RavenCon recap part 1, and a giveaway!
Echo . . . echo . . . echo . . .
Ahm. Yes, the silence here on the blog hasn't been broken in a couple weeks. Sorry about that. I have been juggling projects, deadlines, travel, and a hoop dance performance. Blogging fell to the bottom of the list, but I should be back now.
I have several topics I want to talk about, not the least of which is a recap of the marvelous time I had at RavenCon, but I don't want to overwhelm everyone, so I'll be breaking the posts down to manageable chunks.
I spent the weekend of the 9th at RavenCon in Richmond VA. I'd never attended Raven before, but it had come highly recommended and I'd been invited as a guest, so I packed my books, corset, and boots, and took a road trip. The con was delightful. Everyone was amazingly friendly, and the panel topics (both the ones I sat on and the ones I attended from the audience) were highly entertaining. I had the opportunity to meet tons of wonderful readers and talked to a good dozen or more fellow fantasy writers.
Among the authors I had a chance to talk to were Nancy Holzner, Jean Maire Ward, Pamela Kiney, and Rachel Caine. In the picture to the left, you can see me with Rachel Caine after one of my very first panels "The Future of Urban Fantasy". Unfortunately, while I managed to pack 7 outfits for the four day trip, I failed to pack the camera charger, and once I arrived I discovered the camera battery was all but dead. So, that is the one and only picture I have from the con. *sad face* A lot of people took pictures with me, so if you see one on the web, point me to it. I'd like to snag some of those visual memories of the people I met.
One of the highlights for the event was sitting next to Rachel Caine at a signing. She had a line most of the signing (which was actually fun for me as I got to talk to people as they waited to see her--lol) but when it pattered off we had a chance to talk a bit about publishing and agents (we both work with the fabulous Lucienne Diver) and I got a chance to get a signed copy of the newest Morganville Vampire novel. Actually, I picked up two signed copies--and the book isn't even supposed to be released until the 27th.
I'm a big fan of the Morganville Vampire books. If you're not familiar with them, they are a YA series about a 16 year old girl named Claire who arrives in what should be a quiet, boring little town in Texas--except this town is run by vampires. It's a great series, and I picked up the extra copy of KISS OF DEATH to give it away here on the blog, so I think it's time to do that.
Here are the give away details:
To enter leave a comment on this post (if you are seeing a mirror of this post, please make sure to enter on my blogspot blog.) You're comment should contain three things:
-Your name
-How you found my blog
-A question/topic you'd like to see covered on this blog. This question/topic can be about one of my books, about cons, books, writing, publishing, or whatever you think would be interesting.
The contest will be open until 11:59 EST on Sunday April 25th. Once the contest closes, I will use a random number generator to pick one lucky winner (sorry, I know there are two books in the picture, but one is made out to me and is going on my keeper shelf). The winner will be announced on the blog on Monday.
Sound easy enough? Good luck everyone!
Ahm. Yes, the silence here on the blog hasn't been broken in a couple weeks. Sorry about that. I have been juggling projects, deadlines, travel, and a hoop dance performance. Blogging fell to the bottom of the list, but I should be back now.
I have several topics I want to talk about, not the least of which is a recap of the marvelous time I had at RavenCon, but I don't want to overwhelm everyone, so I'll be breaking the posts down to manageable chunks. I spent the weekend of the 9th at RavenCon in Richmond VA. I'd never attended Raven before, but it had come highly recommended and I'd been invited as a guest, so I packed my books, corset, and boots, and took a road trip. The con was delightful. Everyone was amazingly friendly, and the panel topics (both the ones I sat on and the ones I attended from the audience) were highly entertaining. I had the opportunity to meet tons of wonderful readers and talked to a good dozen or more fellow fantasy writers.
Among the authors I had a chance to talk to were Nancy Holzner, Jean Maire Ward, Pamela Kiney, and Rachel Caine. In the picture to the left, you can see me with Rachel Caine after one of my very first panels "The Future of Urban Fantasy". Unfortunately, while I managed to pack 7 outfits for the four day trip, I failed to pack the camera charger, and once I arrived I discovered the camera battery was all but dead. So, that is the one and only picture I have from the con. *sad face* A lot of people took pictures with me, so if you see one on the web, point me to it. I'd like to snag some of those visual memories of the people I met.
One of the highlights for the event was sitting next to Rachel Caine at a signing. She had a line most of the signing (which was actually fun for me as I got to talk to people as they waited to see her--lol) but when it pattered off we had a chance to talk a bit about publishing and agents (we both work with the fabulous Lucienne Diver) and I got a chance to get a signed copy of the newest Morganville Vampire novel. Actually, I picked up two signed copies--and the book isn't even supposed to be released until the 27th.
Here are the give away details:
To enter leave a comment on this post (if you are seeing a mirror of this post, please make sure to enter on my blogspot blog.) You're comment should contain three things:
-Your name
-How you found my blog
-A question/topic you'd like to see covered on this blog. This question/topic can be about one of my books, about cons, books, writing, publishing, or whatever you think would be interesting.
The contest will be open until 11:59 EST on Sunday April 25th. Once the contest closes, I will use a random number generator to pick one lucky winner (sorry, I know there are two books in the picture, but one is made out to me and is going on my keeper shelf). The winner will be announced on the blog on Monday.
Sound easy enough? Good luck everyone!
Comments
I'd like to see a post about whether you are a plotter or a pantser, and what your writing process is like, if you haven't posted something similar already.
Sara M
~Tyhitia
I would love to see a post about the importance of cons are to writers
Raelena
throuthehaze at gmail dot com
I found your blog....trying to remember...Oh yeah! Some one (forget who) had posted something about Twice Dead, then I searched for your blog and found it, AND info about Grave Witch (hope I got the name right, it's late right now).
I'd love to see an excerpt of Grave Witch or...What kind of research you've done for this series.
Katie
I found you through All Things Urban Fantasy (your giveaway was listed)
I would like to know how you spend a normal day, do you have a strict writing schedule or you are more of the kind who writes when inspiration strikes?
Stella
stella.exlibris (at) gmail DOT com
I'd like to see excerpts on books about to be released.And what you are working on next.WIP.
I'd like to see a post about the agency model that's being adopted by publishers.
Thanks for the giveaway.
I found you on All Things Urban Fantasy.
I would love a blog post on authors and the revising process (ooohhh).
patronus89013 at yahoo dot com
I'd like to see a post about how you got published and how long it took to write your first book, if you havent already answered that. Or an excerpt for Grave Witch!
Rachel
-Through Rachel Caine's twitter. :D
-I'm not sure if this topic has yet been covered, but how did you get the idea for your stories? Also, do you do an outline for your stories before you write it, or does the awesomeness just flow from your fingers from beginning to end?
-Email:marinahanna.mhs@gmail.com
April 21, 2010 5:13 PM
i would love to see some reviews of books or series that aren't as well known for whatever reason - i'm always looking for recommendations to read!
k_sunshine1977@yahoo.com
i found out about contest through a tweet you wrote.
my question is? what are your future plans for a book you may want to write.
I would like to see posts on the inspirations behind your books.
Thanks!
Donna S
bacchus76 at myself dot com
I have never had the opportunity to attend a con so I would like your comments on what you think of them and whether they are more aimed at readers or writers ?
If the giveaway is open worldwide, then please enter me.
Thanks.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
Christine H
I'd like to see reviews on up coming books & maybe excerpts
chirth7@yahoo.com
I'd like to see a post about the best Urban Fantasy books!
aikychien at yahoo dot com
martina_comes@hotmail.com
Martina C.
What would interest me in learning more about your painting and photography, you pretty much have the books and writing angles of where your work is going covered already...(Very informatively too I might add)
jackie b central texas
jacabur2008(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks!
Tiffany B
I found you through All Things Urban Fantasy.
I would like to see a post about writing process.
Thank you for this chance!
Giada M.
fabgiada @ gmail.com
I'd love to see posts on how you work through writers' block, and what were the challenges with writing your first book.
heatwave96(at)hotmail.com