From left: Cindra Phillips, Dominic Brogsdale, Karen Smith (aka Holly Bargo)

I spent A rainy Mother’s Day weekend at the Multiple Alternate Realities Convention (MARCON). It was held at the Crowne Plaza Columbus North in Worthington, Ohio. It was my second year there. Long-time attendees and vendors noted that the event has dwindled in size, formerly being held in one of the large convention hotels adjacent to the (enormous) Columbus Convention Center. I guesstimated attendance at about 300 people, including vendors.

MARCON is organized by dedicated volunteers who do a good job of keeping things runnings. However, the future of the event is uncertain as the organizers are retiring from service: it’s a lot of work to plan and manage an event of that size. I know, because I’ve done it.

For all its small size, the event featured several tracks of programs ranging from topics discussing the future of MARCON to performances by the Harp Twins to seminars on writing and panel discussions on various aspects of literary genres. (The Volfgang Twins, also musicians, provided security, merchandise design, and accompaniment for the Harp Twins.) Those who enjoy role playing games and fantasy/science fiction themed games had plenty of opportunity to indulge in their passions, too. Fantasy and science fiction-oriented groups, such as the Royal Manticoran Army, were present in force and in costume … er … uniform. Cosplay among attendees made for interesting people-watching. We saw some excellent costumes.

Every vendor always hopes to make money. In the Dealers Room, vendors ranged from a handful of indie authors (including me) to jewelry sellers (notably the Amber Fox Jewelery) to on-site toy stores. The vendor to the left of me sold CDs with “space music.” Most instrumental, the music served as background sound for those who enjoy that sort of musical ambiance. The vendor to the right sold his books and offered free writing advice. I and my best friend Cindra sold books and paintings. About half of the paintings displayed for sale were hers.

Sales of paintings exceeded book sales. That was disappointing—for me, at least. However, I earned enough in sales proceeds to cover the cost of registration if not to cover hotel accommodations and meal expenses. I won’t need to restock much, if at all, for the next event in June. I doubt my latest book, Knight of the Twin Moons, will be available by then. (It’s scheduled to come out by mid-July.)

For me, the highlight of the weekend was finally meeting one of my very favorite clients, author Dominic Brogsdale, in person. He’s taller than I expected. Dominic only stopped by for a moment, but he demonstrated his kindness and generosity by purchasing a couple of paintings, one for himself and one for his mother. What sweet guy! (Ladies, take note: you could do a lot worse than this young man.)

If MARCON will be continues for another year, I’ll register as a vendor. But someone will have to pick up the reins and take charge of the event.

Check out my EVENTS page for upcoming events where I’ll be attending as a vendor. Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s always a pleasure to speak with readers and other writers. And if you’re looking for professional editing or ghostwriting, contact me.

---

A popular romance trope is the “secret baby” or the “unexpected pregnancy” following a one night stand. I depsise that trope because anyone living in a literate society should know by the age of puberty how babies are made. It’s not “unexpected,” it’s irresponsible.

Where the romance trope and real life diverge is the consequence of that unplanned pregnancy or “secret” baby. In romance, the ending is happy: mother, baby, and father get a happily ever after. (Substitute stepmother or stepfather where appropriate per story.) Anyone who’s raised children know there is no true happily ever after.

Again, here’s where reality clashes with expectations. Children have minds of their own. Yes, they really do. What they don’t have is the cognitive maturity and life experience necessarily to make wise choices or decisions about their own lives or the lives of others.

Wisdom has little to do with intelligence. Smart people do, say, and believe stupid things all the time. Intelligence also has nothing to do with morality. Some of the world’s worst criminals and more morally degenerate people were and are brilliant. That’s one thing comic books tend to get right: the most dangerous criminals are the smart ones.

In another forum, I recently came across a distinction between “realism” and “verisimilitude.” It struck a chord with me, as I have often urged writers to inject realistic elements into their stories. After all, what anyone can verify within a minute’s Google search should be verified. Elite military operatives don’t hold hands when exploring an unknown cavern. Horses don’t eat mushrooms. Nobody with a lick of sense bales and stacks hay shirtless. Regardless of the kind of bullet, something has to propel it down the rifle’s barrel. If not gunpowder, then what?

Realistic elmenents give even the most wildly impossible stories verisimilitude, a semblance of truth, that sense that, yeah, it could happen. As I’ve said before: if the reader can’t trust you with the small, easily verified details, he or she won’t trust you to lead him or her into the realms of impossibility.

When initially drafting a story, verisimilitude isn’t the author’s first goal. The greater concern is getting the story down in tangible format. The first round of review and revision leading to the second draft tackles the large plot holes, the areas that don’t make sense, the jumps back and forth in plot. A second round of review and revision leads to the third draft. That round focuses on checking facts—making sure what’s supposed to be realistic really is realistic—and massaging language. A third round of review and revision results in a fourth draft. In that round, the author focuses on copy errors. At that point, the manuscript may finally ready for beta readers or an editor.

Take responsibility for your stories to ensure verisimilitude and teach your readers to trust you.

Two projects are racing toward conclusion. One is a ghostwriting project, a YA trilogy very loosely based on the Mahabharata. It’s been a grand project, a whole lot of fun. The client’s wonderful, too. I hope we’ll work on future projects, because we make a really good team.

The wonderful thing about a project like that is the collaboration. We schedule a phone conversation to discuss ideas and direction for the next chapter, decide what we’re going to do, then I write it. Sometimes writing the chapter veers a bit off-course. That adds an element of variability imparting a bit of extra drama or interest to the plot which develops as we go. 

I truly enjoy projects—and clients—like this. I think together we produce a superior story that meets or exceeds anything else on the market.

The other project is one of my own stories. I’m finally back to writing and it’s been going well. It’s strong. The wonderful thing about my own projects is that I can do what I want how I want. No one and nothing holds me back. The story goes in whichever direction my fancy takes it. Such is the writing style of a diehard pantser.

The new novel, estimated at 90,000 to 95,000 words, returns to the world of the Twin Moons Saga and, yes, it’s another fantasy romance. The romance in this one is gentler than in the others; however, I think the characters are just as strong. The writing journey on this book involved a lot of starts and stops due to personal reasons and family tragedy. However, the story persisted. It’s been gathering steam for weeks and we’re barreling toward the end.

Of course, you know the ending. It’s a romance, so there an only be one ending: a “happily ever after.” Nothing else is acceptable, except perhaps a “happily for now” type of ending that really isn’t an editing, but a “to be continued.” Every romance reader knows that. A romance that doesn’t end with the requisite HEA gets lambasted by reviewers who don’t tolerate violation of genre expectations.

So, just to build a little advance interest, here’s a bit about the new book.

• The release date will occur between June 30 and July 15. Look for Knight of the Twin Moons to debut then.
• The main male character (i.e., the hero) is very loosely based on the black knight of medieval lore.
• Yes, there really were black knights in the Middle Ages. They were mercenaries who painted their armor black for easier maintenance.
• My  hero is a mercenary of the justice-dispensing kind. He gets it honestly.
• The heroine is human, a divorced, former chemistry teacher who suffered a family tragedy and works as an HVAC technician. Of course, she doesn’t remain human. Otherwise, the story would be a tragedy, because humans aren’t immortal like the fae. (Remember HEA? HEA for the fae is “happily, eternally after.”)
• The periodical table of elements is involved.

And, just to ensure you know that I put my money where my mouth is, I’ve already contacted an editor to help me whip the manuscript into shape for public consumption.

Until later.