Fantasy For Footholds: A Fundraiser

There’s a lot going on right now, things are bleak, and while escaping into a fantasy world looks very attractive, it can also feel very weak and selfish. How can I hide in the safety of a world I control while hospitals and evacuation routes are bombed, while “patriots” attack Americans for their names or ethnicities, while parents bring their children to a refugee station and then leave them behind as they return to fight? Who am I to sit comfortably at my desk while all that happens?

I’m a worldbuilder, that’s who I am. And it’s time we build a better world.

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Conferences, Cons, and Solar Eclipse 2017, Or What I Did On My Summer Vacation

It’s been a busy month!

First I went to Realm Makers, which has become one of my favorite writing conferences, and then to a small local writing conference at Taylor University, my first time visiting there. In a couple of weeks I’ll head west again to attend the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers conference. It’s like I’m trying to get my annual allowance of writing conference in just a few weeks!

Little girl (face obscured) in pink unicorn helmet with pink feathered wings
This little girl was so excited about the fairy unicorn wings she made herself.
Sign: Gen Con badges are now sold out.
Gen Con sold out completely. Not a badge to be had.

Then I had Gen Con, an awesome gathering of 65,000 or so (final attendance not yet released for this year) of your geekiest friends to talk about games, books, history, film, anime, and pretty much everything related. Gen Con is always super-busy for me, because I teach sessions (this year I presented twice on Japanese Folklore & Mythology and once on Norse mythology, as well as teaching costuming workshops from Featherweight Armor to Moldmaking to a make-and-take for simple, hallway-safe wings) and because we compete in the costume contest, which because of Gen Con’s process is mostly a whole-day affair.

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Things to Know About Self-Publishing

Rocky Mountain Fiction WritersHere are some of my thoughts about getting started in indie publishing! Feel free to agree or disagree with me over there, fellow writers — comments welcome!

http://rmfw.org/5-important-things-to-know-about-self-publishing-part-1-by-laura-vanarendonk-baugh/

and

http://rmfw.org/5-important-things-to-know-about-self-publishing-part-2-by-laura-vanarendonk-baugh/

vintage travel poster style image of Skellig Michael with text Come Write In IrelandIf you want to hear more from me about self-publishing, make sure you check out the August 2017 edition of http://www.irelandwritertours.com/

Come Write With Me! in Ireland!

vintage travel poster style image of Skellig Michael with text Come Write In IrelandSo we’re closing on the biggest gift-giving occasion of the year, and you don’t know what to get that writer on your list? What about an investment in their writing career? Nothing says love and encouragement and “I believe in you!” like a contribution to their goals. (And reading their work. But that’s much harder to wrap.)

If you are the writer, feel free to leave this page open on a conspicuous monitor or maybe even send a helpful link. Continue reading

Writing in Ireland!

This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series Writing in Ireland

Guess where I am right now? (Or just look at the post title for an easy cheat.) That’s right, I’m back in Ireland! And there’s a contest in this post!

So let’s start with the embarrassing part. I was supposed to leave on Thursday. I drove a leisurely three hours to pick up my friend Kate (K.T. Ivanrest), drove another two hours to the airport, parked, took a shuttle, walked into the terminal, and immediately remembered that my passport was in my kitchen.

That’s right. It’s not that I only discovered my passport was missing when I was asked for it and couldn’t find it, no, my brain was fully aware that I wasn’t carrying it and just neglected to inform me of this important fact at any time prior to entering the actual terminal. Continue reading

WIP updates!

 

So first off, let me apologize for the state of the site over the last week and a half. We got hacked, and everything went merrily into a handbasket. Things should be all fine and safe again. I’ll catch up with the writing in Ireland posts and things shortly, I hope.

On a brighter note, I’m playing along this month with the #‎WIPjoy ‬collective sharing project, authors sharing about their work in progress. I’m trying to post most days about some part of one work in progress — in particular, The Lamp and the Lie. (That’s a working title, very subject to change — as it’s already the second working title….)

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Mythic Indy is Coming!

red cover with Mythic Indy title and ruins image

It’s here! The Mythic Indy anthology is releasing!

That’s a photo of the print version there on the left. Isn’t it pretty? You can join us if you like for the official release party, in the hip space at Well Done Marketing in the heart of historic Fountain Square in Indianapolis. The party starts at 5 pm on February 5, 2016 — or the party starts when I walk in. Whichever comes first.

ACPL Author Fair this weekend!

Allen County Public Library Author FairDon’t forget, I (and others!) will be at the Allen County Public Library Author Fair this Saturday.

I’ll be speaking on self-publishing, with others. I’ll have a table with books and shirts and stuff, and I’ll be happy to sign or help you pick Christmas gifts (shop early!) from my table or another author’s table, and just talk about your favorite fiction.

Details below. Please stop by! Continue reading