Conference vs Convention

Just back from my 11th or 12th trip to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. As always, it was a great time, seeing old friends, making new ones, renewing professional contacts, and even sitting in on a few learning sessions, too.  Not to mention staying up way too late talking writing.  One of my facebook posts drew a common question:

I'm always wondering if I should go to a con like this. I've written a couple of practice novels, but over the past several years have focused on short stories. I've written over 60 short stories and I'm getting tired of creating a new world for each one, so I've decided to start writing novels ... I like the look of the PPWC, but wonder if it'll be worth the expense.

First off, PPWC is not a con like a science fiction convention where information is presented via panel discussions by a mix of authors and fans, alongside, gaming, art shows, masquerades and costuming and so forth. Writers' conference presentations are 90% workshops featuring skilled presenters who cover either craft topics - like creating richer characters, strengthening plots/scenes, making your prose more clear or more vivid - or writing business topics - like how to pitch your book, how to write good synopses or queries, how to create book trailers or how to use social media more effectively. Writers conferences are not focused on sf/fantasy, though they might include some specialized workshops like my Fantasy Fundamentals presentation last weekend. (But good plotting is good plotting, good characters are good...ad infinitum) Guest editors and agents will talk about what they are looking for submission-wise, and also what the market is doing.  They will usually talk about flaws that make them pass on a submission, or how their particular publishing house or agency works with authors. Attendees get the opportunity to socialize with the guest authors, editors, and agents, and also sign up to read their opening pages for one of them or pitch their books to someone who might be interested. There is lots of informal networking as well. So there is a lot of bang for the additional bucks. Most writers conferences are focused on novel writing, but of course, the craft aspects can apply to all lengths of work, so it may or may not be right for you.

I love both sf/f/ conventions and writers' conferences (PPWC and the Colorado Gold Conference in Denver are particularly good ones) but they are very different events. Read more of this post!

Being Social

I have resisted being sucked into excess social networking. I do find it an easy distraction when the writing gets tough.

On the other hand, I enjoy it immensely.  My kids were on facebook, so I had to join that.  And since then, I've feel like I've come to know many of my readers and conference friends and friends of my

friends well.  I love the sense of a worldwide network. It bugs me that I don't have time to read every post - even when skipping all the cat photos and chain memes.

My agent has begged me for years to get on twitter, but I kept hoping it would go away.  I was sure I would drown.  I tried blogging for a year, but there are so many people who do it better (eg. John Scalzi, whose blog is erudite and informative) and I never garnered many followers. But then, there are times when I would like to say a little more than a facebook post...and times when a little less will do.  What is a confused writer to do?

For the next few months I am going to juggle a bit, and impose a little self-discipline.  Maybe this is the influence of Lucian de Remeni (see Dust and Light and Ash and Silver).  While still foregoing Instagram and Pinterest and a host of other sites, I am going to jump into:

• Twitter:  handle is @cbergwriter - which is a bit obscure but there were other Carol Bergs and I already have some followers, so it has to stay

• Facebook: carolberg is the relevant access

• This (textcrumbs.blogspot.com): I'm reviving the blog a couple of times a week.  This will be longer posts on the WIP, and other writing topics and whatever else comes to mind.

I'll do my best to link these to each other so that one access point is all that's necessary.

If I can limit to a reasonable time each week, maybe this will work.  Come along and bring your friends!





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Launching Dust and Light!

August is going to be a busy month.

Any month where you give birth is busy - though I hope to get more sleep than in those human baby days! I'll be all sort of places online in August and do a little traveling, too. A book's legs are established in its first month out.  And an author's career teeters on those legs.  So I'm off to the races.

I'm going to kick things off this Friday.  Yes, the book isn't quite  out yet.  August 5th is the official date.  But I had an opportunity to share an evening of talk and reading with E.C. Ambrose.  Back when E.C. Ambrose was writing as Elaine Isaak, a very cruel dark-fantasy writer, I shared a  couple of panels with her at conventions.  We had fun comparing our wicked ways with our heroes.  The word?  She makes me look like a pansy!  And so does her alter ego, EC.

Anyway she is in town launching her own new book, and she couldn't make it in August.  So we'll have our little soiree on Friday evening, July 25th at 7:00pm at Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins.

Next up will be Bubonicon, August 1-3 in Albuquerque.  The book won't officially be out then, either, but my good friends at the Broadway Book Mall are in charge of the bookstore at the con and have gotten early release permission from my publisher.  So if you want it early, come visit us in Albuquerque.

Then it's off to California and a Sunday, August 10th, 2pm event at the flagship sff bookstore Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego.

Saturday, August 23, at 2pm, I'll be back in Denver for my Colorado launch at the wonderful, friendly Broadway Book Mall.  And I'll be reading, and parlaying with Laurey Patten, longtime writing partner, who has just released her excellent sword-and-sorcery adventure The Talent Sinistral.

And then there are the online appearances.  Here's where you'll be able to find me online in August:

Thursday August 7:

John Scalzi's Big Idea;

Magical Words: Guest Author on Dust and Light;

Thursday August 14:

Reddit Fantasy AMA (Ask Me Anything) Real Time starting at 7pm Central;

Magical Words: Guest Author on Characters;

Thursday August 21:

Magical Words: Guest Author on Blowing Up the Dam;

Thursday August 21:

Magical Words: Guest Author on The Writing Life;

Join me so I'm not sitting lonely at my keyboard. You can ask me anything at any of these stops (not just the Ask Me Anything).  And Stay Tuned for a few more stops!

What about autumn, you might say...

In September I'll be thrashing and burning, trying to finish off Ash and Silver. The forecast is cloudy. But I will also be appearing at the Colorado Gold Writers Conference and teaching some workshops on worldbuilding and NOT outlining. Later in the fall I'll be at MileHiCon in Denver and then at the World Fantasy Convention in Washington DC in early November.  More on those later. Read more of this post!

Autumn in Review - September

Time to wake up this blog! I just sat up and realized it's Thanksgiving - well no, that's already passed. I think I'll start with a quick review of what's been happening this year. Out of order and higgledy-piggledy, but here goes. Let's start with September...

On one weekend,  I took a Sunday hike with kids up to Lake Isabelle in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area.  Our terrible drought here in Colorado was made visible when we arrived at the lake.  Not fire damage, thank goodness, but just dry.  Most of the lake just wasn’t there.  Here’s what we saw on a glorious autumn day.  Note the barren strip around the current water line -a beach where there shouldn't be one.   Here’s a view of the same lake in a greener year.  We did have a good time stomping on the wooden bridges along our hike to make sure no trolls came up to grab us.  None did.  Whew!

 


The Colorado Gold Writers Conference, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is always a September highlight. The workshops are great, but I find myself sitting for a great deal of the conference hours in the large, open, and most welcoming bar/lobby of the Denver Renaissance hotel. It’s a great time and place to catch up with writer-friends from all over the region, as well as meet new ones. I gave a morning Master class on characterization, as well as a workshop on writing first person. I also did an hour's discussion with authors Warren Hammond and Mackay Wood on violence in fiction – why an author may choose to use it, and what we considered our own boundaries and favorite techniques for writing violent scenes. I also had to give a kick-off speech, seeing as how the members of RMFW had voted me in as their 2012 Writer of the Year. It is a great honor, and I was treated royally.

What I Was Working On: workshops for Colorado Gold, proof pages for The Daemon Prism mass market, the New Boo, the Obama campaign

What We Were Watching: Merlin, Mad Men, Bronco football

More about the New Book soon.  Watch for The Next Big Thing. Read more of this post!

WorldCon!

This year's World Science Fiction Convention is at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago over Labor Day weekend - Thursday, August 30 through Monday September 3. It's always fun to visit this vibrant city (especially since I have kids in the area.

But WorldCon itself is amazing. Five days of non-stop programming, sometimes 25 things going on at once. There are panels on every conceivable fantasy/sf-related topic - writing, art, "the literature", film and TV, comics, and so on - as well as actual gaming from Risk or Magic, the Gathering to the latest RPGs, music, dancing, costuming and the ultimate Masquerade, an art show and art auction, the Hugo Awards, book dealers and other vendors selling art, jewelry, costumes, and everything else. Guest writers like me, editors, agents, reviewers, and artists staff the panels, hoping to get face to face with readers. I've got a busy schedule this year.

Here's the list...

• Thursday, Aug 30, 4:30pm: Autographing 
• Friday, Aug 31, 12 noon: panel on Writing Beyond the First Two Pages 
• Friday, Aug 31, 3pm: BroadUniverse Rapidfire Reading - 17 readers in an hour and a half - FUN! Saturday, Sept 1, 10:30am: panel on Writing Vivid Characters 
• Saturday, Sept 1, 3pm: ANOTHER panel on Writing Vivid Characters(Don't ask me! But I like the topic.) 
• Sunday, Sept 2, 9:30am: Reading - PLEASE COME! Depending on the audience, I might be prevailed upon to read from the new book... 
• Sunday, Sept 2, 10:30am: Kaffeeflatsch - Sign up on the list and come - we can talk about anything you like!
I've some prep to do. Four-minute reading for BroadUniverse, full reading for Sunday. Considering topics for the Character panel that I am supposed to moderate and thoughtful comments for the others. All good things. Hope to see lots of you there.

Read more of this post!

Good news!

There are many kinds of good news an author can receive: good reviews, positive reader comments, new contracts, new translation agreements, award news, and so forth. But on Friday, I heard two of the best lines an author can hear.

News the first. We've had to go back to press on the new book. That is, the print version of The Daemon Prism has outsold expectations in the first two weeks.


News the second. We're taking Transformation back to press. Copies should be available by the end of the month.



This is a tough publishing environment. No one can really predict the impact of electronic publishing on a new release. The percentage of a new release bought in electronic form is increasing dramatically with every year that goes by. I'll bet thousands of readers are sporting new Kindles or Nooks since the holidays. Yes, authors get paid - in my case fairly equally - for both print and electronic books. But I still hold that new readers are more likely to find my books by running across them in bookstores. Either the cover art or the back cover blurb might attract them, or they will recall mention of my work by reviewers or my wonderful readers on Facebook or book blogs or at parties or writers events. It is always nice to exceed expectations.

As for backlist... Many of you notices that my very first published book Transformation has been pretty scarce for most of the last year. It is awful when the last two books in a series are available and the first one is not. Certainly an author's nightmare! But warehousing books is a huge expense for publishers and everyone is waiting to see if e-books really do replace the mass market paperback, especially for older works. Evidently my publisher has decided that the demand for Transformation is such that they can't wait and see any more. Hooray for that! Transformation holds a special place in my list. It's where many of my readers started out on a journey that's taken us all to some deeper and darker places.

So anyway, thanks to all of you out there for encouraging my publisher to this point of view! Now back to work on something new.


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WorldCon in Reno - Day 3

The late night and the blackout curtains in the hotel room did their work. I didn't wake up until almost 9:30 - and I had an event at 10! The hike through the sprawling hotel and the half mile of skywalk into the convention center seemed extra long. Made it in time and mostly put together.

My first event was the the BroadUniverse Rapidfire Reading. We had about twelve readers and a gracious hostess in Anne Wilkes. Each of us read for 4 minutes. As on Wednesday at the library I chose a bit of Song of the Beast to read - in honor of its re-release coming up in October. The first page of Song is one of my favorite of my openings. Ahh...poor Aidan.

I love BU RFRs - you get to hear bits of all sorts of speculative fiction, as you are introduced to published and unpublished women writers. Fantasy writer Elaine Isaak, as I've seen before, topped the day with an hilarious short piece exactly designed for four minutes. Don't miss Elaine at an RFR - and don't volunteer to be one of her heroes.

Fortunately, I had half an hour before my long reading to get a drink and catch my breath. There are lots of things in the writing life I don't do at all or don't do well - blog tours, tweeting, cold calling, keeping up with giveaways and such. But I adore reading aloud. I don't so much "act out" the story as shift my voice slightly between speakers. But I know all the emotion and subtle meanings that are lurking in my characters and I think I do a pretty good job bringing all that to the fore when I read.

Unless one is the guest of honor, con readings are most usually given a strict 30 minute time slot. Thus it is extremely rude for a reader to linger past time. I always sweat this, as I try to cram a sizable piece into my reading! And this was to be my inaugural reading from The Daemon Prism. So it was truly distressing when the reader who had the slot before mine lapsed 10 minutes into my slot. Even after I stepped into the back of the room, she continued, even at one time holding her pages in front of her face. I discovered later that she was the widow of one of my favorite writers, but she should ask for more time if she needs it. Some of the first things you learn as a neo-pro is to time your readings, respect other professionals, and respect the attendees, both those attending your session and others. OK, enough of my rant...

I did have a good-sized and appreciative audience - thank you all for that! (I'll be doing this same Daemon Prism reading at MileHiCon, World Fantasy, and Tuscon.) Used most of the following hour visiting with people I hadn't seen in a couple of years! Found out my friend and reader Corky had sold his first story to Fantasy Magazine - that is FINE!

There is nothing so good for one's humility than sharing an autographing with Robin Hobb, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Patty Briggs. I really, really appreciated my steady trickle of readers! I had been looking forward to a chance to meet Robin/Megan and talk with her a bit, but it was not to be. She was still signing when I hurried off to meet my good friend Diana Pharaoh Francis, paranormal romance writer turned Tor fantasy author Susan Krinard, and my agent Lucienne Diver for a drink and a discussion of the new world of e-publishing. Many literary agents are looking for ways to support their clients in the e-publishing as well as the print publishing sphere. It's always important to research agents carefully - and now that this new wrinkle is popping up, it's even more important. I feel very fortunate to have Lucienne as my agent.

After dinner, we sat over at the other con hotel shooting the breeze and watching the people wandering in and out of the masquerade. A short bus ride back and it was time to crash.

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WorldCon in Reno - Day 2

Thursday was my busiest day at the con - non-stop from 9am to 2am. I was scheduled for two panels, a kaffeeklatsch, my publisher's presentation, plus I wanted to attend two of my friends' debut readings, their book launch party, and a couple more parties where I might run into people I knew.

Well I ran into people I knew all day, as it happened. Writer friends, readers, convention acquaintances from Montana, Seattle, and other WorldCons. That's the part I love about conventions, running into all these people, when I used to know no one. Then I can introduce them to each other. Still a lot of folks I don't know. In the cafe at breakfast time were George RR Martin, Joe Haldeman, and Robert Silverberg. Well, I've been introduced, but...

The panels were interesting...
The first one was on how to make it as a full time writer. Interesting perspectives from a delightful Bud Sparhawk, Dean Wesley Smith, Christina York, and Tom Negrino, who writes mostly non-fiction. We concluded that there was a great deal of difference between those who have to support a family as a full time writer and those, like me, who graduate to being a full time writer after a decently paying day job. Also talked about how many writers find it either more stimulating or less stressful to intentionally pursue their day jobs, even when they could probably make it on writing alone. Full time writing is not always the glamor job aspiring writers imagine. But we all agreed writing was the best job in the world.

After a fine hour kaffeeklatsching with five questioning readers, I moderated a panel on creating non-human characters. We had a big audience, and it became clear that this was a huge topic, when one considered everything from enhanced humans (Kathleen Anne Goonan) to lizard or cyber intelligences (Robert Sawyer) to fantastic creatures (Martha Wells and me). Another panelist, Amy Thomson, stirred things up a bit speculating on why it is so hard to get stories with entirely non-human characters published. And we talked about the problems of getting readers to identify and sympathize with characters so entirely alien.

My friends Courtney Schafer and Brad Beaulieu did beautifully on their first WorldCon readings. Both have debut novels just out from Nightshade Books. Saw far too many books I want to read at the Ace/Roc "What's coming up?" presentation. Party-hopped with my agent, Lucienne Diver, best-bud/fine author Diana Pharaoh Francis, and friend Kendra from MisCon who was soaking in her first WorldCon. Mostly very hot and noisy, so after an hour or two, Di, Kendra, and I grabbed Sue Bolich and retreated to a quiet, smoke-free lounge area and talked and people-watched until about 1:30am. Now THAT is the best of convention life!
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WorldCon in Reno - Day 1

Mostly travel today. A smooth trip - nice to travel west and get an extra hour. Got into the Atlantis "Casino Resort Hotel" about 2. Walked in the door and struck by the smoke. I am just not used to smoky venues anymore. As in all these places, the main floor is a smoky labyrinth of neon-lit money sinks. This is one vice that just does not tempt me, thank goodness. Really, I just don't get it. Dropped my stuff in the room and found my way over to teh convention center.

This venue is HUGE. Besides two of these casino hotels (we don't fill both of them up) the convention center is the size of an airport. It is "across the street" which means a 10-15 minute trek through casino, skywalk, and vasty hallways the length of runways. Got credentials and schedule and decided to explore a little. Immediately ran into two friends - TI Morganfield and Barb-Galler-Smith - which was nice considering the number of friends who canceled on me - you know who you are Brenda and Justin. Found program ops in case of any snags and the Green Room - a nice place for program participants to meet each other and get a snack or cuppa during the day. Hiked back to the hotel and got ready for my first event, which was...

...a reading at the public library across the street. Not too hot ffor the walk - yea! Heard Sharon Lee and Steve Miller reading, which was fun, and was gratified that everyone didn't leave. Several new people came in even though it was 5pm. I read from Song of the Beast in honor of its re-release coming in October.

Caught good friend and fine writer Sue Bolich before she caught the shuttle back to the other hotel and we had a great con dinner - just the two of us talking writing for three hours. How nice is that! At 9 we made our way upstairs to the party floor. I generally avoid the "sweaty cheese" events as they are always crowded and hot, but this was the "bid party" for the 2015 WorldCon for the city of Spokane. Just like the Democratic National Convention, the Olympics, and other large moveable gatherings, prospective WorldCon host cities must raise money, promote their venues, and get a vote from the relevant people (in this case the members of the convention) to get the bid. This has to happen several years out as it takes reams of planning and multitudinous volunteers to put on one of these. As it happens the party hostess for Spokane's bid was Patty Briggs - the NYT bestseller, fabulous writer, and altogether delightful person and I wanted to make sure to see her.

Yes, the room was hot and crowded, but it was fun to catch up with Patty and some MisCon friends. The SpoCon people and MisCon people are sort of joined at the hip (though Justin and Bob, my MisCon hosts weren't there, darn it). Stopped by the San Antonio in 2013 bid party on my way out. They had so much good-smelling food, it made me wish I hadn't eaten dinner. Much more than sweaty cheese and baby carrots. But I settled for a root beer (yeah, not even the hard stuff) and a nice conversation with one of the first people I ever met at a WorldCon - Deidre Saoirse Moen. (Another fine writer.) WorldCons really are like family reunions.

But by this time I was fried and tomorrow (actually today) I have to moderate two panels, so I hauled back to the room and spent a little thinking time before cashing in my chips for the night. More tomorrow...today... Read more of this post!

Coming to Reno?

WorldCon 2011! Renovation - Reno, Nevada. Have you got your boots strapped on, your wallet tucked away, and your backpack loaded with books to get autographed? WorldCon is less than a month away.

I'll be there this year, after missing Australia (2010) and LA (2009). Looks like I have a good, solid program, too.

Panels:

Thu 1pm: Making It as a Full-time writer with Bud Sparhawk, Christina York, and Dean Wesley Smith

Thu 4pm: Writing Non-human Characters with Robert Sawyer and Martha Wells

Sat 1pm: Religion in Fantasy with Tim Powers and L.E. Modesitt

Readings:

Wed Aug 17 5pm at the Sierra View Library across the street.

Fri Aug 19 11:30am (The Daemon Prism, yes...)

Kaffeeklatches: sign up for a small-group session to ask whatever you want

Thu 3pm (don't leave me lonely!)

Sat 10am (don't know how I got two, but it should be fun!)

Autographing:

Fri 1pm (or any time you catch me, espcially if we can have a cuppa or a drink!)

My first SF convention was WorldCon in Chicago in the year 2000. I had never imagined so many people getting together to talk about books, movies, games, writing, science, costumes...anything and everything science fiction and fantasy related. There can be as many as 30 events going on at one hour. But as my agent told me at the time, science fiction conventions - especially WorldCon and the World Fantasy Convention are family reunions for the professional fantasy and science fiction worlds. Writers, agents, editors, critics, anthologists, and LOTS of readers attend. It is a great place to network and hang out with your favorite writers.

WorldCon is huge - well, I thought so until ComicCon soared into 100K+ territory. But I haven't ventured that one yet.

Come and join me in Reno!

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The Daemon Prism - DONE!

This has been an intense year. I got a late start on The Daemon Prism, thanks to the previous intense year writing The Soul Mirror. Every time I got moving on TDP, I would get sidetracked by Soul Mirror revisions or copyedits or proof pages or postcards or whatever. And then holidays. By New Year's 2011 I felt I was barely started (well, ok, 40-50K words) but I certainly didn't have a good handle on the underlying themes of the books. Which meant I had exactly four months to finish the book, not to mention figuring out what it was about. So what did I do?



I completely immersed myself in the book. Every day I wrote until I made some kind of progress. My Exceptional Spouse took on all the other necessities. The dust piled up. The weeds grew taller. The house looked like sleeping beauty's wall of thorns. But late in March, I got up one morning and wrote a creation myth for Sabria's world. I realized that this piece of the Collegia Magica mystery stemmed from the fundamental truths of the world. By April 48th (deadline was end of April!) I turned in a raw, rowdy, oversized manuscript to my editor. After a week to catch my breath, I started revising. And on July 15 I sent in a finished, trimmed, coherent, and mostly polished manuscript. It was like...magic!
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Peeking out from under

Spring of 2011 has vanished. No magic in my books could have done it so effectively. I have been immersed in The Daemon Prism, the third and last novel of the Collegia Magica, emerging every once in a while to attend a conference or convention. When at the computer, I've been working on the book. Two weeks ago now, I sent a first, very rough version to my editor. Whee! The freedom of having the story on the page is huge. Now I can start revising and make it a real story. But for a few days I've had to play catch-up: family, house,yard, plus one of teh most fun conventions I've ever done - MisCon, a regional sf/fantasy convention in beautiful Missoula, Montana. This is no podunk con - I blazed a trail for one George R.R. Something-other who will be the Writer Guest of Honor next year. (More about MisCon in another post.)

Now I've had a little vacation, it's time to get back to revising The Daemon Prism, as well as catching up on the blog, updating the website, and other tasks that feel by the wayside. Here is a teaser for what I've been working on. (Warning: possible spoiler if you've not read The Soul Mirror.)





Thou’rt Fallen, Dante. Born in frost-cold blood; suckled on pain. Thy repentance was ever a lie…

Dante the necromancer is the most reviled man in Sabria, indicted by the King, the Temple, and the Camarilla Magica for crimes against the living and the dead. Yet no judgment could be worse than his enemies’ cruel vengeance that left him crippled in body and mind. Dante seeks to salve pain and bitterness with a magical puzzle - a desperate soldier’s dream of an imprisoned enchantress and a faceted glass that can fill one’s uttermost desires.

But the dream is a seductive trap that can drive a man to murder. Its tendrils have ensnared Dante's own past and his one-time partners, threatening to unleash the very cataclysm he fears. Aided by the unlikeliest of allies, the mage embarks on a journey into madness, slavery, ancient magic, and sacred legends, only to discover the appalling truth of his own role in divine mystery…




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Upcoming events

I am emerging from deadline pressure cooker to remind all Colorado folks that the last stop on my Colorado Soul Mirror launch is coming up.

Saturday, Feb 12th, 2pm
Barnes and Noble
2999 Pearl Street
Boulder
[Chocolate will be served!]

Then I go into writers' conference mode with

Fri-Sat March 11-12
Northern Colorado Writers Conference
Fort Collins Hilton
Fort Collins
[I'll be doing a workshop on Voice and one on Character Development.]



Later in the spring, I'll return to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, consistently one of the best conferences around. More about that later.

And over Memorial Day weekend, I'll be Writer Guest of Honor at MisCon in Missoula Montana - check it out if you're in the territory!


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Allllmossst here...

As the days of December rush past, I'm beginning to believe The Soul Mirror is on its way to release. I'm setting up launch events (check the website if you're anywhere near Colorado this coming January.) And I'm starting to see reviews. Publisher's Weekly gives it a starred review, saying:

Berg refreshes and reinvigorates the familiar trappings of epic fantasy, shaping a novel that rings true both linguistically and imaginatively. This is one to savor.

Needless to say I'm delighted with that. Many authors claim reviews shouldn't matter, but of course they do!

You can find the opening chapter at Soul Mirror Opening on my website.

So what else goes on in the month before release?

• Distributing fliers and postcards to bookstores (I've been slack on this).


• Giving away ARCS and copies - see the website for details.


• Scheduling conventions and appearances for all of next year.

And most importantly, writing the next book, the third and last in the Collegia Magica series: The Daemon Prism.
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On the air at Colorado Gold

A great first day at the Colorado Gold Writers Conference in Denver. I love doing writers conferences, which are multi-genre,rather than fantasy/sf specific, and intensely educational in nature. It's a change of pace from sf/fantasy conventions, which are networking, celebratory, and lighter weight. So how did the day unfold?


Breakfast with writer friends.
Sat in the lobby watching people as they arrived, excited, nervous, curious. Three hundred writers in one place means an explosion of words. Awesome.

My first workshop - Communicating Character. A great audience, but, as usual, I talked too much and ran out of time. Thus I had to rush the end and skip some cool examples and exercises. I do dry runs, but they are...dry. I should always double the time allowance!

Listened to the incomparable Connie Willis talk about Mushy Middles - and realized I DID a lot of the things she suggested. Her delivery is so delightful and her examples so good and so varied and so clear, I just wanted to scoop it all up to savor later. Hmm, I COULD buy the CD...

A strawberry margerita in the bar while enjoying the company of some of my critique partner/friends and the incomparable Connie.

Hosted a table of aspiring fantasy and sf writers along with Roc sf writer, Laura Reeve. The food was good and the company enjoyable, though it is impossible to talk with the people across the table, as it is just TOO noisy with 300 verbal people in the same room.

Listened to RMFW Writer of the Year (and conference chair) Pam Nowak talk about her poignant and inspiring story of learning to write.

Book sale - talked to readers - because writers are ALL readers - and signed books for a couple of hours, before retiring to a quite conversation group.

And then a dash up to the roaring hospitality suite to talk more (not quietly) and get silly before crashing.

I love this job!
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Consumed by the Soul Mirror

Here is a new interview with a freshly scrubbed book review site Speculative Book Reviews.


If you are wondering where I've been, I am in Deadline Hell. I got an extension on the Soul Mirror deadline to April 30 - thank you, dead editor. So I am determined to make it. The Soul Mirror is complicated...surprise!!...and unfolding at a steady, but stately pace. That is, I am really poky.

I feel extremely guilty when taking time out to write a lovely, articulate blog post, while my heroine languishes in indecision or mortal peril. My outside writing activities have been pretty much limited to Spirit Lens appearances, readings, and Norwescon (a delightfully fun convention) and the occasional Facebook status update (join me there - Carol Berg, Northern Colorado). I promise to return here soon.
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Events and Deadlines and the Partridge in the Writing Tree

Hello, hello. anybody there? Yep, I'm alive. Poking my head up from the hole like the February groundhog after a seriously overwhelming few weeks. Last night I was feeling pretty awful about having written so little (deadline for The Soul Mirror 4/30) and blogged even less over the past six weeks, but then I started counting. Over the past seven weeks, I've done:

1. Nine bookstore events - two of them here my own town, one in San Diego, the other six elsewhere in Colorado. Each involved program preparation - whether it is readings or coordination with a couple of fellow authors who shared a few of the events - as well as email, snailmail, forum and facebook notifications, and coordination with the bookstore involved. Thank goodness for Shannon Baker and Janet Fogg, two author friends who shared the coordination of our four-stop Three Adventures Tour and made gorgeous posters, and launch party invitations, and to Karen and Julie, who organized the most fabulous launch parties in Boulder and Denver.




2. My first podcast reading for Broad Universe, a great organization that supports women writing fantasy and sf. This involved...
   
   ... downloading recording software, preparing a five minute reading - which is not simple - setting up microphone, learning to use the software, test reading, paring out words, more test readings, getting Exceptional Spouse help with setting up an amplifier so one could hear the reading, more test recording, paring out more words, editing out hiccups, etc. Now that I've done it all, it should only take a short time for the next one in April. Yeah, uh-huh.
   
   



3. A five-day writing retreat in Fairplay. OK, I did get good writing done those days.



4. Three critique group meetings with associated reading, of course.
   



5. One extensive written critique I had donated as a prize to a writing organization.



6. Travel planning for two convention trips.
7. Planning for a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers March workshop, called Words Words Words, to be presented with my most excellent fellow writer Susan Smith (aka Mackay Wood.)
   



8. An extensive written interview for The Dallas Examiner and a shorter one for the Denver Examiner.



9. Writing up proposed back copy (one of the most difficult tasks for this writer) and cover ideas for The Soul Mirror, due to my editor for a cover conference.
   
10. Writing up workshop proposals for two writers conferences.
11. Four doctors' appointments, three days working on income tax, two screening procedures (all is well), and a partridge in a ...

Well, no wonder this felt like a fragmented season. That doesn't even count watching for reviews and references to the new book, and all those other things one should not fret about (but only non-humans could ignore).

So, with the schedule clearer for March, I hope to get back to regular blogging. In April, panic mode sets in with book deadline, Norwescon - doing not only the program of one of my favorite conventions but the Fairwood Writers Workshop, a terrific opportunity for new writers to get pro critiques - and the Pikes Peak Writers Conference - speaking at one of my favorite conferences.

Whew.

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Release Day!

So the day has come. The Spirit Lens is released to the world. (Well, OK, some bookstores and online sellers have leaked it early. Lest you have mistaken me, I'm not JK Rowling, whose publisher enforces strict on sale dates so they know how many million copies a minute she sells.)


So how does it feel?

Scary. Exciting. A relief. A deep and lasting satisfaction, especially for a person who never in the world imagined she could produce a whole book, much less eleven of them. I wrote for a number of years just for myself, and that was fine. But knowing that other people will now meet the characters who live in my head is just excellent. Portier, Ilario, and Dante are out there.

For those of you who have followed the crumbs these past two years, thanks! It has been fun to share the development of the story with you. I hope to get back on track with the second novel of the Collegia Magica.

For those who have read and critiqued - you know who you are - and encouraged and spread the word, thanks so much!


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News...

I have been terribly laggard with this blog of late. Apologies to all. The holidays and family gatherings have occupied lots of time, along with preparing for the launch of The Spirit Lens on January 5th. Preparations included:

• setting up events (see the schedule on my website)


• writing a piece for the Roc newsletter about the novels of the Collegia Magica and how The Spirit Lens took shape


• writing a piece for the Knight Agency holiday blog


• sending out postcards to bookstores


• etc. etc.

Should likely have done more, but I've hardly had time to write as it is! When a bit of minor surgery clogged up the works, my kind editor gave me an extension on The Soul Mirror, which is an incredible relief. I hope to get back to serious work on the book in the next day or so.

Meanwhile, in the hullabaloo surrounding the release of The Spirit Lens, I don't want to forget the Lace and Blade 3 anthology that should be hitting the shelves in mid-February with my Song of the Beast follow-on story called, "The Heart's Coda." Here is the lineup for the anthology:



LACE AND BLADE 3 Table of Contents

Kari Sperring, "Featherweight"
Sean McMullen, "Culverelle"
Sheila Finch, "Fortune's Stepchild"
Judith Tarr, "The Horned King"
Jay Lake & Shannon Page, "Embers"
Tanith Lee, "Question a Stone"
Dave Smeds, "A Swain of Kneaded Moonlight"
Rosemary Hawley Jarman, "Fire and Frost and Burning Rose"
K. D. Wentworth, "The Garden of Swords"
Diana L. Paxson, "Blue Velvet"
Samantha Henderson, "Outlander"
Carol Berg, "The Heart's Coda"

Whew! Is that a lineup or what? I am so pleased to be a part of this project. Should be seeing cover art soon!

I'll keep you posted, and get back to regular blogging as I get into the last third of The Soul Mirror development. You can catch more regular, brief updates on Facebook. I'm "Carol Berg, Northern Colorado."
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Fascinating and Depressing

Here is a great blog post about science fiction and fantasy's continuing struggle for literary recognition:


John Howell on sffmedia

As anyone who's ever heard me rant, this is a pet peeve of mine. I groan every time someone says, "Oh, you're published! What do you write?"


And I say, "I write epic fantasy."

And the face blanks out. "Oh, my kids read that."

Or, "Oh, I don't read that sort of thing. I like to read about real people."

And, of course, it doesn't help that fantasy is dissed by many hard sf writers in exactly the same terms as Atwood disses sf. "Oh, fantasy is nothing but elves, dragons, and unicorns. That soft and fluffy crap. Where's the tension, when any problem can be solved with magic?"

But, of course, such criticisms have to keep us honest. Bottle up those elves and unicorns. And don't let magic solve every problem!!


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