Ten days from now, I’ll head off to Birmingham for my first Eastercon, because in a world where the U.S. has been transformed into an unsafe destination for international travelers, I figure that’s the only way I’ll get to see my UK friends again.

I’m scheduled to appear on four programming items, and have arranged to record four episodes of my Eating the Fantastic podcast.

If you’ll also be attending Eastercon, here’s where to find me —

Reading
Sunday, April 5th, 9:00 a.m. (Balmoral)
with Emily Tesh and Wole Talabi

Why Writing and Making Tactile Art is Revolutionary
Sunday, April 5th, 10:30 a.m. (Gladstone-Churchill)
Creators have always been under pressure from commercial and other forces and now face the challenge of AI. Artists and writers talk about the joy and revolutionary power of creating art with your own hands.
with Tiffani Angus, Aliette de Bodard, Nikita Andester, and Penny Hill

Writing about Darkness in an Ever Darkening World
Sunday, April 5th, 1:30 p.m. (Salisbury-Wellington)
In a world faced with climate change, war and creeping authoritarianism, how do we write about dark themes responsibly?
with David Ketelby, Emily Inkpen, Justin Lee Anderson, and Anna Smith Spark

The Joy of Podcasts
Monday, April 6th, 12:00 p.m. (Gladstone-Churchill)
Podcasts are everywhere: discussions, narratives and enthusiasm for SFF. Our panel looks at their favourites and talks about the care and feeding of podcasts.
with Michael Ireland (M), Robin C.M. Duncan, Kat Kourbeti, and Devin Martin

Hope to see (some of) you there!

When is an Awesome Con episode of Eating the Fantastic not an Awesome Con episode of Eating the Fantastic? When the con’s going to keep your potential guest too busy to record on site and you figure out a way to chat and chew anyway.

Salinee Goldenberg is the author of the novels The Last Phi Hunter and Way of the Walker, the second of which was released only a few weeks before we recorded. Both were published by Angry Robot. Previously, she worked at Bethesda Softworks creating narrative trailers for games such as Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Dishonored, and now produces videos for Minecraft. But those aren’t her only artistic outlets, for she also paints and plays in the punk band SexFaces.

We discussed what it was like having to deliver her second published novel on a deadline after having had her entire life to write the first, the Final Fantasy fanfic she wrote as a kid, why she’s attracted more to novels than short stories, how getting critiqued in the gaming industry prepared her to deal with writing workshops, why she considers herself a recovering pantser, how writing the ending of her new novel was almost like being in a fever dream, why she likes reading bad reviews, how to know when it’s necessary to kill your darlings, the way to write battle scenes so readers can follow the fight choreography, how being a guitarist in a punk rock band impacts her writing, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us at Bangkok 54 — (more…)