Jean Marie's Domain

RavenCon isn’t the only thing on my calendar this month. Monday, April 12, barely hours after I return from Richmond, I’ll be reading at the Library of Congress in downtown Washington, D.C. The Library of Congress! You can’t see it, but I’m grinning so hard my cheeks are aching.

The reading resulted from a collaboration between the library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum and Broad Universe, an international organization dedicated to exploring and promoting the work of women writers in science fiction, fantasy and horror. It will take the form of a four-person Rapid Fire Reading featuring Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Sarah Avery, fellow BtV blogger Christine Norris and me. You’ve already seen the poster I prepped when the reading was announced. Now you can read the bios, too, in the hand-out I’ll be using as our program.

But that’s not the only reason I may expire of excitement. I’ve been added to the roster of major authors (like Charlaine Harris!) signing with Nora Roberts at Turn the Page Bookstore Café in Boonsboro, Maryland, on Friday, April 16. My name and web site link seem to wander around the page, but the confirmation of my presence is right there at the bottom of the page: the buy link for Fantasy Art Templates.

I signed With Nine You Get Vanyr at the Turn the Page spring mega-signing in 2007. Nora and the top names sell hundreds of books, and even small fry like me sell in the dozens. This time, there are some new rules. For example, the writers can only sign books purchased at the event. Trust me, that’s a relief. Yes, you sign that much.

Finally, it’s official. I’m on the guest list at DragonCon. Atlanta, here I come. I can’t wait.

 In case you missed it on tk0667's blog, the Library of Congress has joined forces with Flickr.com to provide greater public exposure for the library's photo holdings and use that exposure to gather more information about the photos.  IOW, they're using Flickr to create and update wikis on their collections.  That's incredibly cool in itself, but from a writing angle it provides a tremendous amount of primary research material, as well as lots of non-copyright images which can be used to illustrate and decorate web pages.  I can't wait to start clicking.  Mwahahaha!
Meanwhile, based on whitemunin's recommendation, I checked out Bettie Sharpe's Ember.  Pointed, sexy and driven, the novella was a complete treat.  I eagerly awaited Sharpe's Samhain release, "Like a Thief in the Night".  The story did not disappoint.  I read it in one sitting.  Transcending the often childish tropes of erotic SF romance, the characters pulled you into a fascinating world.  I hope she'll set more stories in her future.
I hope I get to read more of her stories, period.  And soon!
Hugs,
Jean Marie