Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Pictures of RavenCon 2013

If a picture's really worth a thousand words, I just might be able to make up for being such a bad blogger this year.  Besides, you'd much rather see the faces and costumes of RavenCon than hear me blather.  So, without further ado, thirteen photos from RavenCon 2013

 

Author Laurel Anne Hill shows off a steampunk style perfectly suited to her story in the anthology Shanghai Steam.

 

 

Fan Guest of Honor Carla Brindle and Writing Guest of Honor Kevin J. Anderson frame one of Carla's amazing cakes.  Since RavenCon flaunts Richmond's Edgar Allan Poe vibe, Carla baked a fully functional chest containing a beating cake heart. The book leaning next to it was edible, too.  And I can personally attest that it tasted great.

 

Sarah Black and Braxton Ballew of Valentine Wolfe perform their first concert of the weekend.

 

With Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta as the con's Writer Guests of Honor, the costumes were guaranteed to glory in Steampunk.

 

But Star Wars was well represented by the 501st Legion and this fierce Tusken Raider.  Star Trek sent Klingons...and a jail!  But you have to go to my Flickr page to see that. 

 

There were Steampunk writers, too. From left to right: Emilie Bush, David Lee and a guy I really think I ought to recognize...

 

Comics artist Monica Marier gleefully admitted she crafted her shiny SF costume to draw potential customers' eyes.

 

You knew there had to be at least one panel shot, didn't you?  Here (from left to right) Jim Bernheimer, Gail Z. Martin, Ron Garner and John Betancourt discuss professional self-publishing.

 

There were two book launch parties, but I only took still shots of Leona Wisoker's event. Here Leona (center in black) discusses the role of coffee in the party and in her new novel Fires of the Desert.

 

More Steampunk-y goodness. From some overheard conversation (in the bar, naturally) I understand this group later won the Masquerade. Alas, I didn't catch their names, but I do recall that it was the gentleman's first costume competition.

 

Don't tell anyone, but I can't identify these costumes--and I know I should! Sob.

 

Masquerade Masters of Ceremony Billy Flynn (left in scarf) and Rich Sigfrit (to Billy's right) introduce the Ghostbusters of RavenCon.

 

There were belly dancers, too.  And much, much more.  If you'd like a bigger taste, please, check out the rest of my pictures or follow the links from the RavenCon Facebook page.  It's not too early to sign up for 2014, after all.

 

###

 

Jean Marie Ward

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Spring...In Pictures

Three conferences in five weeks--and people wonder why I have no brain cells left. A lot of great memories. Tons of pictures. But no brain cells.

I still haven’t posted all of them on my Flickr page, but rather than do real work while I’m at a family wedding in Florida (and taking more pictures), I thought I’d give the readers of Beyond the Veil a sneak peek of the photos to come--and a good reason to start planning for the 2010 conference season.

First up is the Washington Romance Writers annual retreat, this year held in Leesburg VA, April 17-19. The featured speakers were P.C. Cast and Carla Neggers.




















Here, P.C. gives new meaning to the phrase “Talk to the hand”. She also may have scarred one of the Hall’s waiters for life with her story of the centaur with, um, two.




















Always one of the conference highlights, this year’s Romance Jeopardy (which is NOT FAIR) featured a do-wop theme, including a group sing-along featuring writers Kathleen Gilles Seidel and Karen Smith, and St. Martin’s editor Jennifer Enderlin. This is probably the worst picture of Jennifer evah, but I knew she’d appreciate the combination of expression and horns.

Next up was RavenCon 2009. Richmond’s premier sf/fantasy con served up a big helping of Edgar Allan Poe in honor of the writer’s 200th birthday. But oddly enough, the con’s ghost in residence was nowhere in evidence in the RavenCon edition of the Dead Authors Society.













But we did put on a good show, with costumes and everything. The channelers were (from left to right) Lyn Gardner (as artist and fantasist William Morris), yours truly (as Mary Shelley), Peter Prellwitz (as Louis L’Amour, whose western novels inspired Gene Roddenberry) and Laurel Anne Hill (as David Gemmel).











OK, I admit it, I haven’t read Harry Potter, but thanks to Luna-C, I’ve seen all seven books…in 45 minutes. No fooling. Of course, covering about a gazillion words in 45 minutes doesn’t leave a lot of room for frills. Here we see Snape snarking away, while fellow cast members change on stage for their next entrances.

If it’s Memorial Day, it must be Balticon, Baltimore’s long-running sf/fantasy con. Balticon is one of the most costume-rich conventions in the Mid-Atlantic region. It’s not just the Masquerade, but the dances and the LARP-ing too.




















About that, I have only two words to say: steampunk pirate. This shot was taken at Dancing in the Gears, the con’s first steampunk ball. People were dancing quadrilles and promenades. I was too, thanks to a very nice man named Colin Wolfe, who partnered me in spite of my two left boots. (Thanks, Colin!)












But it wasn’t all about the dressing up. There was a lot of good writing info too, including “Escaping the Death Spiral”, the only panel I managed to catch with Steve Miller (one half of the Liaden Universe writing team--unfortunately, Sharon Lee couldn't make it). No, the session--featuring Patrick Thomas (l), Marshall S. Thomas (no relation) and Miller (r)--wasn’t an intense technical discussion focusing on gravitational vortexes. It was about what to do when your current book sells less than your last.

Wait, as any writer will tell you, that IS a black hole…

Anyway, the panelists came up with some good ideas on how to keep moving your writing and your career forward. Most resonant for me was Miller’s advice--keep connected with the fans. With cons like these in my life, that isn't a job; it's a total pleasure.

Jean Marie Ward