Facing fears.
Last time I was here I talked about how I need to leave my comfort zone. Well, that’ll be happening sooner than you might have expected. Those who really know me are aware that I’m anything but comfortable in a room full of people, and I have a damned hard time pushing myself forward at the best of times. Well that’s got to change if I’m going to get anywhere in this job, so I took steps recently to face some of my fears in order to seek new opportunities.
I will actually be making my Panel debut at FantasyCon in Chester this week. Two panels, in fact – and I’ll be doing a reading as well. (I love reading to people!)
For those of you interested, all the events will be taking place on Friday 19th October.
The first panel is called ‘The Elderly Guard’ and will be moderated by the wonderful Charlotte Bond. It deals with how middle-aged and elderly people are (or could, or perhaps should be) handled in fantastical fiction, and why that representation matters. This discussion will begin in Panel Room 1 at 4.30pm.
My second panel is called ‘Shared Worlds’ and will be moderated by the redoubtable Cheryl Morgan. I will of course be talking about my experiences wrangling This Twisted Earth into existence, and the other panellists will relate their own tales of writing in or creating their own particular shared worlds. This will be in the same place, Panel Room 1, at the later time of 6pm.
Should you wish to support my solo performance (complete with accents), you can find me in the Reading Room at 9pm with the other Slipstream Fiction folks. I’ll be reading from a great story called ‘The Ghost In Michelle.’
I hope to see some of you there!
