Category Archives: Event

Balticon Schedule!

Posted on by

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a Balticon. Too long in fact. I miss doing the live convention thing. This year will still be weird, and masks are still required, but it will be good to try to get back to doing the things we all love.

This is my schedule, as long as nothing changes between here and there:

Start Time Duration Room Name Session ID Title


Fri 4:00 PM 1 Hr Virtual Panel Room 1 379 Rating Books in the Algorithm Age


Fri 5:30 PM 1 Hr Guilford 887 Mapping the Landscape


Sat 10:00 AM 1 Hr James 411 Help Me Find a Game I Will Enjoy


Sat 11:30 AM 1 Hr James 416 You Can Start GMing Now: Tips for First-Time Gms


Sat 4:00 PM 1 Hr Club Lounge 381 What Should I Read Next?


Sun 11:30 AM 1 Hr James 965 Finding Your People


Sun 4:00 PM 1 Hr Private Dining Room 943 GMing for Beginners: The Workshop

Big Day

Posted on by

Big days are weird things.

It’s Tuesday morning as I write this. The 24th of August. To a vast majority of the people I know, that’s all it is. It’s Tuesday morning and there’s work and maybe a list of things that need to get done at the end of the day or a show to watch tonight. I know at least one person who has a birthday today, so that might be a little special moment with a dinner or a gift, but generally nothing very exciting.

For us… exciting might not be quite the right word, but it definitely IS a big deal for us. Today is flight day for my daughter. She is leaving the country to study for the next 10 months in France. I’ve written about parts of our journey here before. We’ve done tons of preparation to get to this point, but today is it. Today is the Big Day. Flight day.

Nobody slept well last night. I set an alarm, but was awake two hours before it was scheduled to go off (despite staying up extra late in an attempt to be more tired when heading off to bed). I got up and have been pacing the house for more than an hour. I’ve played all the vapid games on my phone. I listened to the news, checked the weather radar and reloaded the flight status page twice so far. There is this driving urge to do something, do anything and there’s simply nothing left to do. We finished the laundry yesterday for my daughter’s things. The bags are packed. The phone is charged. The friends have been visited. The family has been hugged. We’ve looked at the airports websites. We’ve done as much of a virtual walk as we could to get a feel for how the journey will go. My daughter has been in touch with her host family and they’ve told her who would be meeting her at the other end of her travels.

I’m still pacing.

This is anxiety.

Today is also an uneven day. As a parent I’m anxious and pacing, but ultimately my part in this will be over by lunch time today. We’ve got to get the kiddo TO the airport and in line for the security check. That’s it. Then we wander out of the terminal, pay for parking and wonder what the rest of the day brings. My daughter will be boarding a plane here, flying to Chicago and gathering with other kids from the program who will be on the same flight with her. Then after a short layover it’s off to Paris. Long flight, landing and meeting a rep from the exchange student program on the other end of the flight. That person will pack her onto the train and head her off to her host family. When all is said and done she will have been traveling for more than 20 continuous hours. She has snacks. She has a water bottle. She’s got money to grab a meal when she gets a chance ~ and we’re going to be sitting here at home unable to be with her, help her or join her in the experience. There is no doubt that I’ll sleep terribly again tonight. I’m going to be a distracted mess at work tomorrow morning until I get a notification from her that she has landed safely. I’ll only be truly relieved when she lets us know that she has arrived at the train station where her host family has met her and she’s safely headed to their home to start her adventure in France.

It’s also a sign that I have written more here out of anxiety than I’ve written in two weeks on any other subject. I’m not sure how other creative types deal with what feels like the opposite of the muse. Distraction. Inability to sit still.

This is it. As so many others know it… it’s Tuesday. It’s a Big Day.

Merry Christmas

Posted on by

It’s been a long, weird year. While I don’t think vilifying a year will change how things unfold in the coming months, I do understand it.

Take some time, celebrate if it’s your holiday, relax if it’s not. We’re still here and there are lots of wonderful / amazing things coming our way ~ we just have to get there.

Merry Christmas to all.

Historic Context

Posted on by

I’ve been distracted by the real world again. I’d love to spend tons and tons of time here in writer land but sometimes things happen. What I need to learn to be better about is actually writing down the things I’ve got bouncing around in the ol’ noggin.

Right now, here in the United States we have a panic happening about a global pandemic. People are getting sick at an alarming rate – and being terrible to each other at an even more alarming rate.

I’ve got a number of thoughts that I want to put here, but I’m still formulating how to pull it all together. For some frame of reference I tried to think of another event that really changed things across the country in such short order. The one I could think of most recently was the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

I was at work that day. I remember it quite clearly. I know where I was sitting and could paint you a picture of my surroundings. What isn’t as clear in my memory was the thought process I had going on. I was writing then. I didn’t have things in electronic format. I didn’t have a blog or really even understand what was involved in starting one at that point. What I did have was my sketch book. I always have a sketch book at work. It’s part of the job. I track my hours on projects, but a lot of other things land in there too. I’ve pulled 3 pertinent pages from that old book (it was almost 20 years ago at this point – a bit staggering to consider) and have them here.

That day

I knew a number of people living in NYC at the time and made an effort to reach out to one of my closest friends of the time. I was lucky to get a response, and get it quickly.

What a day indeed

I recall a number of things about price gouging, hoarding and people being terrible – but more than that I remember people reaching out to help each other.

Did terror win?

I am seeing some things about the pandemic that are similar here in the US, but I am also seeing a number of differences. I want to give this all a lot more thought before I try to write up how I feel about it all. I need to put all the thoughts someplace. Having some historic context is going to matter to me at some point in the future.

The Solution?

Posted on by

Maybe… just maybe a vacation was the answer.

It’s something that a lot of folks have said is a very American thing, feeling guilty for taking time off. I suspect they’re right.

I’ve been ‘on vacation’ now for a little over a week. Not a proper holiday – haven’t gone anyplace. Stayed at home. Got some things taken care of around the house. Had some time with friends with no schedule pressure. Went to a convention (there will be a report on that coming up too!) and generally enjoyed Thanksgiving.

Also in there I attended a book signing event. One of my stories is in the book Squeekie Celebrates 20 Years of the Cupboard Maker Books! I was very excited to hear that I made the cut and got my story in as a fan favorite. You should go and check out Squeekie’s page HERE. It was fun to sit with other authors and sign books for folks that were kind enough to buy them.

I sat back down here at the machine and started working again. I wrote, edited and fired off a story submission then went back and found an old story that I thought was really good. I took that story, edited it with a new eye, formatted it and fired that one off to another market.

I’ve picked up a book and plunged right through the first chapter.

I think I might just be back on track. We’ll see if this all survives heading back to work and diving into the holidays. Here’s hoping!

Giving

Posted on by

A friend of mine is hosting an event. IF you’re in my area (Central PA) I really hope you’ll come out for The Resurrection Pact launch for Leukemia Research & Family Support event.

Saturday May 13th at the FABULOUS Cupboard Maker Books in Enola from 1 pm to 3 pm is when it all goes down!

The part I find most exciting is that I was asked to help. Here are the details:

“Welcome to your alternate life!”

This is the theme of our The Resurrection Pact book launch and signing event taking place at Cupboard Maker Books on May 13th from 1-3pm to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Central PA and Vickie’s Angel Foundation Both assist the greater Harrisburg area and do great work.

The theme reflects the idea of who you project into social media and virtual worlds like Facebook, free-play realms like Second Life, and online role-playing platforms such as World of Warcraft. What mask do you wear online? Are you a troll? A romantic? A super-heroic adventurer? A robot from the future? Fry Cool on Venus? Come out and show your “alt-self”!

Cupboard Maker Books has agreed to donate 50% of ALL used book sales on Saturday (open to close) split equally between LLS and Vickie’s Angel Foundation. Jay will be donating all proceeds from book sales from 1pm to 3pm. There will be auctions, some small prizes awarded, and we’ll have some special guests (to be announced). Best of all, you’ll be supporting a great cause.

Plus, The Wicked Kitchen will provide some amazing snacks for those stopping in to the event!

This event is intended to benefit the programs that help research new treatments for leukemia and also assist families and survivors pay their bills and help them in the rigorous daily challenges of supporting loved ones fighting cancer and help survivors offset the costs of returning to life after winning the toughest battle of their lives.

Come out and help support a friend and a worth cause!