Placeholder for Report-out from Arisia...

Hi y'all! I know a dozen or so of you took my card at Arisia, so that you can access the lists of books/authors, zombie movie suggestions, and other notes from my panels. I promise it's forthcoming! I need to get my work life in order, deal with my kids, and get a writers' group submission in... then I'll be on it!

If you want to receive a notice when that blog post goes up, you can follow my blog and then a notice will go right to your inbox. Otherwise, check back in a week or so!

Thanks for the memories!

<3 Suzanne

In the meantime please accept this picture of my daughter with the Kaylee look-alike.

Some Writerly Announcements and Updates

Arisia

Headed to the Arisia Conference in Boston today--"New England's Largest and Most Diverse Science Fiction and Fantasy Conference." Hubby and I are taking our kids this year. Hopefully it will work out OK and everyone will have fun!

I have some announces about the conference and some cool announcements related to my writing. If you want to jump down to the announcements, just scroll to the bottom...

First the Arisia announcements...

• I belong to the group Broad Universe (BU), an international organization promoting women who write genre fiction. We are hosting an open party tonight at 8pm. If you're at the conference, come by and meet me and other 'Broads'! BU will also have a table in the dealers' room where you can find Broads hanging out throughout the weekend.

  

  BU parties always have THE BEST food!

• Broad Universe also has an RFR (rapid fire reading) on Saturday at 1pm in the Hale room. These events are lots of fun! Twelve BU members read from their works. It's a great way to hear your favorite authors, and find your next favorite! I'll be reading from Interview with the Faerie to help promote my newly-released book of poetry.
  
  
  
  

Writing Updates

• The issue of Creatio Fantastica that some of my work and an interview will appear in is scheduled to be released the last week of January. So, it's coming soon and be sure to check it out!
• The second big update is that I have started a new novel! And I wrote my first sex scene! The new novel is an urban fantasy romance--not normally what I write. But the idea just struck me, and I've been moderately depressed over the lack of progress of my other WIP, Ownership of the Gods. I will be writing this new novel under a pseudonym. Stay tuned for more information on this!

My Arisia 2014 Panel Schedule

Once again, I'll be attending Arisia--a science fiction and geek-culture convention in Boston. I love this con! Every year I am given the honor of being on such diverse and interesting panels. The composition is different every year! In the past, I've had many feminism-related panels. This year, I have none. I do have two science-related panels this year. And another zombie panel! I do love me them zombies :-)

Without further ado...

Read All The Things!

Literature, Panel — 1hr 15min — Faneuil (3W)

Sure, we have limited reading time, but there are some authors whose works clamor to be read in their entirety! Which authors? Come to this panel and find out! Each panelist will discuss the author whose complete works they deem absolutely essential. Come develop your reading list for the next year!

Randee Dawn, Greer Gilman, Adam Lipkin (m), Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, JoSelle Vanderhooft

Zombies, More Zombies, and Even More Zombies

Fan Interest, Panel — 1hr 15min — Douglas (3W)

The past few years have seen a resurgence of zombies in print and media. Why? From The Walking Deadand Zombieland to Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy, what's the appeal? Do zombies still represent consumer culture as in Romero's films, or do they mean something different now? Come join the discussion on the origins and portrayals of zombies.

Gayle Blake, Jeanne Cavelos, Gail Z Martin, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert (m), Barbara A Woodward

Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading

Writing, Reading — 1hr 30min — Hale (3W)

Broad Universe is an international organization of women and men dedicated to celebrating and promoting the work of women writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Come hear samples from the works of several members of the Broad Universe organization.

Terri Bruce, Kelly Hashway, Rachel Kenley, Ellen Larson, Catherine Lundoff, Gail Z Martin, KT Pinto,Jennifer Allis Provost, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, Roberta Rogow, Connie Wilkins, Trisha Wooldridge,Phoebe Wray

Spirituality in Fantasy and Science Fiction

 Literature, Panel — 1hr 15min — Faneuil (3W)

The Chronicles of Narnia are famous for, among other things, incorporating many of C.S. Lewis's Christian beliefs. But did it inspire its readers to be more religious? Are there fans of fantasy and science fiction who look to their favorite works in times of crisis or to inspire their faith (or, possibly, lack there of)? What works of literature have people in fandom, whether Christian, Wiccan, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, agnostic, or none (or all) of the above, found formative to their beliefs?

Erik Amundsen (m), Max Gladstone, Kate Kaynak, Daniel José Older, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert

Fear of Science—On the Rise?

Science, Panel — 1hr 15min — Alcott (3W)

Why do people fear science? What is this fear doing to our society? Is this fear on the rise, or has it always been around? And what, if anything, can be done to quell this fear?

Carl Fink, Abby Hafer, Richard Moore (m), Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, Alexandra Thorn

Get Off My Lawn: Backlash Against Progress in SFF

Literature, Panel — 1hr 15min — Adams (3W)

Over the past few years, we've seen many a kerfuffle in genre that amounts to "you kids get off of my lawn". There are some who seem wedded to the SF/F they grew up with to the point of excluding anything or anyone new and progressive—which seems antithetical to the whole concept of science fiction! We'll discuss progress in genre and the backlash against it.

Mark L Amidon, Lila Garrott, James Nicoll, Daniel José Older (m), Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert

My Book of Poetry is Available on Amazon!!

Yay! Interview with the Faerie (Part One) and Other Poems of Darkness and Light is available at Amazon!

I haven't even received my copies yet :-)

The link to purchase is below. It will also be searchable and purchasable by libraries and other outlets within the next few weeks.

If you (or anyone you know) reviews poetry--or poetry or fiction dealing with Celtic, dark fantasy, science fiction, or Pagan themes--and may want a review copy, let me know.

http://www.amazon.com/Interview-Faerie-Part-One-Darkness/dp/1493542869/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384793073&sr=8-1&keywords=interview+with+the+faerie

I love this cover!

Lots of Cool Writerly Stuff Happening...

So much of my musings get posted on Facebook, that I often forget to update my blog. Here's a quick synopsis of recent goings-on:

• My first chapbook of poetry is almost ready for purchase! I received the final proof today, and so far so good. It is titled Interview with the Faerie (Part One) and Other Poems of Darkness and Light. It contains five "dark" poems (including Interview), one "grey" poem, and five "light" poems. These categories are of course somewhat arbitrary, as most of the stuff I write has an a dark edge. It may be more fair to say that some are more hopeful than others. In any case, it will be available on Amazon and for Kindle. It also has two cool illustrations--created for Interview--by my friend and artist Tony Gerardi. I'll update this blog with links once it's available.
• An editor for the Polish speculative fiction magazine Creatio Fantastica discovered one of my poems on Tales of the Zombie War and I've granted them permission to translate it into Polish and feature it on their site. They will also be running a translation of part of Interview with the Faerie, and an interview with me. It's currently slated for their December/January issue. Again, stay tuned for final details!
• I have submitted a zombie short story--which also happens to be one of my favorite pieces of writing--to a new market. The story is, I think, hampered by the fact that it's a "zombie" story; really it is a speculative apocalyptic horror story told through a 12-year old boy's eyes. I love this story, and I really believe it needs to be published! So fingers crossed.
• After yet another 3-month hiatus, I wrote a chapter of my novel-in-progress today (The YA novel about the teen-aged embodiment of the Goddess Kwan Yin, working title Ownership of the Gods.) I really want to put forth sustained effort on this in the coming months.

That's all for now, folks!