My First FantasyCon

I've been to conventions before. I used to attend Continuum every year in Melbourne, visited Conflux once and even managed to get to WorldCon a couple of times. Since moving to the UK, I've been to a couple of Edge-Lits and a few Sledge-Lits, the winter counterpart. But I haven't really immersed myself in the British SF scene.

Scene. I choose that in place of a better word instead of 'Community'. Ah yes, the 'Myth of Community'. I am planning to write about that soon, but I'll leave it as it is and just move on for now.

Last weekend I visited Chester for FantasyCon. I was hoping to catch up with old friends, make some new ones and even meet a hero or two. And I succeeded on all counts. It was wonderful to see Philip and James again, to spend time with Penny, Simon, Adele and Tom (as well as a bunch of others I haven't mentioned), and to chat, albeit briefly, with Ian Watson. Ian is a fabulous writer, someone I started reading back in the late 70s and never dreamed of meeting. I managed to get a book or two signed, and even copped some written abuse from him in one of them - which was pretty special.

I spent time chatting with Dr Abbey from Japan, even though my Japanese was rusty and he was polite about my abilities, and met Ian Whates and Adrain Tchaikovsky, who were both delightful and fascinating.

Restaurants, bars, sitting outside with friends, walks, and even listening to the karaoke (bleah) made for a memorable weekend.

Seriously though, how do we manage to spend an entire weekend based in a hotel and still not catch up with people we know? I missed a few people I had planned to see. And they were there! I've seen the photographic proof.

If you haven't been to FantasyCon and you live in the UK, it's highly recommended. I plan to be there next year again.

A Professional Geek From Melbourne.

In 2011 I contacted the Continuum people and offered to run a panel on my favourite SF writer, Philip K. Dick. I automatically invited Bruce Gillespie (editor of the fabulous The Electric Shepherd) to join me, then sat back to see what happened.

Someone with a strange name was then allocated the panel, then had to withdraw, and then another (with a more 'normal' name) was assigned. I think we may have emailed a little beforehand, but I do recall the night before the panel when David McDonald introduced himself to me. He asked me how the panel was to run, and I briefly explained very little (as it was all PowerPoint based and quite logical in order).

The next day Bruce, David and I ran a very successful and interesting PKD session. Bruce, of course, was wonderful as always. But I owe much of that success to the insights and thoughts of David.  Afterwards we chatted, and it turned out we not only had some same acquaintances in the 'real world, but had similar backgrounds with matching reference points. So I sat in on a Dr. Who panel he'd organised, a wonderfully emotive Sarah Jane tribute, and found that he had a similar approach and attention to quality and detail that I had.

Afterwards, David bought me a coffee, and I impressed him with my...  well, everything.

Over the past year or so, David and I have become firm friends. We've become crit buddies, shared good news and bad, and built a mutual respect for each other's work and approach to writing. We have similar philosophies, morals and ethics.

Oh, and he'll always remind me of the crit session I conducted on Cold Comfort (from Epilogue) at Conflux mere hours before the submission deadline. You see, he was plying me with drinks and one thing led to another... But that's a story for future panels when we are both deservedly recognised for our abilities and writing credentials.

David is an up-and-coming writer whose work deserves attention. He's a great guy, a good friend and a fabulous writer. He was deservedly nominated for the "William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review" (along with Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series. And I'm proud to share the Epilogue TOC with him. Check him out here.

And don't believe a word he says about Canberra. What happened at Conflux, stayed at Conflux.

What's Happening.

Conflux was great. I had a wonderful time up in Canberra and met and hung out with a lot of cool people, certainly way cooler than I am. Peter and I spent an extra day up there, visiting the War Museum and getting kicked out when they closed. We still hadn't seen everything. It's a must-see if you're ever in Canberra.

I arrived home, spent a day here recovering from Con-Lag before driving to Rye to spend a couple of days with my wife. We took our dogs, our bikes and even rode to Blairgowrie and back. Drove home this afternoon, and I'm currently getting ready to return to work tomorrow.

On the writing front, all is going well. I currently have seven stories out in sub-land, which is the most I've ever had at the one time, I've booked my flight to Sydney for the launch of Anywhere But Earth, and I'm all fired up about my writing and ready to write more.

Oh yeah, and I finally joined Facebook after a couple of people twisted my arm. They say it'll be good for me.

It's John's birthday. Raise a glass.....

When I Was Up In Canberra.

Last week was insanely busy.

I finished the school term, and then had three days in which to write two assignments for university, and prepare three stories for submission.

I finished writing one story, rewrote both it and another, then tweaked a third - subbing them all before the deadline.  The assignments were also submitted just in time.  And then I was able to relax.

It rained the entire eight hour drive up to Conflux, but we had a great time - taking it in turns to choose CDs and talking crap. It was dark by the time we got here, and the map we had wasn't ideal. But we found our hotel and the room is fine, and pretty soon we were catching up with familiar faces in the lounge.

So far the con has been a lot of fun. I attended a writing workshop which just confirmed my current practices, and introduced me to a few new ideas as well.

I also picked up a copy of the Year's Best Australian Horror and Fantasy, in which I am listed on the Recommended Reading List, and name-checked on page 22. The paragraph describes Festive Fear as being a macho collection, which is something I can see and agree with. I would like to point out, however, that I don't believe my story, Ghost of the Heart, fits that label.

No major problems so far, apart from the lousy service in one restaurant. If you're ever there, make sure they have the ingredients before they take your order. Not only were they delivering the meals of people who placed their orders well after mine, but it took another twenty minutes before they told me I couldn't have what I wanted.

Still, if that's the biggest problem I have in my life, then I don't really have much to worry about.

Lit Cred And Validation.

There seems to be a number of writers currently questioning the value of certain publications and e-zines. Over the past couple of weeks I've seen this subject rear its head a few times. And I think it's an important question for new writers. (And this is the category in which I firmly place myself.)

My views are no secret. I believe I could have a longer published bibliography, but I've been fussy about where I submit my work. And I believe that a few publications in quality markets are ultimately more valuable than many publications in any old market.

With the prevalence of the internet and the proliferation of POD, there has been an explosion in the number of publishers throwing together zines and anthologies. And as such, there has obviously been a dilution of the quality of published work. I'm 'old school', as you young folk with your zany rock 'n' roll music like to call it, and there's nothing like having a published 'paper' book in your hand. Not that there's anything wrong with online mags. But I do feel there's a certain quality control, checks and balances, when you've been paid a certain amount of money, and you have a professionally finished product that can be held.

I wrote something (as a comment) along these lines in response to a post by Alan Baxter a few weeks ago.  Then I discover that my crit buddy and friend, David McDonald, wrote something similar in response to the fabulous Jason Nahrung.

I suppose it all depends on what your goals are. I have a list of personal goals, a list of markets I'd like to crack, and I'm actively taking steps to achieve those.  Brad R. Torgersen, has listed an interesting set of goals on his website, and I must say I love those.

If you just want to say you've been published, then sub away, anywhere. It'll happen. If you want to achieve some kind of cred in this business, then make plans, take active steps to achieve them, and be prepared for a lot of rejections.

But when you do receive an acceptance, or receive some kind of recognition, it's amazing the confidence and drive that accompanies it.  Gitte Christensen, who has just been published in Ticonderoga's Year's Best Australian Horror and Fantasy, mentioned on her blog that I've been mentioned on page 22 of said book. Looks like a ploy by Ticonderoga to make me buy the book.

It worked. I'll be picking one up next week.

But when your friends and peers have some success, we rejoice together. I'm pleased for Gitte's deserved tastes of success, I'm pleased David McDonald has some new work coming out. And I'm absolutely thrilled that my long-time Tokyo-brother, Allan Tong, (he's the man who taught me to chase my dreams and grab opportunities, or to create your own) has just scored a huge success at the Toronto International Film Festival.  And I know these people are happy when it happens to me.

Speaking of which, keep an eye out for Anywhere But Earth in the coming months. It looks fantastic!

See you at Conflux.

Polite Self Promotion.

I've been thinking about heading up to Sydney for the launch of Coeur De Lion's anthology,  Anywhere But Earth. It looks like this will occur in November, but I'm waiting for confirmation.

I'm also planning on heading to Canberra for Conflux in October.

Conventions have served me well, over the past few years. I've met a range of interesting people with whom I have regular communication, I've met and become friendly with a number of publishers, editors and writers, I've attended workshops that have improved my knowledge and writing and, most importantly, I've made friends in areas (both writing and SF fandom) that often tend to be insular activities.

Never underestimate the value of networking.

The important thing to remember, though, is to be genuine, be polite and to give as much as you take.

I've seen a few people who seem to head straight for the 'important' people, and totally ignore us small people. I've also had famous writers whose work I own ask me if I'd like to share a meal with them.

I saw Lee Childs on The First Tuesday Book Club, and he said this.

Well, what I found is that every single thing sells books. Everything you do sells books. The question is, is it economically effective? I mean, I once met a fan who had all the books, wanted all the books signed, and sometimes I ask them, do you remember why you picked up this book? And she said, "I saw you at a conference and you opened a door for somebody and I thought, what a polite gentleman. I'll try his book." Every single thing works.

Manners and presentation are vital.

I know of a couple of writers whose work I haven't bought simply because I've seen them be rude, or present poorly at public events.

If you get along to the Anywhere But Earth launch, look for me.  I'll be the one who isn't saying anything, but standing looking like an idiot with mouth agape. After all, I'm still stunned  to be included in that book with writers I admire.

...in the greenhouse.

All is pretty groovy here.

Keith Stevenson sent me my story with a few suggested changes - all of which made sense. I edited that and sent it back to him. I finished a minor rewrite on my first ever flash fiction piece, and have re-subbed that. I'm in the middle of two other rewrites that are coming along nicely. I'm halfway through a story that I need to finish by the end of the week so I can sub it to Writers of the Future for this quarter, and I have two story ideas congealing inside my brain.

I finished writing all my school reports for the semester, proofread a billion more until my brain turned to mush, finished virtually all my marking, and still had time to go out for dinner last night to The Pig and Whistle.

I've signed up for Conflux in October, started planning my school break that starts next week and have an Architectural tour of Melbourne next week. A wonderful present my wife bought for my birthday recently.

And as I sit here waiting for Anywhere But Earth to be released, life is pretty groovy. Just as I said.