<![CDATA[Fantasycon Ahoy!]]>

<![CDATA[Fantasycon Ahoy!]]>First up, some housekeeping: owing to having been viciously attacked by an Ambush Novel late last month, I’m currently behind on my Patreon blogging – I still owe a reward poem, my September review of Ultraviolet, plus the October instalments for both Ultraviolet and Claymore. My sincerest apologies! I’m hoping to get up to date sooner rather than later, but I hope you’ll all bear with me in either case. Because:

I’m going to Fantasycon!

I leave for Nottingham on Thursday. I’m staying at the con hotel, which is a first for me, and I’m super excited about the whole thing. For those who might be interested, here’s my schedule:

Friday 23 October

Panel: Doing ‘It’ Right: Love, Romance & Sexy Times

Time/Venue: 8.00pm, Conference Theatre

Description: Why are we often so reticent about love in genre fiction? Conversely sex seems to be everywhere, often done badly. How do we show love in a better light and balance plot tension with sexual tension? Warning: adult references (& childish innuendo)

the perfect sex scene: making up making out/making love
a matter of taste: where are the ‘no-go’ areas?
is love undervalued as a character motivation?
how can our characters express their feelings without mawkishness?
diversity and sexuality in genre fiction: what works and what doesn’t?
are ‘romance’ and ‘conflict’ mutually exclusive terms?
finding the right words: choosing appropriate vernacular

Moderator: Den Patrick
Panellists: Hal Duncan, Cassandra Khaw, Kim Lakin-Smith, Foz Meadows

Saturday 24 October

Reading: Me reading a thing Wot I Has Written

Time/Venue: 9.00pm, Reading Room

Description: I’ll either be reading an unpublished short story, or – more likely – an excerpt from my forthcoming novel, An Accident of Stars. Come along and find out!

Sunday 25 October

Panel: The Future of the Future

Time/Venue: 11.00am, Suite 1

Description: With technology regularly surpassing the boundaries of what seemed impossible only years earlier, it gets harder for writers to imagine futures by extrapolating from today’s world. This panel considers how we depict the world(s) yet to be.

key considerations for world-building ‘tomorrow’
does the future need to be plausible?
must it be apocalyptic to be interesting?
exploring the morality of science & technology
how far can you go into the future before science fiction becomes fantasy?

Can genre fiction still ‘boldly go’ into the unknown?

Moderator: Foz Meadows
Panellists: Alex Lamb, Libby McGugan, Adam Millard, Ian Sales, Tom Toner

I intend to spend the rest of the con socialising, lurking and generally having a good time – if you see me, come say hi!

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