Tag: cosplay

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Realm Makers 2018 conference wrap-up

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Realm Makers program cover, dark fantasy Red Riding Hood over a slain wolf

I just arrived home from one of my favorite writing conferences, Realm Makers, and I want to do a quick recap of the weekend.

Realm Makers bills itself as “not your grandmother’s writing conference,” which is perhaps unfair to a select group of grandmothers but gets the general point across, given that Realm Makers is a speculative fiction conference for Christian writers. Note that the order of that phrase is very important; this is not necessarily a conference for writing “Christian fiction” (the quotes indicate the genre) but a conference for Christian writers. That may not seem like a big deal, but it can be.

There are friends there who are writing for the CBA book market as well, but it’s certainly not limited to the traditional “Christian fiction” fare. Realm Makers is only in its sixth year but already has about 400 attendees.

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NaNoWriMo 2017 Wrap-Up

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amulet with iridescent blue eye lying on wooden table, title The Poet's EyeSo another National Novel Writing Month has ended. (That’s the challenge when your writer friends curl up in a dark corner to pound out 50,000 words, or roughly The Great Gatsby, in the space of a month.)

This was the fastest NaNo ever for me, as I finished about halfway through November. (In this case it’s important to note that “finished” means I hit my 50,000 words, not that the novel is done. The novel is definitely not done.) I picked up an older idea that I’d started but set aside — but that title is probably not final, and that cover is definitely not final. Continue reading

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A Bit More About #Inktober (Part 2)

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So about two weeks ago I blogged about attempting #Inktober despite having pretty much no art skill. If you didn’t catch that post, you probably should, because it’s about a lot more than just drawing badly, but here’s what you need to know for today’s post: I have pretty much no art skill, I’m doing Inktober (drawing in ink and sharing online) anyway, and I can only improve with practice.

Laura as Mara Jade with R2-D2

my Mara Jade made a friend at the con.

This past weekend I was teaching cosplay and mythology/folklore (Japanese and Norse) sessions at Quest Con, and between sessions I joined a one-hour art lesson, taught by artist Steven Moore. I figured I would learn something useful, and at worst I’d make someone else at my table feel better about their own work. Continue reading

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CON JOB is now an audiobook!

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Con Job book coverSo this is fun — Con Job is now an audiobook! So if you’re pulling a long drive, or trying to ignore the stitch in your side during your run, or picking up clutter in your living space, or wherever you listen to audiobooks, now you can do it with Jacob and his geeky friends.

Of course, you have to be prepared for a little murder along the way. Continue reading

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Con Recaps! (And some cool news.)

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So July was kind of a blur, and the first part of August, but all for very good reasons.

Cong Abbey by night, Celtic crosses and gravesIreland Writer Tours

Long-time blog readers know I blogged about writing in Ireland in 2015, and I went again this year. It’s a great week, full of fabulous touring and inspiration. But I stayed a little longer this year with organizer Fiona Claire to prepare for 2017, when I’ll be co-teaching with the talented Lorie Langdon!

Stay tuned for more information on this, but trust me, it’s going to be amazing. As I said in my newsletter: Want to explore a 15th century castle, walk through an impossibly green forest to an ancient waterfall, and climb in the footsteps of both 8th century monks and Luke Skywalker? All while improving your writing craft and exploring your publication options? Continue reading

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Ireland Contest Winner!

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Well, no one won Ireland, not exactly. But I did have a contest based on my writing-in-Ireland (mis)adventures. Readers were asked to guess how many times I checked that I had my passport after so stupidly forgetting it. (Never let it be said that I present only a finely cultivated picture of my own perfection on social media….)

Guesses were submitted via blog comments and Tumblr. None on Twitter, which surprised me a little.

And the winner, who guessed nearest the accurate number, is….. Continue reading

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A Star Wars Roundup

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English: Opening logo to the Star Wars films
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Okay, okay, I know this is the third time I’ve mentioned Star Wars in the last two months. But it’s been kinda everywhere, y’know? And I just wanted to do a round-up of some of my favorite cultural references, from music to electric cars to party food.

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The Force Awakens: A New Hope for the Star Wars Franchise

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Yes, /waves Jedi hand/ you see what I did there.

I’m not gonna lie, I had a very hard time getting excited about the new Star Wars movie. I’d been very excited about a new Star Wars movie before, and that backfired hard. Ever since Jar Jar and the disregard of established canon, I’ve had trust issues.

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But as I hate spoilers, I bought an opening night ticket in self-defense, and I sat tense in my seat through the ads and trailers, wearing my Mara Jade costume*, waiting. Daring, just a little, to hope. Continue reading

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Win An ARC! And, Guest Geeking

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coming-soon-from-wwp-201x300[1]So, I think I’ve mentioned that I have a couple of new short stories in anthologies coming soon. If you’d like to be one of the super-special-awesome people who have it before it releases, you might want to jaunt over to editor Rhonda Parrish’s site and enter to win.

Mark, Alena, and Laura as characters from The Scarlet PimpernelIn other news, today I got to talk about cosplay as a Guest Geek on Michael G. Munz’s blog. No free books there, but it’s got pretty pictures, and you can learn about other geeks and his own books.