Phil Giunta's Blog, page 96
February 18, 2013
Farpoint Convention Recap
This was a special Farpoint and not merely for its milestone year, but also because I had been ordained manager of the writers programming track, or as Howard Weinstein called it, the "Writer Wrangler". Yee-haw!!
Evon and I arrived at the hotel around 3PM and after dropping off our charity auction donations at the art room and delivering copies of handouts to Howard for his Saturday writing workshop (which I wasn't able to attend for the first time in years), we were able to check-in and get our badges before schlepping our stuff from car to hotel room. First-time writer guest Donna Galanti arrived minutes after we did. Kate Mason and Clarence Brown, also new to the con, showed up later in the evening. I happened to be near the doors and unfortunately couldn't lock them in time before Aaron Rosenberg, David Mack, and Glenn Hauman strolled in. I caught up with Danielle ACKLEY -McPhail in the dealer room, then later her husband Mike McPhail, Richard White and the lovely Kelly Meding in one of the discussion panel rooms.
Finally, while chatting with operations manager Renee Wilson and con co-chair Sharon VanBlarcom in the Atrium, Bob Greenberger made an appearance just when someone made a comment about not allowing dogs in the hotel. Coincidence?
The adorable Felicia Day took time on Friday to sign autographs since she would not be there on Sunday. I gave her a copy of my second novel, By Your Side, and thanked her for being my "good luck charm". Her first appearance at Farpoint coincided with the debut of my first novel and now that she was back, I was premiering another. Coincidence?
The Friday night dinner was followed by an award ceremony as the Volker-McChesney award was presented to Patti Papineau, long-time attendee who has served as a sign language interpreter for many a con over the years. This was followed by a brief auction for one of Farpoint's charities and a second auction to help Peter David, who suffered a stroke in December. It was then that I was forced to depart to set up for the book fair and completely missed Peter David's surprise appearance on stage that, I am told, brought down the house. Sorry I missed that and the live radio drama performance that starred the cast of Prometheus Radio Theatre along with celebrity guests Rob Paulsen, Lee Arenberg, John Billingsley and his lovely wife, Bonita Friedericy.
Ah, the book fair! It took place in, and outside of, the Con Suite and despite complaints from some of the writers about conflicting with Vic's Place out in the Atrium (think karaoke with geeks and booze), the fair went well. The launch of my second novel, By Your Side , was a success. I sold 8 copies that night and 2 more during the weekend. I also sold 2 copies of each of Testing the Prisoner and ReDeus: Divine Tales during the con.
Saturday was spent mostly coordinating with the other writers to ensure they knew where to sit for their one-hour autograph sessions and fielding questions. I set up base of operations just outside the con suite. This served the dual purpose of making me easy to find and kept me close to the free goodies. Evon and I stole away from the table (thank you Ethan Wilson for standing--or sitting--guard) while we walked over to Giancarlo Esposito to get his autograph and our photos taken with him. He was very gracious. It was an honor to meet such an accomplished performer. Needless to say, Mr. Esposito also received a copy of my book. :-)
In what could be called the epitome of irony, I completely missed my 4PM panel on "Time Management for Writers". After a quick ride into Baltimore to drop off writer Clarence Brown later in the evening, Evon and I hit dinner at Basta Pasta. We returned to the hotel well in time to chill out for a few minutes in the room and catch a bit of Back to the Future II. Evon ended up crashing while I went to 10-Forward and hung out with babes Sharon VanBlarcom, Cindy Shockey, Cindy Woods, Renee Wilson and a very dapper Lance Woods. I then visited Steve Wilson, Renfield and June Swords, Nobilis Reed and other rotating cast members in Suite 308 overlooking the dance floor. Fun times and good conversations.
By Sunday morning, my duties as writer liaison began to wind down and I was able to make the "Plotters vs. Pantsers" panel with Don Sakers, Marianne Petrino-Schaad, and Aaron Rosenberg. We discussed those who outline their stories (plotters) versus those who write by the seat of their pants (pantsers). Plenty of audience participation made for a lively and informative discussion.
Later that day, I sat in for the AfterEarth panel hosted by Peter David, Bob Greenberger and Michael Jan Friedman. The trio discussed their involvement in creating media tie-in material (novels, novellas, comic books) surrounding Will Smith's upcoming summer film of the same name.
Our final event of the con was sitting in on John Bilingsley and Bonita Friedericy's comedy hour. I don't quite recall all that happened as it's mostly a blur now. Prizes for best questions consisted of such high-quality items as a bouquet of dead yellow roses, an eraser shaped like a piece of sushi, a Tupperware lid that John used to serve cookies to the audience and one other item that escapes memory. Speaking of escaping, whenever anyone left the ballroom, Bonita chased them out into the hallway and dragged them back in. Billingsely then donned a "Minister" baseball cap and purple shaw and "married" a couple in the audience, who then received the dead yellow roses from Bonita. After the ceremony, Billingsley asked everyone to stand up and proceeded to marry everyone in the room!
They fielded only a few questions about Chuck and Enterprise and spent most of the time cracking up the audience. They ended with an auction of autographed scripts with letters of authenticity signed by Billingsley. Since there were some autographs missing, Billingsley addressed the letters to those actors that did not sign in case the winner should see said actor(s) at a future con. He read the letters aloud and stated that "since you were the only asshole that didn't sign the script, can you please do so now for the bearer of this letter."
I hadn't laughed that much in a long time and it was a wonderful high note on which to end the con. After that, it was time to pack it in, say our good-byes, give a lot of hugs and hit the Nautilus Diner before making our way home. Happily, there were no further flaming cars to be seen.
February 10, 2013
About This Writing Stuff...
Knowing Something vs. Putting it Into Practice by Bob Greenberger
Apple's iBookstore Includes Indie Titles by IndieReader
How to Sell Ebooks by Joe Konrath
Do You Judge Books By Their Covers? nd Self-Publishing: Prioririzing Fast, Cheap and Good by Jami Gold
The Opening Hook of a Book: Is it Important or Not? by Jody Hedlund
What Writers Need to Know by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
How to Work on More Than One Book at a Time by James Scott Bell
Essential Characteristics of a Thriller Hero by Jodie Renner
How to Use Stereotypes When Writing Fiction by Veronica Sicoe
The Man (or Woman) in the Mirror by Donald Maass
And if you'll allow me a selfish moment, my upcoming novel, By Your Side , will debut at Farpoint SF Media Convention this coming weekend February 15-17!
February 7, 2013
My Schedule for Farpoint
Thus, here is my very scant schedule for the weekend. When I'm not at these places, I'll be helping the other writer guests as needed and trying to enjoy the convention.
Friday 10PM: Book Fair (Con Suite)
Saturday 1PM: Autograph Session - One Hour (Atrium)
Saturday 4PM: Time Management for Writers (Dulaney 2) with Bob Greenberger and Nobilis Reed
Sunday 10AM: Plotters vs. Pantsers (Dulaney 2) with Don Sakers, Aaron Rosenberg and Marianne Petrino-Schaad
February 3, 2013
Book Review: Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding
Dreg bounty hunter Evangeline "Evy" Stone is dead...well, at least until she awakens on a slab in a morgue in someone else's body. While dealing with that little surprise, Evy eventually determines that her host body had belonged to one Chalice Frost, a young college student who, for reasons as yet unknown, had committed suicide by slitting her wrists.
But that's only piece in a complex and dangerous puzzle. The problem is, Evy cannot recall the details of her final days. A former member of a Triad group of bounty hunters, she recalls that her team had been killed by Halfies during an ambush (Halfies are vampire/human hybrids and are held in disdain by both races). Yet somehow, Evy had been blamed for their deaths. In other words, she'd been framed.
Now resurrected, Evy reaches out to her Handler, a Gifted human known as Wyatt Truman. Handlers are essentially managers of a Triad and Wyatt was her boss. Reuniting with him, Evy learns that it was he who had bargained to bring her back to life in exchange for his free-will. The fact that Evy had awakened in another body is a mystery to everyone…at least in the beginning.
The pair set off to find out why Evy had been framed and whether there is truth to the rumors of a Vampire/Goblin alliance that would threaten humanity. In their adventures, the pair encounter such familiar dregs as gremlins, goblins, gargoyles, vampires (aka Bloods), Halfies, the Fey, and other mystical elements until their final battle against an all-powerful elf named Tovin.
There is only one problem, Evy's new lifespan is a mere 72 hours. Once she is dead, Wyatt must relinquish his free-will to Tovin as per their deal. As the time ticks away, will Wyatt and Evy be able to clear her name and garner enough allies to stop an alliance that could consume the earth with pure evil?
Three Days to Dead is a fast, fun read. Even without a deep understanding of the urban fantasy genre, any reader that enjoys an action packed story filled with familiar creatures of the night, a little romance and dark humor will enjoy Kelly Meding's opening novel in the Dreg City series.
February 2, 2013
About This Writing Stuff...
The Barnes & Noble Elephant in the Room at DBW 2013 by Rich Fahle
The Top Ten Mistakes Writers Make When Self-Publishing a Book by Guy Kawasaki
Authors vs. Characters: Can Our Morals Be Different? by Jami Gold
The Business Rusch: Hiring Editors by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
But I Want Success Now! by Boyd Morrison
3 Things You Need to Know Before Writing a Female Protagonist by Veronica Sicoe
The Rules of Writing by Marc Levy
How to Support an Author's New Book - 11 Ideas for You by Chuck Sambuchino
How to Raise the Stakes in the First 50 Pages of Your Novel by Jeff Gerke
Harlan Ellison Explores '7 Against Chaos' by Kiel Phegley
Image copyright DC Comics 2013
January 30, 2013
I'm Off to See the Wizard in May!
Well, this is pretty awesome…
One of the largest comic book conventions in the country, Wizard World Comic Con, has just added me as a guest for their Philadelphia show at the end of May/beginning of June.
And here’s my bio on their site. This was all arranged by Laura Inglis, who created the cover art for By Your Side. She will be an artist guest there and we will be sharing a table so come out and see us!
More updates to follow.
January 29, 2013
First Milestone...
January 26, 2013
About This Writing Stuff...
Friend and NYT bestseller Peter David released part two of Pulling Up Stakes --at about the same time he suffered a stroke. At the Farpoint con next month, where Peter has been a guest since day one, we will be selling copies of his books and asking any interested author guests to set aside a portion of their proceeds to help cover Peter's mounting medical bills.
A Moment of Financial Clarification by John Scalzi
Making Book Trailers Jump Off the Screen by Mary Cummings
How We Read by Nathan Savin Scott
Will Omniscient POV Ever Be Popular Again? by Jami Gold
How Can We Avoid Cookie-Cutter Writing? and The Power of a Reader's Word of Mouth by Jody Hedlund
Editorial Revisions by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Death Wish Motivation by Joe Moore
Is Traditional Publishing the Raging Bull of Industry? by James Scott Bell
Should Writers "JUST" Write? by Dan Blank
Can Acting As If You're a Writer Make You a Writer? by Carleen Brice
Pulling Up Stakes Part Two by Peter David
Finally...an Author Website
With the upcoming release of my second paranormal novel, By Your Side, I thought it was about time to create an author website (never thought I'd see the day!). I threw together a rudimentary site in Adobe Dreamweaver last night. I did it quickly and without much "bling", but I'll work on it further over time.
Whoo-hoo!
January 23, 2013
Book Review: Have Spacesuit--Will Travel by Robert Heinlein
Clifford "Kip" Russell wanted nothing more than to go to the moon. Winning a used space suit in Skyway Soap's slogan contest only encouraged his dream. With a head for mathematics and engineering, Kip repaired and enhanced his space suit, nicknamed "Oscar". While taking Oscar for a field test, Kip talks to himself over the radio that he had installed in the helmet. He is shocked when another voice answers!
Soon, Kip finds himself guiding a space ship to a tumultuous landing almost directly on top of him. Immediately after, another similar vessel lands beside it. From the first ship, a strange alien creature emerges followed by a small space-suited human. The alien quickly tumbles to the ground. When Kip runs to its aid, he is struck from behind and knocked unconscious.
Later, he awakens aboard one of the vessels on its way to the moon. He finds himself imprisoned with a 10-year-old girl named Patricia aka Peewee. She is a prodigy, but emotionally immature and sometimes frustrating. Her best friend is a rag doll named Madame Pompadour. Kip learns that they've been captured by a beastly alien criminal who, during an interrogation, Kip comes to call Wormface. The criminal and his human henchmen have also kidnapped a benevolent alien that Peewee had come to know as the Mother Thing. This was the creature that Kip had tried to help before being assaulted.
In a series of adventures that spans the galaxy--from Earth to the Lesser Magellanic Cloud and back--Kip, Peewee and the Mother Thing explore the surface of the moon and narrowly escape Wormface's secret base on Pluto, nearly at the cost of Kip's life. On Delta Vega, Mother Thing's home planet, Kip is nursed back to health just in time for a trip to Lanador, a planet located in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. There, Wormface and others of his race will be put on trial, but there is something else that Mother Thing cannot reveal.
On Lanador, Kip and Peewee meet two other human "prisoners", a cave-man and a Roman soldier named Iunio. The following day, all four are brought to a vast courtroom of the "Three Galaxies". The Wormface aliens are tried for their crimes...and then the human race itself comes under the microscope with Kip, Pewee, and Iunio as representatives for Earth. The decision: allow the human race to progress or destroy them immediately?
Have Spacesuit—Will Travel is counted among "the Heinlein juveniles", one of a number of books that Heinlein wrote between 1939 and 1958. Heinlein had been rather successful in expressing advanced and enlightened ideas not often found in adolescent stories of the time. I enjoyed Have Spacesuit—Will Travel immensely. It contained a wonderful mix of fast-paced storytelling, fun characters and scientific facts. The science fiction is just that, of course, but the human characters of the story engage in detailed exercises of astronomical calculations and practical engineering that, in modern novels, might be stultifying, but I enjoyed a dose of old-fashioned SF.
