News, events, and general discussion

Yep, I'm reasonably well acquainted with her. She periodically comes to the various local cons and does readings and panels along with the rest of us. Probably the most time I spent with her was during one of the University of Washington Bookstore's Autograph Bashes, where Duane Wilkins, the store buyer, rounds up every living SF/F author within 100 miles for a one-night signing. At the last one, there were maybe forty authors. I spent the entire night seated next to Robin, and we had a very nice time (her stack of books to sign was considerably larger than mine, as you might imagine....) :) She's a very friendly and gracious individual, and very kind to the writers who are lower down on the ladder.

I should add that Louise and Susan are also terrific individuals as well, and a great deal of fun to be around. I think we'll have a good time with our little shindig!
 
I think it's totally great that you set this up. It's an example of what authors can do and that booksellers are quite interested in getting the most out of sff and can be worked with on promotional events. I hope it goes well for you.
 
Mr Radthorne, I am totally impressed by your entrepeneurship. Also wishing I could come. This is where that hand-held transmat beam would come in awfully handy. Have a wonderful time!
 
I thank you both. :) It was primarily a matter of luck, walking into the store to ask about a signing and getting not just a store manager but a regional manager for the chain. Once he broached the subject of wanting to connect into the local SF/F scene, I just took the ball and ran with it as fast as I could. :D

Now Alison, I've warned you about mislaying your transmat beam. If you can't find it in time, you're going to miss out on going to NYC to see Gary mingle with the B.P. ;)
 
Dammit Kevin, I've looked everywhere, under the bed, in the garage, behind the bookshelves...I don't suppose you could fly me in?

I did my own impresario impression on the weekend, not sff but with my theatre hat on, hosting an event at the Malthouse Theatre here with the artist/historian Paul Carter, who is very cool and (thankfully) talks well and fascinatingly. Much to my relief, people turned up - that's organised PR for you! I was scared it would be me, Paul and a stray dog echoing sadly in a huge empty space...
 
I have, unfortunately, used up all of the chits on my Harry Potter Broomstick Pass, and so am grounded; otherwise I would hop over to that side of the planet, pick you up, and whisk you here (would that make it a whiskbroom? Hmm...)

And who would pass up an opportunity to hear you speak? The very thought is criminal. (Okay, the dog might; but any self-respecting member of the intelligentsia would be highly suspect in the Upstairs Department if they missed such an event). (And you can quote me on that.) ;)
 
It will feature prominently on all my press releases from here on in: Kevin Radthorne says... mind you, I know quite a few members of the alleged intelligentsia who are very highly suspect in the upstairs department. Some were even at that event.
 
We just finished up our "Sci Fi Saturday" event a few hours ago. Thought you all might like to see a picture:

sci fi saturday.jpg

In the photo, from left to right, are Susan Matthews, me, Louise Marley, and Robin Hobb. Don't ask me what I was saying at the time that needed such expressive hand gestures, but I'm sure it must have been deep and meaningful. :D

We started off with a panel on "How to Build a Starship," at which Susan delightfully demonstrated the process by disassembling a fountain pen and showing how the various bits were used to come up with a design for her ships. She also handed out pens to everyone in the audience for them to join along. Then we talked about the ins and outs of how you put such ships together to serve the needs of your story, what needs to be explained, what doesn't, etc. We then raffled off a Road To Kotaishi bag packed with goodies and books by the authors.

Then we spent an hour chatting with readers and store staff, and munching on some delightfult Spaceship cookies baked by Louise (and yes, Louise, I'm afraid they did look more like guppies than starships...).

Finally we did another panel on "How Magic Really Works," in which we talked about how we devise magic systems, the difference between technology and supernatural belief, the influence of both Potter and Tolkien in their very different ways, and along the way tried to figure out the magical microphone, which chose not to play along during this second session. We also raffled off a basket with more goodies and books.

All in all we had a good time, the store seemed to like the turnout and the show, and I personally enjoyed meeting with readers and chatting with my author friends.

My wife and I had dinner with Robin Hobb afterwards; as always, she is a delightful individual to chat with. We are, by the way, going to be having more of these Sci Fi Saturday events at Borders stores in the Pacific Northwest; I'll let you all know when the next one comes up.
 
As usual, it's raining in the great Northwest.

Did the Lady Who Shares Her Life With You accompany you on this gig or were you left to yourself with three authors of the female persuasion? Whatever it is you're saying, you have their attention for certain. Shades of the ball pit, you devil!

Congratulations, Kev; that's quite a show.
 
Thank you, sir. Although I can't tell if its their rapt attention that I have, or a shared sense of utter disbelief in whatever it is that I'm saying... :rolleyes:

She Who Shares My Life was indeed there, and it was She who is taking the pictures. She assisted admirably at the event by managing the raffle ticket side of things while I pontificated. Perhaps I was predicting the return of the sun, in which case skeptical looks would have been well warrented...
 
This past weekend was Norwescon, the largest regular convention here in the Pacific Northwest. I did several panels and writer's workshop critiques, but the big news for me was that I sold five works in the art show! So that was pretty exciting. I had also left a hefty stack of business cards in the holder attached to my display, and by the final day every single one had been taken. Another good sign...

It looks like our Sci Fi Saturdays at Borders will also be continuing. At Norwescon I met one of the store staff, Andrea, and she said the store was still buzzing from our event last weekend. :) We're trying to organize another one in May and one in June, with either the same or an expanded crew of writers for the panels. More details to come!
 
Hi, Dazzlinkat! Glad to see you around. Hey, if these Sci-Fi Saturday's start to really take off, maybe they (or something like them) will work their way out to where you are! (Um, where exactly are you? Not someplace like, say, the Channel Islands?)
 
LOL ... nope. I live in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. The population is umm...light. This entire portion of the state is under ONE area code. Not even a million people live here but hey, the deer number over 3 million, though :p The last book event we had was with local writers, who wrote about the area. One had written on Native American history, one on the Voyageurs, the French fur-traders that traveled and traded with the Native Americans here, some of their Rondeveux (sp?) places became towns, and another on mining and the timber industries. Think there was a poet and ... ummm .. cant remember who else. Several area businesses collaborated with the event, though. Local Native Americans held a class on making birch-bark canoes (this was fun, and every one went home with a mini canoe to place proudly on their coffee-tables) then my dog chewed mine up :mad: ggrr, a lumber jack show, and um several other things lol.

Would like to see one like yours, though. And, umm, do you sell T-Shirts with the cover art on em?
 
Well, as a matter of fact, I do... Actually, it's not me directly, but a place that sells "stuff" that you can put artwork on, such as book covers. You can find it here: http://www.cafepress.com/radthorne. No canoes, but shirts and mugs and other things. I used to have a link to this on my website, but things started getting crowded... If you happen to get a shirt, let me know! Then I can say I'm well known in Michigan! :)
 
Catching up here. I've been swamped lately with various stresses and then came down with a shocking cold, or series of colds...But enough already of excuses.

But... you sold artworks?! I'm impressed! Great news too on the SF Saturdays - they sound like really good events. And good to see Showman Radthorne in full flight!
 
alison said:
Catching up here. I've been swamped lately with various stresses and then came down with a shocking cold, or series of colds...But enough already of excuses.

But... you sold artworks?! I'm impressed! Great news too on the SF Saturdays - they sound like really good events. And good to see Showman Radthorne in full flight!
Click to expand...
I hope you are feeling better down there!

Yes, I sold a few pix. I guess some folks like the stuff I'm churning out. :D I just stuck a new one up over in my Graphics thread, as a matter of fact...

Showman Radthorne! That's me. Step right this way, folks, we've got the most exciting, the most splendiferous, the most out of this world reading awaiting your pleasure upon this very stage... :cool: LOL!
 
At the end of last month I had the opportunity to go to Japan as part of a business trip. Fortunately I managed to sneak in a couple of days of sightseeing, er, research. If anyone would care to see some pictures from the trip, well that link right there will take you to 'em. :)
 
I realize I have been terribly remiss in keeping this thread up to date... As you who frequent my forum are aware, I haven't actually fallen into a hole. The artwork threads get pretty regular attention. Truth to tell, while one is right in the middle of writing a book, there's not a lot of action to report.

However, one thing to bring up is that I will be attending Norwescon over April 5th - 8th. I have a full schedule of panels, plus doing workshop critiques for writers who have submitted chapters for review; as well as having a few things in the art show (as noted in some of the earlier posts here, at this con last year I sold some art so I'm hoping to repeat that success this year).

Anyway, for anyone who would care to know, here are the panels I will be on during the con:
Thursday 4:00 PM
Book One Sold: What Next? What happens after the book goes to press.
Marketing, promotion, and writing the next one while staying sane in the
Speculative Fiction Market.

Thursday 8:00 PM
Give My Creation Life! No matter how wild the Fantasy, characters still
have to ring true and act real. Discuss developing rounded, engaging
characters that aren't Mary Sues or cardboard cut outs.

Thursday 9:00 PM
The Cover’s Just There To Grab Your Eye How publishers – and artists –
try to get you to pick up THIS book, take it to the register and pay money
for it? You got a better idea?

Saturday 10:00 AM
Autograph Session 1

Saturday 12:00 PM
The Neverending Series Developing long story arcs for series, serials,
cycles, and 'ologies without writing yourself into a hole. How do you know
what sort of story you're writing or which form would be best? What are
the structural guidelines--if any--for each form? How do you manage a
large character cast over a long arc? Pick up some tips on developing and
keeping your arc and characters on track.

Saturday 7:00 PM
Artists & Writers in Collaboration Talk with the artists and writers.
See how they get the ideas for the book cover or inside designs. How does
the artist or writer get the jobs?

Sunday 11:00 AM
Characters are People Too What small details, idiosyncrasies,
weaknesses, or foibles have helped bring this or that r protagonists and
antagonists to life in books you’ve written ... read? (And what writer
isn’t glad that their characters can’t take them to court for intentional
cruelty).

Sunday 2:00 PM
Whose Story Is It, Anyway? Now that you’ve learned to use viewpoint
properly, which of your characters get to be viewpoint folks? What do you
owe them? A cautionary approach to choosing and respecting points of view.

If any of you lucky dogs happens to be in the Northwest during the dates of the con, I hope to see you there...
 
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