Other readings at SoonerCon 28

Authors, Reading--Part Three

In the last two weeks I've published photos and information about readings I attended at SoonerCon 28.

Part One profiled science fiction, alternate history, and fantasy readings.

Part Two spotlighted two fantasy and two alternate history writers.

Today's authors include one each who write fantasy, science fiction, and middle-grade whimsical "creepy stories." Since each brought a physical copy of their book and was kind enough to hold it up for me, I did composites of each person.

Fantasy author and Fantasy Writers Asylum imprint editor Julia S. Mandala shows the cover of her epic fantasy Blood Songs at right. At left, she reads an excerpt from it. Author Laura J. Underwood listens in the background.

At left science fiction author Lou Antonelli reads an excerpt from his novel Another Girl, Another Planet, while David Carrico listens in the background. At right, Lou holds up his book to show the cover.

Middle-grade "creepy stories" writer Kim Ventrella shows off her latest book, Bone Hollow. At left she reads an excerpt from the beginning. At right she shows us the cover. Her earlier middle-grades book, Skeleton Tree, dealt with similar themes.

I hope you've enjoyed this three-part "book tour" of Soonercon 28, via photos of some of the authors who did readings there.

Going to readings is a great way to learn about interesting new books you may never have heard of. It's also a fantastic way to meet authors and interact with them in a small-group setting.

Next time you go to a science fiction convention, I strongly recommend that you try going to some of the readings!


IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to SoonerCon 28, and artist Matt Frank, for the header image. All other photos were taken by me at SoonerCon 28, June 7-9, 2019, with the express permission of the persons being photographed.If you wish to reblog or use them, please include an attribution to Jan S. Gephardt as the photographer, and if possible provide a link back to this post. Thank you!

More Readings at SoonerCon 28

Authors, Reading--Part Two

Last week I posted about several authors whose readings I attended and enjoyed at SoonerCon 28. But wait! There are more!

I hope you enjoy this series of posts. Wherever I could, I’ve linked the authors’ names to their websites and/or books, so you can learn more about any who interest you.

Catherine Cooke-Montrose reads from a fantasy work-in-progress, inspired by the Byzantine era. She's recently been republishing her Mask of the Wizard Trilogy (formerly published by Tor Books) on Amazon under the author name Catherine Cooke.

Here is Adam J. Whitlatch, reading from his alternate history book War of the Worlds: Goliath,

Blogger Jeff Provine read from This Day in Alternate History, a fascinating concept for a blog, in my opinion.

Laura J. Underwood read from her 2011 fantasy story The Demon of Mallow, set in the same mythical land as her 2013 book, The Lunari Mask.

I have one more "Authors, Reading" collection to share next week. I hope you're enjoying this series.


IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to SoonerCon 28, and artist Matt Frank, for the header image. All other photos were taken by me at SoonerCon 28, June 7-9, 2019, with the express permission of the persons being photographed.If you wish to reblog or use them, please include an attribution to Jan S. Gephardt as the photographer, and if possible provide a link back to this post. Thank you!

Readings at SoonerCon 28

Authors, Reading--Part One

I'm apparently weird, but I enjoy going to readings. I attended a lot of them at SoonerCon 28, and thought you might enjoy seeing the photos I took of the authors. You may have heard of some or all of them.

SoonerCon 28 tried to group their readings thematically--but sometimes the authors didn't get the memo, so we had kind of a nice smorgasbord. I hope you enjoy this series of posts. Wherever I could, I've linked the authors' names to their websites and/or books, so you can learn more about any who interest you.

Author Brian Trent poses with a copy of his science fiction book Ten Thousand Thunders, before reading an excerpt from it.

Marguerite Reed, author of Archangel and many shorter works, shares an excerpt from a new short story at her reading. Fellow author Brian Trent listens in the background.

Susan P. Sinor reads from her alternate history novel, The Hunt for the Red Cardinal, while her co-author-husband Bradley H. Sinor listens.

Author David Carrico reads his short story, "The Hair of the Dog", set in the alternate universe of Eric Flint's 1632 Series.

Dennis McDonald reads from his short fiction “Moon and Shadow,” from the magazine Morpheus Tales.

These weren't the only readings I attended at SoonerCon 28. I'll profile more authors in future posts.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to SoonerCon 28, and artist Matt Frank, for the header image. All other photos were taken by me at SoonerCon 28, June 7-9, 2019, with the express permission of the persons being photographed. If you wish to reblog or use them, please include an attribution to Jan S. Gephardt as the photographer, and if possible provide a link back to this post. Thank you!

Why I go to science fiction conventions

I still owe you a DemiCon 30 report, but this week it's time to get ready for ConQuesT 50. In a couple more weeks, it'll be time for SoonerCon 28. Maybe I'll eventually catch up with myself, but one never knows.

There are a great many Indie authors who don't understand why anyone would go to that many science fiction conventions, much less three additional ones (SpikeCon, FenCon, and Archon), over the course of the next few months. "I always lose money," they say, or words to that effect.

I have a working hypothesis about that . . . and you can read about it on my website.

Kansas City represents, at SoonerCon 27

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest 
I hope you can endure one more post about SoonerCon 27, held June 22-24, 2018 in Midwest City, OK. This one's about Kansas City artists at SoonerCon 27.

At left is my SoonerCon 27 Art Show display; at right is my friend Rachael Mayo, another Kansas City-based artist who specializes in dragons. One of hers, titled Shadowgorge 4, very deservedly won a Peer Choice Nucleon Award in the Professional Artist category. She came in second to John Picacio, which is not doing badly at all.

Rachael and I weren't the only Kansas City artists in the SoonerCon Art Show, however. Fellow Kansas Citian Allison Stein filled several panels with her small, one-of-a kind mixed-media artworks featuring quirky animals with attitude.

Also present but not exhibiting work in the Art Show were Kansas City author/artists Sherri Dean and James Hollaman.

IMAGES: Both photos in this post were taken by me (Jan S. Gephardt); in the case of Rachael's photo, with her permission and cooperation (I asked her to smile. This is what she gave me. Twice. "That is my happy face," she said). If you wish to reblog or re-post these images, please attribute both me and Rachael, and include a link back to this post, if possible. Many thanks!

Over and con too soon!

I'm freshly back from SoonerCon 27, and what an excellent convention it was! They had some great guests, excellent programming and fun special events. One blog post (or even several) couldn't do justice to it, but here's a small taste of what I enjoyed most.

SoonerCon 27's lineup of featured guests included: L-R: Lloyd Lee Barnett, Glenn Garland, Jerry Bennett, Carrie Vaughn, John Picacio, Stan Love, Larry Nemecek, and Selina Rosen. Here they are at Opening Ceremonies on Friday, June 22, 2018.

One last time at the Reed Center in Midwest City
As ever, the people-watching at SoonerCon 27 was delightful, whether one was on the upper-level concourse, at the Artists Alley on the lower level, or in the Dealers Room.

Some of the many talented people who showed up in costumes at SoonerCon 27.

Some of the action in the Artists Alley at SoonerCon 27.

One corner of the Dealers Room--pardon, the Exhibitors Hall--at SoonerCon 27.

This was SoonerCon's final year at the Reed Conference Center in Midwest City, OK. Next year they'll shift to the first weekend in June (oh, goody! Back-to-back with ConQuesT!) and relocate to the Embassy Suites and Convention Center in Norman, OK.


The Art Show and "World Peace Through Chocolate" Artists Reception
I hope they can give the SoonerCon Art Show, capably run this year by Marcia Bull and her excellent crew, more room at the Embassy Suites, because we were really crammed in there pretty good, despite having both Reed Center Ballrooms A and B.

The "World Peace Through Chocolate" Artists Reception was pretty crowded inside the Art Show itself, but maybe they'll have more room next year. Photo taken with permission of the Art Show Staff.

The artwork of John Picacio, the Artist Guest of Honor, was the first thing you saw when you stepped inside the SoonerCon 27 Art Show. During the reception, a whole lot of people stepped inside! Photo taken with permission from the Art Show Staff and John Picacio.

The Friday night "World Peace Through Chocolate"Artists Reception spilled out of the Art Show into the ConSuite area, dubbed "Ten Forward." The chocolate very quickly disappeared, of course. But we all stayed peaceful.


Panels and Readings 
There were way too many interesting panels and readings to see everything I wanted to! I had a reading and five panels (to my delight, I got to moderate ALL of them! Yes!), and yes, I enjoy staying busy at an sf con, so that was just fine by me. I don't have pictures of my own events, but here are glimpses of some others I did have a chance to attend and enjoy.

I didn't have as many chances to listen to author readings as I like, but I did enjoy the trio of Urban Fantasy readings on Saturday morning by (L-R) Trakena Prevost, Seth Skorkowsky, and Rosemary Clement-Moore.

It would've been lovely if the "Black Panther and Intersectionality" panel had been scheduled for two hours and the biggest ballroom--but we had a fascinating discussion, and the room was packed. Panelists, L-R: Kimber Chessmore, Trakena Prevost, Shai Fenwick, Vickey Malone Kennedy, Jeff Provine, Tyrell Gephardt, and Dan Erickson.

The "Because, Aliens!" panel discussion ranged far and wide, from the gradual thinning of hominid species in prehistory, through cryptozoology, genitalia, and would you believe . . . Torah? Panelists, L-R: Tim Frayser, Tyrell Gephardt, Gloria Oliver, Selina Rosen, Linda L. Donahue, and Mark Alfred.

Scheduling the "Do Cons Still Matter?" panel at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday of the convention probably skewed the bias of the audience and participants just a tad, but it was fun to get perspectives from individuals of several different generations, who participate in several different subgenres of fandom. Fielding questions from an engaged audience were (L-R) panelists James Murray, Tim Frayser, Summer Rain Cosplay, and Caleb Haldane.

Like all good things, eventually the weekend had to end. The magic, along with the costumes and props, game paraphernalia, art show, and panel discussions, went back into their boxes till next time.

Lowering the "boo" during tear-down and pack-up after the con. This skeleton had spent the weekend suspended over an Artists Alley display, beneath a simulated Pit of Sarlacc. How often do you get to see that?

I thoroughly enjoyed SoonerCon 27. Kudos to Con Chair Aislinn Burrows, the SoonerCon Committee, and the Future Society of Central Oklahoma! You put on a GREAT convention. I'm already looking forward to SoonerCon 28!

IMAGES: All photos were taken by me (Jan S. Gephardt), with appropriate permissions. If you wish to re-post any of them, please do so with an attribution to me as the photographer, and a link back to the post, if possible. Many thanks, and I hope you enjoyed them!

Surprise Encounter

The Artdog Image of Interest

Surprise Encounter (2015-2018), a one-of-a-kind original mixed media paper sculpture by Jan S. Gephardt.

This is my newest fantasy paper sculpture, titled Surprise Encounter (2015-2018). I'll be showing it in public for the first time at the SoonerCon 27 Art Show, June 22-24, 2018.

It features two of my favorite fantasy creatures, dragons. As in all of the Gemflower Series, they are tiny dragons, but still quite fierce! Their iridescent wings and bodies consist of several layers, including touches of interference metallic acrylic paint on the scales and feathers of the uppermost layer. The flower, based on a Gerbera daisy, has four layers of petals. The image area of the sculpture is approximately 8 X 9 X 0.375 inches.

IMAGE: I took this photo of my original paper sculpture, Surprise Encounter. Feel free to re-post this image, as long as you include the information that it's artwork by Jan S. Gephardt, and link back to this page. Note: I apologize that the photo has a shadow of me in it! I had to work on a very tight time frame this week getting ready for the convention, and--well, this photo is better than nothing, I hope! I'm working on developing a better system.

Soon at SoonerCoon!

I'm on the road again this week.

This time I'll travel with my fantasy paper sculpture artwork (including a new piece! Stay tuned for this week's Image of Interest!), an excerpt to read, from my soon-to-be published sf novel What's Bred in the Bone, and a whole sheaf of program notes to SoonerCon 27 (I'm moderating five panels this weekend).

I hope to see you there!

SoonerCon 27 is this year's edition of what has become one of my favorite science fiction conventions in recent years. Held at the Reed Center in Midwest City, OK (near Oklahoma City), features a nice location, normally a great crowd of science fiction and fantasy fans, and a strong lineup of professional guests.

My Programming Schedule:
Friday:
5:00 p.m. - Steampunk & Alternate History: a Primer - Jan moderates; fellow panelists: Julie Barrett, David Carrico, K.W. Jeter, and Bradley H. Sinor.
8:00-10:00 p.m. - Art Show Reception.

Saturday: 
10:00 a.m. - "SF Sampler" Readings by Walt Boyes, Jan S. Gephardt, A. Lee Martinez, and Adrian Simmons.
12:00 noon - Finding Light in Tales of Darkness - Jan moderates; fellow panelists: Cary Osborne, Ted Pennella, Adrian Simmons, Sue Sinor, and Seth Skorkowsky.
3:00 p.m. - Murders, Mysteries & Mayhem - Jan moderates; fellow panelists: David Carrico, Rachel Caine, Lee Killough, Seth Skorkowsky, and Craig Wolf.
5:00 p.m. - From Science Fiction to Science Reality - Jan moderates; fellow panelists: Astronaut Stan Love, Lou Antonelli, Clifford "Kip" McMurray, Richard Morgan, and Adrian Simmons.
6:00 p.m. - Art Auction.

Sunday:
11:00 a.m. - You'll only Last a Week: A World Without Water - Jan moderates; fellow panelists: Adrian Simmons, Deborah Chester, Paula Helm Murray, Rook Riley, The Dream.

A photo from the doorway into last year's SoonerCon Art Show.

Don't miss the SoonerCon 27 Art Show!
I'll have a brand-new paper sculpture on display at this year's SoonerCon Art Show. It debuts in the art show on Friday 22nd. It also will go live as my Image of Interest on Friday.

Please watch for it--and come to the show, if you're at SoonerCon!

IMAGES: Many thanks to SoonerCon 27's website for the opening header. I took the photo from outside the Art Show last year at SoonerCon 26. Feel free to re-post it, but please include an attribution and a link back to this post. Thanks!

Snapshots from SoonerCon 26

I always plan to do better with my social media at sf conventions than I do. I get involved, and forget to tweet or upload Facebook photo albums. So I thought, "Why not make a blog post from a collection of things I should have posted from SoonerCon 26?"

Wait. What's SoonerCon 26, you ask? It's a science fiction convention held in Midwest City, Oklahoma (metro Oklahoma City), that brings together some of the best aspects of literary, media, gaming, comic, and costuming conventions. 

This year's edition began Thursday, June 22 with a Writers' Workshop, headed by Workshop Clinician Jody Lynn Nye, and ran through Sunday, June 25, 2017.

Since it is such a multi-focus convention, their theme this year was a nod to a three-ring circus, "Welcome to the Show!" Toastmaster--er, Ringmaster Selina Rosen did full justice to this theme in her Opening Ceremonies performance.

L-R: Jody Lynn Nye, Larry Nemecek, Selina Rosen in Ringmaster garb, Matt Frank, and Todd Haberkorn, at Opening Ceremonies.

As ever, my first stop upon arrival (well, after checking into the hotel and Convention Registration) was the Art Show. It had a larger area this year than in recent past years, but still seemed cramped to me, and the straight-down-from-above lighting was not terribly illuminating for fantasy paper sculptures in shadowboxes or deep mats (too much shadow, not enough art visible). There was a lot of wonderful art on display, however, and despite the crowding it was well worth the look.

Art Guest of Honor Peri Charlifu brought a large and imaginative collection of gorgeous ceramics and prints. Featured Guest Mitchell Bentley also brought a wonderful, colorful display of his astronomical and illustration work, and other attending artists brought a nice variety of interesting work.

My art display at SoonerCon 26

Other highlights of the Art Show for me included a large, new painting in Angela Lowry's display, two new paintings by Dell Harris, and a lovely display by Hazel Conley. Perennial favorites Sarah Clemens, Jim Humble, and many others also mailed in artwork to the show, to expand the selection brought by attending artists.

Some of the most magnificent artwork this weekend was wearable, however--remember, one of SoonerCon's strong areas is costuming. Here's just a small sampling of the wearable art walking around the Reed Center this weekend.

SoonerCon 26 offered up a nice collection of interesting and thought-provoking panels for attendees of varied interests. These touched on podcasting, comics, film, writing, art, and media (specific discussions geared to fans of individual shows or franchises, including Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, Harry Potter, and a wide range of others).

The witty committee behind the "Worst Novel Ever," L-R, seated: Phillip Drayer Duncan, Vickey Malone Kennedy, Craig Wolf, Tyrell Gephardt, and KC-area fan James Murray. Behind them, standing: Larry Nemecek, facilitator (with microphone) and the unflaggingly-gracious Leonard Bishop.

A pair of wildly funny "SoonerCon @ Midnight" panels assembled a committee of quick-thinking wits and writers (including my son Tyrell Gephardt) to develop the "Worst Novel Ever" (held in the bar, where else?). The next day, a group of equally talented quick-draw artists conspired to create the "Worst Cover Ever" for it. In between gasps of laughter, I could only conclude that convention chairman Leonard Bishop is the "Best Sport Ever."

Probably my most gratifying moment this weekend was when the couple came up to me after my reading and asked, "Where can we buy your book?" I urged them to watch this blog for further updates, and I've been smiling ever since. I hope to have actual news about that very soon!

Literary Guest of Honor Timothy Zahn shared thoughts about his SoonerCon experience at Closing Ceremonies. To his right (our left) Artist Guest of Honor Peri Charlifu, and on the other side Writers Workshop Clinician Jody Lynn Nye attend to his comments.

Most of my panels dealt, not surprisingly, with writing, art, or some combination of the two. Using your creativity for Fun and Profit (focusing on best practices for creative small entrepreneurial businesses) and Imaginary Creatures: Essential to Fantasy? (with panelists from both art and writing backgrounds) definitely touched on both of my art forms.

Ethics and Art focused pretty exclusively on visual-art intellectual property, and the protection of both the creator's and others' rights.

Failing Better shone a spotlight on the rejection-fraught lives of writers, and how to deal with setbacks in a way that leaves one (a) not suicidal and (b) better equipped, going forward.

By far the best-attended of my panels, however, was the one titled A Girl is . . . about persistent gender issues, both outside of fandom and within. It quickly became apparent that not all "within fandom" groups are the same, when it comes to views on gender equality. Experiences of younger women--particularly some of those in the online gaming community--reveal we've come less far than we'd like to think.

All of these panel discussions struck me as worthy of possible future exploration in blog posts. If you'd like to see one or more, please leave a comment about it.

All too quickly, SoonerCon 26 came to an end. Time to strike the photo-background sets, fold up the tabletop games, and pack the costumes or new T-shirts into suitcases. But I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I'm looking forward to coming back next year, if all goes as planned.

IMAGES: The green header-banner is from SoonerCon's website. The other photos are my own snapshots, taken by me at SoonerCon 26 (they may be reposted online with an attribution of Jan S. Gephardt as the photographer, and a link back to this post).