I just posted another video on my You Tube channel, this one devoted to answering questions from readers.
conventions
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By invitation of the convention organizers, I will be attending and “participating in programming” at the West Coast Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention to be held at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego, California, July 2-5, 2015. The organizers are still developing the convention programming and figuring out which participant goes in what slot, so I can’t yet give you a schedule of events in which I will be involved.
When the organizers provide me with such a schedule, assuming I get it far enough in advance, I will post it here. Otherwise, you might need to check the convention’s web site:
To many writers, convention invitations are no big deal, but this is my first and it is a HUGE deal for me. It doesn’t hurt that my third book will have been released on June 30, so I will have a brand new, fresh book to promote. In fact, I’ve never been to any Science Fiction convention, ever. So, this is going to be a totally new experience for me.
I’m looking forward to it. I would love to meet as many of my readers as I can when I am there, so please try to attend if possible.
UPDATE: A partial list of participants is up on the web site and I note that one of them is David Brin, whose writing I really admire. I also note that my name is NOT yet on the partial list, which is causing a 10,000 cubic meter per hour hydrogen leak from my Hindenburg-like ego. Those of you who live in the southwestern United States can probably hear the faint hissing even as you read this. If you want to see who, besides me, is going to be participating, here is a direct link to the page which, perhaps, at some point between now and the opening of the convention, may contain my name:
http://westercon68.org/programming/program-participants/
UPDATE #2: As of 07:30 Zulu Hours, 30 May 2015, the Westercon68 website appears to be down. So, if you get a “page not found” error, it’s not my fault. Really. I can prove it. Don’t blame me!!!!
UPDATE #3: As of 18:34 Zulu Hours 30 May 2015, the site is back up. It is still gravely deficient however, in that the participant list still does not include the brilliant and scintillating H. Paul Honsinger. Don’t these people know that this is a name that will spur the enthusiasm of hordes of wildly cheering fans (a “horde” in this case consisting of at least two fans and, perhaps, as many as five!)? I suppose not. They will learn, my friends. [Evil chuckle.]
UPDATE #4: As of 17:13 Zulu Hours, 1 June 2015, my name is now listed among the program participants for this Conference (technically it’s a “Conference” and not a “Convention”). Because they spelled my last name right on the first attempt, I’m not even slightly perturbed by the listing omitting the “H.” in “H. Paul Honsinger.” I’ve always been “Paul” to my friends and most other folks, so I can get by without the “H.” that I use for formal purposes.
All of the people who supposedly know about such things say that, at this point in my career as a writer, I am supposed to be busily and industriously engaged in promoting my books, mainly through “fan outreach.” As my publisher is not interested in flying me around the country to place me at book signings and conventions, an immediate schedule of wide-ranging public appearances is not in the cards.
I am, however, interested in hearing from readers about what kind of outreach they would like to see and in which they would participate, from among those avenues available to me. Some of the things I am thinking about are: (1) making a series of Youtube videos in which I answer questions from fans, (2) appearing at a few conventions that are easy to reach from my home in Arizona, (3) engaging in live online chats with readers, (4) other modes that you folks suggest. This is all in the exploratory stages right now, and I am intensely interested in input from my readers. Let me hear from you, either in the comments to this post or by email to honsingermilitaryscifi@gmail.com. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
H. Paul Honsinger 