We just barely made it to Necro this year, moored the boat in Vero Beach and rented a care to drive over.  A lot of work to make a convention that only boasts about 1000 attendees, guests and vendors included, but it was well worth it.  Necronomicon offers something that many of the larger conventions, and none of the huge trade shows do, and that’s a special feeling of camaraderie that I’ve only seen once or twice.  Mobicon, in Mobile, AL has a feeling like that, but on top of this Necro offers a great array of guests, panels and events that many others lack.  They have real scientists doing the science panels (NASA specialists doing the hard science, and MD’s and PhD biologists and geneticists doing the “squishy” science panels), They have a great array of writers doing panels on everything you can think of that is writing related, right down to just how screwed up writers generally are, and how we use that to our advantage… yeah, that was a fun one!  They have professional game designers doing panels on gaming, costume designers doing panels and demos on getting your favorite fan face on, and tech guys doing panels on getting your geek on.  This is not to mention the usual costume contest, dance, game rooms, etc…
How do they get all this in one small con?

Easy:  They’re good people.

Thank you Ann for all the great work, and all the great memories.

This one is from Erica:

At Dragon*Con 2009 in Atlanta I was speaking with you brielfy about your latest book was picked up by a new publisher. Are you excited about that? Is it nerve wracking to be starting someplace different?

Great question, and thanks for dropping by at Dragon*Con, Erica.  Yes, I am very excited, and it was very different.  Dragon Moon Press is my new publisher, and they are great people.  I would highly recommend them to any writer trying to break into small press.  They are professional and friendly, and their contracts are both “sane” and can be negotiated (to a point).

Nerve wracking?  Actually, working with DMP was a very good experience.  My editor, Gabrielle Harbowy, was great to work with… we went through so many versions of the manuscript, I felt like we were sitting across a table from one another.  One thing you do not get with the large presses is that kind of one-on-one with your editor… and you don’t get a lot of say as to what changes are made, unless you are a big name.

What you will not get from DMP, or any good press, large or small, is told that your work is “perfect”.  If you hear that, someone is blowing sunshine up your skirt just to make you feel good, or, more likely, to get something out of you…  Always watch out for a press that is “too good to be true”… it probably is…

The nerve wracking part, as has always been the case, is marketing.  Few publishers, large or small, are puttin much money or effort into marketing nowadays.  They simply can’t afford it.  Large presses put all their effort into their next hope for a bestseller, which only stands to reason, because that is where the money is, and small presses simply can’t afford a full time marketing employee.  If you are anyone exept one of the big name authors, you can expect to do a lot of your own marketing…  this is a struggle, and is the epitome of a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

So, if you’re asking yourself why it takes so long to get that next book out, it’s becasue yours truly is busy getting reviews, entering contests, networking, talking to independent booksellers and working the web…  That’s the hard part…

Thanks for the question, Erica!

The next question was from Laura, and is one I’ve been asked hundreds of times:

Of all of the short stories and novels that you have written, do you have a personal favorite? If so, which one and what makes it stand out from the rest?

Usually, this is not a fair question to ask an author, because you have a love/hate relationship with many of your novels.  Personally, I don’t have that problem; my favorite has always been “A Soul for Tsing”, and I have a good reason: I fell in love with the main character, Katie.

No, seriously, I was deeply, passionately in love with her… I would say up until 0300 writing, just so I could be with her.  I would have long conversations in my head, and some while writing, later deleted, that were really life changing for me…  Seeing what was in her mind (easy, since I created her and her thoughts were mine) her hopes, fears, hatreds etc, really opened up my world when it came to character development.  Never have I bonded with a character like that, and I hope never to do so again… It was too emotionally demanding.  I honestly felt like I was cheating on my wife with another woman…  (I did tell her about it, and she was okay with it…  The only “affair” I could ever have that she would approve of…)

So, after that experience, I developed a much closer rapport with my characters.  This, I think, is why they are so real; they are real…   Just as Lad and Cynthia and Polianna and all the rest are real.  This is what makes it worth reading.  This is why you will laugh, cry, cheer and dream about them when you put the book down and go to sleep.

Or, at least, that is why I do…

Thanks again, Laura, for the great question!

The next question, from Roy:

“I noticed that the tone of your last book (Zellohar) was significantly different than the others I’ve read, and I also notice that your wife is listed as a co-author.  How did that happen, how was it to work with her, and are you planning on doing it from now on?”
Wow!  Great question!

First of all, I must complement you, Roy, on noticing the difference in “tone”.  Two things contributed to this:  First, I must confess, that this is not a “new” novel, but in fact is my very first!  That’s right, Zellohar (which turned into the entire “Cornerstones Trilogy”) is the very first novel-length fantasy I ever attempted, and I never would have done it without the “not so gentle” encouragement of my wife, Anne.

As you may have surmised, many authors’ first attempts never see print.  There is a good reason for this: most authors’ first attempts generally suck.  Not mine, of course!  At least, not after half a dozen rewrites, but at first, I will admit that it was a little rough…  Okay, more than a little.  But that is in retrospect, so I can say it and smile… or a grimace…
Now, the second reason for the difference in “tone” is that this is the only work that we really did write together, and as such, many of the passages were her “impetus” not mine.  The prose, after half a dozen rewrites to make our first effort what it is today (ie readable), has reached a happy equilibrium, but that “flavor” still remains… it is a joint effort.

As to how it happened…  Well, let’s just say we had a common experience that was the impetus of the story…  Oh, and we fell in love while that happened…  Ahem… yeah, that….

Will we continue to do this?  In my fantasy and SF works, probably not, but with our recent real-life sailing adventures and Anne’s penchant for murder mysteries, I think we might try a series of “Sailor Sleuth” novels.  We’ve been so many places already, and had so many great ideas, I don’t see how we could not do this… but it’s still in the “idea” stage…
So, there you go, Roy…  I hope that answers the question!

This is the first in a series (and there may end up being way more than 20) of questions posted by fans.

The first question comes from Michi, whom I met at DragonCon.  Michi asks:

You said in the back of Weapon of Flesh that you live on a sailboat. What’s that like? Peace and quiet to write in or just day to day maintenance of the vessel?

Well, I’ll answer that twice:  First, we lived on our current boat “Mr. Mac” for some nine years in St. Petersburg, and at that time, living on the boat was not a lot different than living in a waterfront house.  The marina was right in the middle of downtown St. Petersburg, and we had access to a lot of fun stuff to do, but mostly, it was just about like doing all the things you do in a house.  One major difference is the closeness of your neighborhood.  Without a doubt, living in a marina is the coolest neighborhood I’ve ever lived in.  You not only know most of your neighbors, but you socialize with them on a regular basis.  We had weekly get togethers (Winey Wednesdays) where we’d all bring munchies and sit and watch sunset and talk… how cool is that?

Now for the second answer: we departed our beloved marina to sail or “cruise” full time in May of this year.  We have, since then, sailed to New England and are starting back south toward Florida, and will cross over to the Bahamas in November.  Cruising is a lot more work than just living at the dock.  There are challenges every day, and more stuff to see and do than you can possibly accomplish, so you constantly feel like you are pressed for time, even though you don’t have a day job any longer.  You would think that I’d have a lot more time to write, but it’s about the same, with all the things we have to do to just get from one point to another.  There is a lot more maintenance on the boat, of course, but there is also a lot more inspiration, beauty, fun and even anxiety than regular day life.

For anyone who is interested in where we are sailing now, follow our sailing blog at www.sailmrmac.blogspot.com .  My wife Anne does the blog, so all the kudos have to go to her…

Thanks again, Michi, and I hope I answered your question.

One great marketing tool that has been becoming more popular is throwing up Youtube videos of almost anything.  I don’t have a digital video unit, but my friend Gail Z. Martin does, and she also attended Dragon*con.

Here are her Dragon*Con links

Day 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUNMQtmLoc0

Day 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWKxEHPcmbc

Day 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnFiZxyslu8

 

I’m in the “Day 1″ one… always bizarre to watch video of yourself.

Enjoy!

Hey all.  Posting pics is much easier on Facebook, so go Here to have a look at the great costumes at Dragon*Con 2009!

A good time was had by all!

I had an awesome experience at Dragon*Con on Monday:  I was talking with a fellow who wanted to purchase Cheese Runners, but, as is often the case with people at large conventions, he didn’t have any cash.  I don’t do credit card purchases at conventions (it’s not cost effective for me) so we were at an impasse… or so we thought.  Then I said that he could purchase one  online using Paypal.
The fellow then pulled out his I-phone and said, “how about I pay you right now on Paypal?”

This was awesome.  He sent me the money, I watched it happen, then watched him receive the confirmation e-mail on his I-phone.  I didn’t have internet access, but if I had an aircard on my computer, or had an I-phone of my own, I could have received the payment confirmation right then.  Real time payment, no credit card, no hassle, no percentage going to the credit card company, everyone was happy!

There is a potential for fraud here, but really, no more than with a credit card, and far less than with a personal check.

The future is here, and it’s making everything easier for the small business.  Is this the death knell of the credit card?  If everyone had this capability, would it be the death knell of cash?

Take it a step further and put a thumb print scanner in your I-phone, and you’ve got personal ID lock on both ends, the vendor and the consumer…  Oh my!

Well, we survived again…  Dragon*Con, 70,000 SFF fans crammed into downtown Atlanta for four days, and nobody was killed… at least to my knowledge.

Seriously, the debut of Scimitar Moon went beautifully, we sold more than a case of them, and I got to meet my editor with Dragon Moon, Gabrille Harbowy… very cool.

Huge thanks to everyone who stopped by the table.  We will be there again next year, even if I have to drive 1100 miles again…  Both ways… in the snow…  Okay, not if it snows…
I will have pictures up soon!

Well, at long last a dream has come to fruition.  Scimitar Moon is now up and running and available at Amazon.com

I owe a lot to Dragon Moon Press‘ excellent editor, Gabrielle Harbowy, who worked so very close with me to polish this one to a fine sheen…  Also, the graphics designer and art director, Alex White.

To Purchase Scimitar Moon, please click on the Amazon link below, or come visit me at the Debut at Dragon*Con 2009!