Marscon Schedule

I swear that one of these days I will start using my poor neglected blog for something other than convention and publishing announcements.

But today is not that day.

I will be attending MarsCon on March 4th-6th. MarsCon is a fun mid-sized general SF convention held in Bloomington, MN. This convention draws the a good cross section of local SF/F/H writers, has strong music programming, a good literary track, and lots of expert costuming. I’m on three panels and will be reading from my works and selling/signing books. Please come up and say hello!

Fiction Reading: Michael Merriam
III Eagle’s Nest (Re(a)d Mars) — Saturday 10:00 am
With: Michael Merriam

Writing Under the Radar, or Advantages/Disadvantages of Small-Press Publication
Room 1117 (Krushenko’s) — Saturday 11:00 am
Panels about small press publications tend to embrace the gloomy side of the spectrum. This panel promises to mainly embrace the cheerful side, for there is much to be cheerful about. With: Ruth Berman, Eleanor Arnason, Michael Merriam, Kathryn Sullivan. Joan Marie Verba, Rob Callahan, John Baichtal

Mass Literary Signing II
Room 1117 (Krushenko’s) — Saturday 04:30 pm – 30 minutes
With: Patrick W. Marsh, Michael Merriam, G. David Nordley, Kathryn Sullivan

Not My Beautiful Minnesota
III Eagle’s Nest (Re(a)d Mars) — Saturday 06:00 pm
It has become fairly common for urban fantasy writers to place their stories in a modern world analogue. What purpose does this serve? What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages and how can you avoid them? Who does it well? With: S. N. Arly, mod.; Roy C. Booth, Patrick W. Marsh, Michael Merriam, Tyler Tork

Artistic Inspiration
III Eagle’s Nest (Re(a)d Mars) — Sunday 03:00 pm
Authors and artists discuss what inspires them to write or create. What sorts of things spontaneously inspire you? What things do you seek out when you need inspiration? What doesn’t work to jog or instigate inspiration? We’ve all heard of writers’ retreats; is it possible to force inspiration? What squelches your enthusiasm (big picture – general things not specific tiny events or things)? With: S. N. Arly, mod.; Patrick W. Marsh, Michael Merriam, Baron Dave Romm, Kathryn Sullivan, John Baichtal