Salt Lake Comic Con '15...Panel #4: Saucy Or Gory?

Saturday night a few of us writers will gather in a room and talk about the world's oldest profession...

Writing.

At the last Salt Lake Comic Con I struck up a conversation with a good friend, Craig Nybo. We discussed writing and other things. I had finished his book, Allied Zombies For Peace. It's a book I highly recommend.

But I warn you, it's a little gory.

The talk I had with Craig got me thinking. I have a lot of friends who write, shall we say, books with lots of blood and guts. I've tried it--in fact, I'm trying my hand in this genre right now. But what I don't have is a lot of friends who write romance, or stories that go into the more "R" rated category. 

I had an idea for a panel for the next Comic Con. I submitted my idea and it was chosen. Now, me and several other authors will talk about sex and gore. The official title of the panel is:

Writing The Sins: Sex vs. Gore

And I'm the moderator. Comic Con has given this panel an +18 rating, but if I can help it, it won't come to that. I'm more interested in why they write what they do and why they make the choices they make.

On the panel will be the following awesome authors:

Dave Butler

S.A. Buter

Rhiannon Paille

David J. West

Lynette White

The Daves and S.A (Sara) I know. Rhiannon and Lynette I don't.

It's one of the last panels of the entire event, so if you too would like to find out why authors do what they do when it comes to these two genres, please join us, September 26, 2015, 8pm in Room 255F. The panel might not turn out to be what you think it will be, but I'm going to try to make it a great experience for everyone.

This is the last of my panel blog posts. It all begins tomorrow and I can't wait! See you there!

Salt Lake Comic Con '15...Panel #3: Write Like A Master Composer

In three days we'll gather from across town and across the world. Yes, we're mere hours away from the grand event that is Salt Lake Comic Con. And continuing my tradition, I'm blogging about the panels I'm on.

This one is going to be great!

Of course, they're all great, or have the potential to be. But I was on a similar panel last year and I loved it. 

The title of this panel is: 

Write Stories Like a Master Composer: 

Using Musical Concepts to Make Your Writing Sing

Isn't that a cool title? The correct answer is YES!

And accompanying me on this magic carpet ride are the following panelists:

Dave Butler

M. Todd Gallowglas

Michael Jensen

Craig Nybo

Peter Orullian

Jenniffer Wardell

Of the group, I've not met (or if I have, I've forgotten--surpassing middle age can have that effect on a person...) Peter Orullian or Jenniffer Wardell. The rest I've met and many I consider great friends.

So, if you're at this year's Salt Lake Comic Con on Friday, September 25, 2015 at 7pm, just head on over to Room 255E and see how you can make your words sing. Who knows...maybe we'll do a little singing ourselves. I know many of us can.

Salt Lake Comic Con '15...Panel #2: Cutting The Cord

The Con happens next week, and for those interested, I'm going through and highlighting about four panels. There's going to be some great panelists on these panels. Oh, and I'm going to be there, too.

This is the second panel with which I am involved. The official title of the panel is:

Cord Cutting: Is It Right For You?

At first I had no idea what "Cord Cutting" meant, so I read the panel description:

With options like Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Now, Sling and Playstation Vue, it's becoming increasingly easy to cancel your cable or satellite, but is cord cutting right for you?

I like it for several reasons. First, it's timely, it's a new panel topic (at least, I haven't heard of this topic being covered before at SLCC...) and it's something in which I have a little experience.

Back in the mid-nineties I worked for the country's largest cable company, TCI Cablevision. Remember them? And I worked in customer service. Doing customer service work is tough to begin with. Throw in helping out frustrated cable subscribers and you have a new kind of torture. Actually, many/most people were very nice, but there were always a few...

I am looking forward to this panel, for the topic and for the amazing panelist, many of whom I've known for years. I don't believe I've met Bill Frost yet. I look forward to getting to know him.

Here's the panel list:

Robert J. Defendi: Moderator

Bill Frost

Daniel Swenson

Dan Willis

James Wymore

If you're at Comic Con on Friday, September 25, 2015, at 3pm, head over to Room 150G. I think this is going to be a good one!

Salt Lake Comic Con '15...Panel #1: Orphan Black

This week those in charge of putting together one of the nation's best comic conventions released the panel schedules. It's a moment many of us invited to participate have been anxious to see. And so, because I'm excited to share (and I need daily blog post topics...), here's information about the first panel I'm on, what it's about and who's going to be there!

The panel is called:

Why Orphan Black Is The Best Show On TV

Fans of the show are most likely saying to themselves: "Duh!" Orphan Black is an intense show! It's the kind of show that grabs you--sucks you in and doesn't let go.

Others on the panel are:

Mishell Livio

Lisa Mangum

Brian Wiser

I met Lisa at a convention earlier this year so I know at least one other person in the group. Part of the fun about being a panelist at these events is getting to know the other panelists and making new friendships.

So, if you're at Salt Lake Comic Con on Thursday, September 24, 2015, at 8pm, head on over to Room 150G and get your fix of the best show on TV, Orphan Black!

You can see the schedule of each and every panel for the three days: HERE. If you're attending, stop by! I'd love to see you and catch up!