AuthorCon V and Cruise to the Edge

Last weekend I was at Scares That Cares AuthorCon V, a charity horror writers’ convention in Williamsburg, VA. I go every year and it’s a great time. Lots of horror fans, lots of horror authors, and apart from my inflatable Sasquatch costume trying to kill me during a charity event Saturday night, it went great. Always lovely seeing folks there, catching up with old friends and making new ones, and I told the True Story of the Zombie Frog many, many times.

Tomorrow I take off for Cruise to the Edge, a 5-day journey….someplace. I mean, honestly, I don’t care. There are going to be bands I love that I never thought I would ever see live on that ship, and so I’m staying on board the whole time. The real issue, apart from the fact that I haven’t been on a cruise in something like 20 years and have no idea what I am doing, is that I need to figure out which prog rock concert t-shirts I’m bringing. Too obscure might seem like a flex. Too common might seem like I’m a poser. Decisions, decisions….

 

Appearance Schedule 2025

Looking ahead, it’s going to be a busy year. With that in mind, here’s my rough schedule of convention and other appearances going forward:

Ret-Con – February 21-23 – Durham, NC – Guest/Vendor

Game Writing Workshop – March 9 – Hillsborough, NC – Lecturer

Game Developers Conference/Game Narrative Summit – March 17-21 – San Francisco, CA – Advisor and speaker

Scares That Care AuthorCon V – March 28-30 – Williamsburg, VA – Vendor

RavenCon – April 25-27 – Richmond, VA – Guest

Mo*Con – Indianapolis, IN – Special Guest Game Designer

StokerCon – June 12-15 – Stamford, CT – Attendee

Necon – July 17-20 – Goffstown, NH – Toastmaster

 

There are a couple of other possibilities in the works, as well as my first-ever time doing the legendary Cruise to the Edge, but I think this is a pretty good start…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up Next – ECGC

GDC has come and gone. So, too, has Scares That Care Authorcon II, both of which were lovely and exciting experiences. Returning to GDC in person was wonderful. The Narrative Summit, which I sit on the advisory board for, was excellent. The student presenters who had won the competition I judge were superb and in one case, extremely moving. And my three round tables were full, with lively discussion and good back-and-forth from a wide range of attendees. I got to see too many friends there to recount, and made some new ones along the way.

AuthorCon II was a very different show, being devoted to (surprise) writers and all things writing. Again, saw a great many friends and was introduced to new ones there. I caught up with folks like Maurice Broaddus and Tim Lebbon, whom I hadn’t seen in seven and thirteen years respectively, as well as many others. I also ran a four hour workshop on writing for video games that had good attendance from sharp students who asked good questions. I went home tired but happy.

So with that done, time to rest, right? Wrong! Next week is East Coast Game Conference, for which I help wrangle narrative content. It’s a wonderful show – low pressure, high content, and very friendly – and I’m glad to be a part of it. If you can get to Raleigh next week and you have an interest in gamedev, check it out! I’ll see you there!