Mile Hi Con behind us, up ahead...Halloween with wine!

By -

Mario here,

Another Mile Hi Con bites the dust. You mix writers, geeks, booze, and costumes, you're bound to end up with all sorts of nuttiness. This con didn't disappoint.


<----Costumer-extraordinaire Neffra had to show
off her Klingon cleavage.



Ilana and Janene continued to strut their stuff after the costume contest.--->












As expected, Jeanne and Betsy Dornbusch got a jump start on the mayhem by fueling up at the bar and plotting against you-know-who.








Cons are a great time to reunite with writer friends. Warren Hammond (L), Carrie Vaughn, and Paolo Bacigalupi (R).

We had much to celebrate with the recent success of Bacigalupi, winner of a Hugo and a Nebula for The Windup Girl, and as a Finalist for a National Book Award for Ship Breaker.









Jeanne represented the Biting-Edge on the Vampires, Werewolves, Mermaids: Next in Urban Fantasy panel with Author Guest of Honor Rachel Caine (L), and Stephen Graham Jones (R).


Every once in a rare while I surprise myself in a good way. It happened at this con when I met the Artist Guest of Honor Donato Giancola and guessed his major artistic influence. Giancola provided the breathtaking cover illustration for the conference program with a reproduction of his oil painting Mechanic. I complimented Giancola about his impressive ability to render such a convincing red metallic. He said he used a red Christmas ball ornament as a model.


I studied the painting and commented to Gianola that his color palette and style reminded me of the great British painter John Waterhouse (1849-1917).
Giancola brightened at my
observation and replied with an enthusiastic affirmative.
(Waterhouse La Belle Dame Sans Merci --->)

Afterwards we had a wonderful conversation about Giancola's career, his techniques, and our appreciation for Waterhouse and NC Wyeth. Made me want to get back to the easel ASAP, and I will.





One topic among us writers is that in our stories, for all our struggles against formula, we can still unwittingly wallow in the tropes of our genre. If you want to churn through the banal and overdone concepts of the small screen, check out the website TVtropes.org

I'm the guest blogger on Readaholic's Scarefest with my essay, Why I Love Halloween. Thanks for the invitation, Bridget.

Since this is the season of witches and things that can make you go e-yeew! in a big way, we must share these videos.

First: from author Deborah Harkness, whose debut novel A Discovery of Witches, is due out February 8 from Viking.



Harkness is a vintner with an award-winning blog, GoodWineUnder $20. But what about us poor writers? Anything for under five bucks?

I was asked by the AV Club of The Onion to share my favorite horror movie. No contest. John Carpenter's The Thing, and especially for this scene:



Enough with the gross outs. Fortunately, we have Elvira providing some needed and welcome relief (and more cleavage):



Happy Halloween!

Comments

Sharon S. said…
thanks for the videos. Snort. I love Elvira. I always wanted to be her for Halloween, but I don't the uh, right props to fill out the dress .
October 25, 2010 at 8:27 AM
Sharon S. said…
hello? starting to feel lonely over here in the comments section .
October 28, 2010 at 7:25 AM
Sharon S. said…
Oh, I know! This is the League of Reluctant commenters!! I just thought of that and had to share . Well, I thought it was funny....snort
October 28, 2010 at 9:54 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE WRITE PRETENDAS

By -
Image
WE at the League of Reluctant Adults are pissed. Miffed. Put out. Thoroughly riled. We don't often get political, nor do we often get angry. But an angry Leaguer is an UGLY thing. Just look at Mark over there, all snarly with rage. Why are we angry, you ask? BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET BOYCOTTED. There's this group calling itself "The Write Agenda," who claims to be a bunch of authors looking out for other authors. In reality, we're pretty sure they're a bunch of con artists who got mad at people calling them con artists. Why? Because they attack two of the best friends an author or an aspiring author can ever have: Writer Beware and Absolute Write Water Cooler . Here's John Scalzi's breakdown of what this Write Agenda is, and why they're doing what they're doing. For those not in the know, Writer Beware and Absolute Write Water Cooler are free services that collect information on agents, editors, and publishers. They report on thin
Read more

Excerpt time!

By -
Since I missed my regular posting day--argh!--I'm popping in to steal Kari's day. Well, okay, Kari has a power outage so I'm taking her day, but believe me, I would totally steal it otherwise. And, because I'm just in that kind of mood, I'm going to post an excerpt from the fourth Downside book, SACRIFICIAL MAGIC, which will be released on March 27, 2012. (And wait till you guys see the cover!) The blurb: READING, WRITING, AND RAISING THE DEAD When Chess Putnam is ordered by an infamous crime boss—who also happens to be her drug dealer—to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she knows she must rise to the challenge. Adding to the intensity: Chess’s boyfriend, Terrible, doesn’t trust her, and Lex, the son of a rival crime lord, is trying to reignite the sparks between him and Chess. Plus there’s the little matter of Chess’s real job as a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth, investigating reports of a haunting
Read more

Yeah, one more reluctant adult here with free books

By -
Image
Heeeyyy, everyone! For those who have no clue who I am, I'll keep this short. My name's Dakota Cassidy, and I write fluffy (like lightly whipped fluffy), humorous paranormals for Berkley Sensation. Mark Henry invited me to join the League after I threatened heinous acts of violence against his person, involving my stilettos and an old can of Aqua Net. After much resistance, and the utter ruination of a sassy pair of red pumps, here I am :) In celebration of my forced entry... er, induction to the League--I got booty for ya :) Here's what I'm in for, and this is what ya gotta do--post in the comments section. Just say hello--that's it :) That enters you in the contest for... A signed copy of the second book in my Accidental series,   Accidentally Dead , but that's not it. I'll buy TWO books--winner's choice--written by any of the authors here on the League. That means you could win books by Caitlin Kittredge, Jaye Wells, that meanie-butt Mark Henry, Miche
Read more