FOGcon 8 Schedule

Once again, I’ll be attending FOGcon this year. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar friendly faces, and hopefully meeting new authors and readers. Here’s my schedule:

• Saturday, 3:00 PM, Sacramento Room: "How Much Do We Trust the Machine?"
• Saturday, 4:30 PM, Santa Rosa Room: Reading 

I’m particularly excited to be moderating the “How Much Do We Trust the Machine?” panel since the panelists include honored guest Ada Palmer. I’m just about finished with her novel Too Like the Lightning, and am really enjoying it.

As for my reading slot, I’m still undecided as to what exactly I’ll be reading. I haven’t been making as much forward progress on The Beasts of Qaza as I’d like, and I’m not sure any of the new chapters are ready for public consumption. It’ll probably end up being a game time decision. I’ll be sure to post an update after the convention. To keep track of real-time news and notes during the convention, make sure to connect with me on Twitter.

All the best,

Garrett Calcaterra

Autumnal Musings and Goodbyes

Jack 2006 – 2017

Early in the morning of October 9, my wife and I had to say goodbye to our dog, Jack, who had been suffering from a cancerous tumor. Despite the fact he was a 120+ lb dog, he's always been my little guy, happy to be anywhere, as long as he was at my side. In years past, that was often on the hiking trail. In recent years, it was more often on the carpet alongside my writing desk. It's bizarre and sad working from home now without him here anymore, but I'm glad he's not suffering anymore, at least.

The science fiction and fantasy community also suffered a loss this October with the passing of author ElizaBeth Gilligan. I met Beth last year at a convention, and she was kind enough to invite me to join her local writers group. As part of that group, she provided invaluable feedback on my work-in-progress, The Beasts of Qaza, and I had the pleasure of reading her work-in-progress, a sprawling fantasy novel about a tribe of women wylf soldiers. She and her husband were also gracious enough to give me advice on being a parent and a writer. I regret that Beth didn't get a chance to meet my daughter after she was born, and my sympathies go out to her husband and the rest of her family. Beth was a kind and wonderful person, and she'll be missed.

2016 Writing Recap

For better or worse, 2016 is done and gone. For me (like many people, I imagine), it was a year of transition. For the first time in my life, I made all my income from writing and editing. Most of that income, of course, didn't come from book sales but freelance work, but hey, that's still quite an accomplishment.

On a more personal note, my wife and I also learned we're going to be having our first child—so yeah, if that's not transition and change, I don't know what is. The baby is due in May, and it's exciting, a bit terrifying, and most definitely motivating for me to work harder at the writing I do.

A lot of other writing-related stuff happened, too, so here's a quick recap of the noteworthy tidbits, along with my goals for 2017:

Dreamwielder Ebook Sale and Writing Updates

Good News. Diversion Books has put the ebook version of Dreamwielder on sale for only 99 cents through September 13, so if you've been holding out for a good deal, now's the time to go for it. That price should be valid at all ebook retailers. For your convenience here are some quick links:

-Amazon
-B&N
-Kobo
-iTunes