Mysticon | Michael A. Ventrella

My Mysticon 2016 Schedule

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Michael A. Ventrella

I’ll be a guest at Mysticon this weekend in Roanoke, with Guest of Honor George R.R. Martin. (My wife, award-winning artist Heidi Hooper, is also a guest and will be one of the judges for the masquerade competition.)

I figured if I posted a picture of me, it wouldn’t get as much attention

Mysticon is a fun little convention which is completely sold out this year for some reason. But if you’re there, here’s where you can find me!

Anthology Don’ts (Friday 3:00): There are always rules for submitting in anthologies: length, subject matter, etc. Our panelists discuss the common errors they see (or have been guilty of) in anthology submissions. With Alexandra Christian, Tera Fulbright, and
John G. Hartness

Opening Ceremonies (Friday 4:00): Welcoming and introduction of guests

Fantasy Worldbuilding (Friday 5:00): Whether it’s creating entire new worlds or integrating your story into everyday life, fantasy writers can find inspiration in the smallest things that can lead to a whole new world of mystery and magic. How they do it, how they choose, how they are inspired, what fans love or hate, etc. With R.S. Belcher, Ashley Chappell, Alexandra Christian, Anthony St. Clair, and Richard C. White

First Contact Improv (Friday 9:00): The panel consists of a moderator and 3-4 panelists, preferably writers, and preferably with a good sense of humor. The panelists are charged with designing a human-alien First Contact scenario on the fly. The twist is that the moderator has over 100 improv prompts on cards that are drawn by the panelists and audience members. With Jim Beall, Steven Hancock, Emmy Jackson, Peter Prellwitz, Todd Roberts and Abigail Wallace.

The Eye of Argon (Friday 11:30): The worst science fiction story ever written gets a reading by our brave panel as they compete to go the longest without tripping over a misspelled word or laughing uncontrollably. Audience members are also encouraged to take a chance. Can you keep a straight face, especially when the panel begins acting out the story? With Gail Z. Martin, Michael Pederson, Peter Prellwitz, and Gray Rinehart

Match Game (Saturday 10:00): An annual MystiCon tradition – relive the glories of classic game shows, now with a Sci-Fi/Fantasy twist. Contestants from our audience will match wits with our guests. With Billy Flynn, Tally Johnson, Ben Mirabelli, Rich Sigfrit, John Watts, and Nicole Zoltack

How Much Worldbuilding Does an RPG Need? (Saturday 7:00): A game setting can be no more than a dungeon and a tavern-or an entire world with landforms, languages, plants and animals, and a history stretching over millennia. How much world-building do you do? How much does a game need? Is there a sweet spot for world-building, or do different games have different needs? With Bob Flack, Steve Long, John Watts, and Richard C. White

Building Your Brand (Sunday 9:00): Done properly, self-promotion is an important part of building a career. Poorly executed, self-promotion can do more harm than good. Our panelists will discuss what works and doesn’t work along with these common questions: Do book-signings really help a small author? Are bookmarks and/or postcards effective at garnering attention? Does a blog help or hurt an author? Does an author have to have a website? With Alexandra Christian, Pamela K Kinney, and Jim Lavene

No More Evil Priests in Red (Sunday 10:00): Understanding faith in a secular world. It’s easy to depict organized religion as evil, led by greedy rapist scumbags and followed only by the drones and sheeple, but this trope hasn’t been cutting edge for the past forty years. In setting up evil priestly straw men for our postmodern heroes to blow away, authors too often overlook why brilliant people like Boethius could walk smiling to execution, St. Francis could try to protect the animals everyone else wanted to eat, or Hildegard von Bingen could write awe-inspiring music and plays. Let’s talk about books that depict the complexities of religious faith in interesting, insightful ways. With Tony Daniel, Gail Martin, Peter Prellwitz, Gary Rinehart, and Abigail Wallace

Black and White (Sunday 11:00): Not TVs, but the role of absolutes in literature, movies, and life. Jedi/Sith, good/bad, often SFF is dedicated to these simplistic views. Is it a reflection of our society or has our society come to reflect our literature. What about the reality of Grey? (Politics and Religion Warning) With William Lawhorn and Brian Sunderlin

Filed under: writing | Tagged: conventions, George R.R. Martin, Mysticon | Leave a comment »

The Eye of Argon!

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Michael A. Ventrella

Back in 1970, a teenager named Jim Theis wrote his own “Conan the Barbarian” style story for his friends: The Eye of Argon. It was mimeographed with little illustrations and it was terrible. But hey, come on, he was a kid.

Over the years, that story was circulated around the science fiction community and became a fun thing to do at conventions, where the panel (and participants from the audience) try to read the story exactly as written, misspellings and all, without cracking up laughing.

Over the past few years, at various east coast conventions, I started organizing the reading but added something new: Once a participant made a mistake, they were required to get up and act out the story for the audience as the other panel members read. I have a group of great writers who have regularly joined with me that make it fun, including Gail Z. Martin, Keith DeCandido, Peter Prellwitz, KT Pinto, and others. Sometimes I am able to con the Guest of Honor to join in, such as in the clips below where noted author Peter David experienced the craziness. (Apparently this has not gone unnoticed, as I just realized that the wikipedia entry has been updated to add this.)

If you want to try to read the Eye of Argon, here’s a link. But I think you’ll have a lot more fun watching the clips below:

Thanks to Sean Korsgaard for the video

Filed under: writing | Tagged: conventions, Gail Z. Martin, Keith DeCandido, KT Pinto, Mysticon, Peter David, Peter David reads the Eye of Argon, Peter Prellwitz, The Eye of Argon | Leave a comment »

My 2015 Mysticon Schedule

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Michael A. Ventrella

On the weekend of February 27 – March 1, I will be a programming guest at Mysticon in Roanoke, Virginia. We went last year and had a blast and I’m happy to have been invited back.

The special guest this year is Sean Maher (from “Firefly”) but I’m more interested in meeting Peter David, whose books I’ve always enjoyed. (My interview with him from a few years ago is here!) Also in attendance will be many of my friends, including some I have interviewed here on this blog: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Gail Z. Martin, Mike McPhail, KT Pinto, Peter Prellwitz, Leona Wisoker, and Allen Wold.

And if you’re a fan of my Fortannis anthologies, you’ll find some of those authors as well (namely Davey Beauchamp, Danny Birt and Tera Fulbright, as well a few who will be in the forthcoming collection A BARD DAY’S KNIGHT — Angela Pritchett and the aforementioned KT Pinto).

Anyway, if you’re there, be sure to say hi! I’ll be on a bunch of panels and my artist wife Heidi Hooper will be judging the Masquerade competition and hosting some art panels as well.

Here is my current schedule:

The Top Animated Films of All Time (Friday 3 pm): A debate over the list of best animated films. Will our panel agree or will the discussion break out in fisticuffs? With Billy Flynn, Stuart Jaffee, Darin Kennedy, Genesis Moss

Fantasy World Building (Friday 6 pm): Whether it’s creating entire new worlds or integrating your story into everyday life, fantasy writers can find inspiration in the smallest things that can lead to a whole new world of mystery and magic. How they do it, how they choose, how they are inspired, what fans love or hate, etc. With R.S. Belcher, Liz Long, Gail Z. Martin

Author Reading (Friday 7 pm): Michael A. Ventrella’s humorous adventures are full of twists and turns. Come hear excerpts from his latest “Bloodsuckers: A Vampire Runs for President” and maybe his story about the Marx Brothers in Hell, depending on time.

All Dressed Up and Ready to LARP (Friday 8 pm): This panel is to give interested parties or parents an idea of what is involved in LARPing. With Owen Anderson, Jestin Jeffers, Robert Sohl

The Eye of Argon (Friday 10 pm): The worst science fiction story ever written gets a reading by our brave panel as they compete to go the longest without tripping over a misspelled word or laughing uncontrollably. Audience members are also encouraged to take a chance. Can you keep a straight face, especially when the panel begins acting out the story? With Peter David (maybe!), Gail Z. Martin, KT Pinto, Peter Prellwitz, Leona Wisoker

Tooting Your Own Horn With Social Media (Saturday 11 am): Done properly, self-promotion is an important part of building a career. Poorly executed, self-promotion can do more harm than good. Our panelists will discuss what works and doesn’t work along with these common questions: Do book-signings really help a small author? Are bookmarks and/or postcards effective at garnering attention? Does a blog help or hurt an author? Does an author have to have a website? With Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Chris Kennedy, Liz Long, Steve Long

What Makes an Animated Film? (Sunday 11 am): With CGI in almost every film, the distinction between live-action and animated film is changing. Is “Guardians of the Galaxy” an animated film given that two of its main characters were animated? What about the Star Wars prequels? Does capture-motion count? The panel will discuss various animation styles and try to determine how one can judge what exactly is an animated film these days. With Emily Mottesheard, Christine Parker

Making Politics Work in Fiction (Sunday noon): Real world political narratives are filled with cultural revolutions, passionate speeches about social change, war, and intricate, Machievellian plots. How can you portray them convincingly in your story? From noble houses in fantasy worlds to galaxy-spanning empires in SF, how do you make them believable and engaging without burying your reader in the intricacies of your setting’s political theory? With Stuart Jaffee, Tally Johnson, Thomas Monaghan, Gary Rinehart

Filed under: writing | Tagged: conventions, Mysticon, Mysticon 2015 schedule | 1 Comment »

My 2014 Mysticon Schedule

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Michael A. Ventrella

This weekend (February 21 – 23, 2014) I will be a programming guest at Mysticon in Roanoke, Virginia.

They’ve asked me to be a guest before, but I’ve generally said no because it is so far away! However, this year I gave in.

I’ve only been to Roanoke once before. When I was in college, a bunch of us drove there from Richmond to see a concert with Elvis Costello and Squeeze.

I figured more people would read this if I had a picture of Q here

I’m sure it’s changed a bit in the last 35 years or so…

Anyway, Mysticon looks to be fun. The main guest is John DeLancie, who played “Q” on all those Star Trek shows. Also in attendance will be many of my friends, including some I have interviewed here on this blog: Keith R.A. DeCandido, Gail Z. Martin, KT Pinto, Peter Prellwitz, Tony Ruggiero and Allen Wold.

Anyway, if you’re there, be sure to say hi! I’ll be on a bunch of panels and my artist wife Heidi Hooper will be judging the Masquerade competition and hosting some art panels as well.

Here’s my schedule:

The Biggest Mistakes Made by Beginning Authors (Friday 4 pm): We’ll discuss not only writing mistakes but also promotional mistakes. How writers have screwed themselves over and killed their chances of making it in the publishing world doing easily preventable things! With Tony Daniel, A.J. Hartley, Jonny Lupsha, and Gail Z. Martin.

Who is Behind that Curtain? (Friday 5 pm): The use of different points of view can reveal or obscure elements of your story from the audience. Do certain points of view only work with certain types of stories? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each form? With Stuart Jaffe, Gail Z. Martin, and Patrick Thomas.

If You Spell “Cheif” Like That One More Time!! (Saturday 11 am): Our guest editors offer tips on how to avoid their reject pile and provide insight into some of their pet peeves when reading a submitted manuscript. With Anita Allen, Laura Haywood-Cory, and Michael M. Jones

Dancing Neck to Neck: Romancing the Vampire (Saturday 6 pm): Explore the evolution of the blood sucking undead from foul, fearsome creature prowling the Carpathians to debonair, bodice ripping object of modern desire. With Alexandra Christian, Kenneth Hite, and KT Pinto

I Am the Game Master, You Are My Pawns: Game Mastering Basics (Saturday 7 pm): How do you keep players engaged in a game? How do you manage different kinds of role-players and types of play? What about interruptions like roommates and smartphones? Share your secret techniques and best practices for running role-playing games (and other moderated games) that keep players coming back for more. With Brandon Blackmoor, Kenneth Hite, John Jones, Greg Porter, and John Watts

The Eye of Argon (Saturday 11 pm): The worst science fiction story ever written gets a reading by our brave panel as they compete to go the longest without tripping over a misspelled word or laughing uncontrollably. Audience members are also encouraged to take a chance. Can you keep a straight face, especially when the panel begins acting out the story? With Keith DeCandido, Gail Z. Martin, KT Pinto and Peter Prellwitz.

Making Politics Work in Fiction (Saturday midnight): Real world political narratives are filled with cultural revolutions, passionate speeches about social change, war, and intricate, Machievellian plots. How can you portray them convincingly in your story? From noble houses in fantasy worlds to galaxy-spanning empires in SF, how do you make them believable and engaging without burying your reader in the intricacies of your setting’s political theory? With Brandon Blackmoor, Tom Kratman, Peter Prellwitz, and Leona Wisoker

Tooting Your Own Horn (Sunday noon): Done properly, self-promotion is an important part of building a career. Poorly executed, self-promotion can do more harm than good. Our panelists will discuss what works and doesn’t work along with these common questions: Do book-signings really help a small author? Are bookmarks and/or postcards effective at garnering attention? Does a blog help or hurt an author? Does an author have to have a website? With Tally Johnson, Gail Z. Martin, Michael Pederson, and Gray Rinehart.