Solar Clipper Diary

News from the Golden Age

Archive for April 2010

BaltiCon Events

By on April 22, 2010

Several people have asked where/when I’ll be at BaltiCon. Here’s the list

Friday (2010-05-28)

Introduction to Second Life
Room: Derby
Start time: 17:00
Basic interaction within SL
SL For Newbies: How to get around and find interesting things to do. How to build an avatar, shop for clothes, books, and land. A visit to Help Island, the place where new Second Life residents start. This preparation for getting the most out of SL.

Social Media for the Midlist Author
Room: Chesapeake
Start time: 18:00
Why are you passing up other marketing venues?
Words of wisdom about social media from authors: published or about to be published. They’ve built themselves a huge loyal audience, why haven’t you? If you’re a published author, mid-list or not, why aren’t you taking advantage of these thriving communities to grow your own readership?
Our new media savvy authors will help you figure out where you can focus your efforts to get the best bang for that most precious commodity: Your time!
Whether it’s gathering “friends” on Facebook, sending tweets on Twitter, or podcasting your own fiction you’ll learn which aspects of social media are the best investment of your time and money.

Second Life – See The You You Want To Be
Room: Derby
Start time: 22:00
How virtual worlds like SL affect you in real life
Second Life presents obstacles and benefits for people with disabiilties. How can you possibly take yourself into a virtual world if you can’t operate a mouse or can’t see the screen? But for those who can get past the hurdles, virtual worlds like SL present a chance for people to relate to a whole world outside of the confines of their own body. What’s more, the effects of the virtual world have impacts on the real world. Come and learn more about the benefits some people with disabiilties are getting from SL.

Saturday (2010-05-29)

From New Media to Old
Room: Derby
Start time: 12:00
The journey from Podiobook to Print
Anyone with a microphone and a story to tell can create a podcast novel, but what is the next step in publishing? From vanity presses to publishing contracts, there are many avenues to success for modern novels. How much does a podcast novel help your publishing? How do you get an agent? Do you need an agent? What kinds of publishers are out there, and how can you approach them if your story is already available online? This panel lets podcasters who have published their stories tell about what they went through, what went right, and what went wrong, and give suggestions on how podcast novelists can take the next step in publishing.

NaNoWriMo for Noobs
Room: Chesapeake
Start time: 15:00
How it was won or lost
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a motivational novel-writing program for anyone who has wanted to write a novel but doesn’t know how to get started. The program provides guidelines, structure and countless tools for success yet many still do not complete the 50,000 words required to be a winner. This panel of NaNoWriMo participants and winners will discuss their strategies for success, and if finishing even matters.

Sunday (2010-05-30)

Nathan Lowell Reading
Room: Pimlico
Start time: 19:00

Using Second Life to Expand Your Audience
Room: Derby
Start time: 20:00
Whether your gig is music, photography, art, or writing there are a thousand ways you can expand your audience using the free virtual world called Second Life. Our panelists explain the many ways they have used SL to keep in touch with their existing fans and make new ones.

Monday (2010-05-31)

Nathan Lowell and Jonathan Maberry Autographing
Room: Maryland Foyer
Start time: 10:00

This entry is filed under News and tagged . | 5 Comments

Parsec Awards

By on April 20, 2010

It’s that time of year again, folks, and this time there’s some interesting developments in the category department. Here’s the qualification blurb for novel form:

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form)

* Novel-length stories containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
* Story audio length (minus intro/promo) over 7 hours
* Uses only 1 or 2 people for the story presentation
* Work completed within the eligibility year and have not competed in a previous year
* Audio samples only, no video

It looks like I may have a chance to win a Parsec after all!

For reference, works completed between May 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, are eligible for this year’s Parsec.

In my world, that’s two books — Captain’s Share (completed October 15, 2009 at something over 11 hours of audio), and Ravenwood (completed February , 2010 with more than 10 hours of audio). If they both make it to the finalist category, I’ll need to figure out which one to hold back. I made the mistake of competing against myself before and I think it was a strategic blunder.

Personally, I’m pleased to see these changes although I know that it puts some of my friends in an awkward spot. Well, we’ll see how it shakes out this year. I’ll still polish up my Susan Lucci Tiara for the ceremony.

This entry is filed under Books, Captain's Share, News, Ravenwood. | 7 Comments

State of the Golden Age

By on April 18, 2010

Several of you are asking where we are on the various projects so let me take a moment to give you a status report.

The last of the major edits for the paper version of Quarter Share have been sent back to Ridan. We should be clearing the last of the “clean up” edits in the next few days in order to have the books available at Balticon at the end of May.

Owner’s Share will be the next book, but I’ve not been able to give it the attention it deserves for a number of reasons. Putting the edits together for Quarter Share hasn’t really made as much difference as this next bullet…

I’m losing my Day Job at the end of June. Some of you know I work for a national research and development institute dedicated to helping support education for children with the most severe disabilities — blindness, deafness, and significant support. That work depends on Federal grant funding. With the recent economic downturn and some fundamental changes in the way grants are awarded, we’ve been unable to secure additional funding and so my day job is going away at the end of June. This has been rather a tougher blow than I’d anticipated but I’m recovering.

What all this means is that, after June I’ll have a lot more time to devote to creative pursuits like writing and recording. I”ll also have a lot more incentive to do so. The situation is far from desperate here, so please don’t fret on that score. I’ve got many prospects for teaching in the fall and with the pending release of the dead tree scrolls, my status as “second income” here at Casa de Lowell is secure. It just will be more “second” than “income” for a few months.

Owner’s Share will be out this year but it looks more like “Summer” than “Spring” at this point. The sequel to Ravenwood is likewise on the table. I really need to find a place for Cape Grace in this line up, too.

In addition to that, I’ll be producing the podio version of Michael J. Sullivan’s Avempartha for Ridan and I’ve still got voice work with a couple authors out there. It’s shaping up to be a fun ride.

So, thank you all for you continued support. We’re moving on with creative pursuits and I will still be at Balticon at the end of may. I better be or Paul will shoot me. I’ve got nine events on the schedule already, including a reading, an autograph session, and a book party!

Stay tuned for more news and, as Ishmael would say, “Trust Lois.”

This entry is filed under News. | 20 Comments

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