Life, The Universe, and Everything 2020!

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I’ve been waiting to make this post for months now, readers! But with the new year upon us, it’s finally time. Life, The Universe, and Everything 2020 is almost upon us, with a little over a month to go!

Some of you readers are cheering quietly (or perhaps loudly) while mentally double-checking your hotel reservation for next month, but some of you, I’m sure, I are looking at this post and thinking “Isn’t that a Douglas Adams book?” while wondering what I mean about next month. So before we go any further, let me clear that up.

First, yes, it is the title of one of Douglas Adams’ books. Life, the Universe, and Everything was the third book in his Hitchhiker series and released in 1982. So you’re not wrong there. However, that is the LtUE with a lowercase “t” on the “the.” The uppercase variant?

Why, it’s Life, The Universe, and Everything, the premier Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing Convention! With an uppercase “T.” But yes, it is a reference.

“All right,” some of you might say. “So it’s another Sci-Fi/Fantasy con. So?” To which I’d reply “No, not exactly.”

See, LTUE is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy writing con. While other conventions are about getting together just to have fun dressing up and meeting authors and creators, LTUE is different. LTUE is about creation. Where other Sci-Fi/Fantasy cons will have panels where you can meet your favorite author and ask questions about your favorite series or listen to them talk about their favorite moments from the book, LTUE has panels where you come to hear your favorite authors talk about the art of writing.

That’s right. Hundreds of authors on hundreds of panels, talking about writing. How to write. Pitfalls. Elements you may not have considered. Topics for days.

That’s right, LTUE is a convention for writers who want to learn more about writing. With panels given by some of the biggest names in the industry. While also having signings, art shows, game rooms, and all the fun stuff you’d expect from a regular con.

In other words, if you’re a writer of any level interested in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, LTUE is the con to go to. For learning, for networking, for even just having fun chatting with favorite authors or new ones! It’s the con.

Okay, so that’s what LTUE is. Oh, and if you’re a student (college or k-12), tickets are … around $5. For three days of con awesome.

In other words, what are you waiting for? The website is here, reserve your ticket! And while you’re at it, take a look at their guestlist and schedule to start planning what panels you’d like to attend!

While you’re at it, you may notice a familiar name on the Guestlist and attached to a number of panels! Which brings me to the second reason for today’s post: Letting you all know that yes, I will be at LTUE this year, paneling once more! And signing, and doing a reading …

It’s going to be a big year for me this LTUE. A very big year. I’m pumped.

But it means that, in addition to letting you all know that LTUE is approaching (February 13th-15th), I also get to have the wonderful pleasure this year of putting up my LTUE panel schedule, letting you all know where you can find me over the course of the con! So, without further ado, a list of all the LTUE appearances I’ll be making this year! I’ll repost this as we get closer to the date of the actual con, but for now: Get ready and excited! It’s coming!

LTUE 2020 Header

Thursday, February 13th

9 AM – It’s Always Sunny in Fantasyland Except When it’s Not

  • Using weather in fiction to drive characters and plot

 

1 PM – Folk, Farm, and City Magic: How Population Affects Technique

  • How does location affect what magic can be done? We look at the differences living in a small village or town may have on a practitioner of magic, from folk magic and local lore to distance.

 

70081760_568294170598543_7425837595373862912_o3 PM – A Dragon and Her Girl Anthology Release

  • LTUE’s newest anthology launches here! Is there anyone that wouldn’t like a collection of stories about heroines and dragons from a bunch of famous (or soon-to-be-famous) authors?
  • Yes, this is when you all at last get to read A Game of Stakes. This is the collection it’s in. And it’s an absolute blast. Come pick up a release copy and get it signed!

5 PM – The Story Rollercoaster: Subverting Science Fiction Tropes to Make Stories Different

  • We’re all pretty familiar with the classic, trope beats of the Science-Fiction genre. How can we subvert a reader’s expectations of what’s come before without pushing them away or straying too far from what’s fun?

 

Friday, February 14th

12 PM (Noon) – Droids and Drones: Nonbiological Characters

  • Writing humans is tricky sure, but what about robots, drones, and sentient AIs? How might their perspectives, goals, and motivations differ?

1 PM – Readings from A Dragon and Her Girl

  • That’s right, come see the authors of some of the shorts in the LTUE Benefit Anthology read their work!
  • (Now to start the lingering fear that I’ll have a sore throat that day)

3 PM – Like Reality unless Otherwise Noted: Writing Nonhuman POV Characters

  •  Writing from a non-human perspective sounds easy, but often the reader ends up reading “a human with a hat.” Come learn techniques for keeping your POV character firmly their own species without driving readers away.
  • Claws-down the panel I’m most excited for!

6:30 PM – Book Signing Event!

  • Hundreds of authors! Colored pens of every size and shape imaginable! Signatures! Books! I mean, you know what this is.
  • I’ll be signing copies of A Dragon and Her Girl, as all my other books are digital. But hey, if you want me to sign something else, I’ll do it. Save body parts. That gets weird.

 

Saturday, February 15th

4 PM – Hacking the Night Away: Realistic Computer Hacking and Cracking

  • Hacking in a lot of fiction is just plain bad, both in accuracy and engagement. You want to know how to do it right, but also keep it engaging? This is the panel for you.

 

And … that’s it! Of course, I won’t vanish in a puff of smoke after each panel is over, returned to some negative dimension until I am called upon again for another panel (Though … that does sound kind of cool. Eldritch con … hmmm …). No, I’ll be out and about among the con, hitting other panels I want to experience, checking out the vendor hall, the art hall, and everything else the con has to offer.

Hey, maybe I’ll even hit the game room and do a gaming session with fans. What do you guys think? Would that be something you’d be interested in? What game would you want to play? We’ve got time to hash something out.

Anyway, that’s my schedule. LTUE is coming and I could not be more excited. Woo!

Are you making it to this year’s LTUE ? If so, I hope to see you there! Are you excited for any particular panels? What’s your favorite? Check the full LTUE schedule and leave a note in the comments!

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