Mysticon is this weekend! (and a plea for suggestions)

This weekend I will be Roanoke, VA for MystiCon. Here is a quick look at my schedule for the event:

Fri
8:00 PM
Boardroom 1
How To Be a Dark Hunter
Determined to vanquish evil in the night. Join Sherrilyn and our other panelists as they discuss how you too can be a dark hunter and protect humanity from things that go bump in the night.

Sat
10:00 AM
Dogwood 2
Sympathy for The Devil - Liking the Bad Guy
We all love to hate the bad guy. The best villains keep fans yearning for more. What makes them so intriguing and how do you write the villain without him/her becoming a caricature.

Sat
1:00 PM
Signing Table
Kalanya Price Signing

Sat
6:00 PM
Restaurant
Koffee Klatch
Readings by several of our authors.

Sat
8:00 PM
Boardroom 1
Where's the Line? Handling Potentially Offensive Topics in Your Work
How do you decide how far to go with humor, language, violence, sex and other situations? Do creators have a responsibility to police themselves, or does anything go?

Sat
9:00 PM
Boardroom 1
 When True Crime Meets the Occult
 What happens when the savvy police investigator meets a zombie? How much do paranormal PIs share in common with crime and forensic novels? Join authors from both sides as they discuss the similarities and differences.

Now you see that first panel I'm on? The "How to be a Dark Hunter" one? I  found out today that I'm moderating that panel. I don't moderate often and don't think I'm particularly good at it because it means I have to interpret the description and lead the discussion. And this one? That's a a doozy. What is a writing panel with four authors on it about when the description is: "Determined  to vanquish evil in the night. Join Sherrilyn and our other panelists  as they discuss how you too can be a dark hunter and protect humanity  from things that go bump in the night." 


What do you think? Does that make it a "how to write a dark hero/heroine" panel? Something else entirely? What would you expect if you showed up to the panel? What kind of topics would you want the writers to discuss? I need to walk into that room with a couple questions and topics so we don't end up all staring at each other. LOL.

So what would you ask? Where would you take the panel? (By the way, the panelists are Sherrilyn Kenyon, Alethea Kontis, Faith Hunter, and well, me of course. ^_^)

Okay, that gets the panicked plea for suggestions out of the way. (You did know authors are nervous up there at the front of the room, right?) Now back to the Con as a whole. So who is going? I hope to see you there!

Comments

Arthemise said…
I haven't been to a panel in a while, but here's my take. I'd expect first maybe discussing what a dark hunter is, some traits she should have (strengths and weaknesses), what kind of forces/creatures she should battle, etc. Then talk about how you write such a character. My own conundrum when I write is coming up with things for my character to fight, so I'd be interested in information on plotting and creating interesting battles for the dark hunter. I mean, you can't just keep throwing bad guys at her without some point to it.

Also, if you're moderating, why does the blurb mention Sherrilyn and not you? Hardly seems fair. (Not to be mean to her, but I find your writing much superior to hers.)
February 22, 2012 at 1:17 PM
Sara Anne said…
I think a good place to start is the backlash your hero takes. As you've mentioned in other talks, you can't have a hero/heroine with a power without paying a price for it. The price, I think, is a lot of what determines the darkness of the character. If the risk is, for instance, turning into a demon, etc., those stakes are higher and darker than, say, getting a headache.

I haven't read Kenyon's series, but I don't think it's going to be limited to a discussion of her Dark Hunter series. (That is to say, you're the moderator, so don't let it!)

Dark heroes I'd want to hear about? Nancy A. Collins' Sonja Blue, Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros, Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim, and Jim Butcher's Molly Carpenter (who, admittedly, is a secondary character, but who is much darker than Harry Dresden). And, you know, Batman.
February 22, 2012 at 11:53 PM
Kalayna Price said…
Thank you Arthemise. (Both for the suggestion and the complement. ^_^) I think talking about escalation in the complications for the dark hunter (be it battles or higher stakes) would be a great topic to hit. I'll add it to the list.

Sara, great suggestion with consequence and price of power, I'll definitely add it to my list. Thanks!
February 23, 2012 at 1:14 AM
Greg Nitchals said…
If you want to keep the theme of the audience learning to be Dark Hunters (such an odd theme), also add in the human side of the prices they pay. Time spent training, friends and family put in danger, little chance of a happy retirement, etc. It would help balance the cool powers everyone will want to discuss.
February 23, 2012 at 8:26 PM
Maria said…
I bet you did just fine!!! Just an FYI, your wonderful book (latest) made the BookSpotCentral March Madness game--I've been blogging about it on my website and, of course, voting.

Link to the latest round:
http://bit.ly/FO8mlV

If you don't want to use the shortened link, just go to www.Bookspotcentral.com and scroll down a couple of posts to the contest. Or you can find it through my blog: www.BearMountainBooks.com

Love the series.
March 16, 2012 at 12:27 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GRAVE WAR is here!

Image
 Today is the day! Grave War is out in the wild!  I hope you love this story. I'm thrilled to share it. Thanks for reading!  (Note: The print and ebook should be available. The audio book will be coming. I'm not sure of the release date, but I approved a cover for it, so it is coming.) 
Read more

The Revision Game, Part one--2nd drafts: The Big Picture

Last month Cher asked me to go into more specifics about how I revise novels. I didn't get a chance to post on the topic during the NaNo challenge, so I thought I'd delve into it now. In parts. Yes, I'm breaking it down that much. Those of you who won NaNo last month are hopefully still racing toward those magical words "The End" (or maybe some of you have hit them already). But what do you do after you reach those words? Personally, I close the file. Then I don't open it again for at least two weeks (if at all possible). During that down time I work on other projects, write a short story, talk to my neglected husband, read as many books as I can without my eyes rolling out of my head, whatever--the point is to let the dust settle on the story I just finished. (**Note: I highly recommend still writing something while letting a first draft sit. It takes about 3 weeks to form a habit, so if you slip out of the habit of writing, you have to force yourself to
Read more

What's Next?

A lot of people are writing to ask if Grave Destiny is the final book in the series. I'm very happy to report that no, this is not the end! Ace has contracted one final Alex Craft novel so that I can finish up the story. I'm currently writing the first draft, and while it has a tentative title, I'm not free to share it quite yet. I'll be turning in the 7th Alex Craft novel this September, so I anticipate it will be released late 2020 or early 2021 but will update you when I have more information. So, for those of you worried that this might be the end, worry not. There is more. I hope you are enjoying Grave Destiny!
Read more