ConDFW off the port bow!

In just a few hours I'll be setting off with the family to Dallas, where I'll be a program participant at ConDFW! This marks the first time I've been able to attend this convention in a decade, and I'm excited because up until then, it ranked as one of my favorite events of the year. Here's my schedule, sans any potential autograph sessions (chuckle) or readings. If you get a chance, stop by and say "Howdy!"

SATURDAY
2 p.m.: Tweaking Reality: How to Alter History Believably
Panelists: Candace Havens (M), Jo Walton, Taylor Anderson, Lou Antonelli, Jayme Lynn Blaschke When you read most alternate history stories, there are major changes in the timeline. The First World War is still going in 1939, for instance, or the Civil War doesn’t end. But you can’t just say “The Civil War doesn’t end” and expect people to believe you. Sometimes it is the small changes at key times that herald alternate history – and our experts tell you how to sell small changes to your readers so they stick around for the ride.

3 p.m.: The Roles of Super Heroes in Urban Fantasy
Panelists: Tracy S. Morris (M), Michael Ashleigh Finn, Rachel Caine, Mel White, Jayme Lynn Blaschke When you say the term “Super Hero”, you generally don’t think about Urban Fantasy. In comic book terms, you’d imagine a “Four Color” world where evil is bad and heroes are good. But TV series such as Supernatural and book series such as Dresden Files paint a different ideal, and super heroes are no longer black and white. What makes a super hero in the Urban Fantasy genre? And how do you use such a character? Our panelists debate this and other topics.

SUNDAY
1 p.m.: Interstellar Archaeology: Part Two – The Debunking
Panelists: Mel White (M), Jayme Lynn Blaschke, Lou Antonelli, S. Boyd Taylor, Rick Gonyo, Gloria Oliver The second of two panels where we inflict discover startling artifacts of OBVIOUS alien origin. Our experts tell us how wrong the previous esteemed panelists were! Last year, Sunday’s panel thoroughly debunked Friday’s experts. Come see if the same holds true this year!

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