 9.30pm, the Embracing the Erotic panel – oh yes, my friends, it will get dirty [image error]

Indigenous literacy–my thoughts

So April is Aussie Author Month – a great move by bloggers across genres to promote and celebrate Australian authors.

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They've decided as part of it all to make it a fundraiser for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, which is aimed at improving literacy in remote indigenous communities in Australia.

Having once been a teacher in a remote indigenous community and now an Australian author, I had to speak some about my experience and thoughts. Disclaimer – it's been more than eleven years since I last taught an indigenous student, twelve years since I left the Kimberley so my thoughts may be a little dated, but I think the basis is still pretty good.

I spent three years teaching at Djarindjin Lombadina Catholic School, on the Dampier Peninsula (north of Broome). They still rate as three of the best years of my life. Those kids rocked!

I was lucky to be able to keep the core of the class with me throughout the three years, so when I arrived I was teaching a Years 2/3 and by the time I left, they were 5/6. During this time, I also did a graduate certificate in teaching English as a second language, which gave me some extra insight.

Point one – these kids speak Standard Australian English (SAE) as their second language. Where I was working, the first language was Aboriginal English (AE), a dialect of SAE. This means that while it's recognisably English, it's got its own grammar, punctuation and word meaning. In Central Australia, you're more likely to find the language called Kriole. This is a creole – a term referring to the mixing of two languages that is forming a new, unique language. Even after three years and an ear well-tuned to AE, I could not understand a Kriole speaker any more than I could someone speaking French, for example. In a few of the communities, the traditional language is still spoken, which can add an extra layer of language. Of course, the large majority of books in this land are written in SAE, so as a teacher out there you're trying to teach the children to read in a language they don't actually speak. Imagine if you would that when you got to school, all the books were in Italian, and you had to learn to read in Italian – it gets across some concept of what's going on here.

Point two – these communities are largely without contact with written language. Think about it – even in mainstream households that aren't big readers, there's still a huge amount of written language around. Magnets on the fridge. Calenders. Bills. Even without lots of books, there could be magazines and newspapers around. Computers. When you step outside, you see streetsigns, signs on shops, advertising on buses and taxis. What all this reinforces for children, even if they aren't being read to, is the power and importance of the written word. Out in the communities, however, the places you see the written word are limited. At the community office, the community store, the medical centre, the cop shop (if you have one), the school. That's it. Few of the houses have any sort of written material. There isn't any to be viewed wandering around. It's easy to go for a day or more and not see ANYTHING written down. What does this say about the written word? Perhaps that it's a white man's thing and only of use in certain situations or circumstances. That makes it harder to teach, when it's not perceived to be of much value.

Point three – it's hard to teach kids to be literate when family is not. As wonderful as schools are, as much as teachers do, the family is still the primary teacher and carer of children. I often found that at the beginning of each school term, I was having to do some revision work because a lot of learning got lost as children had weeks without contact with books or reading. It's not that their parents didn't want them to learn – they were desperate for it, understanding as adults can (and children can't) just what this meant for their future. But the parents didn't have the skills or the resources to ensure their children's learning could be maintained. Each generation was getting better, but it's a long hard road to move an entire race of people from illiteracy to the levels required to function in white society. We've had hundreds of years head start on this, and our society is built to demand literacy – theirs is not.

So what does all this mean? It means that folks like the Indigenous Literacy Foundation aren't just doing something nice – they are performing an invaluable service. Just getting books, the written word, into homes can mean huge amounts. Translating work into traditional and Aboriginal English makes the learning easier. They're things that might not mean much to white Australia, but I can assure you the difference this can make to one person – a family – a community is invaluable.

Because we all know that when we feel we belong, we're better able to contribute. Right now, lots of indigenous Australians are being kept from belonging because they can't read.

Help by supporting the foundation.

http://www.gofundraise.com.au/page/ausbooks

My Swancon schedule

So this is what I've officially got going on at Swancon (April 21 to 25, Hyatt Perth).

Thursday, April 21

10.30pm – Paranormal Romance (yeah, I know it's late, but we'll find a way to make it fun for you – and there will be giveaways). Thursday night is free to attend, starting at 7pm so if you've always wanted to go to a sci fi con but weren't sure, here's an opportunity to check one out.

Friday, April 22

9.30pm – Embrace the Erotic – we'll be reading our favourite paranormal/urban fantasy sex scenes. You KNOW this is how you want to finish your Friday at the con [image error]

Saturday, April 23

8.30am – Writing sizzling sex scenes workshop (as part of Romancing the West – time could change to around lunchtime, confirmation pending)

4pm – The Voyager Panel – meet the authors

Sunday, April 24

5pm – The Ticonderoga Party – launch of More Scary Kisses

Plus there's other things that could be going on – signings in the dealers room and so on.

I'm going to be bringing with me some excerpts of Rogue Gadda – limited numbers (cause I don't want to do all the carrying) so if you want a sneak peek, you need to find me earlier rather than later in the con (will keep some for attendees of the workshop).

Looking forward to a fabulous time in Perth.

My Urban Fantasy is A Little Further Away–Tansy Rayner Roberts

Fellow Voyager author Tansy Rayner Roberts is visiting today as part of her 'The Shattered City Mighty Slapdash Blog Tour' celebrating the release of The Shattered City, book two in her FABULOUS The Creature Court trilogy. I loved the first book, Power and Majesty, and I've been itching to read this one. Tansy talks about the meld of traditional and urban fantasy in her series and at the end, a sexy little cookie of The Shattered City. Take it away, Tansy!

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It became obvious to me when the story of the Creature Court first began to work its way through my brain that this was not traditional fantasy.  The urban fantasy genre was just starting to pick up serious momentum, but I had been reading it for a long time, back before it was the in thing.  Shades of Anita Blake and Buffy's worlds were most definitely creeping in to my magical city.

The dualism of Aufleur as a city which has a 'daylight' and 'nox' version of itself is absolutely an urban fantasy trope - the darkness we don't see, the battles that happen on the rooftops while ordinary people are sleeping.  While Velody and Buffy are nothing alike as characters, they have a strong thread in common - the desire to have a 'normal' life in balance with the monster hunting.  Unlike Buffy, Velody comes into her power quite late, and has an established life to juggle with her new saving-the-world duties.

Then there are the monsters.  I have been fascinated by shapechangers since Jennifer Roberson's Cheysuli series, though completely uninterested in werewolves (so not a dog person).  I also love a lot of vampire fiction, though vampires themselves squick me out just a bit, and I do feel that human/vampire relationships would be a lot more problematic than many writers give them credit for.

My Creature Court take elements of vampire and shapechanger traditions without being beholden to any of those mythologies.  I came up with a reason other than nutrition for the exchange of blood (because honestly people usually go to such lengths to make it clear they *can't* eat anything else rather than admit that if people suck blood it's got to be because they want to), I worked hard on keeping mass the same after transformation (so if your animal shape is smaller than your human shape, you get more of them) and played with the pack mentality and other animalistic personality traits, while keeping the vampiric sense of the aesthetic and psychological power play.

Then there's the smut factor.  Urban fantasy is known for its sensuality, whereas you can rarely tell with traditional fantasy whether it's going to be the kind of book where you get to see beyond the bedroom door or not.  Apart from the sexy antics of vampires, werewolves, etc., the fact that urban fantasy is normally set in our world means that there is at least a modern attitude towards women and sex running through the genre, which is far more comfortable for me than the default medievalism that you can often find in traditional fantasy, even in worlds where there is no sociological reason to be treating women so badly.

My Aufleur might be set in another world, but it's a city where women work as well as men, and there's no assumption that they have to be married at any point in their lives.  The only 'daylight' woman in my story who is a virgin is the Duchessa herself, who belongs to a highly aristocratic family, is expected to marry specifically to produce an heir for herself, and to be honest hasn't had spare time to have a romance with anyone (yet) in her nineteen years...

Meanwhile the Creature Court is just awash with sexuality, though you certainly can't say that their attitude to sex is casual - they use it in all manner of very important ways: to confirm alliances, to raise and enhance power, to pacify or challenge each other and to salve emotional wounds.  There's also a nastier side, which comes from the power imbalance at Court, where sex can be used to control and to demand loyalty.  It's not all perfume and black leather, and some characters have been far more badly used than others.

I love the tropes and traditions of urban fantasy AND traditional fantasy, and I had enormous fun smushing them together to see what emerged from the Creature Court trilogy.  I hope very much that readers of both genres can find and enjoy my books.

Tansy Rayner Roberts is the author of Power and Majesty (Creature Court Book One) and The Shattered City (Creature Court Book Two, April 2011) with Reign of Beasts (Creature Court Book Three, coming in November 2011) hot on its tail. Her short story collection Love and Romanpunk will be published as part of the Twelfth Planet Press "Twelve Planets" series in May.

This post comes to you as part of Tansy's Mighty Slapdash Blog Tour, and comes with a cookie fragment of new release The Shattered City:

Finally the door darkened and Ashiol strode in.  He was a mess, barefoot with damp, straggly hair around his neck.  He had barely managed to button his shirt properly, and his feet were bare.  Anger radiated off him, hot pulses that practically bounced off the walls. It made Velody want to lick his skin.

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Turning up the heat–writing sex scenes

Do you tremble whenever you consider writing a sex scene? Do you want to write them, but turn away for fear that you'll do a bad job?

Do you really need to write a sex scene?

These are the questions which I'll be covering in my workshop, Turning Up The Heat. At the workshop, I'll be showing you examples of good and bad sex scenes. We'll consider what makes a sex scene work, what doesn't and I'll take you through some exercises so you can try the skills out yourself.

The talk will be bold and upfront – there will be blushes but there will be no holding back.

Sex scenes can be difficult, but they can also offer opportunities for plotting, worldbuilding and particularly character development that no other scene can match. So don't be shy – come and learn how to do it right.

You'll have two opportunities to take it:

1) Perth, Romancing the West – to be held in conjunction with Swancon 36/Natcon 50 on Saturday, April 23 at 8.30 am (one hour). Day membership to Swancon will get you into not only my workshop, but all the other Romancing the West workshops, along with those being offered as part of the Writer's Track and other Swancon events that day. Costs $70 and details here. Note this is a shortened version of the full workshop, so there'll be more talking and less activities than usual.

2) Canberra, ACT Writer's Centre – Saturday May 14 at 10am (three hours) – this is the full workshop and we'll take things more in-depth. Costs $54 members of ACT Writer's Centre, $48 concessional members, $84 non-members (includes 6 months of membership). Bookings: You can book by phone on 6262 9191, online via https://app.formassembly.com/forms/view/10261 or at the office. Payment is required at time of booking.

Aren't sure I know what I'm talking about? Here's a snippet of a scene from Secret Ones, about which a reader said 'I had to stop and fan myself'.

***

There was a knock and Lucas looked at the clock. He went to the door and flung it open. Maggie leapt straight into his arms.

'Star, you feel good,' she cried in his ear.

Lucas kicked the door closed and pulled her to him, planting his lips upon hers. Passion started to rise inside him, but then it stopped. Shit, the bloody block. He stepped forward, pressing her against the door, pressing himself against her, willing to feel everything, wanting his power to rise as hers was, washing over him.

Maggie pulled back and looked at him. 'Are you all right?' Then she smiled. 'Ah, the block. I forgot about that.'

Then his power flooded from him, so intense that Maggie gasped and shivered. He barely got control of it before it overwhelmed both of them. He frowned at her. 'Did you do that?'

Maggie responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. 'Don't you think we've done enough talking?' Then she kissed him, opening her mouth. Lucas plunged his tongue into her, groaning as the taste of her filled his senses.

He'd barely touched her, but already he was erect to the point of aching. He ground his hips against hers, enjoying both the sensation and the anticipation of what was to come.

'Too many clothes,' Maggie muttered and then their clothes were gone and he felt the softness of her skin against his, the head of his penis pressed against her moistness.

'Damn, I love power.' He rocked against her, sliding himself between her labia.

She moaned. 'Now, Lucas, please. I need you.'

Her words, the intense throbbing of her power, took the last of Lucas's rational thought from his mind. He reached down to position himself then pushed inside.

Sweet mercy, she felt good – hot and slick and tight. He moaned against her throat as he pressed his hipbone against hers, pushing as far into her as he could. Then he pulled back and thrust in again.

'Lucas. Yes.'

The friction was intense; the throbbing pleasure stunned his every nerve. Their power danced, met and mated in time to the rhythm of his thrusts. Lucas moved against her – within her – over and over, unable to think beyond the rising tension he could feel in them both.

Maggie dug her fingernails into his back, squeezed his hips between her thighs and begged for more and he gave her everything he had.

He shouted as he came – his body locked in ecstasy, sandwiching Maggie between his chest and the door. Seconds after his own orgasm began, he was hit by an incredible wave of pleasure that buckled his knees. He barely kept his balance, holding Maggie to him as she cried out and her power screamed her pleasure.

They stayed against the door, panting, neither of them talking but waiting out the last shivers of satisfaction. Then he was aware of Maggie's feelings – deeper, stronger than last time.

God, he didn't know what he'd done to deserve those emotions, but he was going to make sure he never lost them.

***

See? Now you REALLY want to attend, don't you? [image error]

Book giveaway - today only

To celebrate my last day in LA I'm doing a book giveaway!

Four people can win electronic copies of BOTH Secret Ones and Power Unbound. Simply email nicole@nicolermurphy.com and tell me which reading device you have.

Competition closes 7pm Pacific time. Open to US residents only. Will choose winners and send books out before I fly home.

Trip posts

Cause they're quite long, I'm doing all my trip posts at my official blog – http://nicolermurphy.com It's got an RSS feed, so pop over and catch up with the news so far – celebrity spotting, freaky wax magazines, creation versus conduit as an artist and mammoths [image error]