If you’ll be in the Western Mass area this weekend, i highly recommend you stop by ConBust, a sci-fi/fantasy/anime/gaming convention put on each spring by students at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. It’s loads of fun, with great panel discussions, workshops, and awesome local vendors. I’ve been asked to be a panelist again this year, and I am thrilled to do so.

Here’s my schedule for ConBust 2018:

Saturday 11:00 – 11:50: Bad Endings to Good Books (David Peterson, Jennifer Allis Provost, Smithee Awards)

“Well, that was anticlimactic!” Come and discuss when authors don’t know when to leave well enough alone.

Saturday 12:00 – 12:50: Editing as a Writer (Genevieve Iseult Eldredge, Andrea Hairston, Jennifer Allis Provost, Suzanne Lahna)

Wondering what goes into making a rough draft a published book? Attend this panel to find out!

Saturday 1:00 – 1:50 Morality in Comics (Jennifer Allis Provost, George Claxton)

If Daredevil and Nightcrawler are Catholic, how can they justify beating people up? And what about Batman’s “no guns, no killing” rule? What’s up with the Avengers committing genocide on an alien race? In this panel, we look at how comicbook superheroes transition from idealistic images to grim and gritty graphics, as well as the unwritten (and often broken) rules of being a superhero.

Sunday 9:00 – 9:50 High Fantasy (Jennifer Allis Provost)

Has high fantasy jumped the shark, or is it still going strong? We vote the latter. Enjoy the talk of kings and queens, dragons and knights, epic quests, swordfights, true love, and miracles.

Sunday 1:00 – 1:50 Getting into the Industry (Jennifer Allis Provost, Kelly Turnbull)

While the stereotypical nerd is a skinny white boy, women are also an integral part of the professional world of nerdery. This panel discusses some helpful ways to avoid misogyny in the nerd’s workplace.

Learn more about ConBust here. See you this weekend!

Walker (Gallowglass #2)

Amazon —> http://amzn.to/2AtFIsO
B&N —> https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/walker-jennifer-allis-provost/1127329683?ean=2940154604854

Who is hunting the gallowglass?

When Karina and Robert relocated from Scotland to New York, they expected things to settle down. New York is known for many things, but a hotbed of supernatural occurrences isn’t one of them. Karina returned to her life as a graduate student, and agreed to teach a class over winter break. That was when things got weird: first she and Robert encountered an angry centaur, then a fairy enrolled in her class, and Karina learned that her mentor just might be a deity. When the Seelie King started making unannounced visits to Karina’s apartment in the middle of the night and warning her and Robert to be careful, she knew things were serious.

All of these events led to a single question: Who doesn’t want the gallowglass on American soil?

Meanwhile, Chris has problems of his own. The university grudgingly restored his teaching position, his agent and publisher are hounding him for a sequel to his worldwide bestseller… and he wonders if he can teach again. Write again. Hell, he can barely even speak to a woman after what happened between him and the Seelie Queen. Then a woman—a fairy woman—comes into Chris’s life, and damn it all if he doesn’t want her to stay there.

The god plays their hand, and the Seelie King calls Robert to his side. Alone and more frightened than she’s ever been, Karina tries to solve the mystery of who is hunting the gallowglass. Will Karina find the answer in time, or will Robert be lost forever?