Our host asks obscure questions which exist not to be answered but to encourage panelists to tell us what they know (or what they can make up) about the subject. Points are awarded for interesting answers, regardless of their correctness or relevance to the original topic.
Heather Rose Jones
Event session
Authors, artists, and musicians gather in one room for signing/book-selling/chatting with fans.
Sometimes the greatest thing since sliced bread isn't your cup of tea. How do you handle it when everyone around you is singing the praises of something that just didn't click for you? Is it OK to dislike something even if it's changing the world? Can you appreciate it for what it tried to do even if it didn't do it for you? Are there ways to still usefully participate in the conversation?
Music is an important part of many stories, but writing about it presents an innate paradox: music is sound, while the page of a book is silent. How do you capture song through words alone? This panel will discuss the role of music in various works of literature and the methods writers have used to tackle this challenge.
Just because some of the laws of physics are different doesn't mean they aren't laws. What does technology look like in a fantasy universe? How has this been explored in speculative fiction, and how might it be explored? How many elements of magic, (e.g. teleportation, FTL travel) can be included in hard SF before it becomes fantasy? Some classic noteworthy interplay exists in Ringworld (Niven), Operation Chaos (Anderson), and Darkover (Bradley).
Heather will be reading from -- and celebrating the release of! -- her new novel Mother of Souls, the third book in the Alpennia series. She will have some celebratory freebies to give away to attendees.
Too shy to just walk up to me in the hallway and ask questions? The Kaffeeklatsch is great chance for a small group conversation. This is a limited-number event with a completely open format. Signups are available at the convention information desk that morning. Last year I brought genuine Alpennian almond cakes to share and did a dramtic performance of "nailing the plot-octopus to the wall". I can't promise baked goods this year, but there may be some surprise give-aways. Since the Kaffeeklatsch ends at 5pm, I'll be quite open to rolling it over into dinner with any interested parties.
Since I don't expect I'll have long lines waiting, and my autograph slot is early in the convention, it's a great opportunity to find me pinned down in one place and either introduce yourself or make social plans for later in the con or both!
A look at the roots of so much science fiction and fantasy in the works of Jane Austen and Mary Shelley. While Shelley's Frankenstein is an obvious predecessor to science fiction and horror, Austen's literature has also had a tremendous influence on modern authors.
In a world once filled with magic, mystery, and beauty, where the Old Magic slipped away from the forests, the gates to Faerie closed, and the last ships sailed to the west, what does it mean when the magic fades? We look at representations of coming back to the real world or letting go, and wonder why it is such a potent part of fantasy writing.
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