WFC 2013 - Dead Dog Party - Nov 3

And then it was already time for the last World Fantasy Con event. The Dead Dog (post awards) Party.

One last chance to get to talk with people and to take some last WFC pictures.


I of course had to have a picture of me and Nikki.
I'm very glad we met her. It was very cool to hang out with her and I really hope to see her again at a future con.


This is William F. Nolan.
He co-wrote Logan's Run and wrote the sequels to it as well. Nolan loves pigs, so I had to have a picture of him. Nolan won an award at the award thing. The award is shaped like the head of Lovecraft!


This is Mhairi Simpson.
We were introduced to her by Suzanne McLeod. Mhairi edited the Tales of Eve anthology, and she writes Fantasy stories. She's a fun person and I need to get hold of her stories one of these days.


Mhairi in turn introduced me to Adam Christopher.
Adam Christopher wrote Empire State, a superhero-noir fantasy thriller set in the other New York. I haven't read it, but Mhairi told me it's very good and that I really should read it.


I also had to have a picture of me and Joan De La Haye.
Joan was staying in the same hotel as my owner and I, and we talked with her every day at breakfast. She's a very cool lady AND she wrote a zombie story! I got my trotters on a digital copy of Oasis as soon as i got home from WFC. Now I just have to find the time to read it.


and last, but not least: Hal Duncan.
i haven't read any books by Hal Duncan yet, but hearing him speak on one of the panels I now totally want to. I'll be getting my trotters on one of his books soon.

Overall the Dead Dog Party was aptly named though. Apart from those few authors I managed to get a picture with, there were not many authors around. Most either went home or left to take a well deserved nap. Still, we had a fun time hanging out with Nikki and trying to find authors to take a picture with (my owner may have scared off Patrick Rothfuss).

We also managed to acquire a hanger-on we hadn't counted on, so finally we called it a night. We said our goodbyes to those few people we knew that were still at the party and to Nikki and then went to our hotel to pack our suitcases. We would be travelling back home the next day.

Coming next:
one last meet up with Beanie

WFC - 4th Day -part 1 - A book launch and panels

After my walk on the beach I arrived at the Metropole for the last day of World Fantasy Con 2013. The days had flown by.


First I went to the launch of the anthology Tales of Eve. I got two copies of the book, one for myself and one for a giveaway on my review blog, so if you want to win a copy, go there now and look for the Teaser Tuesdays post of 12 November.


I got both books signed of course.
This is Adrian Tchaikovsky.


And Suzanne McLeod!
I thanked her again for kindly taking me under her wing the first day at the con and said goodbye. I hope to meet her again some day.


Alasdair Stuart.
And there were 5 other authors who all had stories in the anthology and signed it as well.


Next there were 2 more panels I wanted to visit:


Coming Up Short.
Is it possible to make a living writing only short fiction?

panelists: Ellen Klages, Richard Christian Matheson, John Llewellyn Probert (moderator), Lynda E. Rucker, Robert Shearman and Steve Rasnic Tem.
(sorry, forgot who sat where)


The short answer to the question if you can make a living of only writing short stories was: No!

The slightly longer answer included:

If you are prepared to earn only a little, you might be lucky enough to get by writing just short fiction.

Ebooks might be your best bet to make a living with writing short stories.

Social circumstances are important as well: UK health care, etc.. makes it easier to make a living writing short fiction than it would be in the US for example.

Other interesting things were:

Robert Shearman stating that the idea that short stories are a stepping stone to a novel is offensive and frutrating.

Ellen Klages comparing short stories with Faberge eggs: A Faberge egg is beautiful, but you wouldn't want a Faberge room.


And then it was already time for the last panel of WFC:


Please Sir, I Want Some More: How to Write That Difficult Second Book.

panelists (left to right): Mark Barnes, Allison Littlewood, Lou Morgan (moderator), Snorri Kristjansson, Laure Eve and Dan *mumbly-something* (Dan was there instead of Sarah Pinborough)


This was yet another very interesting discussion and they mentioned some things I discussed with Jeffe in the past as well.

They talked about how your first novel is like a tsting ground. You haven't sold it yet, so you have all the time to write, rewrite and perfect your story. Then it sells and the publisher asks: Can you write the 2nd book in 6 months? So then you suddeny are working under pressure and have to do things differently, while also juggling editing the first book and things like that. The clock is suddenly ticking.

They also talked about reviews: Read them, but don't take yourself too seriously, because reviews can be confronting. Reviews can challenge you to think about your writing.

There were lots of cool snippets about writing:
If you have one book in you, you will find a new story to tell after that first one.
You don't get to the end of one book if you don't love writing.
You write because you have a calling to write.
Your best work is always the next one.

And advice:
Agents and editors have good insights: listen to them.
Editorial notes are a guideline, not things you have to do. You are the one to decide which things you change or keep. Things like editorial notes define if you're up for it: pick your battles.
Remember you can do it. You did it with the first book.
Write what you love.


And then it was over!
No more panels, no more book launches...
There would be a big award thing in the afternoon and a last party in the evening, but the ending of WFC was clearly in sight.


Coming next:
Exploring Brighton

WFC - 3rd Day -part 3 - Fun Fair and a Panel

We met up with Nikki again and visited the Titan Books Fun Fair


There were two games you could play. There was a ring toss where we won a book and next...


We got to shoot arrows with a crossbow!
You had to hit a target 3 times to win a prize. It took us only 4 shots to do that.


We won a book with stories about Cthulhu!


Both me and my owner were very happy with it.


There was also popcorn and lots to drink. We hung around for a while before going to the next party.

Which was a party thrown by Amazon.


Here we met Mark Barnes, who signed his book The Garden of Stones for me, and shyly agreed to this picture.

Then it was time for the last panel of the day:


Elvish Has Left the Building.
Is traditional fantasy over?

panelists (left to right when seated): Trudi Canavan, Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, Tad Williams, Adrian Stone and Stan Nicholls (moderator).


This panel started out interesting.
Adrian Stone (who is Dutch) confirmed what I told people when they asked about Dutch Fantasy writers: The Dutch want Fantasy writers to have English names. They don't think Dutch authors can write Fantasy.

They talked about how people don't want originality, but novelties and that because of that Fantasy will stay popular. They also said that it seems SF books have more fans, because people can more easily be SF fans outside of books as well, because of movies and tv-series. Until recently Fantasy fans only had books.

Soon however I got a bit bored, because once again one person (Tad Williams) started to dominate the conversation and it got a bit one sided.


Time for another drink!

So after the panel we headed towards the bar with Nikki. On our way we discovered that there were lots of free books at the registration desk. I might have gone in a small book frenzy...

After another yummy bottle of cider there were more parties.

The Jo Fletcher party had lots of books as well and I added more books to my haul. Next we went to the Del Rey UK party and we got a book there as well! At this point I was so high on books I forgot to take pictures.

Finally when my owner's shoulders couldn't take anymore we went back to our hotel.


There we drooled over our loot of that day before catching some well needed sleep.


Coming next:
A beautiful morning

WFC - 3rd Day -part 2 - A Conversation and a Panel

Next we sat down for a bit to catch our breath, have a drink and figure out what we wanted to do next.

We decided on:


2013 Life Achievement Award Recipient Susan Cooper in Conversation with Neil Gaiman.

I will confess I have never read anything by Susan Cooper, but I was curious about her, and with Neil Gaiman there as well, I was sure it would be interesting.


And it was a very interesting and fun conversation indeed.
They talked about Susan's career and books, about living in America as a Brit and more.

People asked them how they thought about fan fiction and Neil Gaiman told this is a very sensitive and touchy subject. He once made a remark about fan fiction that got lots of people angry at him, even though he didn't mean it as people took it. Since then he got more careful. He did tell he wished he could unlearn that there is lots of Good Omens slash fan fiction out there.


And next there was another panel:


Nifty Shades of Fae.
Why are we fascinated by fairy tales?

panelists (left to right, although I might have mixed up Lisa and Angela): Lisa L. Hannett, Joanne Harris, James Barclay (moderator), Tanith Lee, Graham Joyce and Angela Slatter.


They talked about how the reason to tell fairy tales has been the same throughout the ages: to give reassurance and to act as a lesson. They are coded stories to tell about the meaning of life.

There are a lot of universal archetypes and these keep returning in stories even without the author realizing. If a reader discovers a certain meaning/archetype in a story, you can almost be sure it is indeed there even when the author didn't do it on purpose.

Joanne Harris told that her book Sleep Pale Sister is based on the archetypes in Tarot.

All panelists agreed that Angela Carter has been a major influence in reintroducing fairy tales. They also talked about the difference between mythology and fairy tales.

So far the panels on Saturday were all really interesting.


Coming next:
Titan Books Fun Fair

WFC - 3rd Day -part 1 - Panels and Art

Saturday morning it was grey and it looked like rain. I had planned an outing for Sunday afternoon with Beanie, but everyone who heard about it, told me it would rain all day on Sunday...

But it wasn't Sunday yet.
Saturday started with more interesting panels, starting with:


The Best of All Possible Worlds.
A panel about world building.

Panelists (left to right): Patrick Rothfuss, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Robin Hobb, Hal Duncan and Ellen Kushner (moderator).


There were so many interesting things being said, it is difficult to recount everything.
They talked about how important it is to have an explanation for everything in your world, even if you don't give that explanation in the story, you should know it yourself to make it work. Like why everyone speaks the same language for example, or how your currency system works.

They also talked about how important it is to make people believe in your world, and how just hinting at things can make sure the readers fills in the blanks themselves. And how the curse words that people use, can show what kinds of things are taboo or how society looks at women.

What I also thought was important is how they told that if you name a character the reader will start to expect that the character will become important in the story, or if a character takes special note of something, the reader will think that it's important for the story. So be careful with naming and the things your characters pay attention to.

And lastly: be careful with what language and words you use. Certain words give a certain weight or create friction. Like the word comrade or the name Mozart the Barbarian.


Next it was time for another YA panel:


Are All the Best Genre Books Now YA?

panelists (left to right when seated): Delia Sherman (moderator), Susan Cooper, Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, Will Hill and Holly Black.
(sorry for the brightness, there was a nasty spotlight)


In the end this panel was more about exploring what Young Adult is, instead of it really being about the official topic, but still it was very interesting.

They talked about how YA is a sub-genre manufactered by publishers. They told how when they were teens they couldn't find books like the YA of today, and that it was normal to go from children's books to adult books at the age of 12/13. Harry Potter and the books that came after paved the way for the YA genre.

Neil Gaiman told how he tried to sell Coraline in 1991, but it was unpublishable back then. Only when Harry Potter was a craze he managed to get Coraline published. Because Coraline came out in a year between two Harry potter books it suddenly got lots of interest.

Holly Black told how she thought as a child that all the books had already been written, and that books were something that had been written by dead guys. When a new book got published in a series she loved, she was shocked.

They also talked about what makes YA interesting and said it's because it's full of energy. There are lots of big choices about who you're going to be. It's the first time for lots of things, a time of discovery.

There was also a discussion about what's the difference between a YA and an adult book with a 16 year old protagonist and if it would be possible to write a YA with a 45 year old protagonist.

All in all another really cool panel.



Next we wandered around a bit and looked at the art some more. I really liked this octo-skull.








Coming next:
A conversation and a panel

WFC - 2nd Day -part 5 - Mass Signing

After the blogger panel we retreated to the bar and got a delicious Strawberry-Lemon Cider. We talked with Nikki and other convention goers. We dropped by for a bit at the Harper Voyager Party, which was very crowded, but mostly we were enjoying the cider, the comfy seats and the conversation, while waiting for the Mass Signing that evening.

And then it was time and we went to the room where the signing was with lots of books to get signed.


First we spotted Amanda Sun!
I love her Young Adult book Ink and I had promised Amanda to find her at the signing to get my copy signed. I had also wanted to buy a copy for a friend and get it signed, but just as Untold, Ink was nowhere to be found at WFC.


But I got my copy signed!
And it was great fun to meet Amanda and talk to her.




We also managed to find Holly Black and she signed The Coldest Girl in Coldtown for me.


Joanne Harris not only signed my copy of Runemarks, she also drew a piggy for me!


Isn't it cool!


I still had a couple of authors to find and it was getting more crowded and difficult to locate people. Luckily I managed to find Keri Arthur and she signed a book for Melliane. I forgot to take a picture of that though.


I met Freda Warrington.
I love her alternate history novel The Court of the Midnight King, but forgot to bring it, so I got a signed copy of A Taste of Blood Wine, which is about vampires.


And I found Sarah Rees Brennan.
She signed my copy of Unspoken. She also told me she read my review of Unspoken and had thanked Holly Black for giving her a new fan. (I signed up for the KaffeeKlatsch with Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan because of Holly Black, but decided to read a book by Sarah Rees Brennan as well if I was going to meet her anyway.)


Next she signed our copy of The Demon's Lexicon, but...
Seeing what she did, I practically fainted!


She signed it to my owner!
My owner was happy with that, but I think it's outrageous!


Next we stood in line to get Neil Gaiman to sign our programme guide and a couple of my bookmarks. Lots of people wanted him to sign books and stuff, so I didn't have time to take a picture. I didn't want to hold everyone up.


After the signing it was time for another party.
It was a party thrown by Bragelonne & Gollancz, two publishers. There was lots to drink and there was food as well. It was a fun party. we had something to eat and we talked to some people.

I had heard there would be Advance Reader Copies of Joanne Harris' next book at the party, but at first I couldn't find it. When Nikki, with whom we had been talking, left for another party, we decided to make one last round of the room and then head back to our hotel. It had been a long day after all, and I was getting pretty tired.


And that's when I saw Joanne Harris sitting next to a lot of goodiebags!
Inside the goodiebags were lots of different books, but I rummaged around and found The Gospel of Loki.


And with Joanne Harris sitting next to the goodiebags we managed to get it signed as well!
And although it's signed to my owner, this time I got included at least.

It was a really cool day!


Coming next:
Panels and Art