I’ll be at Zenkaikon this weekend!

I will be one of the guests of honor at Zenkaikon 2023 this coming weekend at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I will have a table in the Exhibit Hall — I believe I will be at Table #14, between A Case of Random and DerpyCon — where I will have a mess of my books for sale, including all seven Precinct books, all three of my Supernatural novels, Alien: Isolation, Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours, Thor: Dueling with Giants, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness–The Beginning #1, A Furnace Sealed, All-the-Way House, Ragnarok and Roll, Without a License, Animal, a bunch of anthologies I’m in, including The Eye of Argon and the Further Adventures of Grignr the Barbarian, and many more besides!

I’ll also be doing some programming:

Friday

1-2pm: Opening Ceremonies (Freedom Hall A)

4.30-5.30pm: “Selfie Squares” w/Manly Battleships, Carolina Manga Library, and Uncle Yo (Freedom Hall A)

10-11pm: Guests Against Humanity! w/Bubblepop Entertainment and Carolina Manga (Freedom Hall A) — NOTE: this panel is 18+ and you must have an 18+ wristband from the con to enter the panel

midnight-2am: Eye of Argon Reading (Heritage A) — NOTE: this panel is 18+ and you must have an 18+ wristband from the con to enter the panel

Saturday

1.15-2.15pm: reading (Commonwealth 3)

4.45-5.45pm: “Writing in Other People’s Universes” (Commonwealth 1/2)

Sunday

2.30-3.30pm: practical self-defense (Heritage A)

Looking forward to seeing folks there!

my Pensacon 2023 schedule

I first went to Pensacon in 2020 and had a great time. Unbeknownst to me, it was the last in-person convention I would do that year, as the apocalypse hit in full force a couple weeks later. Hilariously, my first in-person convention after lockdown was — Pensacon 2021! And then last year, I skipped it due to the rise of the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19 and my fear that the con didn’t have stringent enough masking and vaccinating requirements (which, in their defense, they pretty much weren’t allowed to, because Florida’s governor is a psychopath).

This weekend I’ll be back for Pensacon 2023, and I really hope that it’s free of any concerns regarding viruses, pandemics, etc.

I’ll be at the Bard’s Tower booth, as usual, in E5 on the Vendor Floor, alongside a bunch of fellow word-slingers, among them Jonathan Maberry, Kevin J. Anderson, Andrew E.C. Gaska, Marion G. Harmon, Gama Ray Martinez, Rick Heinz, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and possibly some other folks……

Peculiarly, I’m not listed on the web site, nor have they announced my being there on social media — but I am listed in the app…….

Very weird. Anyhow, in addition to selling and signing books at the Tower, I’ll be doing two panels:

Friday

4.30-5.15pm: “Writing in Other People’s Universes,” w/Kevin J. Anderson & Jonathan Maberry (Clark Family Cultural Center Courtroom)

Sunday

3-3.45pm: “Nerd for a Living,” w/Marion G. Harmon & Rick Heinz (Clark Family Cultural Center Courtroom)

Hope to see folks there!

see the Boogie Knights show at Farpoint!

Thanks to the good graces of my lovely wife (thanks Wrenn!), the entire Boogie Knights concert that was held Saturday morning at Farpoint 2023 has been archived on the Tube of You. Click on this link for the entire playlist, which includes the following:

• “Appearing Knightly” (parody of “You Might Think” by the Cars)
• “Bastille” (“Downtown” by Petula Clark)
• “Anarchy/Monarchy” (“The Authority Song” by John Mellencamp)
• “The Spanish Armada” (“Downeaster Alexa” by Billy Joel)
• “House on Pooh Corner” (“House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals)
• “That Don’t Excite Me Much” (“That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain)
• “Madagascar” (“Leave Her, Johnny”)
• “Polymorph Your Mother (40th Anniversary Edition)” (original song)
• “Catapult Rock” (“Crocodile Rock” by Elton John)
• “Oh, What a Knight!” (“December 1963 (Oh, What a Night!)” by Franki Valli & the Four Seasons)
• “Happy to Get Her” (“Happy Together” by the Turtles)
• “The King’s Crusade Took My Hubby Away” (“The KKK Took My Baby Away” by the Ramones)
• “I Wanna Be Your Wife’s Guard” (“I Wanna Be Your Lifeguard” by Blotto)
• “Hobbit Hole” (“Rattlin’ Bog”)

Here’s a preview, the video of “House on Pooh Corner,” my favorite of our songs:

I am returning to Shore Leave!

In every year that has started with the number 2, I have been an author guest at Shore Leave, whether in person (2000-2019, 2022) or virtual (2020-2021), and that streak will continue in 2023, as I have been officially announced as an author (and also musical) guest at Shore Leave 43 in Cockeysville, Maryland from 7-9 July of this year!

While it’s not definite yet, there is a fond hope to have several books out in time to debut at Shore Leave, including Feat of Clay, Book 2 in the Bram Gold Adventures, as well as two anthologies I’m co-editing, The Four ???? of the Apocalypse (with Wrenn Simms) and Double Trouble: An Anthology of Two-Fisted Team-Ups (with Jonathan Maberry), and the collection Sherlock Holmes: Cases by Candlelight Volume 2, which has Holmes tales by Christopher D. Abbott, Aaron Rosenberg, Michael Jan Friedman, and me.

Of course, that all depends on me finishing my work for all four of those — in at least one case, that requires seriously getting up off my ass and getting shit done — but it is, at the very least, the hope, especially since the (very lengthy) author guest list includes all four contributors to the Holmes book and many contributors to both the above-mentioned anthos…..

In addition, the Boogie Knights will be performing our usual Saturday morning concert.

By the way, the actor guest list includes four Star Trek guests — Robert Picardo, Robert Duncan McNeill, Bonnie Gordon, and Penny Johnson Jerald — as well as Ben Browder (Farscape, Stargate SG-1), Peter Macon (The Orville), and Alaina Huffman (Stargate Universe, Supernatural), with more likely to be added before long.

Hope to see folks there!

I’m gonna be at Dragon Con again!

I’m pleased to announce that in 2023 — the 25th anniversary of my first time attending Dragon Con as both an author guest and musical guest (the latter with the Don’t Quit Your Day Job Players) — I will once again be an author guest at Dragon Con!

I’m sure I’ll be insanely overscheduled as usual, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. DC is one of my favorite cons, for a number of reasons. Some of my fondest con memories are from this great show, and I can’t wait to go back on my silver anniversary!

my Farpoint 2023 schedule

My first convention of 2023 will be Farpoint at the Hunt Valley Inn — or, rather, the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland — from 10-12 February. Below is my schedule. The information on who I’m on panels with is incomplete — I only know those because I’ve been in touch with the folks in question on the subject. I’ll update this post with more information when I have it. EDITED TO ADD: Here’s my final schedule….

Saturday

11am-noon: Boogie Knights concert (Valley)

2-3pm: autographing, w/Glenn Hauman & Jay Smith (Table 1)

3-4pm: reading, w/Christopher D Abbott & MJ Blehart (Derby)

4-5pm: “Discovery–A Star Trek Renaissance,” w/Wesley Britton & Rigel Ailur (Salon A)

5-6pm: “Sherlock Holmes for the Modern Age,” w/Christopher D Abbott, Michael Jan Friedman, & Aaron Rosenberg (Salon D)

Sunday

10-11am: “Deep Space Nine at 30,” w/Rigel Ailur, Miles McLoughlin, & Kim Iverson Headlee (Salon A)

12-1pm: autographing, w/Glenn Hauman & Adeena Mignogna (Table 1)

1-2pm: reading, w/Glenn Hauman & Christopher D. Ochs (Derby)

3-4pm: “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” w/Rigel Ailur & David McOwen (Salon A)

Looking forward to seeing folks there!

I will be at Pensacon and Trek Long Island!

I’ve got two more convention appearances to announce….

At the end of February, from the 24th to the 26th, I’ll be helping Pensacon celebrate their tenth anniversary by being one of their author guests. This will be my third time at this excellent show in Pensacola, Florida, and I’m very much looking forward to being there. It’s also my first Bard’s Tower show of 2023, and I’ll be at the Tower alongside fellow word-slingers Jonathan Maberry, Kevin J. Anderson, Steve Jackson, Andrew E.C. Gaska, Marion G. Harmon, Gama Ray Martinez, and more!

I’ll also be helping Trek Long Island inaugurate their debut show in May. This two-day show in Hauppauge, New York will run on the 20th and 21st, and I’ll be one of the author guests there, too, with a table to sell and sign books. Other guests include a bunch of actors from several of the new shows, most notably Doug Jones, Oded Fehr, and David Ajala all from Discovery, as well as fellow Star Trek scribes Robb Pearlman, Michael Jan Friedman, and John Peel.

Remember, also, that I’ll be at Farpoint in Cockeysville, Maryland in February, Zenkaikon in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in March, and HELIOsphere in Piscataway, New Jersey in April.

Looking forward to seeing folks!

I will be at Farpoint in February and Zenkaikon in March!

I’ve confirmed with two conventions for 2023 — they are obviously not the only cons I’ll be doing in ’23, but these are the only two (so far) that have confirmed me on their web sites. *chuckle*

After skipping 2022’s con due to inadequate COVID mitigations in the midst of a nasty surge, I will be back at Farpoint at the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland from 10-12 February 2023, doing my usual thing of being both an author guest and a music guest, the latter with Boogie Knights. Also present will be actors Carlos Alazraqui, Rylee Alazraqui, Wilson Cruz, and Billy West; fellow word-slingers Christopher D. Abbott, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Rigel Ailur, Zach Be, MJ Blehart, Diane Lee Baron, Russ Colchamiro, Mary Fan, Michael Jan Friedman, Phil Giunta, Robert Greenberger, JL Gribble, Glenn Hauman, Kim Headlee, Heather E. Hutsell, Arrow J. Knight, Steven W. Kozeniewski, Mike McPhail, Christiopher D. Ochs, Jennifer Povey, Josh Pritchett, Scott Rohrback, Aaron Rosenberg, Jonathan Roth, Alan Smale, Jay Smith, Bryan “Kaiser” Tillman, Howard Weinstein, Gregory A. Wilson, Steven H. Wilson, and Sherri Cook Woosley; and various science, kids programming, and performing guests.

I will also be a Guest of Honor at Zenkaikon 2023 at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 24-26 March 2023. I was last at this most excellent convention in 2017, and I’m very much looking forward to going back. I’ll have a table in the exhibit hall, and will also be doing lots of programming. Other guests include voice actors Nikka Futterman, Emi Lo, Zeno Robinson, and John Swasey; artists the Chalk Twins; comedian Uncle Yo; cosplayer Minute Made Cosplay; and performers Bubblepop Entertainment and the Manly Battleships.

Don’t worry, there’ll be more chances to see me next year. I’ll be doing the usual batch o’ cons with Bard’s Tower, including almost definitely Pensacon in Pensacola, Florida in February, Planet Comic-Con in Kansas City, Missouri in April, and GalaxyCon in Raleigh, North Carolina in July (and lots more besides), plus I plan to be at HELIOsphere in Piscataway, New Jersey in April, Shore Leave in Hunt Valley, Maryland in July, Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia over Labor Day weekend, and Philcon in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in November at the very least.

updated Philcon schedule

I’ve updated the post with my Philcon schedule to include my fellow travellers on the panels I’m doing.

my Philcon 2022 schedule

What is likely to be my last public appearance of 2022 will be as the Principal Speaker at Philcon 2022 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey from 18-20 November.

Philcon is one of the oldest science fiction conventions, having gotten its start in 1936 when nine fans (among them future publisher of DAW Books Donald A. Wollheim, super-fan David Kyle, and future author Frederik Pohl) gathered in Philadelphia. It was the first convention I attended as a professional in the field after I started working for the late Byron Preiss in 1993 (prior to that, I’d attended cons — including a couple of prior Philcons — either as a fan or as press as part of The Chronic Rift).

And this year, three decades after my first time at Philcon as part of the Rift crew, I’m the guest of honor! And I’ll be launching two books, Phoenix Precinct (the sixth novel in my fantasy/police procedure series) and The Eye of Argon and the Further Adventures of Grignr the Barbarian (in which I’ll have a story).

Here’s my schedule…

EDITED TO ADD: Now with fellow panelists!

Friday

9-10pm: The Eye of Argon: The Play, w/Michael A. Ventrella, Ian Randal Strock, Gregory Frost, Hildy Silverman, Peter Prellwitz, and Jean Marie Ward (Grand Ballroom)

Saturday

11am-noon: “Science Fiction/Mystery Crossovers,” w/Russ Colchamiro, Roberta Rogow, Storm Humbert, and Aaron Rosenberg (Plaza 4)

12-1pm: Tea with Keith R.A. DeCandido (con suite)

2-3pm: Principal Speaker: Keith R.A. DeCandido (Grand Ballroom) — I will probably do this as a Q&A…

3-4pm: autographing, w/Charles Urbach (autograph area)

5-6pm: “Revisiting Deep Space Nine: Still More to Talk About,” w/Susan Shwartz, Dan Persons, Russell J. Handelman, and Savan Gupta (Plaza 2)

8-10pm: eSpec Books Launch Party for Phoenix Precinct, Espirit de Corpse, and Yeti Left Home (con suite) — this is the official launch of the three books that were recently successfully crowdfunded, including my own Phoenix Precinct

Sunday

11am-noon: “Writing in Someone Else’s Universe,” w/Elektra Hammond, Susan Shwartz, Aaron Rosenberg, Robert E. Waters (Plaza 4)

12.30-1pm: reading (readings room) — I will be reading one of the many short stories I’ve had out this year; which one will be up to the audience

1-2pm: “Star Trek in 2022,” w/Matt Black, Jim Prego, Hildy Silverman, and Orenthal V. Hawkins (Plaza 5)

On those vanishingly rare occasions when I’m not programmed, I’ll be in the dealer’s room at the eSpec Books table selling and signing books.

Looking forward to seeing folks there!