CrimeFest and Other Conventions

I've blogged in the past about conferences and conventions. I've done a fair few over the years - from the early days of the Southampton (later Winchester) Writers' Conference to the many years of attending and/or running British Fantasy Society conventions. I've been as a 'guest' to Sci-Fi Weekender, and I even once went to a Star Trek convention - purely for research, you understand?

Read more ...

FantasyCon 2009

It came and it went and it was a blast! Well over 300 people, including guests such as Brian Clemens (him of Avengers and the like), Gail Z Martin (lovely American lady writer), Sebastian Peake (son of Meryn 'Gormenghast' Peake), Jasper Fforde (another lovely writer). Not forgetting the hilarious magician-turned-author John 'Talking Toaster' Lenehan, who totally charmed my teenage daughter.

Fabulous weekend. A year of very hard work but it all paid off with a smooth and successful weekend. And that's it. Never again. No more. I've done 10 of them over the years and I publicly declare now that I am retiring!

FantasyCon Banquet

Just confirmed the banquet for this year's convention. Still not sure if it will be on the Saturday like last year, or back to the old Sunday slot, but keep checking the FantasyCon and BFS websites for more information. Special diets can be catered for – just let us know when booking your banquet ticket.

FantasyCon Banquet Menu
Roll and Butter
~~
Melon and Grape Cocktail with Fruit Coulis
or
Tomato and Basil Homemade Soup
~~
Chicken Stuffed with Sage and Onion with a Red Wine Sauce
with
New Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables
Vegetarian: Stuffed Roast Pepper with Zucchini, Aubergine, Red Onions & Cous Cous
and finished with a Tomato and Herb Sauce (must be booked in advance)
~~
Chocolate Fudge Cake
or
Fruit Forest Cheesecake
~~
Coffee and Mints
Including 2 glasses of Hawkes Peak Red or White Californian Wine
or
Fresh Orange Juice

FantasyCon 2009

FantasyCon Guests of Honour this year are now confirmed as: author Jasper Fforde, Brian Clemens (he of The Avengers, The Professionals and many other 60s and 70s shows we hate to admit we loved...) and American fantasy writer Gail Z Martin. Tickets are selling fast so book quick to reserve your place!

FantasyCon 2009

FantasyCon 2009 is go! Just returned contract to Britannia Hotel in Nottingham and we're back there for a 4th year in September. The last Con I ran was in 2006 and we had Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker *and* Raymond Feist as guests - not sure we can top that this year, but it's early days!

Web site is still not up and running, so if you want a registration form, you'll have to email me and I'll email one straight back. Don't wait too long - you know you want to come and prices go up at the end of March ...

FantasyCon 2008

Just got back from this year's FantasyCon in Nottingham. A great weekend with other fantasy, sf & horror writers and fans - plus a smattering of editors, publishers and book-sellers. Talks, drinks, panels, interviews, a demon-themed banquet (yours truly spent an hour inflating helium ballooons and running round decorating tables), drinks, the Raffle (capital R intentional - you have to be there) in which I actually won some prizes for a change, and drinks. Met up with all those people I only see once a year and generally had a fantastic weekend.

News - I'm back in control-freak mode as I've just volunteered to be on next year's committee! After 2 years off, I just couldn't stay away and 2009 will therefore be my 11th convention as a committee member (including at least 3 as organiser/co-organiser). So watch this space as I will be bullying everyone I know to register and/or donate goodies. Trust me - I have no shame ...

Welcome

Yeah, OK - my pre-teen daughter could probably blog better than I can. She can certainly text quicker and work the DVD player. But I thought I ought to join the online community a bit more interactively than just by having a website.

If you've wandered onto this page at random or have perhaps come across me linked with the word "fantasy", I should point out now that it's not the under-the-counter brown wrapper variety, but more the Stephen King flavour. Writing, conventions, British Fantasy Society, magic, alternate realities, science fiction, other worlds, Tolkien, elves and wizards if you must (though I'd really rather not). So if you were expecting content of an adult nature, I'm sorry to disappoint you and thanks for visiting. Switch the lights off as you leave, please.

So who am I? As above - mother, writer, wife etc in varying orders of priority depending on who's shouting the loudest. I'm a member of the British Fantasy Society and was on the committee for over 15 years, edited the BFS newsletter Prism for 5 years and the BFS fiction anthology Dark Horizons for 4 years. And I've been on - ooh, about 10 FantasyCon convention committees.

I've had short fiction published in numerous places, including womens' magazines. I've been short-listed in the Ian St James Award and had a novel long-listed in the Crime Writer's Association Debut Dagger Award. I've won several competitions, but am still chasing that elusive big break. I do get past editors now and into second and third readings - but it's the marketing departments I can't crack! I'm just not famous enough.

So that's me. Can't think of anything else witty and exciting to say, so I'll sign off now and see what my very first blog post looks like...