Prompt: Magical Words and ConTemporal

Two years ago, I met and befriended many of the authors involved with MagicalWords.net, a daily blog site about the craft and business of writing. This week, I posted my first entry on the site, and it feels like a major milestone. I wasn’t alone—it was part of a group blog about a writers’ retreat we held after ConCarolinas at the beginning of June. I didn’t expect the thrill of seeing my post under the masthead, with the intro, “The Blogger”. Hey, that’s me!

Here it is: Writer’s Retreats —Our Thoughts, Part Two 

And here’s the rest of the group: Writer’sRetreats — Our Thoughts, Part One 

Meanwhile, June sees another milestone for me: the first time I have served as Literary Track Director for a fan-run convention, this one centered around a steampunk theme. ConTemporal opens in Raleigh, NC on Friday afternoon, and I’ve helped to bring in a great group of authors and “crossover” guests (authors who are also costumers or gamers or makers):

Guests of Honor

Emilie P. Bush

Dave Lee

Aleta Pardalis

Literary and “Crossover” Guests

Suzanne Adair

Chris Berman

Danny Birt

Clay & Susan Griffith

JM Lee

Jean-Michel Margot

Misty Massey

Marina Sergeyeva

Winfield Strock

Tanith Tyrr & Todd Stewart

Mark Van Name

Suzanne Warr

Allen Wold

Darcy Wold

Check out the ConTemporal website , and if you’re in the area, come “step into the story” of this experiential steampunk convention for a day or the whole weekend!

Here’s a fabulous, fun video that gives you a taste of last year’s ConTemporal: 

Dogs in house:	Houdini, Brindle
Time writing	45 minutes
June word count	9,272