2025 Baycon Report

In the past, my convention reports have included highlights of panels and other events, both those I participated in and those I attended as an audience member. This report will be different, for reasons that will soon become obvious.

Baycon is my local speculative fiction convention (“speculative” encompasses science fiction, fantasy, and horror), with programming that also includes fannish pursuits, science, history, diversity, and other areas of interest, author readings, and Regency dancing, crafts like knitting chain mail, and so forth. I’ve been attending on a more-or-less regular basis since the mid-1990s. It’s not only a fun convention but a chance to meet up with friends whom I don’t often see.

This convention, however, was different. For the past few years, Baycon programming has invited potential panelists to write up topics and list folks they’d like to include, then the entire proposal is either accepted or passed on (aka, rejected). This means more work for anyone wanting to be on a panel since you need to not only write a bang-up description but figure out who you know that would be at Baycon and have juicy things to say. Hence, much less work for the programming committee. Also, more predictable panels by restricting the pool of panelists. I’m not a fan of the system, as you can tell. I’ve loved being assigned panels with folks I don’t know who then turn out to have fascinating and often unexpected things to say. I’ve also made some great writing friends that way.

It is an understatement to say that this year, the process did not go smoothly. I was invited, I submitted two panels with panelists, and I waited. I queried and was told to be patient. Somehow, perhaps because I checked last year’s email verifying that my proposals had been accepted, I arrived under the impression that all was well and expecting to receive my schedule. Nope, no such schedule existed. The poor volunteers at ProgOps (Programming Operations)! I asked if I could be added to an existing panel. At this point, the head of programming arrived and, after many apologies for the shortcomings of their software and assurances that I was by far not the only author in my situation (hotel room booked, reporting for schedule, etc.), offered to add one of my panels for the following evening: Science Fiction as the Literature of Resistance, at 9:30 pm Saturday. Okay. They’ll try to contact the other panelists to make sure they know it’s been added. Since I was planning on seeing most of them, I could do this myself. In addition, they’d added genre luminary Larry Niven to the panel. Oh, my. Talk about name recognition.

Baycon 2024 Report

Baycon is my local science fiction convention and I’ve been attending it, more or less regularly, since the 1990s. It’s moved from one hotel and city to another over the years and I have followed, “as the tail follows the dog.” My attendance came to a screeching halt in 2020 with the pandemic. The last convention I attended in person was FogCon in February of that year. We knew that a nasty virus was afoot but nobody wore masks. We “elbow-bumped” instead of hugging. If anyone got sick, I never heard. Then came the lockdown, as we called it. Conventions switched to virtual attendance. Althought I’m a somewhat slow adopted or tech, I’d become used to video chatting back in 2013, when I took care of my best friend in a different state while she was dying of cancer. My husband and I stayed in touch (via Skype, if I remember correctly). Then when my younger daughter attended medical school on the other side of the country, we visited by video chat regularly. She moved back to this area for her residency. Her final year was 2020, during which her regular service rotations were replaced by caring for dying Covid patients. Needless to say, I became quite cautious about my exposure. So even when conventions began to move from virtual-only to hybrid to in-person, I reconnected slowly. Even when I was ready to attend a convention in person (2023, which shows you how long it took me), armed with masks, hand sanitizer, and rapid tests, the universe conspired to jinx my plans. It was hard. I missed my friends and all the chance encounters and spontaneous expressions of community. All this is a prelude to my first successful return to in-person conventions.

Baycon programming had asked potential panelists to suggest topics. Two of mine were accepted, including Writing Beyond Trauma. Here’s the description I wrote:

These are perilous times for many of us. As survivors or the loved ones of survivors, how has our experience affected us as writers? How do our stories transcend and heal? Escape? Educate our audience? Are there times when the pain is so great, the words simply will not come--what do we do when we have lost our voice and how do we use writing to regain it? In this panel, we will strive to listen respectfully and to leave time between each speaker to absorb more deeply what they have said.

Baycon Schedule

I'll be at Baycon this year, hooray! This will be my first in-person convention since the pandemic and I'm super excited to see you. Please find me and say hello!

My preliminary panel schedule with some of my favorite co-panelists (I am told I may be added to other events, like autographing and a reading...stay tuned!)

Writing Beyond Trauma

5 Jul 2024, Friday 10:30 - 11:45, Writer's Workshop (Santa Clara Marriott)

These are perilous times for many of us. As survivors or the loved ones of survivors, how has our experience affected us as writers? How do our stories transcend and heal? Escape? Educate our audience? Are there times when the pain is so great, the words simply will not come--what do we do when we have lost our voice and how do we use writing to regain it? In this panel, we will strive to listen respectfully and to leave time between each speaker to absorb more deeply what they have said.

Deborah Ross with L.M. Kate, Gregg Castro (Association of Ramaytush Ohlone),  Maya Bohnhoff ,Sumiko Saulson (Iconoclast Productions) 

Creating Original Worlds Format: Panel

5 Jul 2024, Friday 14:45 - 16:00, Monterey (Santa Clara Marriott)

When creating environments for speculative genres such as fantasy, science fiction, magical realism or alternate history, what are some essential questions one needs to ask themselves about their world? How can a writer make their worlds as original as possible. We will also discuss how to research, plot, and develop a setting whether you’re creating it out of spare parts or building on an alternate reality.

Deborah Ross, Maya Bohnhoff , Chad Peterman 

Beta Readers & Critique Groups

5 Jul 2024, Friday 16:15 - 17:30, Sierra (Santa Clara Marriott)

Your story’s done, how do you choose who reads it first? How do you handle feedback from beta readers, writing groups, friends and strangers? How do you know whose advice to take, and how to accept criticism gracefully?

Maya Bohnhoff, Sheryl R Hayes , J.L. (Jim) Doty (Bourgeois Capitalist Establishment), Deborah Ross 

Paying Forward, Backward, and Sideways

6 Jul 2024, Saturday 16:15 - 17:30, Sierra (Santa Clara Marriott)

In the field of speculative fiction, seasoned writers often encourage, mentor, and nurture new and aspiring writers. As those writers come of age, many pass on the gift. Writers at about the same stage in their careers cheer one another on, furnish emotional support, and act as beta readers. Join us for a session of gratitude, hope, and fellowship among writers, both professional and aspiring.

Deborah Ross, Maya Bohnhoff, Cliff Winnig

Special BayCon Zoom Panel!!

 I'll be appearing with Juliette Wade and Janice Hardy Saturday August 8, at 11:15, discussing nurturing your career through adversity.

on Saturday, August 8th for our second virtual mini-convention! Hosted by BayCon on Zoom.

As these challenging times continue, it's all the more important to stay engaged with your fandom and creativity. We are hoping another dose of programming will do the trick (or at the very least keep you craving more until the next BayCon). Details below:

11AM Saturday, August 8th, we will be hosting a live ZOOM conference.

Our tentative schedule (subject to change):
11:00 Opening

11:15 Nurturing Your Career.
Description: Today's authors face a daunting array of challenges, from dramatic shifts in traditional publishing to evolving marketing strategies to the loss of personal contact with colleagues, bookstores, and readers due to the pandemic. Four pro writers discuss strategies to not only survive but to flourish in this climate of uncertainty.
Deborah Ross, Juliette Wade, Janice Hardy

11:45 Stump the Experts
Mark Gelineau, Carrie Sessarego, Leslie Light, Wanda Kurtcu

12:15 Maya and Jeff Bohnhoff in concert

12:45 Flash Fiction with Thaddeus Howze and M. Todd Gallowglas

1:15 BayCon Charity Conversation with Larkin Street Youth

1:30 Community Guest of Honor Jean Batt Performance

1:40 Closing

Sign up link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYIHMG3uLOb_z27Gnts3NEfeNJw2TQBuzPOAWRFCgcKbxpxQ/viewform

Due to Zoom restrictions, space is limited. If you are interested in watching this live, make sure to sign up ASAP. We will send out invitations with the link approximately 24 hours before the event. 

May Was Convention Month for Deborah

I don’t attend many conventions, and most of the ones I do appear at are local. The last

Mass autographing, Nebula weekend

couple of years have presented me with more opportunities. Some have involved a bit of driving and staying either with a friend or in the convention hotel. This year began with one such, FogCon in March. I’d enjoyed last year’s so much, I found a friend to share the hotel room with.

Usually it takes me a while to settle back into my usual schedule after a convention. For one thing, I normally move more slowly through my days, and conversations with family and close friends, while often rich in ideas, are more slowly paced, with lots of pauses to listen deeply and reflect on what has just been said. So I need to “revv up” the pace for conventions and then “spin down” afterward.

This year was not going to cooperate with that principle. I got a good long rest after FogCon, but then back to back conventions in May.

The first was the SFWA Nebula Awards Weekend, which is held in different parts of the country. I try to attend whenever it’s on my coast. Unlike other conventions, where I put on my “pro writer speaking to fans” hat, the Nebs are for professional writers and editors. Not a costume in sight, unless you count the elegant garb worn at the awards banquet itself. The panels are uniformly excellent, plus it’s a chance to see friends and colleagues from far away. This year, the Nebs involved a day-long drive. Originally I wasn’t going to attend, but inspiration struck — in the form of the same friend I shared the room with at FogCon, Juliette Wade. I already knew we got along really well, so it seemed reasonable to drive down together.

Juliette had been scheduled to moderate a panel on “The Gentle Art of Cursing,” but the time was late on the last day, which would have meant either staying an extra night (and she has school aged children) or driving all night. Fortunately, the programming folks were able to not only reschedule it (to the night we arrived) but add me. So, a few notes on cursing in world-building:

“Cursing” can mean use of an intensifier (“not f--ing likely”), an expression of dismay (“#$%^&*(!!!”), an insult (“you m--f--er!”), or a ritual to invoke harm upon another. In English, we tend to use the same words for the first three, and frown upon the fourth as dark magic. Obscenities typically involve reference to bodily functions or religion. Certain words sound like “cuss words.” We tried out some invented words and found that some worked better than others. I sang “frell” as if it were operatic Italian.

I made it to the last half of the panel on Managing a Creative Career with a Mental Illness, and wish I’d gotten there sooner. Here are my notes, wonderfully insightful concepts we can all use, whether we have a diagnosis or not:

• “I have brain measles.”
• “I am having symptoms.”
• Practicing saying, “Thank you, I appreciate that,” when receiving praise. Give more compliments to others.
• Get support from others who’ve been there. Strive for good brain health. Get enough rest.
• Allow yourself to have down/off/rest days/times.
• Remember that you have been through an episode like this before. You have written, and you will write again. This too shall pass.
• Crazy VR (virtual reality) doesn’t resolve just because you recognize it for what it is. You still have to live with it.
• If you’re having a down day, let people know, especially if it involves deadlines and other commitments.

Another of the “money shot” quotes came from David D. Levine, when describing how to make an effective pitch: don’t impose a cognitive burden on your listener; make it easy to grasp the concept.

BayCon 2019 Schedule

Here's my schedule for BayCon 2019

Besides these events, I'll be around on Saturday the 25th, so please say hello!

How To Write A Heroine

26 May 2019, Sunday 14:30 - 16:00, Connect 5 (San Mateo Marriott)
Tips for writing strong female protagonists in sci fi/fantasy (or YA sci fi/fantasy).
Marjory Kaptanoglu (M), Ms. Jennifer L. Carson (Freelance), Deborah J. Ross

Urban Legends in Science

27 May 2019, Monday 11:30 - 13:00, Connect 3 (San Mateo Marriott)
Salt causes high blood pressure. We only use 10% of our brains. Vaccines cause autism. Where does this stuff come from, and why do these fallacies persist? Scientists and science-knowledgeable fans dissect some of the crazy things we hear.
J.L. Doty (M), Deborah J. Ross, Kathleen Bartholomew (Self-employed)

By Any Other Name

27 May 2019, Monday 13:00 - 14:30, Synergy 5 (San Mateo Marriott)
Are character and place names important to a reader's response to your story? What about titles?
Ms. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff (Book View Cafe) (M), Heather Rose Jones, Deborah J. Ross

A Belated 2018 WorldCon Report

With fellow Book View Cafe author, Madeleine Robins

I confess to a love-hate relationship with big conventions. I love the energy. I love seeing friends and colleagues from all over the world, particularly since most of the time, I am something of a hermit, nesting in my redwood forest. The prospect of so many of us getting together in one place at one time is intoxicating. Likewise, the richness of the programming (in this case), the celebration of creators and fans, is powerfully attractive. On the other hand, big conventions like WorldCon never come at the right time in my life. There seems to be a universal constant that says t(WC) = D(stress)max, where t = time, WC = WorldCon, and D = Deborah.

This year was no exception. The reasons are many and mostly personal, but suffice it to say that when August rolled around, I had not had an emotional break or a chance to fully recover from earlier events. When I pushed “Send” to email the latest Darkover novel to the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust (which holds the copyright and must give their approval before it goes to the editor), I felt as if I needed a month’s “dodo time.” Dodo time being an expanse of possibilities without any expectations of productivity.

Nevertheless, I had made a commitment while my brain was under the influence of the first paragraph. I had requested (and been granted) several events, including an autographing session, hosting a KaffeKlatch, and being a pro writer for the writers workshop. Stories from participants had been duly received, read, and critiqued. Not only that, but my publisher, DAW, would be in attendance, and I’d set up meetings with both my editors.

Since San Jose, locale of this year’s WorldCon, is local to me, I had originally intended to commute from home (an hour-plus drive, mostly along twisty mountain roads), but my friend and fellow writer, Juliette Wade, invited me to stay with her — and to drive us both. So Friday morning, I presented myself at her place, and she and I and her kids, and the wonderful Kate Johnston headed for San Jose.

This is what WorldCons are like for me: I see a panel or twenty I’d love to hear, I start in that direction, I meet a friend I haven’t seen in x years (where x = 1-30), we hug, catch up on news both personal and professional, we each say we have a panel to get to, I return to my path, I go five paces, I seen another friend, and so forth. It’s a sort of Brownian motion and almost always results in many joyful reunions and lively conversations but few if any panels attended.

Where's Deborah?

With Cliff Winnig at BayCon

I haven't been posting as frequently as I once did, but for the next few days I'll be even scarcer around here. I'm finishing up the second pass of the next Darkover novel, The Laran Gambit, before I meet with my NY editor this weekend.

If you're attending WorldCon, please stop by my KaffeeKlatch (Sat 5-6 pm 211B1 (San Jose Convention Center)) or my autographing (Sunday 12-1 -- I'll have print copies of Pearls of Fire, Dreams of Steel for sale, and free book plates). If not, have a grand weekend anyway and I'll see you once I come up for air!

My WorldCon Schedule (yes, I actually have one)

There's a whole lot of outrage and discussion right now about the failure of WorldCon 2018 programming to accord even a single panel to many long-time professional authors. I'm not going to comment on that here, but to invite any of you who will be there to come hang out with me at my two events (I believe sign ups are necessary). I'd love to see you!

Kaffeeklatsch: Deborah J Ross

Format: Discussion Group
18 Aug 2018, Saturday 17:00 - 18:00, 211B1 (San Jose Convention Center)
Deborah J Ross

Writers Workshop #11

Format: Workshop
19 Aug 2018, Sunday 14:00 - 16:00, 212A (San Jose Convention Center)
Writing Workshops are one of the best opportunities to get your work in front of published authors and publishing professionals for advice and critique. The format is as follows:
Scheduled workshop participants will apply to submit the first 5,000 words of a work in progress (novel, essay, short story, novelette, screenplay, videogame script, etc.) via email to the Area Head for Writers Workshops. A panel of professionals will read your work in advance and then critique it at WorldCon76. There will be time for questions as well after each critique. Each workshop lasts 2 hours, so each work will receive 30 minutes of critique and 5 minutes for questions, with a 5 minute break between participants. There are three participants in each workshop. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn from someone else's critique.
Jason Schachat (M), Kevin Andrew Murphy, Deborah J Ross

A Not-So-Brief BayCon report

BayCon, a science fiction fantasy convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area over Memorial Day weekend, has been my local con for almost 20 years. Attending has been more of a challenge these last couple of years when the convention moved from a location where I could commute from home, to one that required me to either get a hotel room or crash with a friend. Last year, I stayed with a fellow writer and carpooled to the hotel. This year she was out of town, so I booked a room for Saturday night and asked the programming folks to schedule me for only Saturday and Sunday. It was an interesting experiment, one I am apt to repeat.

In order to discuss the convention, I have to write about the hotel. The San Mateo Marriott has earned its nickname of “the Escher hotel” not only for its inexplicable split-level staircases but the difficulty of finding the elevator that will take you to your destination floor. (Once you’ve made it to the floor on which most but not all of the events are held, it’s not all that hard to navigate – but beware if you want to go from there to, say, the Green Room or Con Suite.) This year, major renovation of the hotel’s lobby added a whole new dimension to the chaos. The restaurant got moved to the 6^th floor, the bar to the 3^rd floor (meaning that from the convention floor, you had to go down one elevator, through a maze of corridors to another elevator to go back up to either destination). Given these challenges, the convention folks put forth a heroic effort, by way of signs and many helpers wandering the halls in search of those who are lost, to ameliorate the confusion. And the hotel registration staff allowed me to check in quite a few hours early, so I was all set for my first panel.

As for what I was thinking when I asked programming for my usual heavy schedule, without taking into account unforeseen illness, the less said the better. I was a Very Busy Camper.

My first panel, one I did not moderate so I had a chance to transition from driving through my redwood mountains to being in a hotel with lots of people, all talking at once, was Saving What We Love: A look at how the concept of resistance in SF has changed as well as kept a continuity and what different generations have to teach each other, ably moderated by Jennifer Nestojko, with Colin Fisk, Skye Allen, and Tyler Hayes. We looked at how resistance movements have been depicted in genre literature over the decades, and examined the role of literature in general and sf/f/h in particular in generating, supporting, and being the voice of the resistance. I talked about how I came to write Collaborators, my occupation-and-resistance sf novel that was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist. I’d lived in Lyon, France, the center of the French resistance to the Nazi occupation, and had become intrigued by all the ways people either resisted or collaborated. With my memories of protesting the Vietnam War in mind, I wanted to show each side acting for reasons that seemed good yet getting caught in a cycle of escalating, violent retaliation. It’s important in our fictional portrayals that we not demonize or dehumanize the other side but to create bridges where, by slow steps or sudden epiphanies, enemies can discover common ground.

BayCon 2017 Report

BayCon is my local science fiction convention, one I have attended regularly for quite a few years now. At first, the hotel venue was within commuting distance, so long as I did not indulge in too many late night events that left me driving twisty mountain roads when I was already fatigued. But as the convention moved to different hotels, as conventions sometimes do, each successive move took it farther away until I was faced with either driving over an hour in either direction or shelling out for a hotel room. Fortunately, a dear friend and writer colleague offered me a guest bedroom and the chance to carpool from her house. Her adolescent children attended the con, too, so my own experience was colored by becoming a temporary part of her family and also the rhythms and accommodations of young folks. Among other things, I heard about the teen track programs, the gaming room, and other aspects of conventions I otherwise would be oblivious to. The kids reminded me that although conventions are primarily work for me, they can and should be play, as well.

The other difference in this convention is that Book View Café had one of two tables in “author’s alley,” near guest registration (the other was Tachyon Books, featuring Peter S. Beagle). Although the various attending members were not particularly organized, it was a somewhat successful learning experience and some of us sold books, talked about BVC, and chatted with fans.

We arrived at the hotel Friday afternoon, in time to hear both Juliette Wade and Chaz Brenchley read. Listening to authors read their work, sometimes work in progress or yet unpublished, is a special treat. When I have a heavy schedule of panels, I regret not being able to attend, so this was a great beginning to a convention. Not only did I get to hear two very different but equally wonderful stories but sitting quietly in a convention atmosphere helped with the transition.

It seems the older I get and the longer I live in the redwoods, the more difficult it is for me to “shift gears” into convention mode. I’ve become accustomed to long, deep silences, not to mention a slower pace of conversation. I always feel as if I’m moving (and speaking) too fast, which of course increases the risk of mis-speaking or not listening carefully enough to what the other person is saying. Most of the time, no one seems to notice. Being so aware of my own limitations, however, does make it easier for me to respond with gratitude when I am called out on an error. I appreciate not getting backed into a defensive posture.

Baycon 2017 Schedule

I'll be appearing at BayCon in San Mateo this year. I hope you'll drop by to say hello (and enjoy a panel or two...or get an autograph). This year Book View Cafe will have a table in "Author's Alley" and I'll be there, at least part of the time. I'll have books to sell and gift bookplates to autograph.

Here's my schedule (I'll be moderating all of them)"

Sat. May 27, 11:30 am. Science Fiction (and/or Fantasy) as a Tool for Social Change. With A. E. Marling, Dirk Libbey, Carrie Sassarego, and Wanda Kurtcu.

Sat. May 27, 1:00 pm. Stand-Alone or Series? Pros and Cons. With Chaz Brenchley and R. L. King.

Sat. May 27, 4:00. Writing in Someone Else's World. With  Kathleen Bartholomew, A. E. Marling and R. L. King.

Sun. May 28. The Care and Feeding of Your Creative Muse. With Skye Allen, Jennifer Nestojko, Mark Gelineau, and R. L. King.

OryCon 2016 Report

Any report I make of OryCon (in Portland OR, on or near Veterans Day weekend) must be seen in highly personal context. For me, it’s never been just another convention, but part of other aspects of my life. I used to attend OryCon regularly. I’d gone to college and then graduate school in Portland and retained a fondness for the city. My best friend from college still lived there, and I’d stayed in close touch with her. So attending OryCon also meant a visit, usually after the con when decompression with long-time friendship, and maybe a long trail ride, were especially welcome. These visits became even more important when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I made a number of trips to Portland to help her and her family through the rounds of chemo that led to a series of remissions. In the nearly five years that followed, our OryCon visits became even more precious. In fall 2013, she entered hospice, and again I was present to do whatever was necessary to support her and her family in that transition. She died in October, when the weather had already turned chill and overcast with the approach of winter. That year, attending OryCon was out of the question, nor could I bring myself to consider returning to Portland for some time. This year, however, I ventured north with my older daughter to a reunion at our alma mater, Reed College. That shifted my thinking enough so that when I received an invitation to be a guest panelist at OryCon, I happily accepted. Of course, the first thing to arrange was a visit with my friend’s surviving family. Two visits, actually; one before and one after the con. A family dinner, complete with home made lasagna (vegetarian and vegan versions) marked an auspicious welcome back to Portland.

I won’t go into a recitation of all things travel and hotel. Needless to say, my usual disorientation upon encountering a new venue kicked into high gear, fueled by the vertical arrangement of the hotel (events were on 4 different floors, or was it 5 plus the green room on the 16^th floor?) The OryConOps folks were as warm and welcoming as ever. I had a splendid roomie in Irene Radford, although we were both a bit too old to stay up all night talking.

My panels began Saturday morning with the topic “Fantasy vs. Science Fiction,” in which panelists and audience attempted to discern why anyone would think one better than the other when we all love them both. Conventional wisdom suggests that in science fiction, the laws of physics must be observed (with the notable exceptions of psi powers and faster-than-light travel); whereas in fantasy, magic introduces a fundamentally different system. The level of technology of the setting tends to put low-tech, medieval worlds into the fantasy camp and modern, futuristic, or space settings into science fiction. I threw out the idea that readers expect different experiences (fantasy – emotional, science fiction – intellectual, idea-driven) from the two genres, hoping it would provoke a juicy discussion. We all agreed that with the popularity of cross-overs, none of these distinctions holds true any longer.

I'll be at OryCon in Portland Oregon this year, Nov. 18-20. 

This year's Guests of Honor include:

Writer: David Weber
Editor: Diana Gill
Artist: David Mattingly
Music: Mark Osier

In addition, we'll have Special Musical Guest Leslie Hudson

Here is my schedule. If you're attending, please come by and say hello (especially for my reading and autographing sessions!)

Fantasy vs. Science Fiction
	Salon C (LL1)
	Sat Nov 19 11:00am - 12:00pm
	Ann Gimpel, David Dvorkin, Deborah Ross, Peter Jones, Sharon Roest
Finding Diverse Voices & Characters in SF/F
	Salon C (LL1)
	Sat Nov 19 2:00pm - 3:00pm
	Caroline M. Yoachim, Cat Rambo, David Levine, Deborah Ross, Jeffrey Cook
Reaching Readers Who Don't Know You Yet
	Meadowlark (3)
	Sat Nov 19 4:00pm - 5:00pm
	Anthony Pryor, Blythe Ayne, Deborah Ross, Jennifer Brozek, Josh Boykin
Endings: Cuddling with the Reader
	Douglas Fir (3)
	Sun Nov 20 10:00am - 11:00am
	Dean Wells, Deborah Ross, Mary Rosenblum, Mike Shepherd, Sharon Roest
Deborah J. Ross Reading
	Hawthorne (2)
	Sun Nov 20 12:30pm - 1:00pm
	Deborah Ross
Autograph Session 7
	Autograph Area (LL1)
	Sun Nov 20 1:00pm - 2:00pm
	Blythe Ayne, Curtis Chen, David Dvorkin, Deborah Ross, Joyce Reynolds-Ward

Con-Volution 2016 Report

Con-Volution is a medium sized (700 ish members) convention in the Bay Area. I first attended a

couple of years ago and was pleased to be invited to return. This year’s theme was “Monsters,” so many of the panels and other events centered around Things That Go Bump in the Night, creepy-crawlies, and the like, a fitting greeting to October.

I arrived in time to attend part of “An Aviary of Beasties,” moderated by Juliette Wade and held in the parlor of a hotel suite, making it cozy and very difficult to find. Nevertheless, the small space was filled, and as I walked in, Juliette was discussing the difference between the wings of a bat and a pterodactyl. Panelists shared myths of flying creatures from many cultures. In wandered one of the residents-in-costume, wearing a marvelous kirin head, whose timing made a perfect introduction to tales about that creature.

My first panel was “Authors: Going to that Dark Place,” with horror author Fred Wiehe, Margaret McGaffey Fisk, Loren Rhoads, and Guest of Honor Ann Bishop. We approached the relationship between authors and “that dark place” from two directions. One involved delving into our own nightmares and using them to fuel our stories, and the stories then become cathartic or therapeutic in lessening the hold those catastrophes have over our lives and (hopefully) those of our readers. I was reminded of Octavia Butler saying she took her worst night mares and put them down on paper. This is also what I did in a number of stories (“Rite of Vengeance,” “Beneath the Skin,” “Crooked Corn”) following the murder of my mother, and also used for my hero’s journey in The Seven Petaled Shield. Others take another approach, which is to start with the story and find the darkness within ourselves to give it depth and power. Ann Bishop observed that horror stories are like a journey through a spooky forest with various companions that may survive or not, but we have faith that someone will make it through. “There is no light without darkness,” Fred Wiehe pointed out. Does the dark keep us sane?

For “How Cthulu Became Cuddly,” I was joined by Artist Guest of Honor Lee Moyer, Laurel Anne Hill, and Jennifer Carson.

Con-Volution 2016 Schedule

I'll be a guest panelist at Con-Volution: The Age of Monsters, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2016, Hyatt Regency SFO. If you're going, please do stop by and say hello. Here's my panel schedule:


Authors: Going to That Dark Place (Saturday 15:00 - 16:30, SandPebble C)
If you want the monstrous element to be truly horrifying, you sometimes have to dig to a dark place to write it believably....
Loren Rhoads, Melissa Snark, Deborah J. Ross, Margaret McGaffey Fisk, Fred Wiehe, Horror Author (M)

How Cthulu Became Cuddly? (Saturday 17:00 - 18:30, SandPebble B)
How did the most terrifying beings of our imagination become cuddly plushies, love interests, and punchlines? We'll look at the intersection of horror and humor, and whether they enhance or deface the genre.
Deborah J. Ross, Ms. Jennifer Carson, Laurel Anne Hill, Lee Moyer (M)

Writing in Someone Else's Universe (Sunday 10:00 - 11:30, Board Room I)
How you deal with taking on the world already build by another author when it's now your professional duty to carry on their legacy, but still create new and involving stories.
Deborah J. Ross (M), Sarah Stegall, M. Todd Gallowglas

BayCon 2016 Schedule

I'll be at Baycon 2016, Friday May 27- Monday May 30, 2016, at the San Mateo Marriott. Please stop by and say hello.

Evil to the Core: Villains in Sci fi and Fantasy (Saturday 11:30 - 13:00, Synergy 5)
Sure, the hero gets the gal (or guy) and all the glory, but it's the villain that does all the hard work. Where would Batman be without the Joker? Nowhere! A good villain can drive a story, but it's exhausting and thankless work. Come pay homage to your favorite villains and join in as authors discuss treasured villains in their own work and others to reveal what makes those villains engage or repulse us¦or what fails to. Find out if your antagonist is as villainous as he or she should be.

Autograph Session (Sunday 11:00 - 12:00, Convene Lobby) (I will have copies of Collaborators, Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and other books to sell).

Wonder Woman After 50 (Sunday 14:30 - 16:00, Connect 4)
Ageism in fandom, or, Mom aren't you too old to dress up in silly costumes?

The Adult In Young Adult (Monday 11:30 - 13:00, Synergy 5)
YA: no swearing, sex, violence, or drugs. So your hero is a young boy who's just been thrown in among a bunch of space marines; can you really write a plausible story without swearing and violence? Our panelists discuss finding the appropriate without sacrificing the authentic.

A Belated Baycon Report

I really should remember to write up my notes and impressions of a convention soon after because they fade with astonishing speed. For example, I flipped open the program of Baycon 2015 (May 22-24, Santa Clara CA) panels, looking for a blog subject. “Inspiring the Next Generation of Science Fiction Writers” – ooh, I thought, I have a few things to say about that. Palm to forehead time:  I was on that panel!

Not only that, my dear friend and awesome science fiction writer Juliette Wade was on it with me. Also a very cool guy named Colin Fisk, and “the Winner Twins,” two young women writers who dress alike, collaborate, and definitely spoke for the younger generation. My own perspective arises from coming of age during the space race. I remember the hoopla about Sputnik (in fact, I made a Sputnik costume for Halloween) and how cool it was to like science and engineering. Physics and astronomy were majorly splashy news. We don’t have an equivalent now in terms of the general conversation, although the images from Hubble and the other space telescopes are even more awesome. The Winner twins came a gaming perspective, seeing video games as instruments to not only teach science but inspire players to learn more. Of the latter, I remain dubious. On the other hand, I remain hopeful that the various efforts to attract more women and minorities to math and science may result in a new generation of science fiction writers as well.

Sometimes my panels and other convention events revolve around a theme. This could be the vagaries of chance, the items I ticked off on my guest questionnaire, or simply the way the convention programming folks work. Baycon 2015’s theme was gender and sexuality. More or less. I moderated “Pink Hockey Sticks: Raising a Gender Neutral Child in a Highly Gendered World.” One of my favorite resources for this is the blog Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son (although I think it should be child, but it’s not my kid, so I don’t get to vote). The cool thing is that one of the panelists was an intersex person, which is a viewpoint not often included in “Quiltbag” (LGBTQI) discussions. We all lamented the paucity of gender-neutral pronouns and emphasized that the polite thing to do is inquire the preference of the person.

Baycon Schedule

I'll be a guest at Baycon in San Jose May 22-25. So far, I'm scheduled only for Friday and Saturday. If you attend, please come up and say hello...or stay for a panel or reading!

Inspiring the Next Generation of Science Fiction Writers on Friday at 12:00 PM (with Juliette Wade, Colin Fisk, The Winner Twins) If hard science fiction is literature about the future, what is the future of hard science fiction? Where will the next generation of hard SF writers come from, if what young people are reading now is stories about wizards, vampires, and mutant superpowers? How do we entice and encourage them to think seriously about life in the future, and to write about what they imagine?

Transgender Issues in SF&F on Friday at 1:30 PM (with Jacob Fisk, Jean Batt) LGBT speculative fiction stories almost always focus on just the "L" and the "G", ignoring the many other gender identities. Some people even consider "LGBT" to be too limiting, and use "QUILTBAG" instead (for Queer/Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Transgender/Transsexual, Bisexual, Allied/Asexual, Gay/Genderqueer). What issues do people who identify as transgender, transsexual, or intersex face in real life? Can representations of these identities in SF/F literature and media, such as in the movie "Predestination" (based on Heinlein's "--All You Zombies--") help them be accepted by mainstream society?

Pink Hockey Sticks: Raising a gender neutral child in a highly gendered world on Friday at 4:30 PM (with Susie Rodriguez, Jean Batt, Kay Tracy, Alison Stern) How do you roll with it when your long awaited and imagined little princess wants to wear Batman shoes with her tiara and thinks ballet class is a good place to practice her hockey skills? How to raising a tiny Woman of Wonder and the challenges of doing it in our society and in general.

Themed Reading: Mythical Creatures on Saturday at 11:30 AM (with Marie Brennan, Cassie Alexander, Sinead Toolis) Dragons. Unicorns. Centaurs. All different, yet all are creatures from the genus Mythical. Hear authors give their spin on tales about mythical creatures (also known as "cryptids").

Constructing Fictional Cultures: Sex Without Shame on Saturday at 1:00 PM (with Boston Blake, Diana L. Paxson, Lance Moore) A fundamental aspect of any culture is its attitude towards sex. An unspoken but common attitude present in many people in modern-day culture is that sex is shameful. This is shown through common behaviors such as married people who don't talk with their spouses about their sexual desires or sexual dissatisfaction, women who don't report having been raped because of the shame that they feel, and women who don't carry condoms because they are afraid of slut-shaming from their sex partners. How would a society that felt no shame about sex be different from ours? What would be the advantages and disadvantages? Would a modern-day reader with a traditional upbringing find it too difficult to relate to fictional characters that lived in such a culture?

Convolution: What makes a good con from an author’s point of view?

For the last few years, I have rarely attended a convention where I couldn’t commute from home, and they are few, so I was delighted to invited to attend Convolution, a fairly new convention, held at the Hyatt Regency near the San Francisco airport. It was a bit of a drive, but Dave Trowbridge, my lovely spouse, was invited to be a guest, too, and that meant help for the long, late trudge home over twisty mountain roads. For both of us, the convention was an enjoyable, stimulating, and worthwhile endeavor. 

The first thing both of us noticed was the quality of the programming: interesting topics over a wide range of interests. Every event (panels, autographing, reading) that I was included on was something I wanted to be on. The logistics were supportive, too: when I commute, I often face the challenge that the programming folks do not listen when I ask to have my panels grouped together. These folks paid heed, and gave me a wonderful lineup of events. The panels were scheduled every 2 hours, with half an hour for break or wending one’s way along the loooong periphery of each floor. 

Registration for guest panelists was smooth and uncomplicated, despite the fact we got there early on Friday afternoon, when chaos typically reigns over convention organization. The Green Room – often a place I dash into and out of because of the loud monologs by a few folks who treat it as their private preserve – was a welcoming place, in no small way due to the warmth and friendliness of the volunteers staffing it.

As a result of having many panels at the same time and the remoteness of the locations, many events were sparsely attended. (Not all, as Dave told me that one of his panels – Religion in SF – was packed.) At first, I found this a bit disappointing, until I wandered into the GoH klatch (informal discussion) and found myself in a room with 4 other people and Tanya Huff, so I have decided it did have its compensations!