It's almost time: this weekend I will be a guest at the one and only (and sadly final) AnomalyCon in Denver, Colorado. I...keep swearing I'll never go back to Denver, on account of how I get blazingly terrible altitude sickness, and then I keep going back because people ask nicely. But this still could be the last time!

Where will I be?

Friday, catch me at "Reinventing the Wheelchair" at 6pm in Mesa Verde C, or at "Sex in Young Adult Fiction" at 7pm in Windstar A.

Saturday, find me at "Submitting to the Process" at 10am in Wind River B, "Future Accessibility" at 11am in Windstar A, "Writing Villains" at 6pm in Mesa Verde A, or at "Hell Hath No Fury" at 7pm in Wind River A.

There might be additions to my schedule, so check your program book (and don't ask here, as I have no guarantee about how much internet access I'll have). And of course I'll be signing and smiling and looking faintly confused by the lack of oxygen all weekend long.

Come on down!

This weekend (by which we mean "Thursday through Sunday," because the weekend is a negotiable time period, and doesn't Thursday look fetching in that tiara?) you can catch me at Emerald City Comic-Con in scenic Seattle, Washington! Join me for thrills, chills, and a smashing good time!

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE.

Thursday night, come catch me a Shipwreck, where six great authors destroy one great work of literature. We're doing The Sandman. And I do mean doing. This is not an all-ages event. This is porn. I am a porn lord. Endless help me.

Friday, I'll be signing at the University Books booth (2pm) and the Penguin Random House booth (5pm), and then it's off to Worldbuilders for a fun night of gaming and merriment. Seats are limited but still available as I'm typing this!

Saturday, it's Geek Geek Revolution at 1:30pm and the Death of Belief at 4pm, both followed by signings.

Sunday, come see me at the University Books booth (1pm), and then at the Orbit Books panel (2:30pm). And then watch me run for freedom and the comforts of my own bed, because I expect to be exhausted.

I will have prizes with me every day of the con for folks who find me and answer the trivia questions I will be posting on Twitter. First-come, first-served.

See you there!

Are you a gamer? Do you like things that are fun? Are you planning to attend Emerald City Comic-Con?

I am anchoring a table for this year's Worldbuilder's Charity Party, and there are four seats left for the adventurous.

Come play with me! It'll be a good time. We all need a good time about now.

Yes. Play.

Good.

I am awed, honored, and a little staggered to be able to announce that I will be the Guest of Honor at OVFF 2017, to be held over the weekend of October 20th to 22nd.

For those of you in the filk community, I'm sure you understand what a huge honor this is, and why it means so much to me. For those of you not in the filk community, allow me to endeavor to explain.

Filk--science fiction and fantasy folk music, essentially--is a small slice of fandom that enjoys sitting up and singing songs late into the night. We sing about myths and legends and TV shows and comic books and each other (oh, how we sing about each other). It's not a huge community, with maybe a few thousand people worldwide (at best), but it's a tightly-knit one, and we take care of our own. We have the numbers and the ambition to hold multiple conventions throughout the year, in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany.

And the biggest of all these conventions is OVFF, the Ohio Valley Filk Festival, in Columbus, Ohio. It is the Worldcon of filk. It is the brass ring. It is the goal. I was already honored to be their Toastmistress in 2005, and to be asked back is...

Well, it's everything.

I am beyond excited, and I am hoping to see so many of you there. I'm going to try to explain a bit more of what filk is over the course of the next year: let's see if I can't make filkers of all of you yet.

I'm Guest of Honor.

It's a dream come true.

I am in Iowa! I am enjoying the company of my adult friends, who are awesome, and their three-year-old, the Skeleton Girl, who is amazing. I am not the biggest fan of tiny humans, which is why I never elected to construct one of my own, but SG? Is the best tiny human. She's just amazing. I could play with her for hours. I have played with her for hours. So Iowa is awesome.

But! I came here for a con, and a con I shall have! This weekend in Cedar Rapids, the fun begins. Ain't no party like a corn state party, because in a corn state, I am at the height of my powers. BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.

Thursday.

Pre-con signing event, 6pm. Before the con gets started, a bunch of the attending authors will be signing at the Cedar Rapids Barnes & Noble! No membership required. We hope to see you there.

Friday.

DreamCon Introduction, 1pm. This special con-within-a-con for teens is aimed at teaching writing skills and improving understanding of the science fiction community.

DreamCon Community Building, 1:25pm.

DreamCon Ask Me Anything, 3:05pm.

Opening Ceremonies, 7pm. Let's get this party started!

Saturday.

Zombie Mania, 10am. Whee.

Flipping Fairy Tales, 2pm. Watch me throw things at Jim Hines for an hour while we pretend to be professionals!

Author/Artist Meet & Greet, 3pm. Way too early to start drinking.

GoH Interviews, 4pm. ...but maybe it's a really, really good idea anyway.

Round Robin, 9pm. Once upon a time, there was a girl named Seanan, and she stole her whole panel away to the corn...

Sunday.

In Conversation with Seanan, 11am. I have a moderator? So this is not really an In Conversation... so much as it is some sort of interview that I do not fully understand. There may be a mutiny.

Vogon Poetry/Bulwer-Lytton Contests, 2pm. Welp.

Closing Ceremonies, 3pm. Goodbye, everybody! See you in the corn!

Because it is written in the stars that 2016 should be a month of near-constant travel, I am about to hop on yet another plane and soar off to New York, where I will do business, hug people, and oh yeah, appear at New York Comic-Con, the East Coast's Geek Prom.

So where can you find me? Other than staring longingly at the Marvel editorial team, trying to literally will them into hiring me to relaunch the X-Men?

Thursday.

Mira Grant signing, 2pm, Orbit Booth. I don't actually have booth numbers, but it will be listed in the program/exhibitor guide as either "Orbit" or "Hachette Books," and I will gleefully sign things for you. With my actual hand!

Friday.

Shipwreck, 8pm. This is a separately ticketed event, but believe me, you want to attend. Come and see several professional word people wreck a great book--in this case, The Princess Bride. Mara Wilson is our guest reader. This is also the launch for Loose Lips, the first ever Shipwreck collection. I wrote the introduction!

Saturday.

Scream Queens, 2pm, BookCon @ NYCC - 500 W 36th St. It's a Mira Grant panel, which means it's a party in a haunted house while the corn is closing in. Come for the fun, stay because we won't let you leave.

Signing, 3:15pm, BookCon @ NYCC 6th Floor autographing area. We will sign things, and probably not eat you.

Sunday.

Seanan McGuire signing, 2pm, Penguin booth. Again, I do not have booth numbers, but this one should be listed in the program book as "Penguin Random House." Come see me, and I'll congratulate you on surviving the convention!

It's time for bullet-point updates! Hooray!

* Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 21st) marks the release of RISE, the complete Newsflesh short fiction collection. This book gathers everything from "Everglades" through Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus, along with two never-before-published pieces, All the Pretty Little Horses and Coming to You Live. It's not intended as an introduction to the world--at least four of the novellas are post-the original trilogy, which makes them great whopping slices of spoiler--but I'm incredibly proud of this material, and over the moon about finally having a short fiction collection of my very own. I feel like Stephen King. It's pretty awesome.

* Today is the last day of the Unicorn Empire T-shirt pre-sale for their gorgeous Toby Daye design. Don't miss out!

* CrossingsCon is this weekend! The first ever Young Wizards fan convention, and I'm one of their guests of honor! I keep closing my eyes and remembering standing in my middle school library with So You Want to Be a Wizard in my hand, and I'll be honest: I feel like a wizard right now. In Life's name, and for Life's sake, I feel like a wizard. Because somehow, I have willed the adulthood I wanted into being, and for all that it's not perfect, it's the imperfection that makes it all seem real.

Everything is amazing.

I'm off to Kansas City, and ConQuest! A city I've never been to before, and a con I've never been to before! It's an adventure! (Note, before the comments can start: no, I am not going to WorldCon this year. I'm moving instead. All conventions I am attending are listed here, in the inchworm girl posts, and on the front page of my website. So this is your only Kansas City chance to see me.)

Wanna know where to catch me? Well...

Friday.

The Making of a Great Hero/Heroine, 5:00pm. "Writers discuss what attributes successful heroes and heroines should and often have." This can't possibly end badly!

Opening Ceremonies, 7:00pm. Now, those of you who have seen me during one of these things, you know I have a good time. And since I'm sadly missing closing ceremonies due to the timing of my flight, you should try to make this.

Saturday.

Surviving the Apocalypse, 11:00am. "Listen to panelists come up with a plan for surviving an apocalypse be it zombie or other. You'll want to bring a notebook..." Note that I am much more likely to be the cause of the apocalypse.

How To Become A Published Author, 2:00pm. "Authors and editors discuss the road to success in publishing." Yup.

Autographing, 4:00pm. What it says on the tin!

Sunday.

The Worlds of Seanan McGuire, 10:00am. "Hugo-nominated editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt will discuss the works of Seanan McGuire with Seanan." They were smart and made sure this panel was being conducted by one of my editors, which means it's waaaaaaaay less likely that I set something on fire. Shucks.

I hope I get to see you there! I'll have ribbons!

It's almost time for Marcon, Columbus, Ohio's own genre extravaganza! I'm their Author Guest of Honor this year...but where can you find me? Well.

Friday.

5:30PM, Union C: "Writing Non-Human Characters."

7:00PM, Union E: "You Got Your Song in My Book! You Got Your Book in My Song!"

Saturday.

1:00PM, Battelle South: Seanan McGuire in concert, featuring Dead Sexy! This is one of my favorite iterations of my ever-shifting backing band, and we are going to blow your socks off. Like, seriously, if you only come to one of my events this weekend, this should be the one.

5:30PM, Fairfield: "In Conversation With Seanan McGuire." It's the usual gig: you ask me questions and I will answer them, which means the quality of the event is entirely up to you. Show up, ask me stuff, and find out what kind of ridiculous reptile stories I'll tell while in the grips of an adrenaline crash after my concert.

Sunday.

11:30AM, Regency Ballroom: Autograph Session.

ISFIC will have copies of the new Velveteen book for sale, along with everything else they have to offer; we'll have CDs and some of the remaining T-shirt stock (rarities all!) at the concert merchandise table.

Hope to see you there!

Hello, happy people! It's time for Emerald City Comic-con, Seattle's largest gathering of pop culture nerds in one building! Like, if the alien invasion comes this weekend, we're screwed. Anyway, if your boots are on the ground in Seattle, and you want to know where to find me, have I got the schedule for you.

Thursday.

I have no official programming! Hooray! So I will be wandering the show floor, seeing people, spending money, and remembering that I am a fan first, and an unstoppable alien terror second.

Friday.

The Orbit Books Panel. 2:45 PM, Room W603. Come join me and a host of other Orbit authors as we talk about the company, our works, and our plans for the future. Also whether harvesting the humans of Earth for food is really a sustainable invasion practice.

Saturday.

Signing at University Books. 3:00 PM, Booth 5100. Come get things signed! I like signing things.

Sunday.

Crafting Characters in Science Fiction and Fantasy. 12:00 PM, Room W603. A good story is nothing without great characters, and this couldn’t be truer when it comes to the tales woven in science fiction and fantasy books. Come and hear authors Peter Orullian (Trial of Intentions), Seanan McGuire (October Daye, InCryptid), Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicles), Peter Brett (The Demon Cycle), and Bob Proehl (A Hundred Thousand Worlds) talk about what goes into creating a great literary character. Moderated by Paul Constant of the Seattle Review of Books. Y'all, I am super excited about this: Bob Proehl's A Hundred Thousand Worlds is one of the best books I've read so far in 2016.

Signing. 1:15 PM, Autographing Table 29. We'll sign things!

Hope to see you at the con!

It's time for Minicon, the annual convention of the Minnesota Science Fiction Society! I am this year's Guest of Honor, and I'm feeling fancy. So where can you find me?

Thursday.

Guest of Honor Reception, 8:00 PM, Ballroom. Come and meet the guests! Including me! Except a lot of blank smiling and hand-shaking, since I will still be all turned around after my flight from California. It's a party!

Friday.

It's Tough To Be An Introvert These Days: Promotion in the Days of Social Media, 5:30 PM, Ver 3/4. Ahem: "Artists in many fields and are notoriously introverted, but must be able to promote themselves on social media. How has social media changed the promotion of a creator's work? What are some effective strategies for self-promotion that don't feel like self-aggrandizement? What's so bad about self-aggrandizement?" So basically, it's the "how to talk about yourself when it makes you uncomfortable" panel. Yay!

Opening Ceremonies, 7:00 PM, Ballroom. LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN.

How to Survive a Horror Movie, 10:00 PM, Krushenko's. "Well now you've gone and done it, or somebody in your Scooby gang has ... you're now in the middle of a monster movie plot. How do you avoid doing something incredibly stupid that is going to result in making you a tasty, late-night snack? What gear do you need to scrounge up to be able to make it until daybreak? Should you split up (duh)?" Apparently, no one told these nice folks that the best way not to survive a horror movie was to refuse to let me sleep.

Saturday.

Seanan McGuire's Kaffee Klatsch, 10:00 AM, Bar. Okay. The blurb I have for this says "in conversation." Around here, "in conversation" means something specific, and this is not that. This is a Kaffee Klatsch. Sign up if you want to talk to me, in the company of a small group of people, for about an hour. Please do not sign up if you want to attend an "In Conversation...", as this is not that. I'm sorry.

GoH Interview, 11:30AM, Ver 3/4. I dunno who's interviewing me.

Psi Phy - Mental-Based Superpowers in Comics, 2:30 PM, Krushenko's. Quote: "Psionics used to be huge in written SF, but appeared to drop in popularity in the late 20th century. However, in graphic media such as X-Men, psionic concepts such as Professor Xavier's telepathy and Psylocke's psychokinesis are readily accepted. Was this due to the counterculture of the 1960s when such stories originated, rites of passage for teens, or something else?" Thrill as I try to make people's heads explode with my mind.

Parasitology, 5:30 PM, Krushenko's. "Parasites! Parasites! Parasites! Micro-organisms! What are the pros and cons of having a microbial symbiont in a person? What defines a parasites? How much knowledge do we not have about parasites? What's the difference between a parasite, a virus, a symbiote, and bacteria? Probiotics and Antibiotics fight it out! Two microbes enter! One parasite leaves!" I...what?

What's to Love About Horror?, 10:00 PM, Krushenko's. "It can be argued that horror is one of the more maligned sub-genres of SF. Why is it so underloved? What do horror fans enjoy about a scary story? What makes a good horror story? Why is dark fantasy still relevant, and how do the monsters of an era reflect culture? Which tropes still work, and which tropes need to be bludgeoned with an ax?" I'm not sure if this is "let's give them lots of room in the panel topic," or whether it's "let's see who hits who with a chair first."

Sunday.

Mermaids, Sirens, Selkies, and Other Water Creatures and Spirits, 10:30 AM, Krushenko's. "Oceanic water creatures have captured the imagination of humans since antiquity, as well as fresh lake mythological creatures. What are the differences between types of water spririts, such as Naiads, Nereids, and Rusalka? Why have some been portrayed as benign and others as dangerous?" Does it live in the ocean? Yes? THEN IT CAN DROWN YOU DO NOT ANNOY IT.

Interact with the Fae? Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!, 1:30 PM, Krushenko's. "What are faeries? What are the rules of proper interaction with members of the Fae, especially the Seelie and Unseelie Courts? What types of behavior are especially condemned by the Fair Folk? What means of protection can mere mortals use? How does a creator make meaningful interactions for fae?" I am not responsible if you come to this panel and then get yourself turned into a donkey.

Closing Ceremonies, 3:00 PM, Ballroom. I'mma nap on stage.

Sometimes sitting on news is hard.

I mean, part of my job involves not telling people things until I'm given permission. I'm bad at remembering who I've said what to, and so usually, I just tell people everything, sometimes eleven times; that isn't always an option these days. I have to accept that it's not lying when I refuse to talk about embargoed information. Sometimes I have to accept that it's not lying even when it is, when people go "hey, do you know anything about ________?" and then respond to "I'm not allowed to say" with a smug grin and a "that means yes!"

Silence doesn't always mean "yes," but sometimes people thinking they've tricked me into saying something one way or another can mean that the thing doesn't happen, because now I've run my mouth off and can't be trusted and so I'm off the project. So I sit on news, and I say nothing whenever possible, and I tell absence of information lies when I'm backed into a corner, and I twitch a lot.

Here's my latest point of twitchy goodness:

HOLY SHIT Y'ALL I'M A SPECIAL GUEST AT THE 2016 SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL COMIC-CON!!!!!!!!

Me! A Special Guest! At the con I've been attending since I was sixteen! Me! I AM A FANCY LADY AND I AM MAKING A NOISE THAT ONLY BATS CAN HEAR!!!

Sitting on this one was hard. But wow, was it worth it.

Next weekend will find me in Dallas, Texas, where I'll be appearing alongside my beloved John Scalzi as Guest of Honor at ConDFW! Updates to the schedule will appear on the website (and may not appear here, depending on my internet access), but here's my basic plan:

Friday.

3:00PM, Madison: "Google Maps is Your Urban Fantasy Guide." Join me, along with Gloria Oliver (M), Paul Black, Sue Sinor, and Bradley H. Sinor, as we talk about finding the perfect location for an urban fantasy story. I know none of these people, and I'll still be adjusting to a new time zone, so this should be fun!

5:00PM, Jefferson: "Reading." Right. Apparently, I'm going to "treat" people with a reading from my work. Given how much I hate readings, this is unlikely to actually happen; show up and see what I do instead!

7:00PM, Jefferson: "Opening Ceremonies!" John Scalzi and I get into a slap fight while the con chair tries in vain to control us.

Saturday.

10:00AM, Jefferson: "Don't Quit Your Day Job!" This is a con that loves its exclamation points. Join me, Marshall Ryan Maresca (M), Kathy Turski, Rachael Acks, Melia Newman, and Sue Sinor as we talk about what actually goes into earning a living in a creative field, and what's necessary to survive until that happens.

12:00PM, The Gallery: Signing. I will just be signing. Things. If there's not a filk dealer, this will also be where I sell CDs out of my backpack.

2:00PM, Jefferson: "Q&A with Seanan McGuire." Someone I have never met is going to ask me questions! Because that never goes poorly for anyone!

4:00PM, Jefferson: "Magic vs Technology II: Exploring Technology in Urban Fantasy." This is part two of a panel where part one happened last year, so I'm going to, I don't know, horn in on the party and maybe take a nap beneath the table? Or build a rocket out of paperclips, I guess. Come see me get confused.

6:00PM, Jackson: "Celebrity Artemis." I get to drive a spaceship. Hopefully I can be the science officer. We'll find out!

Sunday.

12:00PM, Hamilton: "The Wand of Deus Ex Machina." Join me, Kristi Hutson (M), Michael Ashleigh Finn, Paul Black, and Bradley H. Sinor as we talk about that time one of my high school GMs wouldn't let my character have a machete, even though you could totally buy one at the local flea market for five dollars, so he was just being a jerk because I wouldn't go out with him.

2:00PM, Hamilton: "Location, Location, Location: House of Horrors." Join me, Katherine Sanger (M), Michelle Muenzler, Aaron de Orive, and Jeff Dawson as we talk about scary places. Like that awesome abandoned slaughterhouse in Tuscon, AZ, where I made my GoH handler take me before dinner.

3:00PM, Jefferson: "Intelligence is Overrated." Thrill as I probably miss what sounds like a really interesting panel about protagonist psychology to run for the airport!

Will I see you at the con?

It's time for CHESSIECON! I will be found this coming weekend in scenic (and increasingly chilly) Maryland, doing my con thing along with some of my favorite humans, including Ursula Vernon, Tamora Pierce, and the lovely ladies of Lady Mondegreen! Where can I be found? Well...

Friday.

Reading: Seanan McGuire 3:00 GS3-5
Signing: Seanan McGuire 4:15 GS3-5
Different Strategies for Attracting Female Readers 6:45 GS3-5
Questions From a Hat 8:00 GS3-5

What will I read? No one knows! What will I sign? Whatever you put in front of me! What the hell is "Questions From a Hat"? WE'RE GONNA FIND OUT.

Saturday.

Seanan and Ursula Have a Chat (Maybe About Frogs) 11:15 GS3-5
In Conversation with Seanan McGuire 1:45 GS3-5
Concert: Lady Mondegreen 5:30 GS3-5
Group Book/Art/CD Signing 6:45 Atrium

Apparently, I am going to talk a lot. And then I'm going to sing! This will be the first time the three founding members of Lady Mondegreen have performed together on stage since 2007. So come see the trainwreck!

Sunday.

KaffeeKlatch: Seanan McGuire 11:15 C6
A Princess With a Sword Is Still a Princess: Modern Adaptations of Fairy Tales Sunday 12:30 GS3-5

...it's gonna be a fun con, and I hope to see many of you there. I will have a limited number of albums for sale (limited because I can only carry so much).

This weekend I'm pleased to be appearing at CONtraflow 5/DeepSouthCon 53, alongside Julie Dillon, Robert Sawyer, and many others—including one variation of my musical swarm: Dr. Mary Crowell, Bill and Brenda Sutton, and more!

My schedule is as follows:

Opening Ceremonies, Friday, 5pm, Event 1
The Scariest Movie I've Ever Seen, Friday, 10pm, Panel Room 2
Saturday Concert, Saturday, 12pm, Event 1
In Conversation..., Saturday, 5pm, Panel Room 4
Speculative Poetry, 8pm, Panel Room 3, Saturday
Good Habits of Successful Writers, 12pm, Event One, Sunday
Writing Urban Fantasy, Sunday, 3pm, Panel Room 4

I don't have panel descriptions, but those seem pretty self-explanatory, and it should be a rousing good time. Plus, New Orleans! Who could ask for anything more?

I hope to see you there!

Having survived 2014, which was supposed to be the Rising (curse you, zombie apocalypse, for not happening on schedule), it's time to return to San Diego, California for the annual San Diego Comic-Con, a pop culture gathering of ridiculous and sometimes painful proportions. Running into someone you're looking for by chance is hard, so here's where to find me!

Thursday.

I'm Sleeping With the Lights On: Horror and Thriller Authors Discussion. 4:00pm, Room 25ABC.

Horror and thriller novels have an amazing way of keeping readers up at night. Whether it is demons and zombies, from the historical settings to the seemingly mundane, authors find bone-chilling ways to make sure the reader keeps turning the pages. Join Del Howison, owner of Dark Delicacy Bookstore, as he chats with distinguished horror and thriller writers J.T. Ellison, Kevin P. Keating, Matthew Reilly, Mira Grant (that's me!), Diana Rowland, and Robert Brockway about what motivates them to scare you.

Signing. 5:30pm, Autographing Area AA09.

Friday.

Signing. 3:00pm, Hachette Book Group Booth 1116.

Saturday.

Monster High. 11:30am, Room 5AB.

I am not on this panel, but I am attending it, and woe betide any who trouble me while I am in my happy toy place.

Signing. 2:00pm, Penguin Book Group Booth 1520.

This is a signing to promote the upcoming anthology Press Start to Play. Several authors will be appearing, including Hugh Howey, as will the editor. We may have early copies of the book; I don't know. (My contribution is an InCryptid story, if that sweetens the pot.)

Choosing The Best Publishing Path for Your Manuscript: Traditional, Small Press, or Self-Publishing. 7:00pm, Room 25ABC.

Authors Sarah J. Maas, Seanan McGuire, Cora Carmack, and Elizabeth Briggs, along with editor Adam Wilson (Simon & Schuster) and literary agent Holly Root (Waxman Leavell Literary Agency), discuss the various options for publishing fiction and how to determine what works for different genres. Moderated by author, former literary agent, and all-around publishing guru Nathan Bransford.

Sunday.

Signing. 12:00pm, Mysterious Galaxy Books Booth 1119.

As always, I am susceptible to bribery: I'm looking for this year's Monster High and Ever After High con exclusives, and while I only need one of each, I would really like to get two MH and three EAH, for the sake of people who have asked me to get them dolls. So please feel free to show up with toys, for which I will gladly give you both money and praise, and maybe other goodies, depending on when you catch me.

San Diego!

BayCon is here! I am now officially the only person to have been BayCon Guest of Honor, Toastmistress, and Con Chair! It's a useless accomplishment!

So where can you see me?

Friday.

Opening Ceremonies, 10am. Come see us open the con!

Fan Guest of Honor interview, 10:30am. Thrill as I interview Caradwen Braskat-Arellanes. Because I can.

Breadth of Filk, 1:30pm. Quote, "Just as fanzines has escaped from its fannish roots, filk songs can now cover topics outside of science fiction and fantasy, such as cats, popular culture, and politics. The panelists discuss where you can find filk outside of cons." So, uh...filk!

Meet the Guests, 7pm. We exist!

Saturday.

Writer GoH Interview, 10am. Amber is going to interview me. This should be fascinating.

Researching your Biotech Thriller, 1pm. Quote: "A popular sub-genre that often gets published as mainstream fiction but ought to be viewed as science fiction is the biotechnology thriller, exemplified by Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. The panelists talk about the behind-the-scenes research that goes into making fictional biotech believable." SCIENCE!

Biology of Mythical Creatures, 2:30pm. Quote: "The storytellers who originally invented the mythical creatures of legend didn't have an understanding of biology, genetics, or evolution. When writing a mythical creature into a new story for a modern audience, how far does a writer have to go in re-imagining the creature's biological backstory? Does providing biological details add to the story, or does it throw off readers because those details clash with their expectations? What are some successful examples of mixing realistic biology with mythic animals?"

Variety Show, 7pm. There will be a variety! It will show!

Sunday.

Toastmistress Interview, 11:30am. Now I get to interview Amber! Mwahaha!

Short Stories, 2pm. It'll be short!

Constructing Urban Fantasy, 4pm. I'll build some stuff.

Concert, 8:15pm. I will be taking the stage with Paul Kwinn. Come hear us sing some stuff.

Here we go again, happy people: tomorrow I shall board a big metal sky-bird and soar away to Colorado, land without air, to serve as faculty for this year's Pike's Peak Writer's Conference.

If you're attending, I very much hope to see you there. If you're not attending, I will be very surprised if I see you there. If you see me there, and I seem a little woozy, it's just the altitude sickness; please don't tell me to drink more water, as I may throw up on you.

Colorado time!

I am in England! It is...very early in the morning here. This is because I have the jetlag. Please treat gently with me until at least noon o'clock, by which time I will hopefully have consumed ever so much caffeine.

Friday.

Opening Ceremony, 1:45pm-2:45pm. We have a convention. We'd like to break the seal and get things started. Jim's flight has been delayed, so I may be acting as his understudy. Come see me pretend to be Jim Butcher!

The Things We Learned From Pratchett: An Exploration of Fantasy, Story Telling and Ethics, 3:00pm-4:00pm. I am going to miss Terry Pratchett very much. Come miss him with us.

A Modern Bestiary? "Impossible creatures as the focus of literature and art", 5:30pm-6:30pm. BEASTIES! Come talk about beasties, and try to keep me from talking about Pokemon. It's a fun challenge.

Saturday.

Watching the Detectives, 11:15am-12:15pm. Jim will still be jetlagged. I will not. Come see if I am capable of playing nicely with the other children.

Kaffeeklatsch, 1:45pm-2:45pm. Just me and up to ten fans talking informally about my writing. And Pokemon.

The Brains Trust: A Panel of the Living Dead, 4:15pm-5:15pm. Zombies! With MIKE CAREY! Come watch me try not to fangirl. IT WILL BE HARD.

Concert, 8:00pm-until we stop. Me, Talis, and Playing Rapunzel, sharing a stage! Well. We hope. I seem to have acquired a cough on the plane. So I may be a very quiet partcipant.

Sunday.

Truth, Justice, and the Home Office, 11:15am-12:15pm. Yay I get to hang out with Charlie for an hour and it's work!

In Conversation With Seanan McGuire, 3:00pm-4:00pm. It's a daytime edition, which means less swearing, more Pokemon.

Monday.

Faeries, 11:15am-12:15pm. Me. Jim Butcher. Fae. What could possibly go wrong.

Not for the Squeamish, 1:45pm-2:45pm. Let's talk about medical science!

There will also be closing ceremonies, as what has been opened must be closed. I hope to see you there!

For justice!

I will be a Special Guest at the upcoming Emerald City Comic-Con (ECCC). But where, you may wonder, will that put me?

Friday.

Signing. 12:00-1:00PM, location TBA. Me, Myke Cole, and Django Wexler will be signing copies of Operation Arcana, the new, awesome military SF anthology from John Joseph Adams

Hard Sci-Fi Made Easy. 1:30-2:20PM, Hall B (WSCC 602-603), moderated by John Lovett. Join me, Sarah Remy, Dave Boop, and Kevin J. Anderson as we have a SCIENCE PARTY. To be followed by a signing at JJ 10/11. Books will be available for sale from the University Bookstore, located at booth 2803.

Saturday.

Defense Against the Dark ARCs: Dealing With Trolls, Controversy and Criticism. 3:30-4:20PM, Hall B (WSCC 602-603). I will be discussing the darker side of life in the Internet age, alongside Emma Michaels, Patrick Rothfuss, Isaac Marion, and Heather Reasby. To be followed by a signing at JJ 10/11. Books will be available for sale from the University Bookstore, located at booth 2803. Up against the Rat Queens social club, so I will totally not blame you if you're not there.

Sunday.

Transmedia Storytelling. 12:30-1:20PM, Hall B (WSCC 602-603), moderated by John Lovett. It's the transmedia panel! Join me, Holly Black, Frank Beddor, and Myke Cole, and thrill as Holly and I insist that talking about our cats for an hour is TOTALLY TRANSMEDIA. To be followed by a signing at JJ 10/11. Books will be available for sale from the University Bookstore, located at booth 2803. (I cannot recommend picking up Holly's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown strongly enough.)

When not on a panel, I can usually be found at my table, located at KK10, right between Myke Cole and Isaac Marion. Look for the mantis shrimp hair if you're not sure which one of us is me.

If you can't find me, why not visit some of my friends and colleagues and favorite humans?

Amy Mebberson and James Silvani will be at I-09, and taking commissions daily.
Espionage Cosmetics will be at 303 / 2811—visit them for awesome nail wraps, including Mira Grant designs!
Optimystical Studios will be at 306, and will have new, original, highly limited Toby Daye and InCryptid jewelry.
Unicorn Empire will be at 1221, with great fannish designs.
Kory Bing will be at 310, and has all the InCryptid Field Guide post cards available for sale.
Dylan Meconis will be with Erica Moen at 1318; visit them both for big wows.
Girl Genius will be at 704, for SCIENCE.
Randy Milholland will be with Danielle Corsetto at 1312. I like Randy. He sends me cat pictures. Adore him.

Torrey, who allows me to use her kitchen, would like me to also remind you all that Comic Book Characters For Causes will be doing photo ops to raise money for Camp GoodTimes this year. Camp GoodTimes is a no-cost summer camp for children with cancer, and it's a great cause. Meet an awesome superhero (and there's a cornucopia to choose from), have your picture taken by a professional photographer, and be able to tell anyone who thinks that shot of you and Captain Marvel is a little weird that you did it for charity. They also have calendars and T-shirts for sale, and can be found at the Cospitality Lounge, located in the Skybridge Lobby. Do good with do-gooders this year.

FRIDAY.

I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue, 4:00 PM, Lilac C. The antidote to panel games. Two teams enjoy a battle of wits and are given silly things to do by the moderator. Come and place your bets on SF Squeecast versus SF Squeecast. With game host Heath Miller. Me, Heath, Lynne and Michael Thomas, Catherynne Valente, all the fucks I have to give. ALL THE FUCKS.

Opening Ceremonies, 7:00 PM, Junior Ballroom BC. Quote, "Don't miss out on this rare chance to see all of our Guests together in one room! Join us as we kick off the convention weekend!" So, you know, there we shall be.

ISFiC Press Book Launch Party , 9:00 PM, ISFiC Suite. Come by for the official release of the SF Squeecast's new anthology from
ISFiC Press, Harvest Season. The authors will be there and there will be cake. What's not to like? Also, this is the best place to obtain our brand new book, with a brand new Fighting Pumpkins story! Hooray!

SATURDAY.

SF Squeecast Podcast, 11:30 AM, Grand Ballroom GH. We're recording the Squeecast! You can come and watch! It'll be fun, we promise.

Reading, 2:00 PM, Boardroom. I'm reading stuff. I'm probs reading from Harvest Season. Come and read along!

Seanan McGuire & Friends Live In Concert, 4:00 PM, Junior Ballroom BC. Did you know I was a musician? Did you know I knew a lot of musicians? Did you know I was dating a musician, who will probably have to fiddle the Devil for my soul very soon? Yeah. Come see the concert, maybe buy some CDs and T-shirts, enjoy music, watch Amy make the fiddle-bliss face. It'll be fun! It will also be followed immediately by Bill and Brenda Sutton in concert, so hey, you don't have to move again until it's time for Barfleet!

SUNDAY.

Autographs, 11:00 AM, Autographing Tables. I am signing! I am signing with P.D. Anderson, J.L. Nye, and M. Resnick. Yay!

Closing Ceremonies, 2:00 PM, Junior Ballroom BC. Again, to quote: "This is your last chance to see all of our amazing guests. The party award winners will be announced, and you will find out what we have in store for you next year!" See you there!

I'm about to go and be a Guest of Honor at SHAMROKON, the Irish Eurocon, held in scenic Dublin, Ireland! I hope to see you there; if you're not already planning to attend, you probably aren't going to do it on a whim, because it's a long flight from many places. So, well...if you're not coming, you will be missed, and here's all the fun we're going to have!

Friday.

Filk Warmup for the Terrified, 4:00-5:00pm, D. Ulster (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

An intro and warmup session for people who would like to stand up and perform but would like some guidance first. Me and Tim Griffin and stuff about filk!

Opening Ceremony, 6:00-7:00pm, A. Pembroke (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

We're at the con, so we better get this party started! Brian Nisbet (M), Michael Carroll, Jim Fitzpatrick, Gareth Kavanagh, Seanan McGuire, Andrzej Sapkowski, James Shields, Ylva Spångberg. I have no idea what we're going to do to open the con. Maybe there will be a can opener. It's anybody's guess!

Probably gonna have a concert in here. I will post the exact time when I know what it is. Which is sort of terrifying, given that the convention is, you know. Tomorrow.

Late Night Conversation with Seanan, 11:00pm-12:00am, D. Ulster (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

Quoth the con: "Join one of our Guests of Honour, Seanan McGuire, for a casual chat, touching on Zombies, Tumblr, Pokemon, filk, parties and everything inbetween. Bring a drink and an open mind!" I'mma touch stuff. Touchy touchy.

Saturday.

Guest of Honour Interview, 2:00-4:00pm, A. Pembroke (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

I'm going to be interviewed by Janet O'Sullivan! I have no idea how this is going to play out! Maybe I will eat her! Come see for yourself.

Pseudonyms, 5:00-6:00pm, D. Ulster (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

Pseudonyms, anonymous publications and pen names have been a part of SF&F writing ever since Frankenstein was published anonymously. Sometimes they're an open secret to aid branding (eg Mira Grant) and sometimes they're a secret to allow a work to be judged on its own merits (JK Rowling). Ann VanderMeer (M), Laura Anne Gilman, Seanan McGuire.

Jamming Session, 8:00pm-12:00am, C. Munster (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

Tim Griffin and I are apparently doing a jam session. I don't know. Maybe we're making jam. I like jam.

Sunday.

Guest of Honour Signing Session, 10:00-11:30am, A. Pembroke (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

Mass guest of honor signing! Woo!

The Zombie Infection, 1:00-2:00pm, E. Room 1/2 (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

It's spread from film, to books and comics, to songs, to board games, dice games, video games. A look at the cross genre infection, and how each genre is effected by it and what it brings to the brain buffet.

Genre Toys, 3:00-4:00pm, D. Ulster (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

Warning: I'mma talk about Monster High.

Closing Ceremony, 6:00-7:00pm, A. Pembroke (Double Tree by Hilton Dublin Burlington Road).

The end of the convention, where the winners of the ESFS awards and the Golden Blasters will be announced, and trophies will be given out. Victory and survival!

It's almost time for Loncon, Worldcon in London! Hooray! I was so excited when this convention won the bid, and I'm still excited now. But where am I gonna beeeeeeee?

Thursday.

What's In A Name? 4:30PM, Capital Suite 7+12 (ExCeL). Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb, Iain (M) Banks, Tom/Thomas Holt, James SA Corey, Mazarkis Williams: many people publish under pseudonyms, some more subtle than others. Why do writers opt for a pen-name? Why do some have more than one? How important is "branding" to marketing genre fiction, and what role do genre and gender divides play in the decision? Basically, it's "why are you Mira Grant: the panel."

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue 10:00PM, Capital Suite 7+12 (ExCeL). Two teams of fans/authors enjoy a battle of wits, and are given silly things to do by their chairman, Lee Harris. Games include: One Song to the Tune of Another, Sound Charades and Mornington Crescent. The con's obsession with scheduling me on late night panels begins.

Friday.

Literary Beer 2:00PM, The Bar (ExCeL). Literary beers are like koffeeklatches with beer instead of coffee. Sign up if you plan to attend!

Signing 7:30PM, Capital Suite 16 (ExCeL). Because I am bad at reading train schedules, this is my only signing of the weekend.

Saturday.

Girl Scientists 1:30PM, Capital Suite 13 (ExCeL). Lise Meitner, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin: women have always made a major contribution to science, even if they didn't always get the credit. But how does YA fiction approach female characters with an interest in science? Does YA fiction contribute to, or challenge, stereotyped beliefs about girls and science? What are the best examples, and the worst? Are girl scientists best presented as exceptional, or the norm? And does girl's science have to be pink? SCIENCE.

Seanan McGuire and Dead Sexy in Concert 10:00PM, Capital Suite 7+12 (ExCeL). Me. Dr. Mary Crowell. Amy McNally. Bill and Brenda Sutton. Michelle Dockrey. ALL THE POWERS OF HEL—er, some really rockin' music. Be there or be surprised when our wave of might sweeps over the con and obliterates all in its path.

Sunday.

Authors Accept, Encourage, and Create Fan Works Too 11:00AM, Capital Suite 7+12 (ExCeL). Fanfiction, fan art, and other forms of transformative works can be a sensitive topic with authors understandably having mixed reactions to works based on their creations. In this session four successful authors embrace forms of creative (not-for-profit!) ouput based upon their works. They discuss the benefits and difficulties of having fans creatively engage with their material. Beyond that they openly talk about their own experiences with fan works, whether they have written, still write, or read fanfiction or produce other forms of fan works.

Seanan Leaves For Disneyland Paris 1:00PM, Later Gators. That whole "I can't read schedules" thing? Yeah, I bought non-refundable tickets on the train to Disneyland. I paid enough for them that I'm missing the Hugos (Sunil will be attending as my representative). I would feel worse about this, but...Disneyland. If I win, through some strange whim of fate, Sunil will get to read a speech that opens with "Seanan is already on her way to Disneyland." I find this awesome.

London! I'm gonna eat so much cheese!

It's almost time for the San Diego International Comic Convention, and you know what that means: I am busier than a chicken with a field full of caterpillars to devour, and it's time for me to tell you where to find me. Since otherwise, well...it does not bear thinking of.

Wednesday.

Preview night begins with a bang, and I'll be there the whole time! I am going to be in a wheelchair again, for the duration of this convention, because otherwise I won't survive. I'll have some fun prizes for the first few people to find me during the con. I also have a request: namely, I did not successfully get this year's Monster High two-pack during the pre-sale, and I am not going to be terribly mobile (see again, wheelchair).

If you find yourself in the Mattel line, and if you feel like picking up a two-pack (or two, since I like to unbox one and keep one mint-in-box) for me, I will gladly pay you back. Note that I am making this request because I don't want to pay scalper prices: I'm happy to negotiate some signed books, or mailing you some CDs after the con, but I really am hoping to find a kind soul who's already going through the line and will grab them for me at cost. Don't worry about being Kind Soul #2: I will totally buy as many two-packs as people bring me, because I have nieces and friends who collect.

Bring on...

Thursday.

Orbit booth signing, 11:00am. I/Mira Grant will be signing at the Orbit booth at 11:00am! I don't know what they'll be giving away vs. what they'll be selling, but I will also sign books you bring with you. Big fun!

When Magic & Myth Meet Main Street, 3:00pm. Join me, Amber Benson, Jim Butcher, Richard Kadrey, Thomas Sniegoski, and Greg van Eekhout as we discuss urban fantasy and why it's AWESOME. Room 25ABC, to be followed by a signing in the Autographing Area.

Friday.

Penguin booth signing, 11:00am. I'll be signing at the Penguin Booth, along with some other awesome authors, and you should totally come. There may be cool surprises...

Saturday.

The Art of Fear, 2:30pm. It's time to get creepy. Join me, G. Michael Hopf, Katherine Howe, April Genevieve Tucholke, Brenna Yovanoff, and James Rollins as we talk about what scares us, and what should scare you. Room 8, to be followed by a signing in the Autographing Area.

California Browncoats booth signing, 11:00am. One last signing to finish out the weekend and make everybody's morning a little more terrifying.

Mind you, all this assumes that we're going to survive the Rising; events may be canceled at any time as zombies eat us all.

Even as a zombie, I will still want those dolls.

Every year around this time, someone says to me "Gosh, I've never been to the San Diego International Comic Convention before. I don't see what the big deal is. I really don't believe it's as big as everybody tries to make me think it is." And every year, I smack myself in the head and update this guide and pray for their survival.

Since I've been posting these obsessively-detailed Guides to Comic-con on a yearly basis for some time now, I strongly suspect these people are being aimed at me. But since I love you all (those of you I know, anyway; I am well-inclined by amiably indifferent toward those of you who just came in out of the cold), and want you to have the best convention experience you possibly can, I have once again updated my Handy-Dandy Survival Guide to the San Diego International Comic Convention. See? It's handy and dandy, and that means it must be good! This guide includes tips on:

* Reaching the convention alive.
* Getting a hotel room.
* Enjoying/surviving the con.
* Things to do at the con.
* Eating food.
* Staying healthy and sane.
* Not getting killed by your friends.
* Budgeting.
* Bathing.

It is also heavily biased toward my own opinions on all these things, because hello, totally me. But I'm honest about my biases, and I'll be factual whenever it's fact, rather than opinion. (In short, don't expect me to falsify hotel room rates to suit my own ideas of "fair," but don't expect me to recommend a good Thai place, either.)

Ready? Okay!

( Click here for Seanan's handy-dandy Comic-con survival guide! Read and be enlightened in all the ways that matter, which is to say, all the ways that Seanan actually thought of. Freshly updated for 2014.Collapse )

Tomorrow morning I shall rise, bright and early, and head for the airport, where a plane will be waiting to take me (and a bunch of strangers, that being the way of air travel) away to glorious Minnesota, where the state bird, the mosquito, will no doubt be waiting to carry me away.

Why am I going to Minnesota? Why, 4th Street Fantasy, of course. My schedule for the weekend:

Friday.

I will be doing the Writer's Seminar all day. Now, since this starts at 9am, and I will be several hours ahead of my normal time zone, I do not promise coherency before around noon. But hey, that's where some of the best advice comes from, right?

Saturday.

Originality and Micro-genre, 9:30am. To quote the con: "Readers who are versed in a sub-genre and its conventions can find what outsiders see as minor variations on a theme to be significant and original differences. How does this relate to the frequently expressed desire among critics for originality and ambition, and how is the perception of originality informed by the breadth/focus of readers' experiences?" To quote me: "Why do you hate sleep?"

Sunday.

Influence, Tropes, and Prior Art, 11:30am. To quote the con: "Authors who came before them influence nearly every author. Is it easier to be influenced by certain styles of work, or in certain ways? To what extent do we model our works on existing texts or narrative templates, and how often are those influences visible when reading the finished product?" To quote me: "Hooray! Sleep!"

So this should be a super-fun weekend, and all the programming looks great. Plus you'll get to see me in a sleep-deprived haze, and that's gonna be awesome. Hope to see you there!

It's almost time for Phoenix Comic Con, and that means it's time for the Arizona Edition of Where's Seanan? Whee!

Friday.

Improbable Dystopias, 10:30–11:30AM, North 131
What makes some worlds believable and others not? Is there any point to setting the whole sky on fire? Panelists: Janni Lee Simner, Jason Hough, Laini Taylor, Pierce Brown, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant.

Signing, 11:30AM, Mysterious Galaxy Table 2526

Comedy's Hard—The Secrets of How and When to be Funny, 1:30–2:30PM, Sheraton Valley of the Sun
Writing humor is a difficult trick. Come listen to some of Phoenix Comicon's author guests who make it look easy and find out their secrets to getting laughs into a story. I'll probably tell stick jokes. Panelists: Gini Koch, Jim Butcher, John Scalzi, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, Wesley Chu.

Deadlands: The Weird West's Wild Future, 4:30–5:30PM, North 127ab
Hear about all the news happening about the weird western RPG Deadlands about to be turned into an Xbox TV Series. Why am I on this panel? You'll have to show up to find out. Panelists: Charles Sellner, Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, Shane Hensley.

Paul and Storm Concert, 8:30–10:30PM, North Ballroom 120
Join the musical comedy duo Paul and Storm (Geek & Sundry's LearningTown) for a concert event with authors that you won't want to miss. Joining in will be NYT bestselling authors Patrick Rothfuss, John Scalzi, and Seanan McGuire with other special guests. YEAH YOU READ THAT RIGHT I AM PERFORMING WITH PAUL AND STORM WOO WE'RE GONNA TEAR IT UP AND MAYBE SET SOME SHIT ON FIRE WOO!!!!

Saturday.

Using Zombies or Something Like Them, 10:30–11:30AM, North 126bc
Authors who make use of zombies or creatures like them discuss their take on the creatures. Because that never leads to bloodshed. Panelists: David Wellington, Jason Hough, Joseph Nassise, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, Tom Leveen, Weston Ochse.

SF Squeecast Panel, 1:30–2:30PM, West 212
Join the SF Squeecast and their special guest for an hour of fannish squee and delight over the latest cool stuff in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Maybe this will be the time when I finally unhinge my jaw and sing the song that ends the world. Panelists: Catherynne Valente, Charlaine Harris, Elizabeth Bear, Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant.

Signing, 3:00 pm, Signing Table VIP20

Sunday.

Supernatural Elements in Contemporary Fantasy, 10:30–11:30AM, Sheraton Valley of the Sun
Authors discuss what goes into deciding the supernatural elements that surface in their paranormal variations on the real world. They say there's a panel here, but then they put me and Amber and Charlaine together, so we're probably just gonna tell filthy stories for an hour. Panelists: Amber Benson, Charlaine Harris, Chuck Wendig, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, Weston Ochse.

Author Chicks Who Dig Time Lords, 1:30–2:30PM, North 131
Join contiributors to Chicks Dig Time Lords and Chicks Unravel Time as they discussed their love of Doctor Who and how it has influenced them in their careers. PS: It's a documentary. Panelists: Carole Barrowman, Catherynne Valente, Elizabeth Bear, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant.

Signing, 3:00 pm, Signing Table VIP20

I hope I see you all there!

Shirts.

Okay: it looks like there is sufficient interest in a second run of Wicked Girls shirts, and we will be doing a third run. The ordering period will run from May 31 through June 30, since that may allow me to receive and ship shirts before I leave for six weeks in Europe. (If it does not, we will explore other shipping options, including sending all the stock to Seattle and making Vixy ship it. That way, you should have your shirts before Halloween, which always strikes me as a good goal.) Details will be provided in the ordering post; please don't ask for them here.

Cats.

The cats have almost recovered from my last trip, which is nice. Alice is still prone to flinging herself into my lap while trilling dramatically, and it's rare for me to not have at least two of them in the room. Naturally, this means...

Cons.

...that it's time for me to head out again. I'll be at Phoenix Comic Con next weekend, having a splendid time, and—most exciting of all—performing with Paul and Storm. Yes! I get to perform with them! I am super-excited, and I really can't wait. I hope all of you who have the opportunity will come out and see us.

Albums.

I just sent in a restock of Wicked Girls to CD Baby. I know, right? They're only receiving seven copies, so if you've been waiting for the chance to order one, watch their site over the next week or so. They still have Stars Fall Home in stock, and I'm hoping they'll run out before I leave for Europe, so I can get that restocked as well. They make great gifts!

Posters.

I am still replying to email about posters. I'm about to run out of poster tubes, which is why it's going slowly; I don't want to receive payment and then go "sorry, it'll be a week before I can send you anything." On the plus side, yay demand. On the minus side, I can't magic up postal supplies yet. I do still have posters left, so if you'd been thinking about ordering, feel free to email me.

Godzilla.

I highly recommend the new movie. I have...thoughts...about it, but I really enjoyed every moment that Mr. Zils spent on the screen, King of Monstersing his way around. A+ kaiju would destroy again. Also now I want to write a kaiju novel. Dammit.

Cake Bake Betty.

Their new album, Songs About Teeth, is awesome. Like a femrock Ludo with folk influences.

That is all.

I'm Guest of Honor at NORWESCON, in beautiful Seattle, Washington! It's time for fun with crows, evergreens, and rain! If you're planning to be in the area, here's where you can find me throughout the weekend:

Thursday.

5:00pm, Guest of Honor Banquet. I am not on the menu! But I believe banquet tickets are still available, and you can put food in your face. Yum!

7:00pm, Opening Ceremonies. We are gonna open the shit out of this convention.

Friday.

1:00pm, Reading. I have copies of Sparrow Hill Road, and I'm not afraid to open them...

3:00pm, Feminism in Fandom. Let's play Bingo!

5:00pm, Lifetime Members' Banquet. Food. Again.

8:30pm, Vixy & Tony concert. Come see the ever-amazing Vixy & Tony in concert with Betsy Tinney and Sunnie Larsen, as well as musical aid from yours truly.

10:00pm (roughly), my concert. I'll be honest here: it's basically the same set-up. There's not going to be a hard line between us so much as "first set list is finished, we pause to pee, second set list begins." I highly recommend attending both. I'll have CDs, T-shirts, and posters for sale.

Saturday.

1:00pm, autograph session. I'll sign shit!

5:00pm, Q&A. Come with your Qs, I'll show you my As.

Sunday.

4:00pm, Closing Ceremonies. Find out who next year's guests will be! Watch this year's guests try not to pass out on the table! Good times.

Hope to see you there!

Well, here I am updating again to say that I'm leaving. This is becoming something of a habit. (I know exactly why. I didn't travel much for like, four years, so this year has become a whirlwind of going everywhere and seeing everything and trying to do it all without losing my grip on things like deadlines and word counts and TV schedules. It'll settle down soon enough. But right now, it seems like I only update this blog when I'm about to hit the ground running.)

And what a run it's going to be! I'm Guest of Honor at Norwescon next weekend, and will be spending the next week in Seattle rehearsing, writing up, and getting ready. This is a working trip, not a pleasure trip, so if I don't reach out to you going "hey let's hang," please don't take it personally; I need to get my balance before I have to be awesome for a paying audience. But I promise lots of awesome on the other end, even if I'll be wracked with guilt over leaving my cats for this long.

(Alice and Thomas continue well, and exceedingly fluffy. Lilly is getting a bad case of the Olds, and is not doing as great, but she endures, transitioning into that stage of life known as "fueled by hate" among Siamese lovers everywhere.)

I have not been seriously ill since leaving my day job, even though I have seriously exhausted myself several times. I'm not saying that correlation is causation in this case, but I think I can make a good case for the two being connected. Hooray for being out of the plague pit!

More to come.

1. This is the last day for the April tip jar! To tip me and keep the free fiction coming, PayPal to delirium@xocolatl.com. Fun for the whole family! (Things are tight all over; please believe me when I say that I do not resent anyone not tipping, and actually tend to forget names as soon as I finish processing transactions and updating the totals. So please, please don't worry that I'll be sad at you if you can't afford to tip. This is a thing I do because I was asked to, not because I think it's my due.)

2. If you're looking for a copy of Letters to the Pumpkin King, they are still available directly from NESFA, or by contacting Borderlands Books. There is no eBook, partially because a lot of the book is this blog. The original eBook!

3. I will be Guest of Honor at this year's Norwescon, in Seattle, Washington! I...flew home from Seattle so I could pack for Seattle. Why do I live in California, again?

4. Oh, right. My house is here. See you in two weeks, in Washington.

5. If you need to reach me, and it's important and needs a timely reply, please use my website contact form. Messages sent through LJ, Tumblr, or (shudder) Facebook may or may not be answered. (Also, it makes me sad that my spellcheck knows "Facebook" now. It still doesn't know "spellcheck.")

6. Sparrow Hill Road is out in less than a month! Woo, Rose!

And that is all.

Just a friendly reminder that you can see me and the ever-awesome Tim Powers this very weekend at FOGcon, in Walnut Creek, California. Enjoy a small convention atmosphere with awesome guests, awesome attendees, and a lot of awesome things to do. It's a trifecta of awesome, and I hope I get to see you there!

(Sadly, the cats do not enjoy car rides, so Thomas will not be making an appearance. But my mother will, and you know you want to meet her. She's a lot of fun.)

Yay, FOGcon!

Filk Continental happens in Germany. It happens in a castle. It is one of the only filk cons I have never attended, because it is very far away, and up until recently, I have had very limited vacation time.

It's still far away. But this year, I'm going...and I'm going as their Special Guest! Yes! After a year off, Filk Continental is gloriously returning, with Vixy & Tony as their Guests of Honor, and me as their Special Guest. A German appearance! A fantastic party! A glorious time!

October 3rd through 5th: the website and details are here: http://www.filkcontinental.de/fc/home/index.php.

I'm so excited!

It's almost time for Boskone! Because Boston is best in...February...when the snow is...um. Okay, I may have made a small tactical error, except no, because Boskone! So many awesome people will be there, and I will be there too!

But what will I be doing? Well...

Friday.

Bring Back My Favorite TV Show!, 5:00 PM.
Just A Minute, 7:00 PM.
Boskone Meet the Guests & Art Show Reception, 9:00 PM.

Because Friday is the day we re-define what it means to see me talk for three hours solid. But wait, there's more...

Saturday.

Killer Plagues, 11:00 AM.
Interview With Guest of Honor Seanan McGuire, 1:00 PM.

I'm being interviewed by Elizabeth Bear! That's how you know it's going to be a good interview: the interviewer knows me well, and has no qualms about asking me horrible questions.

Sunday.

A Literary Wonderland, 11:00 AM.
Autographing with Seanan McGuire & Melinda Snodgrass, 12:00 PM.
Kaffeeklatsche with Seanan McGuire, 1:00 PM.

This is going to be the most low-key kaffeeklatsche ever, and I hope to see you there.

...although I suppose that since these days my hair is dyed in a lovely "sunset over the cornfield" ombre, I should probably consider changing that title, huh? Nah. Shan't. I am who I am, and even if I dye my hair black and start being Mira full-time, I'll always be a blonde girl. So! Statuses and such.

Shipping.

I am in the process of packing prizes and purchases and presents to go into the mail. I had a rough couple of weeks, and didn't do the mail when I was supposed to, which means I have a truly daunting amount of mailing to do. I shall persevere, have no worries on that front! It helps that I just got a brand new Ikea shelf for the front room, to act as a shipping supplies/office supplies storage area. I am much more likely to actually cram things into envelopes and send them out in a timely manner if I have easy access to envelopes, rather than needing to rummage through half the back room to find the damn things. (This is part of the overall "declutter the house and make it more easily livable" plan that has been in process for the last month or two.)

Post-Hogswatch cleanup.

So quite a few people who are not regulars around here added me to their LJ friend lists during the Hogswatch festivities, which makes total sense, since who doesn't love a daily giveaway? And now they're subtracting me, sometimes with apologetic little notes, because the giveaways have ended. I just want to remind y'all that doing this is totally cool. I am a voluntary follow zone! Please un-friend me at will, and don't worry that you're going to hurt my feelings. Unless you belong to a very short list of people, all of whom are dear friends who have known me for ages, I will not be upset. I'd be more upset if I learned that you had forced yourself to stick around out of obligation, and consequentially become sad.

Prepping for Boskone!

My first official appearance of the new year will be at Boskone, a Boston-based science fiction convention where I will be appearing as the author Guest of Honor, and more, where my first ever collection of essays and poetry, Letters to the Pumpkin King, will be released. I haven't seen the cover yet, but I'm sure it's going to be gorgeous. More, it's an opportunity to own the contents of my first two (severely out of print) chapbooks. So that's cool. Boskone will be held over Valentine's Day weekend in Boston, Massachusetts, and I hugely recommend swinging by if you're in the area and want to hear me blather about whatever the con winds up telling me to blather on about.

My icon.

Something new is coming in 2014. Step right up and try your luck; a dollar and a quarter buys an all-night pass. Details to come: watch this space for news (but don't bother asking me now, for I won't answer, no, not at all).

Cats.

Mom ran the shop vac on Saturday, to prep for the new Ikea cabinet I mentioned before, and the cats flipped their shit as only cats can do. Two days later, we still feel the echoes of the epic shit-flip. Thomas has been doing sock slides in the hall, Alice is a ball of bale, and Lilly keeps getting confused by the way things have moved, sitting down in the middle of the floor, and keening.

Cats are complicated, and I can't find the reset switch, is what I'm saying here.

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Or ride our bikes around the hall?

Hey, people of Earth (and parts beyond)! Remember that this coming weekend I will be the Author Guest of Honor at SFContario, appearing with such luminaries as David Kyle and Chandler Davis. I alone lack that essential "davi" construction: come to shore me up, lest I be destroyed.

I'll be doing an awesome concert Friday night, and there will be awesome things throughout the weekend; if you're in the Toronto area, please consider swinging by to get a little awesome on your shoes.

Hey, happy people! In less than twelve hours, I will be boarding a giant metal sky-bird to fly to Denver, Colorado, home of very little oxygen, very impressive floods, and Mile Hi Con, where you'll have the rare opportunity to see me and Cat Valente together on stage! (Okay. Not that rare. We do this whenever people let us. But still.)

You can see me at...

Friday.

7:00PM: Opening ceremonies.
9:00PM: The Return of Kitty and the Midnight Hour. Hosted by Carrie Vaughn! With me and Cat as awesome guests!
10:00PM: Run, Run, The End of All Flesh Is Upon Us: Cat Valente and Seanan McGuire in Conversation. It's like an Evening with Kevin Smith, but a lot boobier, and sometimes even swearier.

Saturday.

11:00AM: Mad Scientists in Fiction, Film, and Filk.
2:00PM: Autographing! With Carrie! I love Carrie.
4:00PM: An Hour With Author GoH, Seanan McGuire.

Sunday.

9:00AM: Kaffeeklatch.
11:00AM: GoH Remarks and Awards.
1:00PM: Write On!
3:00PM: Conquering Sexism in Geek Culture.
5:00PM: Closing ceremonies.

I hope to see you all there! Or at least all of you for whom it is vaguely physically possible. Yay, Colorado!

It's almost time for LoneStarCon 3, the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention in San Antonio, Texas! This will also be my fifth Worldcon in a row, which is a feat I haven't accomplished since I was a teenager, working the convention, and traveling largely on the kindness of the adults who mentored and took care of me. It's...it's a little weird, honestly. So much has changed, and so much has stayed the same. I'm still a fangirl in my heart, even if I'm not behind a reg desk or stationed in prog ops anymore. I just scurry around more these days.

But enough introspection! Where can I be found?

Thursday.

6:00pm: Seanan McGuire and Dead Sexy, Live in Concert! It's the latest iteration of my ever-shifting backup band. Except familiar songs, fun surprises, and some exciting musical times. Ballroom A.

Friday.

10:00am: Kaffeeklatsch: James Gunn, Seanan McGuire, Lezli Robyn. Come have coffee and chat about whatever. Space is limited, signups are required. Riverview (Riverwalk).

4:00pm: Autographing: Tanya Huff, Steve Jackson, Seanan McGuire, Kim Stanley Robinson. I get to sign with Tanya! I am happy. Autographing area (Convention Center).

6:00pm: SF Squeecast Live Recording. It's gonna be fun. It always is. 003B.

Saturday.

12:00pm: Writing about Music and Art. I'm on a panel! Conference 12.

4:00pm: Reading: Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire. Which of me will read? NO ONE KNOWS. Also I'm up against the Mark Does Stuff panel, so you should totally skip me and go see him be awesome. 007CD.

Sunday.

12:00pm: Mad Science. From my heart and from my hands, why does no one understand my intentions? 008B.

2:00pm: When will Zombies Die? Charlaine and I are on the same panel. Bets on how long before one of us starts telling knock-knock jokes? I'mma sit between her and Bear and be totally safe from the apocalypse. 007CD.

4:00pm: Urban Fantasy: Fairies around Every Corner. I am going to be running out of this panel like my ass is on fire the second it ends, because I need to get ready for the Hugo Awards, but oh won't we have fun until then? 006A.

Monday.

Flying back to California.

Hope to see you in Texas!

All right: here's the skinny.

The Hugo Awards are given annually at the World Science Fiction Convention, which moves around the world (although statistically, it mostly moves around North America, and it's always exciting when it actually goes somewhere else) according to the votes of the membership. These awards represent the best of the science fiction and fantasy world, or at least the best things that a) attract the right kind of attention ("Hugo bait"), b) get enough votes to be nominated, and c) get enough votes to win. (Sometimes I wish we called the award "So You Think You Can SF/F," said "most popular," and let Cat Deeley host the award show.) Items b) and c) are not always the same thing, because of the migratory nature of Worldcon; a book that is vastly popular with the residents of San Francisco, California, may not win when it's voted on in Volgograd, Russia, even though it made the ballot.

The Hugos are both nominated for and voted on by the members of the World Science Fiction Convention, attending or supporting (this is an important distinction, and we'll be coming back to it). This means that if, say, you can't fly to Russia, but you really want to have a say in the Hugos, you can buy a Supporting Membership for a reduced rate, and still cast your ballot into the uncaring wind. Historically over the last ten years, Supporting Memberships have generally been between $40 and $60, and this revenue is important to the operation of the Worldcon. But it's still a lot of money. I know there were years when I did not pay for voting rights, because I couldn't afford it. There have been some suggestions in recent years that we institute a "Voting Membership" tier, where you pay less, don't get any of the physical perks (like the program book), but do get voting rights.

There are some people who really don't like that idea. Follow the link to see Cheryl Morgan's beautiful deconstruction of the proposal to forbid Voting Memberships from ever becoming a thing, but here is the bit that spoke most honestly to me:

"Without cheaper supporting memberships, it might seem that Hugo voting cannot get any cheaper, but that’s not the case. There is nothing in the WSFS Constitution that would prevent a Worldcon from adopting a new class of membership: a Voting Membership. It would carry with it no rights other than voting in the Hugos, and would therefore be pure profit for the Worldcon. If it was priced suitably, it could result in a significant additional source of income, as well as increasing participation in Hugo voting.

The purpose of this new motion is to prevent Worldcons from ever creating this sort of membership.

"That is, its purpose is to prevent the 'Wrong Sort of Fan' from participating in the Hugos: young people, poor people, people from countries where $60 is a huge amount of money, and so on.

"The commentary on the motion is a piece of ridiculous sophistry. A membership is a membership. There is no reason why creating a new type of membership would be a 'distortion,' unless you have the sort of mindset that holds that allowing people who are poorer than you to vote is a 'distortion.'

This motion is an attempt by people who already have voting privileges to prevent those privileges from being extended to others."

But that's not all the fun that's happening right now. There is also a motion to do away with the Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer, and Best Fan Artist categories. John Scalzi has beaten this suggestion with a stick to see what would fall out; what fell out was a bunch of wasps. Because look.

I started organizing conventions when I was fourteen. I have worked every level, from grunt to chairperson. I have stayed awake for three days solid to help people have a good time. I have elevated masochism to an art form, and I enjoyed it, because I am a fan. Fans are the lifeblood of this community, and one of the things I have always loved and respected about the Hugos is the way that they recognize people for their fannish accomplishments. Yes, they're all creative fannish accomplishments, because the Hugos are a creative award, but they are still being held up with the greats of our genre, as greats of our genre, for being fans. If that is not one of the most devastatingly inspiring notions ever, I don't know what is.

Jim Hines winning Best Fan Writer last year did not in any way reduce the honor of Betsy Wolheim winning for Best Editor (Long Form). If anything, it elevated them both, because here is our industry saying "we need you both to survive." Mark Oshiro's nomination for Best Fan Writer this year did not in any way reduce the honor of my being nominated in several professional writing categories—and whether we win or lose, we will always have shared a ballot, we will always have this in common. We are of the same community. We elevate each other.

Please, if you are attending this year's Worldcon in San Antonio, Texas, join me and others at the WSFS Business Meeting to help us vote these measures down. The first will be Friday morning at 10am.

We have the power to keep this from happening. It's not the power of Grayskull, but I still think it's pretty damn neat.

Let's keep these awards for everybody.

ETA: Here's a great historical perspective on the "Fan Hugo" argument, from Chuq Von Rospach.

...I swear that is the last terrible Muse pun I will make today. Ahem. It's time for Musecon 3! Do you want to know where I'm going to be?

Friday.

Why Fanfic is Awesome and You Should Feel Good About Writing It. All modern literature is fanfic, from Shakespeare and Milton all the way to the fairy tale retellings and remixes of today. Let's talk about why fanfic is a glorious, time-honored tradition that can help you improve as a writer, enriches your life as a reader, and pushes the envelope of the narrative story. 4:30pm.

Opening Ceremonies and Ask Seanan Anything. Welcome to MuseCon! Come meet our Guests of Honor and find out what we've got in store for you over the weekend. And once the official festivities are kicked off we'll be hosting the lastest installment in Seanan Shows Why She Has a Hugo for Not Shutting Up (also known as "Ask Seanan Anything, although she may not answer, and would really prefer you not ask anything about potential future changes to living conditions/locations"). 7:30pm.

Saturday.

Street Pennies. There's too much negativity in the world, and sometimes it can be hard to remember why we keep trying. That's where street pennies come in. Let's talk about the little things that make you happy, and how to find more of them in the world. 10:30am.

Gender Balance, Inclusiveness, and Diversity. Humanity is not a one-gender, one-race, one-creed entity. We're all different, and we're all deserving of our turn on the stage. Come join our discussion on how to bring more balance, inclusiveness, and diversity to your work. 1:30pm.

Velveteen vs. the Multiverse Book Launch. We don't have books but we will have cake! And signed book plates, and order forms. 3:00pm.

Concert. Music. Bring your ears and listen to Guest of Honor Seanan McGuire and her Biohazard Backing Band light up our stage with her unique mix of fairy tale folk, humorous horror, mad science, and just plain fun. BONUS! The dancing hands of Elise Matthesen will be hard at work during Seanan's concert! Elise has created hundreds of unique, breath-taking pieces, some based on the works of Neil Gaimen and others, some inspiring works by Mr. Gaimen, Elizabeth Bear, and others. Now she’ll be putting that same unique style into each piece that she is inspired to bring to life during Seanan’s show. Immediately after the concert these just-created pieces will be auctioned off! So come enjoy the show, and then see what’s been inspirited along the way! You never know, one might just inspire you. 7:30pm.

Sunday.

Disney Didn't Start the Fire. Snow White ate an apple--or did she use a poisoned comb? The little mermaid lived--or did she? Let's talk about the folkloric and fairy tale roots of some of our favorite stories, and how they've changed right up to the modern day. 12:00pm.

Working Through the World. Constructing a world that works can be difficult, but it's one of the most rewarding things a creator can do. Join us for a discussion of worldbuilding, its logic, and its dangers. 1:30pm.

Closing Ceremonies. We're going home! WE'RE GOING HOME! 3:00pm.

I'm going to San Diego! I'm going to my favorite con! I'm going...to be in a wheelchair for most of the week, on account of my left foot stops being in any way useful after I walk about about an hour, and San Diego is all about the walking. So if you're trying to find me, look for the faintly disgruntled looking blonde girl being pushed by the equally disgruntled looking blue-haired girl. Or follow this handy guide.

Wednesday.
It's Preview Night. I'm going to be in lines. Lots of lines. Unpredictable, never-ending lines. Do not try to find me. Save yourself.

Thursday.
No scheduled events. Naturally, this is also the only day with no panels I give a damn about. What is my life.

Friday.
I will be signing as Mira Grant at the Orbit Booth from 4:30 to 5:30pm. There will be some limited free books and other fun surprises.

Saturday.
I will be signing books for the California Browncoats from 2:00 to 2:45pm. Show up, meet fun people, and support an awesome charity. Then, at 3:00pm, I will be signing for Carniepunk at the Simon and Schuster Booth. This will last until 4:00pm, or until the line dies down completely.

I have not given booth numbers because I don't know them off the top of my head, but your program guide will know them. Trust the program guide. It is your only hope. The program guide will never lie to you. The program guide will not tell you to set people on fire.

Sunday.
This is my busy day. At 12:00pm, I will be in room 24ABC for the panel Science Fiction and the Future with lots of other lovely people. As I am the only biofuturist on this panel (with the possible exception of David Wellington, whom I will be meeting for the first time), I fully expect to either be very quiet or make people turn very green. Either way, what fun! Come for the science, stay for the creepy pie. Signing to follow immediately afterward, which I will be leaving early, because...

At 2:00pm, I will be in room 24ABC for the panel Witches and Fey, Monsters and Mortals. DO NOT READ THE PANEL DESCRIPTION. There is no possible way in which this panel description is not a sexist sack of eels. There are two urban fantasy panels at this con: one is serious and almost entirely male, and then there is this one. That being said, the panel lineup includes Rachel Caine and Amber Benson, who are two of my best ladies, and we are going to make this the panel to remember for this year's SDCC. Assuming anyone shows up, since we're up against the Doctor Who panel. Bleah. Again, signing to follow.

This year's schedule means I will be missing the X-Men panel, so anyone who does get to go, I'd like a full report.

And that's my San Diego. See you on the floor!

Every year around this time, someone says to me "Gosh, I've never been to the San Diego International Comic Convention before. I don't see what the big deal is. I really don't believe it's as big as everybody tries to make me think it is." And every year, I smack myself in the head and update this guide and pray for their survival.

Since I've been posting these obsessively-detailed Guides to Comicon on a yearly basis for some time now, I strongly suspect these people are being aimed at me. But since I love you all (those of you I know, anyway; I am well-inclined by amiably indifferent toward those of you who just came in out of the cold), and want you to have the best convention experience you possibly can, I have once again updated my Handy-Dandy Survival Guide to the San Diego International Comic Convention. See? It's handy and dandy, and that means it must be good! This guide includes tips on:

* Reaching the convention alive.
* Getting a hotel room.
* Enjoying/surviving the con.
* Things to do at the con.
* Eating food.
* Staying healthy and in a good mental place.
* Not getting killed by your friends.
* Budgeting.
* Bathing.

It is also heavily biased toward my own opinions on all these things, because hello, totally me. But I'm honest about my biases, and I'll be factual whenever it's fact, rather than opinion. (In short, don't expect me to falsify hotel room rates to suit my own ideas of "fair," but don't expect me to recommend a good Thai place, either.)

Ready? Okay!

( Click here for Seanan's handy-dandy Comicon survival guide! Read and be enlightened in all the ways that matter, which is to say, all the ways that Seanan actually thought of. Freshly updated for 2013.Collapse )

Well, folks, my convention season has started in earnest, and this time tomorrow, I will be on a big metal sky-bird, wending my way to sunny Florida to rejoin my Disney Magic Bitches, along with the Chicago Crew and my Alabama family, at our second home: Disney World. Yes, Disney World, which in the summer plays host to a plethora of lizards, snakes, and local amphibians. It is going to be HOT AND COLD RUNNING FROGS all up in there, let me assure you.

After we get our Disney on, I'll be decamping to OASIS, the annual Orlando Area Science Fiction Society convention, where I am the guest of honor! Woo-hoo! We're still crunching out exactly what my schedule at the con is going to be, so I can't post it for you here, but I can assure you that if you're in the Orlando area, you should swing on by and enjoy the many rapturous delights offered by a con featuring me in my post-Disney high. Seriously, it's like chilling with Delirium as redesigned for Disney's Brief Lives, and you know you want to see that.

While I'm in transit, I will not be entirely offline, but I will be mostly offline, due to the part where I am not going to be checking my email from the Haunted Mansion and I don't know what the internet situation will be at the OASIS hotel. Please expect delays in responses until I get back, and for a week or so after, while we get back up to normal service levels.

ONE SLEEP TO DISNEY.

I cannot wait. I need this so bad, you have no idea.

DISNEY.

I will be appearing at Harvard University's very own Vericon this weekend, along with such luminaries as Tamora "I shaped your childhood and swear like a sailor" Pierce, and N.K. "We were on the Hugo ballot for the first time in the same year and are now bound in blood, ink, and tears" Jemisin. It's going to be awesome! Even if it does require me to fly to Boston first. In the middle of the winter. To where the snow lives.

If you're local to the Boston area, swing on by! Here's my schedule:

Saturday 12:30pm-1:30pm: A panel on constructing identity; how to flesh out different types of characters, as well as writing to an audience that identifies as fans of speculative fiction.
Saturday 2:00pm-3:00pm: A panel on supernatural/nonhuman creatures; how writers create concepts of supernatural creatures or interpret pre-existing myths; additionally, how to write sympathetic nonhuman characters.

I will also be signing on Saturday from 4:30-5:15pm at the Harvard Bookstore, along with some of the other authors. Whole lotta shin, little bit of dig.

I hope to see you there, and I hope you'll bring me Diet Dr Pepper, because the jet lag is going to be brutal on this one. Seriously. You may get to see me having a conversation with the space lobsters, and that's always fun.

Vericon!

It's time for everybody's favorite scavenger hunt, Trying To Find Seanan In A Convention Of Several Thousand People! It helps that I'm usually wearing electric orange. But Brooke, who is also usually wearing electric orange, is attending. And I'm injured, so I'm less fast-moving and noticeable than usual. Better provide a schedule!

Friday, August 31st.

Reading, 11AM, Grand Suite 3.
Ah, the Worldcon reading. Will it be any better planned and executed than my usual readings? Nope. But I'll have fun anyway, because I always do.

Signing, 3PM, Autograph Tables.
Seanan Signs Shit: Chicago Edition. Always fun for the whole family.

It may look like my Friday is lightly scheduled. This is an illusion. I have three rehearsals over the course of the day, and the DAW dinner to attend, so really, these are the best times/places to find me.

Saturday, September 1st.

SFWA meeting, 9AM.
Expect grumbling.

Operetta, 12PM, Plaza Ballroom.
I'm in an operetta! It's going to be awesome! You should come and see it! And right after it ends...

Seanan McGuire in Concert, 1:30PM, Plaza Ballroom.
See me in concert with Vixy, Tony, Amy, Mary, Brenda, and potentially more, depending on the size and load-bearing nature of the stage! Merchandise will also be available from the filk sales table, including CDs, posters, and more.

Warehouse 13 vs. Eureka, 4:30PM, Grand Suite AB.
Oh it. Is. On.

The Next H1N1, 6PM, Field.
Expect giggling from me, and looks of profound discomfort from everyone else.

BARFLEET WOO WOO BARFLEET 9PM, Barfleet Party.
I am tending bar for Barfleet! Because Barfleet is awesome.

Sunday, September 2nd.

SF Squeecast recording live at 12PM.
It'll be squee-ful. You know, except for that whole "we'll all be neurotic messes over the impending doom that is the Hugos" thing. But hey, we can still be enthusiastic. About stuff. Between panic attacks.

The Hugo Awards, 8PM.
Meep.

And that's where to find me! Hope to see you there.

It's Hugo-prep time over here in Casa de Seanan, which means lots of flailing and frantic attempts to herd cats into something resembling order. And is always the case when I have to prep for a major event where appearance matters, I am reminded that it is expensive being a girl, especially being a plus-sized girl who actually wants to look, you know, nice.

To start with, you need a dress. Not just any dress: a dress which is appropriate and flattering and doesn't make you look like a manatee. I wound up going with a really lovely black and red ballgown from Sydney's Closet, a vendor that specializes in plus-size formal wear. I hugely recommend them, they're wonderful to work with. The dress fit almost perfectly, and Meg is doing some minor alterations. I should get it back tonight, just in time for...

Shoes and lingerie! I need shoes. I may also need a new strapless bra, since we can't tell exactly where the neckline will fall until Meg has everything stitched into position. Either way, I'm going to be tromping around the mall for a few hours. Nothing says "it's time for Worldcon" like a trip to the mall in a ballgown. Seriously. Nothing.

I have an appointment at my sister's school for Saturday morning, to have my hair done, and an appointment at Benefit Cosmetics for Saturday afternoon, to have my tan done. (Yes, I know, spray-tanning is horrible and will kill me and boo. But my tan lines are severe enough that I'm essentially calico right now, and that won't look good with my dress. As long as I'm not orange, I'm good. And really, this is me: if I were orange, I'd probably be pretty blissful about it.) My sister will also be doing my nails, before I fly to Chicago, and helping me set up my makeup bag. I don't know yet whether my foundation needs replacement. I guess we'll find out!

Jewelry, I have earrings already, and a few necklace prospects, although I may wind up buying something at the con from Spring.

So yeah. Being a girl? Is expensive as shit, and I am hugely envious of anyone who can just rent a tuxedo and be done. But I am going to look lovely, and get my picture taken with all my favorite people. I didn't go to my high school prom.

This will do.

Oh, the places you'll go, oh, the places I'll be! Here's where to start if you're looking for me...

Thursday, July 12th.

1:15 PM, Room 6A: Not with a Bang, with a Bite.

It's the obligate zombie panel! Because really, that's what I do. Join me-as-Mira, along with Jeyn Roberts (Dark Inside), Michael Spradlin (Blood Riders), Diana Rowland (Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues), Stephen Blackmoore (City of the Lost), Dana Fredsti (Plague Town), Susan Dennard (Something Strange and Deadly), and Max Brooks (World War Z). Let's see if Max and I can get into another argument about his virology, shall we? Also, you will love Stephen. He's the bomb. The panel will be immediately followed by an autographing session, wherein I will sign whatever you bring me.

Friday, July 13th.

5:00 PM, Booth 1116: Mira Grant signing.

Nothing says "Friday the 13th in San Diego" like Mira Grant signing at the Orbit booth! Come for signatures, cool swag, and the chance to have me beam at you like a lunatic while I try to drink enough Diet Dr Pepper to put me in an early grave. It'll be fun!

Saturday, July 14th.

10:30 AM, Room 5AB: Hot Town: Faeries in the City.

Mmmm, 10:30 AM panel on Saturday. On the plus side, you know you'll be able to get a seat. On the double-plus side, you know none of us will be awake enough to be filtering a damn thing that comes out of our mouths. Come for the urban fantasy, stay for the raw humor value of me and Jeff Lewis calling each other cockwaffles. Join me-as-Seanan, along with Benjamin Tate (Leaves of Flame), Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles), Kat Richardson (Seawitch), Jennifer Bosworth (Struck), Anton Strout (Simon Canderous series), Jeanne Stein (Anna Strong Vampire Novels), J.F. Lewis (Void City books), and S. G. Browne (Lucky Bastard). The panel will be immediately followed by an autographing session, wherein Jeff and I will begin chewing on Kat.

Sunday, July 15th.

12:00 PM, Room 32AB: Browncoat reading.

Mira Grant joins the San Diego Browncoats for a reading from "San Diego 2014," and to answer any questions you might have. And yes, we know this is up against Buffy. Stupid late schedule changes.

1:00 PM, Booth A-07: Mira Grant signing.

And then it's off to the Browncoats booth for a signing! Hooray for signings!

...and that is all my official business for the weekend. Unofficial business will include shopping, panels, ice cream, Amy-hugs, Amber-hugs, Sunil-hugs, Kaja-hugs...hugging is going to be a key part of this convention.

Onward, to San Diego!

Every year around this time, someone says to me "Gosh, I've never been to the San Diego International Comic Convention before. I don't see what the big deal is. I really don't believe it's as big as everybody tries to make me think it is." And every year, I smack myself in the head and update this guide and pray for their survival.

Since I've been posting these obsessively-detailed Guides to Comicon on a yearly basis for some time now, I strongly suspect these people are being aimed at me. But since I love you all (those of you I know, anyway; I am well-inclined by amiably indifferent toward those of you who just came in out of the cold), and want you to have the best convention experience you possibly can, I have once again updated my Handy-Dandy Survival Guide to the San Diego International Comic Convention. See? It's handy and dandy, and that means it must be good! This guide includes tips on:

* Reaching the convention alive.
* Getting a hotel room.
* Enjoying/surviving the con.
* Things to do at the con.
* Eating food.
* Staying healthy and sane.
* Not getting killed by your friends.
* Budgeting.
* Bathing.

It is also heavily biased toward my own opinions on all these things, because hello, totally me. But I'm honest about my biases, and I'll be factual whenever it's fact, rather than opinion. (In short, don't expect me to falsify hotel room rates to suit my own ideas of "fair," but don't expect me to recommend a good Thai place, either.)

Ready? Okay!

( Click here for Seanan's handy-dandy Comicon survival guide! Read and be enlightened in all the ways that matter, which is to say, all the ways that Seanan actually thought of. Freshly updated for 2012.Collapse )

1. So I have been forced, by the technical limitations inherent to LJ, to change my Friending policy. Specifically, I am now at MAXIMUM FRIENDOCITY, and adding any more Friends will cause me to be instantly sucked into a horrifying shadow dimension where demons will feast on my delicious bones. Read also, "LJ won't let me Friend any more people." So while I am still a Friend/Unfriend amnesty zone, I will no longer be automatically Friending back. Also, I have now typed the word "Friend" so many times that it has lost all meeting. I shall have to Foe some people.

2. You know it's summer when the Maine Coons felt their bellies by sleeping in their water dish, and you have to take them back to the groomer to be shaved. Again. In other news, guess who gets to take forty pounds of cranky kitty to the groomer? Good guess.

3. I've been scarce recently because a) I've been trying to catch up on some things, and b) I have 600+ comments to answer and it scares me. I will endeavor to post more, if y'all will be understanding about it taking me a while to answer you. S'good? S'good.

4. Disneyland was awesome, except for the part where I twisted my ankle and spent Sunday in a wheelchair. It turns out that I'm still surprisingly good at navigating myself when I need to, and Vixy pushed me when we weren't in spaces that required fine cornering and control. Neither of us died, but wow, was that not an experience that I am in a hurry to repeat.

5. I will, however, say this: if you see a girl pushing a manual wheelchair down a hill, maybe stepping right in front of that wheelchair is not the world's best plan. Especially if that wheelchair contains a person larger than the girl doing the pushing. Because you know what neither of us was able to do in that situation? Stop. In other news, I ran over some idiot-ankles, and I am not sorry.

6. The Hugo Voter Packet has been updated, and now contains the files for Best Related Work. That means that, for the first time ever, a full length filk CD is included in the Hugo packet. So. Cool. It's not too late to register and get your voting rights into the bag! Check out https://chicon.org/membership.php for details.

7. The new season of So You Think You Can Dance has started, and that means that my urge to write InCryptid is returning to normal. This show is totally restorative, in the best, weirdest way possible. I am a happy bunny.

8. Other things that make me happy: the San Diego Comic-Con exclusives have been announced for this year, and they include a new Monster High doll (Scarah Screams) and a new My Little Pony (Derpy Hooves/Bubblecup). I am a sucker for toys.

9. Other things I am a sucker for: Australia. My Mira Grant Q&A on Saturday was the most marsupial-centric Q&A I've ever been a part of. It was sort of impressive, in a "why are we talking about this again?" sort of a way. It may have had something to do with the fact that I had a plush Perry the Platypus on the podium...

10. Jean Gray is still dead.

Voting for the 2012 Hugo Awards is now open for all Attending and Supporting members of the 2012 World Science Fiction Convention, ChiCon 7. ChiCon will be held this August in Chicago, Illinois, where attendees will be able to see such wonders as me tending bar for Barfleet, Amy fiddling for everyone in the known universe, and Cat and I in full-on flustered fairy tale princess mode. Super-fun!

Now, if you're not going to WorldCon, you may wonder why this is relevant to your interests. I have two words for you: voter packet.

All Supporting Members receive, in addition to Hugo voting rights, a copy of the Hugo voter packet. This includes all the nominated works for the year. Novels, novellas, novelettes, short stories, graphic stories, and yes, related works (so this year, they had to figure out how to include MP3s of an entire filk album—I am a living complication). Strictly speaking, this is well over a $50 value. I mean, the Related Works category alone would probably cost you around $80 if you bought all the physical media, and that doesn't go into the fiction categories at all. So you save a lot, while getting a neat little packet containing electronic copies of what the community thought was best about the previous year. And oh, I forgot to mention there's also samples of the Fan Writer nominees, and art, and and and and...

And here's the thing. I can't pretend that I don't have a vested interest in this year's Hugos: I said last year that no one accepts a nomination when they don't want to win, and I meant that sincerely and without embarassment. It's even worse this year, when I'm on the ballot four times and terrified of losing four times. I want to win. But even more, if I'm going to lose, I want to lose fairly. I want to lose because the community spoke, and what they said was "this one over here should be the victor." That means people need to vote.

Every year, when the Hugo ballot is announced, some people say "these things, these things are wrong." Then, after the votes are counted, some people say "these wins, these losses, they are also wrong." But the only way to change the wrongness is to participate. That means nominating, and that means casting your vote. It's never been easier, and it's never been more...balanced, for lack of a better word. $50 isn't peanuts. There have been years where I wouldn't have been able to afford that. On the other hand, you get a lot of bang for your bucks, and you get to be a part of shaping our community's history. And if you register now, you may even have time to read everything before the deadline!

If you can afford a Supporting Membership, I highly recommend it. It's a fair value, and it lets you participate. Everybody loves participation, right?

This ends today's public service announcement.