Recorded Vampire Author Interview!
I was honored to be one of four featured authors on the Crafting Dracula’s Future panel, part of the Vampire Studies of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association national conference panels.
Authors include:
International Bestselling Author Dacre Stoker
USA Today Bestselling Author Lux Karpov-Kinrade
International Bestselling Author Greg Wilkey
International Bestselling Author KL Bone
The panel presentation can be found here:
Filed under conferences, vampires
Earlier this year I attended what has quickly become a tradition, exploring the fun world of Rose City Comic Con. The event, held once a year in Portland, was an exciting event of spending time with good friends and meeting the stars.
The show began with a Q&A session with James and Oliver Phelps, most famous for portraying the Weasley brothers from Harry Potter. Together they charmed the audience with their memories from the set and their favorite scenes to shoot from the magical wizarding world.
We also, much to the delight of many members of the group, got to visit with several members from the cast of Star Trek. Those we met included, Brent Spiner, (Data) and John De Lancie (Q) from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
And the original captain of the Enterprise himself, William Shanter, who apparently, in addition to leading perilous journeys where no one has gone before, also proceeded to describe in great/excessive detail how he recently managed to breed his female doberman.
I also had a fun chance to meet Rose McIver, the main actress from iZombie who was exceptionally nice with her wonderful New Zeland accent.
And my friend got to meet his spirit animal, Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants.
Also got to meet Weird Al, who was both fun in his stories and gracious in person. And in case anyone is wondering, yes he brought his accordion.
I enjoyed visiting with my long-time friend and amazing fantasy author, EA Channon. Author of the Flesh of the Blood series, Channon and I met a few years back in New Orleans at the Vampire Lestat Ball where we have both been featured authors over the years. It was fun getting to chat and visit with him throughout the con. And I attend a panel where he presented on writing techniques for aspiring authors.
And of course, my favorite portion of any Comic Con…watching the cosplay!
Overall we had a wonderful at the convention!
Filed under conferences
A few months ago, I had the amazing opportunity to attend San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). This was an incredible event and I had an amazing time attending!
SDCC began with a flight down to one of my favorite cities and I was able to spend a few hours writing on the beach before the event officially began.
The first day of SDCC began with an evening entrance. I was very grateful to have had my tickets provided by Dabel Brothers Publishing who were there promoting their recent publications of Sherrilyn Kenyon graphic novels, along with other numerous additional publications.
Guided by my personal assistant, Gladys, who arranged for me to attend the event, I spent the first day walking around the con, seeing some fun sights which included having a picture taken from a set of the upcoming Star Wars Episode VIII.
Walking through the Star Wars and Marvel model section of the con.
Sitting in the captain’s chairs from Star Trek.
And of course, my favorite part, viewing the incredible cosplay which also comes with a comic con event!
For those who have never been, SDCC is one of the largest with a reported 130,000 people in attendance over the extended weekend. Events span beyond the conference center to multiple hotels along the marina.
Exhibits, cosplay, and super-hero themed drink and food specials fill the entire area for the entirety of the events and there is always something fun to experience.
The next day was spent between exploring further and standing in line for Hall H, which is the largest room in the conference center. Inside are held some of the biggest events and speakers. In order to get into Hall H, one has to acquire a wrist band, which are handed out to those in line the night before events. These lines generally begin days in advance, with people camping out in order to secure entry to see their favorite stars and panels. Though we did not stay overnight at the venue, we stood in line approximately 13 hours in order to acquire our bands and then were back in line the next morning by 5am.
The wait was completely worthwhile! The panels we attend:
Fear the Walking Dead & The Walking Dead:
Game of Thrones:
As a huge fan of both Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, it was an incredible experience and I loved getting to listen to the speakers and panelists talking about the shows.
The last day I managed to attend a couple of panels. One on YA fantasy and another on writing dystopian novels and then had a fun time visiting with the always amazing Christopher Rice.
For those unfamiliar with Christopher’s work, his newest novel co-written by Anne Rice, Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra, will be released later this month. He was kind enough to sign a copy for me and is a novel I would highly recommend!
I also had the incredible opportunity to meet Sherrilyn Kenyon who was kind and generous with her time. I must admit to be a touch star-struck to meet her and she could not have been kinder.
Overall SDCC was an incredible experience for which I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend!
Filed under conferences, Travel
This has been an incredibly busy spring consisting of several trips, book releases and exciting news to come.
Events began in April with a trip down to San Diego, California for the Pacific Cultural Association/American Cultural Association national conference where I was a presenter on a panel concerning the works of bestselling novelist Anne Rice.
Along with three other presenters, we discussed the nature of Rice’s work on the field of gothic literature and the evolution of the vampiric figure in contemporary novels. The panel was an enthusiastic group of scholars from all over the world; Romania, England and Ireland, just to name a few places. The panel created a lively discussion on not only Rice’s work, but the vampiric figure. While we may not agree on all aspects of literature, we did come to one conclusion, Rice’s work has had a profound and last influence upon the gothic field.
The conference itself was an amazing event. It showcased a wide variety of topics, running multiple panels on a multitude of subjects dealing with popular and American culture. When I was not engaged with the vampire panel, I also attended several presentations on Tolkien, mythology, film, television, creative writing, and children’s literature.
In addition to the conference, I also had an opportunity to spend a wonderful afternoon visiting with dear friends and fellow artists, including the always amazing Becket, author of the Key the Steampunk Vampire Girl series, his incredible wife Christina, and artist-extraordinaire Raven Quinn, the illustrator for the map in both my Black Rose Guard and Rise of the Temple Gods series.
We had a fun afternoon visiting and discussing upcoming projects, and testing different flavors of ice cream on what turned out to be a beautiful sunny afternoon.
I was also fortunate enough to have my brother accompany me on the California trip, so we took day off to have some fun visiting some both theme parks and vineyards in the Temecula Valley.
In addition, I also had the opportunity to meet one of my narrators, Cassandra Richardson, in person. We have worked on multiple audiobook projects together, including all three of the books in the Rise of the Temple Gods series, the recently released Shadow of the Rose, and the upcoming audiobook version of my science-fiction novel, Indoctrination. It was wonderful to meet her in person and I cannot recommend her amazing talent enough!
In June, I took a vacation trip to Hawaii, a gift from both of my grandmother’s for my birthday. Though it was my second time visiting the islands, the pervious trip had been nearly a decade before.
My grandmothers, who visit the islands almost ever year, graciously showed me around, taking me on a road trip to see the important sights, namely the Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S Arizona. While I had been to this site previously, it was no less a humbling and beautiful memorial.
The rest of the trip consisted of stunning beaches, a look into Polynesian Culture, and a trip to the Dole factory for Pineapple Whips!
And course, as always, we visited the Hard Rock Cafe.
For those unaware, I am an avid pin collector and visit the cafes everywhere I go.
Both trips were incredible experiences, and I had an amazing time.
Next week, I will be traveling to San Diego Comic Con! I am very excited to be attending, and will be posting about the trip upon my return!
Filed under conferences, Travel
Our crazy foray into the Outback began with more time in airports and airplanes than I’ve ever spent. After the brief puddle-jumper flight to Vancouver, B.C. we boarded our flight for Australia.
16 hours later we arrived in Brisbane in order to catch a flight to Sydney, before then catching a flight to Cairns (a town on the Australian east coast). Which means, with the time changes, we got on a plane in the US at 8pm on Saturday night. We reached our first destination at 9pm on Monday night! Time travel! Great Scott!
After collapsing at the hotel for the night, we got up early and caught the shuttle to the marina for our boat tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Personally, I’m very nervous when it comes to being out on the water, but managed to work up the nerve to get into the ocean for a little while. We saw the coral and loads of fish, including a few from the cast of Finding Nemo.
My husband and Steve, on the other hand, loved the water. So they were out much longer while I enjoyed the scenic views of the upper deck of the boat. It was a clear, sunny day, just perfect for it. Which was very fortunate considering the thunderstorm that rolled in a few hours after we got off the boat.
The three of us grabbed some dinner downtown. My husband and Steve (again, far braver) also sampled some of the local delicacies. On the Bill of Fare: Barramundi (a kind of regional sea-bass), Crocodile, Kangaroo, and Emu. I decided to stick with Shrimp, though I’m told Roo can be tasty. I’ll live with the mystery.
We then flew to a place I had always dreamed of visiting, Sydney!
Naturally, we made sure to visit the Sydney Opera House. We took the full tour, learning the history of the conception, construction and history of the famous building. It was a lot of fun though, I must say, the Opera House itself was a much more practical building than I imagined. I guess, for some reason, I envisioned something like the royal opera house of Paris or Munich. Elaborate structures with paintings on the ceilings and velvet curtains. Instead, it was a modern marvel, practical with a major emphasis on function over aesthetic compared to its European counterparts. Given that it was completed in the 1970’s, the modern nature of the building makes a lot more sense.
The next day in Sydney we went out to explore more of the city. As anyone who knows me will be anything but shocked, our wandering led to a wine bar. Along with some delicious native wines, they served an amazing fondue. The first course: goat cheese with chaarcutere & the second: dark chocolate with fruit and sweets. We basically ended up with the room to ourselves and the staff matched Australian wines to all the foods we were trying. All three of us love wine tasting so that was a lot of fun and we got to relax and marvel at the fact that we were actually trying Australian wine in Australia with Australians.
Steve did not accompany us to New Zealand (some nonsense about “going home…paying bills…fired if I’m not back by Monday”), so that was just me and Cam on that portion of the trip. We started our Kiwi adventure with a tour of the Glow-worm Caves.
After a pretty hike through the hills, we were taken into a pitch-black cave and put on this inflatable raft. The group floated down the river running through the insides of the caves. Looking up, at times it was like looking at a starry-night sky with a slightly blue-green glow to it. A glow-worm is itself like a small caterpillar, smaller than most fishing lures, and the bio-luminescence is meant to attract food. I wasn’t crazy about the bug, part, but the visuals were certainly something to behold.
Going into the cave was a bit of a trial for me, as it was narrow in a few places and I can get a touch claustrophobic, but I am glad that I did it, as it was certainly a unique and beautiful experience.
Then we went to my favorite part – Hobbiton!
On a working farm a couple of hours outside of Auckland is the original set for Hobbiton, home town of the Hobbits from the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series.
We managed to grab tickets to the evening banquet tour and it was AMAZING!!! We took an extended evening tour of the shire, got tons of photos and heard fun stories about the movie set and filming. The story of the discovery of the filming site was fascinating enough. A scout wandered onto the property on a random farm on a Saturday. Fortunately, it was halftime during the Rugby game and the owner opened the door. The scout was allowed to tour the property and found the three things Peter Jackson was looking for: a lake, a tree, and of course, hills.
The scenery itself was beautiful. Each of the Hobbitt Holes had a different theme, noting the different jobs each of the inhabitants would have done (gardener, bee-keeper, fisherman, post-box artist, etc.) We also got to see Sam’s House, the Party Tree, and Bag-End. After the tour, we went into the Green Dragon and tried some ales that were made specifically there (I brought home a bottle of Southfarthing Cider and Middle Earth wine).
Dinner began with a red-velvet curtain reveal of the Hobbit-inspired feast. Food was displayed like a work of art!
Roasted chickens, fried sausages, beef-and-ale pie, ham-hock, all manner of veggies, and more than enough for Seconds (or Thirds, if you are in the Hobbit spirit). It was also followed by a huge dessert tray with some varieties of New Zealand desserts, which were interesting to try including Kiwi Pavolva (hard meringue, whipped cream and fruit).
Then we got to take the tour back through the Hobbiton set by lantern-light. The entire experience was incredible and we got really great memories captured by some great photos.
I had my conference the next day—the Gothic Association of New Zealand and Australia. (GANZA) I presented a paper on child vampires that seemed well received and had the pleasure of getting to meet a wide range of Gothic scholars whose company I greatly enjoyed.
Then we headed down to Wellington, which is on the southern tip of the North Island. I loved the city. It was on the coastline so we walked the beach and had dinner where we could see the ocean.
This began our independent Lord of the rings filming site expedition.
We saw Mt. Victoria (the filming location for the scene where Aragon gets the sword Anduril in Return of the King) and then went to see the filming location for Rivendell! It was also incredible, inside of a National park that was rather breathtaking in itself.
We also took a brief tour of Weta Studios, which designed all the props for LOTR and did the digital work on Golum and and few other main scenes. They also worked on District 9, The Avengers, and the new Wall of China film with Matt Damon that is coming out soon, just to name a few.
While in the area, we spent a couple of nights with family friends who live there. They played tour-guide for two days and took us to the filming location of Mt. Doom. Another beautiful site, and an actual active volcano no less.
And then we spent the second morning at a vineyard, trying some local New Zealand wines.
That’s the condensed version of my trip. I loved it, but it went by too fast!
Filed under conferences, Travel
This summer has been incredibly busy and filled with wonderful events, lots of writing, and working with several narrators to release audiobooks.
First, for some VERY exciting news! Barnes and Noble in Vancouver, WA is now carrying Black Rose, the first novel in the bestselling Black Rose Guard dark fantasy series!
If you are in the area, feel free to check it out!
Second, Audiobook news! Black Rose, Heart of the Rose, Heir to Kale & Heir to Koloso are now available in audiobook format through Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Brought to life by wonderful narrators, these are great editions of the novels for anyone who enjoys audiobooks and I could not be more excited.
Blood Rose will also become available in Feb. of 2017.
The summer itself began with the second annual Words on the Vine Book Signing at Bethany Vineyards in WA, featuring seven amazing authors who gathered together to share their love of literature with fans.
Dina James, Brandy L. Rivers, Shane Chase,
Sarah M. Credit, Blythe Ayne, Greg Wilkey & K.L. Bone
In addition to the event itself, it also was a cause for celebration as the original members of #TeamGregWilkey was reunited for the event!
For those who don’t know, Greg, in addition to being a wonderful friend, is also the author of The Life and Undead of Mortimer Drake Vampire series and the Neither Nor series. More info can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Dead-Undeath-Mortimer-Drake-ebook/dp/B0058DX8F8/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8#nav-subnav
We had a wonderful time visiting with friends, discussing the finer arts of writing and showing off our (less-than-stellar) bowling skills.
Next, I attended the Author Palooka signing in Mesquite, Nevada over the summer. I enjoyed spending the day with fellow authors and getting to meet new readers!
The trip though began with a few days hanging out in California where I had the great privilege of visiting with several friends who also happen to be fellow authors and artists. I had a wonderful lunch with wonderful friends Becket & Stina.
Becket is an author in his own right, of The Blood Vivicanti and Key the Steampunk Vampire Girl. If you’re unfamiliar with his writing, I highly recommend checking out his books here: http://www.becket.me
I also have a wonderful night visiting with my friend and the artist of the incredible map featured in my Rise of the Temple Gods novels, Raven Quinn.
She is also a wonderful singer/songwriter. More information on her work can be found here: http://www.ravenquinn.com
After California and the signing, I spent a few additional days in Las Vegas. We gambled a little, saw a few shows, including the incredible Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil, which I would recommend for any lover Jackson’s music.
We also went to the Siegfried and Roy Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat where we met not only the animals, but happen to run into Siegfried himself!
I also attended the annual PDX vampire ball.
Traditionally held in early spring, the event instead took place in June this year. It was a wonderful event featuring, great music, fun drinks, gorgeous gowns, and of course a traditional midnight waltz.
I also attended a fun writers workshop at the local Barnes and Noble lead by my long-time friend and writing mentor, the amazing NYT Bestselling Author Lilith Saintcrow!
What’s Next?
This weekend I will be attending Rose City Comic Con – photos coming!
October 19th – Rise of the Temple Gods: Heir to the Defendants, book 3 will be released. Cover & Synopsis coming soon!
2017 – Much more coming including the release of both book 4 in The Black Rose Guard series – Silver Rose and the first in a series of side-stories, Shadow of the Rose!
Filed under conferences, Travel, Uncategorized
Rose City & Wizard Con – Portland, Oregon
For those who don’t know, I am a die-hard Star Wars fan. I mean the kind of fan who is currently making plans for the midnight show of the next film that won’t be out until Christmas. So when it was announced that Carrie Fisher was coming to Portland, I had my tickets in hand as fast as my fingers could click the purchase button.
The event was Rose City Comic Con and, to my delight, was a wonderful event all around. I loved the energetic feel of gathering with fellow fans of shows as legendary as Star Wars to those as iconic as superheroes and power rangers.
I loved people watching, occasionally photographing the fun costumes that some had begun to plan months in advance of the event. I, who normally feel out of place in any crowd, quickly felt right at home among these fellow dreamers, discussing theories about what would occur in upcoming marvel films, favorite fantasy novels and of course, the returning world of Star Wars.
And then I met Princess Leia, air predictably tight in my chest, as I struggled to avoid stuttering ‘I’m such a huge fan’ or something equally generic. I managed to smile and say hello as she signed a copy of Episode IV for me and then, later in the con, signed a photograph that we had taken with her.
One great story that came out of the event involved nail polish. After signing my photograph, I was asked by Carrie if she could see my hand, which of course I gave to her, no questions asked. She proceeded to grab a bottle of gold glitter nail polish, glanced at the design on my nails and proceeded to paint over my thumbnail. Strange? Yes. In a totally awesome way? YES!
But it gets better. My best friend was with me when we went to get signatures. After she painted my nail, she asked for his. He proceeded to shake his head, and walked away. When I caught up to him I said, ‘would you seriously not let Princess Leia paint your nails?’ His eyes went wide and he said:
‘What?’
“You wouldn’t let Leia paint your nails!”
“I didn’t know that is what she was asking!” he exclaimed as I started to laugh. “I would have let her paint my nail. I would have let her paint all my nails!”
I, of course being the awesome best friend that I am, proceeded to call his sister about not allowing Leia to paint his nails and he has been appropriately teased about this ever since.
We also met Ray Park, who was a very nice guy to speak to. Another fan girl moment for me as he played one of the most iconic villains to grace the Star Wars franchise, Darth Maul. He took photographs, signed some pictures, and chatted with every person who approached him.
Fast forward a few months later, and it only seemed fair that when my husband (A Trekkie through and through) asked if we could meet William Shatner at the Wizard Con a few months later, I agreed.
And see him we did.
Joined by two close friends, we traversed the Con with eyes wide in child-like amazement. Walking through the rows of vendors and artists is an experience unto itself. It featured everything from comic book artists, to authors, to craftsmen. You could even, at a few stands, get a tattoo right there in the middle of the con. (and many people did!) I got a few books signed, bought a hairpiece fit for an elven queen and a beautiful necklace with dragons.
I met fantasy author Terry Brooks, who I have been a long time fan of. When I told him that I was fantasy author myself, he took the time to speak a little about writing with me and wished me luck with my own work, which was an amazing moment for me!
We also ran into friend and fellow author, EA Channon who recently released a new book in his Flesh of the Blood fantasy series. He and his wife have been attending Cons all over the country to promote his works.
Then, of course, we went to see the most important part of any Con, the celebrities! We met several celebrity guests, everyone from childhood heroes to teenage crushes.
Among those we met, included Jennifer Morrison, star of Once Upon A Time and House, M.D. In person, she was very sweet, entertaining her guests with an occasional story and greeting everyone with a kind smile.
James Marsters, a talented voice actor, perhaps most famous for playing Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He turned out to be among the kindest of those gathered, taking time to speak and visit with each fan as they approached. He took selfies at the table and engaged in enough conversation to make everyone feel as though they were special, including myself who inevitably transformed into a mumbling fangirl when it was finally my turn to approach the table.
In addition to signing autographs, Marsters also offered to call a friend and leave a message in the voice of his vampire alter ego. Unable, to resist, I sent a message to my friend Raven, telling her not to pick up the phone and had Marsters proceed to call and leave her a message. It was awesome of him to do so and her elated reaction made the day truly memorable.
We also, in the name of proceeds going to children’s cancer research, placed a Bounty out for the arrest of our friend. Bounty Hunters came for him traveling across the majority of the con, to walk him back to jail where he spent five minutes paying for his crimes as his friends snapped photos.
My husband and I also met Jewel Staite, aka Kaylee from Firefly, also known as “the other woman” from our college years. She was pleasant and engaging, an impressive feat with her newborn on tow; but the best part was how red my husband turned when he read her message on her photograph asking him to “Tell me I’m pretty?” The same goes for my best friend, who turned a similar shade of red when we teased of his boyish crush on Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter.
But little will best meeting William Shatner. I was not much of a trekkie, but I was a fan of his work on the legal dramedy Boston Legal.
We met him and exchanged a few pleasantries. As much as you can with the mile-long line behind you. But his Q & A session was wonderfully done. I am not sure how many questions he actually answered, but (and he forewarned us of a propensity to ramble) it truly was story time with Grandpa Kirk. His tales, anecdotes and occasional insults made us laugh, and more importantly made us think on topics like friendship, commitment, and dedication.
What was probably the most amazing thing to me about these events was the sheer love of fiction. Whether it was comic books, television shows, anime, or novels, this was a celebration of the worlds dreamed up by artists and adored by fans.
The love of fans was palpable years, sometimes decades, after the series had drawn to a close and the artists had long since left the stage. Cons like this are more than a chance to embrace the inner nerd and/or child. It is the opportunity for so many to come together and celebrate the power of dreams and imagination.
Filed under conferences
For Halloween this year, I returned once again to the city which had so thoroughly captured a large piece of my heart, my beloved New Orleans. It was my third time visiting this wonderful city and second as an invited author of the Undead Conference and Vampire Lestat Ball. The experience was a delightful adventure of seeing new places and revisiting past favorites, sharing my love for the Gothic with fellow enthusiasts and seeing friends both old and new.
The trip began with two fun nights at the Hotel Monteleone, a historic hotel in the French Quarter. After arriving rather late on the first night, we enjoyed a relaxing morning before having lunch at a local bistro called Mr. B’s. If anyone is looking for an excellent restaurant in the area, I would highly recommend it. From the meals to the mouth-watering desserts, everything was excellent and it offered a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere.
This wonderful meal was followed by a a few hours of relaxation in the spa before meeting my brother, who had also flown in for the events. With him, we spent the evening walking down the streets of the French Quarter and enjoying the unique feel that is New Orleans.
Thursday was when the real fun began. It started with an excellent breakfast between a group of talented artists and writers who also have the privilege of calling each other the most incredible of friends. With great discussion of art, literature, films, upcoming projects and life in general, we had an amazing and fun morning just getting to spend time visiting, a rarity in our collections of busy lives.
After breakfast, we headed off to the Hilton Garden Inn, where the Undead Con was being held for registration and, more importantly, a reunion of #TeamGregWilkey. For those who do not know, Greg Wilkey is not only a great friend but an author I greatly admire. Last year, after the vampire ball in the wee hours of the morning, #TeamGregWilkey was born as we awaited the world’s slowest pancakes, a group of six friends who decided to find a new and exciting way to promote his work. (I also wrote one of the introductions to Greg’s newest edition of his Mortimer Drake Vampire series, which can be found here if you have not read his work yet) http://www.amazon.com/Life-Undeath-Mortimer-Drake-Omnibus/dp/0996662804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447368170&sr=8-1&keywords=greg+wilkey
This year it was the same great group and friends…plus t-shirts! It was awesome to see our friend again and with him, reuniting our group to explore New Orleans with the same love and wonder as the first time we walked the streets together.
Later that night, we went to the Q&A with bestselling author, Anne Rice. Though I have had the honor of meeting her several times now, I still cannot help but feel the giddiness of a star-struck child every time I get to see her. Especially when she greeted me with a hug at the entrance of the church where the event was to take place!
Ms. Rice spent her time at the event greeting guests and answering questions about her writing, both past works and upcoming. Then the rest of our time was spent visiting with old friends and making new ones!
The next day I attended the “Ghost” panel, of which Greg was a participant. The panel answered questions from the crowd and spoke of their spiritual and supernatural experiences, from both personal experience for some, and in the work of fiction for others. It created a unique group and a very interesting discussion for the attentive audience.
After the panel, we grabbed a quick lunch and then got ready for the 27th annual Vampire Lestat Ball, this year titled Gathering of the Ancients. A few hours later after a trip to the saloon and getting tied into my gown, we were ready for the ball. As a featured author, along with other members of my group, we had VIP upstairs access and were escorted past the line directly to the ballroom. The venue was massive, featuring multiple open bars, dance floors, and live bands.
I enjoyed the event, visiting my friends, taking photographs in our formal wear and dancing to the gothic tunes which filled the ballrooms. Then, I also had the privilege of again seeing Anne Rice, who was kind enough to take photos with fans during the party.
However, one of my absolute favorite photographs was this one, standing with friend and fellow authors Greg and Becket (author of Key the Steampunk Vampire Girl series). It was so wonderful to see them both that night.
The next day was my own panel, which I shared with Greg Wilkey, Sarah M. Cradit, Alys Arden, and Dawn Chartier. We had a fun panel with great questions covering everything from our writing methods, to our favorite villains. We had a wonderful time and great discussion with both the audience and each other.
From there, we attended the book release party for another fellow author, Eric Shaw Quinn, whose new book, Write Murder, had just been released. Hosted by the guest of honor and Christopher Rice, the party was rather intimate with an open bar and excellent food.
Every attendee was surprised by a free copy of the novel which was subsequently signed by the guest of honor. Attendees were also greeted by author Christopher Rice, who was there supporting Eric.
We had a great time at the party visiting with the various guests and enjoying the time with friends.
After that, it was straight to the Witches Ball. My second time to attend, it was a wondrous gathering at the Elms Mansion in New Orleans.
Though a touch on the rainy side, the ball organizers did a great job of covering the outdoor section of the party enough to allow people to enjoy, despite watching it rain. I had a great opportunity to see and visit with some dear friends who I had not seen since the last ball.
The next day and after several tearful goodbyes, the majority of the events ended and people began to return home. However, we had booked several additional days to simply explore and enjoy the city. We spent the next few days visiting the French Quarter, visiting others who had booked additional days and simply hanging out together. I also was delighted by the opportunity to meet Trisha Baker, author of the Crimson Vampire series which begins with Crimson Kiss. I have been a long-time fan of her work and was very excited by the chance to meet her.
New Orleans is definitely among my favorite cities that I have ever visited. Everything from the food to the laid-back atmosphere to the friends who gather every year at this wonderful series of events makes the trip completely worthwhile and one that I have been honored and privileged to attend and hope to continue to be a part of for many years to come.
Filed under conferences, Travel, vampires
“Every [living] scholar you have ever studied, is probably in this room,” a favorite professor stated at the first event of the International Gothic Association (IGA) Conference. And, with a few exceptions — he was right.
This post is a little late, (and I promise that a recap of New Orleans will be posted soon) but in August of this year, I had the pleasure of speaking at the IGA biannual Conference in Vancouver BC, Canada. The trip started great, as we located the conference hotel with relative ease and proceeded to check in the night before events were to begin, giving a touch of time to recover from the long drive.
The first day was wonderful as I spent the afternoon both visiting with friends and making new ones. There was also a meet and greet that night which featured an impressive gathering of Gothic lovers from students to writers to professors who came together to celebrate their mutual love of dark landscapes, creatures and literature.
The conference itself was an exciting array of papers, covering topics from the oldest of gothic myth of the victorian era to the most modern of supernatural portrayals ranging from the the supernatural television shows Vampire Diaries and True Blood, to the 2014 release, Prince Lestat to (my personal favorite) Key the Steampunk Vampire Girl, the most current of which was released only a few months ago. It also covered zombies, ghosts, victorian literature and all manner of Gothic tales.
I loved getting to meet everyone and stood in awe as a few of those whose work I have studied, quoted and (though I’ll never admit it) worshiped walked by with kind hellos, willing to indulge endless questions pertaining to student’s favorite themes and topics.
My own paper came on the final day of the conference, at a panel hosted at 8 o’clock that morning. Given the early morning status, I was slightly worried that few people would show. However, to my surprise and delight, almost the entire ballroom was filled with interested people. I had never presented a paper to a crowd quite so large before and was a touch nervous walking up to the podium, however after a few moments of speaking, my nerves had (mostly) vanished and I was able to deliver the speech, which seemed well-received by the listeners. A wonderful introduction to the IGA conference overall, as this was the first time I had ever had the pleasure of attending.
Vancouver was a fun city to visit, though I must admit it is often difficult to truly explore in the middle of a long conference. However we did get to visit some great restaurants, a lovely park and a few other places as we went through town. The greatest night that we had to explore, was the last night of the conference, when we took a river boat tour which doubled as the official dinner for the conference.
It was a fun boat with live music and beautiful settings against the background of the Vancouver sunset. The food was surprisingly good (some conference dinners leave a touch to be wanting) and a good time was had by all.
Overall, it was a great experience and I am very much looking forward to attending this wonderful event in the future.
Filed under conferences, Travel
In July of this year, I attended the 13th annual conference on Monsters and the Monstrous held at Mansfield College, the University of Oxford.
To begin the trip, flew first into London, where I spent the first two days exploring one of my favorite cities in all of Europe. Though I have been to many countries and had many wondrous adventures, there is likely no place on Earth has has even held my heart so captivated as England. Such a blend of culture and history. Modern and ancient. The land of Shakespeare, Tolkien, Harry Potter, Kings and Queens…
With my grandmother at Hampton Court.
I started the trip by taking a trip to Hampton Court Palace, the court of King Henry VIII, among others.
The palace was massive, elaborate and beautiful. Featuring massive paintings, large bedrooms, dazzling staircases.
Despite having lived in England for several years, I had never been to the palace before, so I was very excited to get to explore. I was also joined there by my friend and writing partner, Jonny,
Who assisted me in the very important mission of finding the centre of the Hampton Court Maze. Here we are, after surprisingly only one wrong turn!
We had an wonderful time!
I also spent an evening at the Queen’s Theatre, where I saw Les Miserables.
It was an emotionally moving masterpiece.Everything from the music, to the voices, to the theatre itself were exquisite. It is definitely up there with the best I have ever seen. (Though I must add here, that Phantom of the Opera is and probably always will be my favorite.)
Then I was off to Oxford.
It was my first time there as well, and I was very excited to not only see the numerous buildings which compose the university, but also to arrive there as a conference presenter. The conference, run by inter-disciplinary.net is a gathering of scholars from beginning post-graduates to full-fledged professors from multiple fields of study who gather to discuss topics they love – in this case, monsters.
My paper was titled:
The Child Who Kills: An examination of the Dionysian Child through John Linqvist’s Let the Right One In
Though it also focused on several other novels featuring child vampires, including Becket’s Key the Steampunk Vampire series (with illustrations by Raven Quinn, Trisha Baker’s Crimson series and Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles.
I was very excited to not only be presenting it at Oxford but also among such a distinguished group of my peers. The paper went very well and lead to much discussion and debate.
I also managed to see a few sites in Oxford. I was very excited to grab a drink at the Eagle and Child pub,
A place where both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis once met.
They were members of the same writers group known as the Inklings.
I also visited the University of Oxford Christchurch campus where I saw one of the famous dining halls, which was one of the influences for the hall featured in Harry Potter.
And the library where I saw a journal written in Mary Shelley’s own handwriting.
Truly amazing!
After Oxford, I returned to London again for another full day before leaving. I spent most of the afternoon at The Globe Theatre. The Globe, which features Shakespeare’s plays, was built to be a replica of the original theatre which existed in Shakespeare’s lifetime.
People who attend performance there have a choice between being seated or standing beside the stage during the performance. It is a token to Elizabethan theater (1500 & 1600s) where the cheap ‘seats’ were actually simply standing and people paid extra to actually sit during a performance. I opted for a seat myself and watched the play from the upper levels. I saw Richard II, and it was very well done.
After that, it was time to say goodbye to England. Though I am certain it is a place I will return to in the future.
Filed under conferences, Travel
K. L. Bone 