Jean Marie Ward

fiction, nonfiction and all points in between

My Capclave 2016 Schedule

Monday, October 3rd, 2016 | Author: jmward14 | Blog, capclave, jean marie ward | Comments Off

On Stranger Birds

On Stranger Birds by Steve Stiles

It’s Capclave season! If you’ll be in the Washington, DC, area this weekend, you couldn’t do better than to join us at the Gaithersburg Hilton for the MDV’s premier science fiction/fantasy literary convention. This year’s guests of honor will be Tim Powers and Sarah Beth Durst.
They’re even giving me some panels, too:

7 PM, Friday, October 7
Rockville/Potomac Meeting Room
Fictionalizing Real People
Panelists: Tim Powers, James R. Stratton, Jean Marie Ward (Moderator), Allen L. Wold
When you put a real person in a story, how much do you need to know about that person? What biographical information do you keep or leave out? What are the pro’s and con’s of writing such a character?

1 PM, Saturday, October 8
Salon A
Humor in Science Fiction & Fantasy
Panelists: Doc Coleman (M), William Freedman, Larry Hodges, Alex Shvartsman, Jean Marie Ward
When is it good to have a laugh? An exploration of not only humorous books, but putting humorous elements in a dramatic story.

10 PM, Saturday, October 8
Rockville/Potomac Meeting Room
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading
Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jeanne Adams, V. Hartman DiSanto, Kelly A. Harmon, Christie Meierz, Jean Marie Ward (M)
Listen to the Broad Universe Writers as they reveal their literary gems. Expect some extra members of the Universe to join the fun!

11PM, Saturday, October 8
Bethesda Meeting Room
Unused Secret Histories
Panelists: Tom Doyle, Bjorn Hasseler, James Morrow (Moderator), Jean Marie Ward
Tim Powers’ novels frequently use secret histories in which the recorded history does not change but the reasons behind the events are rather different. What historical events would make for a good secret history and what would be your explanation?

See you there!

Posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago at 7:54 pm.

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My Capclave Schedule

Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 | Author: jmward14 | capclave, cons, jean marie ward | Comments Off

It’s almost here! Capclave, the Washington DC-area science fiction, fantasy and horror convention will run from Friday through Sunday, October 11-13, at the Hilton Washington DC North in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
This is a big thing—not just for me, but also for fans of Guest of Honor George R.R. Martin. I can’t remember the last time he and fellow Guests of Honor—editor Sharyn November, writer Harold Waldrop—have graced an East Coast con. Putting on my reporter’s hat, I have no idea how much Game of Thrones/Wild Cards/Old Mars gossip I’ll be able to wheedle out of them. But I plan to give it my best shot.
And par-tay! At least, when I’m not on a panel. I think you’ll agree my schedule (below) is choice. Hope to see you there!

Friday
4 p.m. Salon A
The Darker Side of Fae (Ends at 4:55 p.m.)
Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Alethea Kontis, Michelle D. Sonnier (M), Jim Stratton, Jean Marie Ward
Not everyone can be Tinkerbell, sometimes the world is a little less clean and pure. Is the darker fae a return to time when the fae were strange and alarming?

10 p.m., Salon B
Nice Shoes… (Ends at: 10:55 p.m.)
Panelists: Judi Fleming, Jason Jack Miller, Betsy A. Riley, Patrick Scaffido, Jean Marie Ward
Shoes, do they make the character? What are the tricks to subtly tell the reader about the character through clothes, furniture, job, and hobbies. Is this just a chic lit trait or a common tool?

11 p.m., Salons CDE
I’m Just Borrowing the Characters… Writing Fanfic (Ends at: 11:55 p.m.)
Panelists: Janine Spendlove, Elaine Stiles (M), Jean Marie Ward, Steven H. Wilson
Why do people write fanfic? Is it fair use or unfair abuse? How is it different from retellings of Greek myths or King Arthur? Is using familiar characters and settings “training wheels” for beginning authors or a dangerous crutch that will engrain bad habits? Where are the lines?

Saturday
3 p.m., Salon B
A Survey of Kickass Animals that Probably Don’t Exist (Ends at: 3:55 p.m.)
Panelists: Thomas Holtz (M), Diana Peterfreund, Norm Sherman, Howard Waldrop, Jean Marie Ward
From the Goatman to the Mothman, Yeti to Yowie, and Dodo to Ogopogo. From Bloops to Blobs, Giant Owls to Lizard men, Chupacabres to Mongolian Deathworms. From the foul smelling Skunk Ape of the Florida Everglades, to the brain eating Nandi Bears of Kenya, this course is a basic introduction into the study of absurd animals which purportedly exist based on the sightings and information gathered by stammering lunatics, drunken peasants and other researchers in the field.

7:30 p.m., Salons A-E
Mass Signing (Ends at: 8:25 p.m.)
Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Catherine Asaro, Eric Bakutis, Philippa Ballantine, Matt Betts, Matt Bishop, Neil Clarke, Tom Doyle, Andrew Fox, Charles E. Gannon, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Laura Anne Gilman, Bob Greenberger, John G. Hemry, Alma Katsu, Annette Klause, John Edward Lawson, Dina Leacock, Edward M. Lerner, Marianne Mancusi, George R.R. Martin, James Maxey, Heidi Ruby Miller, Jason Jack Miller, James Morrow, Diana Peterfreund, Patrick Scaffido, Lawrence M. Schoen, Jon Skovron, Alan Smale, Michelle D. Sonnier, Bud Sparhawk, Janine Spendlove, Michael Swanwick, Michael A. Ventrella, Jean Marie Ward, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Steven H. Wilson, Leona Wisoker, K. Ceres Wright
The Saturday evening mass autographing session.

9 p.m., Salon B
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading (Ends at: 9:55 p.m.)
Panelists: Jean Marie Ward (M), Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Day Al-Mohamed, Meriah Lysistrata Crawford, Elektra Hammond, Dina Leacock, Christine Norris, Leona Wisoker
Bite-sized readings from the writers of Broad Universe.

Posted 3 years, 9 months ago at 10:00 am.

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Looking ahead

Saturday, October 5th, 2013 | Author: jmward14 | capclave, cons, jean marie ward, short stories, short story | Comments Off

Art by Kelli Neier

Those of you who obsessively check sidebars (there’s gotta be one of you, right?) will have noticed the release of Hellfire Lounge 4: Reflections of Evil has been pushed back again, and I still don’t have a release date for Gaslight & Grimm. (Boo.) But a new story and a new convention have joined the list. (Win!)
First and foremost in any writer’s mind is the latest acceptance. “The Gap in the Fence” is one of my favorite contemporary fantasies, but I wasn’t sure it would find a home. Then Janine Spendlove and Ron Garner of Silence in the Library Publishing invited me to submit a story to Athena’s Daughters. The fit between story and anthology was so close, it’s almost as if I wrote it with Athena’s Daughters in mind.
Athena’s Daughters will be the subject of a Kickstarter later in the year. The first level will fund the ebook, which features the beautiful cover by Kelli Neier shown here. As we go up the levels, there will be additional authors, illustrations and a paper edition. You better believe I’ll have more about that as we get closer to launch.
Also listed is my first confirmed con of 2014: World Fantasy Con. The 2014 edition will be happening just a few minutes from my home. But this is one local on I won’t be commuting to. I plan to party!
I also plan to party at next weekend’s Capclave, and I’ll be posting my schedule early next week. Hope to see you there!

Posted 3 years, 9 months ago at 10:00 am.

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Saturday Six: Snapshots of CapClave 2010

Saturday, November 20th, 2010 | Author: jmward14 | Blog | Comments Off

Jeri & Mindy
Jeri Smith-Ready (left) and Mindy Klasky sign autographs at CapClave 2010.

I know, I’ve been a bad blogger.  I’ve been lost in the Revision Cave.  But I couldn’t let the month past without a report on CapClave 2010.  It’s all here. Enjoy!

Posted 6 years, 8 months ago at 2:19 am.

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It’s Capclave Time Again

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 | Author: jmward14 | Blog | Comments Off

Halloween is my favorite time of year, not only do I get to celebrate my favorite holiday, I get to play at Capclave, the Washington DC area’s literary science fiction, fantasy and horror convention focusing on the short fiction form, held at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville MD Executive Meeting Center, October 22-24. This year’s guests of honor are Connie Willis (writing), and Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (editing).

My schedule comprises two panels, a workshop and the ever popular Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, where I just might read from “Siren Bridge”. It’s strudel weather, after all.

Friday, 7 p.m.
Mutants: Gift or Curse? (Ends at: 8:00 pm)
Location: Plaza II M
Panelists: C.J. Henderson, Robert Scott, Jean Marie Ward
What are the joys and pains of being a zombie, vampire, werewolf? Discussion of trends in depictions of mutants in books, films, comics, and popular culture.

Friday, 8 p.m.
Writers and the Internet: When is Enough Enough? (Ends at: 9:00 pm)
Location: Plaza II
Panelists: Oz Drummond, Walter H. Hunt, Tee Morris, Karen Wester Newton, Jeff VanderMeer, Jean Marie Ward
How much of the Internet is needed for an author to successfully promote themselves and their works? And how much is too much?

Saturday, 2 p.m.
Reviewer’s Workshop (Ends at: 4:00 pm)
Location: Randolph
Panelists: Doug Fratz, Peter Heck (M), Jean Marie Ward
A good reviewer does more then read free books and say “I like that”. The panelists will demonstrate the hallmarks of a good review and how to create one. Did we mention Peter Heck is a regular reviewer for Asimov’s Science Fiction?

Saturday, 7 p.m.
Broad Universe RapidFire Reading (Ends at: 8:00 pm)
Location: Montrose
Panelists: Roxanne Bland, Oz Drummond, Kelly A. Harmon, Dina Leacock, Jean Marie Ward
The women authors of Broad Universe serve up tasty bites of fiction…and free chocolate!

***

Note: The Fannish Dodo illustrating this post is the Capclave mascot, created by Lynn Perkins in 2005.

Posted 6 years, 9 months ago at 12:25 am.

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Adventures in Capclave

Saturday, October 24th, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | Blog | Comments Off

My report on Capclave 2009 is now live at Beyond the Veil. And the rest of the photos can be found on my Flickr page.  Enjoy!

Posted 7 years, 9 months ago at 12:14 am.

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My Capclave Schedule

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | Blog | Comments Off

Now that I’ve (more or less) recovered from DragonCon, it’s again time to put on my convention hat and party hard—er, prepare to educate and entertain at Capclave 2009, this Friday to Sunday, October 16-18. Capclave is the Washington, DC, area’s premier science fiction, fantasy and horror convention. Although it focuses on literature, particularly short stories, you can’t bring a bunch of daft writers together and not wind up with a good time.

If this sounds like your thing, you can find us at the Hilton, Washington DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, from 3 p.m. this Friday until 5 p.m. on Sunday. I hope you’ll join us. I especially hope you’ll attend a panel of mine. Or two. Or all of them. The one thing I’ve learned over the course of my writing career is you can never be too rich or have too many fans.

Seriously, the thin thing is negotiable.

Jean Marie’s 2009 Capclave Schedule:

Friday, 8 p.m.
Fantasy-Mystery – From Harry Dresden to Rachel Morgan to Sookie Stackhouse to Anita Blake, a lot of popular urban fantasies/paranormal romances seem to be mysteries. Why add this element to the mix? What works and what doesn’t when you combine them?
Panelists: Andrew Fox (m), Peter Heck, Victoria Janssen, Jean Marie Ward, Diane Weinstein

Friday, 10 p.m.
Kryptonite for Characters – What do you do to limit your characters and keep them from being too powerful? What flaws do you give them? How do you have them grow and gain without becoming gods?
Panelists: Diane Weinstein (m), Davey Beauchamp, Neil Clarke, Tom King, Jean Marie Ward

Friday, 11 p.m.
Are Vampires Still #1? – Why are vampires so popular? Is anything likely to rival them—werewolves? Zombies? What? Whose vampires are the best and why?
Panelists: Andrew Fox (m), Davey Beauchamp, Darrell Schweitzer, Jean Marie Ward, Lawrence Watt-Evans

Saturday, 11 a.m.
Paranormal Romance—Just Chick Lit? – Why is the main character in paranormal romance usually female? Is the audience meant to be women only? What is the right balance between the paranormal and the romance? (And, the moderator adds, why the heck aren’t there any men on this panel? Hmph! I have a feeling I’m going to have to be a very bad girl on this one.)
Panelists: Jean Marie Ward (m), Mattie Brahen, Mindy Klasky, Victoria Janssen

Saturday, 1 p.m.
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading – Join the Broads of Capclave as they read fast-paced excerpts from their latest fictions. There will be chocolate.
Panelists: Jean Marie Ward (m), Diane Arrelle, Roxanne Bland, Kelly A. Harmon, Victoria Janssen

Sunday, 11 a.m.
Paranormal Versus Urban Fantasy – Is paranormal romance just another name for urban fantasy? If not, what is the distinction? How do writers determine the right balance between paranormal and romance? Is it just classic boy meets girl or does being a paranormal make it different?
Panelists: Scott Andrews (m), Catherine Asaro, Karen Newton, Edmund Schubert, Jean Marie Ward, Diane Weinstein

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Posted 7 years, 9 months ago at 12:54 am.

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