DragonCon

Dragon Award Finalist!

August 20, 2019 by Kacey Ezell Leave a Comment

So this news is a couple of weeks old, but I realized I hadn’t posted about it on here, so here goes:

THE WORLD ASUNDER is a 2019 Dragon Award Finalist for Best Alternate History Novel!

I’m so very honored and humbled. The Dragon Awards are a 100% fan-run award. So thank you, thank you, thank you for voting for Lina and me. 🙂

The award itself will be presented at DragonCon in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, which is coming up, but there’s still time to vote! And I would LOVE to have you vote for THE WORLD ASUNDER for Best Alternate History. But more than that, please just do me a favor and log on to the site and vote for your favorites. Because here’s the thing, fan awards only work when fans vote!

So go vote! Because you’re awesome!

Much Love,

Click here to vote for your favorites for the 2019 Dragon Awards!

DragonCon 2018 AAR

September 5, 2018 by Kacey Ezell 2 Comments

DragonCon 2018 After Action Report

Prologue:

The week leading up to DragonCon was quite busy… scratch that. The *month* leading up to DragonCon was quite busy. For those of you not familiar, DragonCon is a 5-day (well, 4, officially) science fiction, fantasy, and pop culture convention held in downtown Atlanta over Labor Day weekend. It is the best convention I have ever attended. It is 85,000 of your closest friends partying 24hours a day, for 5 days over 5 hotels. It is my Superbowl, my Mardi Gras, and my New Year’s Eve all in one. It is my favorite week of the year. Yes, I said week.

See, the thing of it is that DragonCon has grown from a standard weekend convention into an entity all of its own. It is entirely fan-run and fan-organized, and so it focuses entirely on the fan experience. And the same fans come back, year after year to see their favorite stars and their chosen family members.

Several years ago, people started showing up early on Friday to see their friends and hang out before programming officially got started on Saturday. When I first started going, DragonCon was officially a Saturday-Monday convention. But more and more people showed up on Friday, and started the costuming and the party early. But then as the con got more and more popular, the tracks started scheduling programming on Friday as well. Until finally, con-goers started showing up on Thursday to hang out, etc. This prompted the phrase “Thursday is the new Friday”.

Well, fast forward to now. This year, we showed up on Wednesday to a party already in full swing. Tuesday, it seems, is the new Friday, and if that’s the case, then DragonCon runs from the Tuesday before Labor Day, through the Monday holiday itself.

Thus, DragonCon Week: my favorite week of the year.

Here’s how it went down in 2018:

“Y’all… this is WEDNESDAY!!”

One of the benefits of living close to a major metropolitan area is that it’s really easy to find a direct nonstop flight to Atlanta. My husband EZ and I boarded a plane early on Wednesday morning, and arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson just before noon. From there, it was an easy Marta trip to downtown, and a walk through pleasantly cooling rain to our hotel: The Westin Peachtree Plaza.

Every year I sing the praises of the Westin, and this year will be no different. The staff is always incredibly professional and helpful, the rooms are lovely and comfortable, and you really can’t beat the views. Though this year we stayed on a lower floor than in years past, but it’s still a good vista over the city of Atlanta.

We checked in with no problems and quickly decided to go find some food. We knew we would probably get the luscious truffled mac&cheese from Meehan’s once our friends the Wolfpack arrived, so we opted to walk over to Peachtree Center mall and check out the food court.

This year, the food court was under construction, which severely limited the available floor space for seating. HOWEVER, mad kudos to the Peachtree Center staff and to their liaison with the con, because honestly, it *felt* less full than it has in years past. They did a really great job of delineating traffic areas that were not to be blocked, and it was truly not any harder to find a seat than it was in years past… though we did opt to get take out quite a bit, due to the construction.

In any case, EZ and I had lunch, and then I asked him if he wanted to walk a 5K with me while we waited for our friends to arrive.

See, I had signed up for the RunDisney Virtual Shorts series, which is a series of 3 virtual 5K races to be done in the months of June, July, and August respectively. But August was super busy, and I hadn’t gotten my race done yet. The races can be run or walked, and while I ran the first two, I knew that walking was going to be my best bet if I wanted to get it done that day.

So, my beloved, amazing husband agreed, and we proceeded to tour all the DragonCon host hotels and refamiliarize ourselves with the ins and outs and secret (not really) passageways that lead from one hotel to the other. We also took the time to locate where badge pickup and most of my programming would be, as I was participating in four tracks this year, plus the Dragon Awards. As he said, he never would have expected that the first thing I wanted to do when I got to DragonCon was a 5K, but there you have it.

I’m full of surprises.

In the course of the 5K, we stopped by and picked up some beverages from the traditionally overpriced liquor store next to the Sheraton, as well as some room snacks from the CVS in Peachtree Center mall.

By the way, Mad Props to the staff of that CVS. As the main entrance to the food court was closed for construction, they had a steady stream of people using their store as a thoroughfare. And yet they were always pleasant and helpful, and restocked nightly to provide con goers with necessary drinks, snacks, and whatnot. Since their inception, that CVS has definitely had a positive impact on DragonCon, in my opinion.

Shortly after we finished our epic 5K, our friends the Wolfpack arrived. The Wolfpack consists of my coauthor, Marisa Wolf, and her entourage. In this case, her entourage consisted of her husband, Jeremy (whose last name isn’t Wolf, but he isn’t a writer or con pro of any kind, so I’m not going to tell you what it is). They got all checked in, and we decided to head down to Meehan’s for the aforementioned mac&cheese.

It was delicious as always, as were the beverages my party consumed. I rather think we might have been “that table” as we got louder and louder, especially after two of my other dearest friends arrived. Cassie&Casey hadn’t attended DragonCon in 5 years, due to real life military commitments, but this was their triumphal return. They met us at Meehan’s, and the party just kept going.

Eventually, someone (it may have been EZ, I’m not sure) kicked out the idea of a hotel bar crawl, and the rest of the group enthusiastically agreed. We paid our bill at Meehan’s, and headed down to the Hyatt bar for round 1.

At the Hyatt, we found Kevin Ikenberry and Quincy Adams, as well as our friends Danielle and Charlotte and some other folks. I think EZ’s buddy Seth joined us there as well. He joined us at some point, at any rate. We enjoyed hanging out with them for a bit, and then headed onward to the Marriott via the sky bridge.

And the Marriott was already lit. I mean, the floor wasn’t as crowded as it would become on Friday and Saturday nights, but there were legit costumes to be seen, and people to see and hang out with. Around this time, Marisa coined the phrase that would be our rallying cry for the rest of the evening: “Y’all… this is WEDNESDAY!”

Indeed. Which meant that there were many, many more days of con goodness to enjoy. We continued on from the Marriott bar to the Hilton bar, where we learned about the price of tapwater and the importance of speaking to the manager when things aren’t quite right.

By then I was done, so we headed back, and I crashed out, excited about the prospect of the 5 days ahead.

“Thursday = Recovery Day?”

One of the benefits of not drinking alcohol is that I require significantly less recovery than those who do. 😊 Thursday morning, I woke up relatively early (before 0900, I believe) and texted Marisa to see if she wanted to hit the pool with me. I like swimming as a form of exercise at a con. It’s relaxing.

She agreed, and so we went through the labyrinthine procedures required to get to the Westin rooftop pool. It’s a lovely facility, and we enjoyed a relaxing swing and chatting with some fellow pool enthusiasts for about an hour. Then it was back to the room to clean up, grab the husbands, and decide what to do next.

I’m pretty sure we headed back to the Hyatt bar for lunch. Honestly, I’m not really sure. I know we spent most of Thursday hanging out with our various friends: Cassie and Casey again, as well as Mike Massa and his wife Lorna, Griffin Barber, Rob Hampson, Philip Wholrab, and Christopher L. Smith up in Speaker’s Speakeasy, as well as Bridget and Larry Correia. We also ran into Chris Kennedy and his wife Sheelah, Mark Wandrey and his wife Joy, Jon Osborne, and Christopher Woods and his wife Wendy. Oh, and John Ringo, of course. I’m almost positive I saw all of those individuals at some point on Thursday, but it really is a blur in my memory. I just know that I was hanging out all day and it was fun. It was like the DragonCons of old, before I started doing panels and other programming.

Originally, the plan was that Thursday would be a day of recovery, but not so much for this hard-going crew. We may be too old to push it up every weekend like we did back in our 20s, but damn if we can’t push it up for one week a year. 😊

We went back to Meehan’s for dinner, and this time, they put us in the back room. Which was awesome, because we continued to be rowdy and fun. We started applauding wildly whenever our server walked into the room, and whenever new people were seated back there with us. Another rowdy table joined in, and before you know it, we were singing Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of our lungs.

Which, if you’re keeping track, makes this two years in a row for Queen sing-a-longs at DragonCon. 😊

After dinner, I think we went up to Speaker’s Speakeasy for more hanging out, but I don’t really remember.

I went to bed at some point. I’m not sure when.

“Friday. Game Face Time”

Friday morning started off with an 1130 panel for the Alt History track. It was a panel designed to be a track kick-off event, and I was honored to sit beside S. M. Stirling on it. I’ve met Steve before, but this year we had a number of panels together, which was a lot of fun. The man has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of a great many subjects, and he’s a real blast to talk to.

After that, we grabbed lunch, and I headed to Military Sci-Fi Writers & Creators in the Military SF Media track. This was a fun panel consisting of several talented creators, including my friend Van Allen Plexico and new friend Amy J. Murphy. I always love meeting new people.

Friday night’s dinner was… more food court? I’m not really sure. I’m pretty sure we met up with the CKP writing factory folks at the Westin Bar and hung out there for awhile. Again, I don’t really remember what all we did that night, but I know we walked around a fair bit and did a lot of hanging out and socializing.

After dinner, we headed down to the Fantasy Lit track’s new event: the Fantasy Gather. This was the brainchild of the new track director, Cisca Small, and it was a huge success. Fantasy writers came together in a ballroom with small tables to hawk books, hang out with fans and each other, and just really network and have a good time. Marisa and I bonded with the other members of our CKP family, and got to meet some new folks as well. I also got to see and give hugs to Monalisa Foster, Jody Lyn Nye and Todd McCaffrey, which was cool. It was a very well attended event that was a lot of fun. I hope the fans all gave it great feedback, so that we’ll see it return next year.

Oh! Friday might have been the day when Marisa and I went with Bridget, Brandy, and Cathy to buy corsets and fun hats. We shopped at Timeless Trends and my all-time favorite milliner, The Blonde Swan. Bridget got an amazing red and black corset that she wore on Sunday night, and she looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous in it.

There are many, many beautiful things to be acquired at DragonCon if you have the cash. It is known.

“Saturday. The Busy Day”

Saturday was my heaviest day, programming wise. I started off with “Amazons and Assassins,” which was panel about using history as inspiration for fiction. I was late, thanks to running to the wrong room in the Hyatt at first, but the other panelists were gracious about it.

From there, I headed back to the Westin for an Apocalypse Rising panel called “Alternative Apocalyptic Weapons & Armor”, which (to my initial surprise) I moderated. This was actually one of my favorite panels. We had a fairly packed house, and both panelists (Mike Massa and Michael Z. Williamson) are good friends of mine. We spent about an hour talking about improvising survival gear (not just weapons and armor…oops!) with what you have around you. The crowd was interactive and it was a really good time. Kudos to Hans Eckman for running a great show.

After that, the Mikes and I hustled back to the Hyatt for the Baen Books Travelling Roadshow and Prize Patrol. The roadshow is always an amazing time, with Toni Weisskopf, Jim Minz and the Baen crew show off new cover art and give out free books. They also announce the winner of the Readers’ Choice Award for the Year’s Best Military and Adventure Science Fiction. The finalists are chosen from short stories released throughout the previous year and collected in an anthology edited by David Afsharirad. I was honored to have my story “Family Over Blood” included this year.

And it won. 😊

I was flabbergasted. I didn’t know what to say. I gave MadMike Williamson a hug, because I was sitting next to him, and because he was the editor of FORGED IN BLOOD, which is the National Bestselling anthology set in his Freehold Universe where “Family Over Blood” first appeared.

Then I went up, and David presented me with the plaque and prize, and I completely babbled into the mic because I couldn’t figure out what to say. Toni laughed at me and told me that was enough, and I went and sat back down. I felt foolish, but I seriously had no idea what to say.

So I blushed and went back to my seat, and enjoyed all the gorgeous art that happened next. I also enjoyed Dave Butler’s impromptu Witchy Eye singalong. And I got to talk about NOIR FATALE with Larry Correia, so that was awesome as well. The entire Roadshow was really cool, and I was a little sad when MadMike and I had to leave to go grab food before heading to a signing in the dealer room.

The signing was at The Missing Volume, the online/con bookstore owned by my friend Glennis. It was awesome to see her and her husband Tom for a few moments. Even if it was only a few minutes.

After the signing, my husband caught up with me, and we did a little shopping. We also got some food with the Wolfpack. After that, Marisa and I went up to the Marriott top floor for a reception for the Dragon Award Finalists. That was really fun, and it was awesome to hang out with my fellow finalists and some of the past winners.

Unfortunately, I had to leave *that* early, too. Because I was moderating a panel called “Temporal Temptations” for the Alternate History track. On this late-night, adults-only panel, the lovely Tamsin Silver, Marisa Wolf, and I read some naughty scenes from various time periods. We shared a lot of laughs with a really great audience, and it was an awesome time.

The last panel of the night (starting at 0100, if you’re keeping track – I told you Saturday was busy!) was a really interesting panel on the decadence of Weimar Berlin. Very cool discussion, and I got to hang out with Steve Stirling again, so that was fun.

And after that, I fell exhausted into bed. My husband, on the other hand, went out. And stayed out till 0600. He’s awesome. 😊

“Sunday – The Dragon Awards”

Sunday morning, I woke up and headed across the street to Pittypat’s Porch to enjoy the annual Baen Brunch. I got to hang out with Jim Minz and David Boop, as well as Marisa, Griffin, Bridget, Chris… and just a bunch of my Baen family. I also had the honor of meeting Toni’s gentleman caller, who we’re calling “Handsome Devil”. The food was delicious, as always, and it was a really great time.

After that, I headed back to my room and changed, then met up with some of my CKP family in the Hyatt bar. We hung out there until it was time to go to the Dragon Awards in the Hyatt. The Dragon Awards were a lovely ceremony, MCed by the masterful Chuck Gannon. Though I didn’t win, I was super psyched to congratulate Sarah A. Hoyt and Kevin J. Anderson for their win with UNCHARTED.

Afterwards, I got to chat with Laurell K. Hamilton and her husband Jon for a bit. They’re a super cool couple, and she sent me an amazing story for NOIR FATALE, so it was good to catch up with them and their awesome assistant, Shawn.

But then I had to head over to another panel on the fine distinctions between Magic, Psychics, and Superpowers. Another really cool discussion, with an engaged audience and some very cool panelists.

From there, I headed down to the Four Horsemen Universe panel, moderated by my buddy Speaker. This was a fun panel where we got to talk about how Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy took a cool military SF idea and turned it into an unstoppable phenomenon. That was a blast. We had a great time talking about the universe and showing off cover art, and then we all headed upstairs for the Corsets&Kilts party. Chris Kennedy decided to sponsor the party this year, and it was the standard rip-roaring good time.

And then it was time to head to Cruxshadows. It had been five years since I last jammed at that concert with my friends Cassie and Casey, and it was really great to be there beside them once again. At 0100 on Monday morning, the concert is always the harbinger of the end of the Con, but it’s also one last chance to really turn things up and (as Marisa would say) RAGE!

And then we had Waffle House, and then went to bed.

“Monday – The Last Tomorrow”

Despite Cruxhadows being the harbinger of the end, I actually had two more events on Monday. The first was an Apocalypse Rising survival Q&A panel. It was lightly attended, but still a lot of fun. Then I had a signing with John Ringo at Glennis’s at 1500. That was good, because I had an opportunity to chat with John about our upcoming collaboration with Chris Smith: GUNPOWDER AND EMBERS. It should be out sometime in the Fall of 2019, I believe, so that’s exciting!

Afterwards, all that was left was to pack out of our room, have a last really fun lunch with Griffin Barber and Doc, and head up to Speaker’s to say a last few goodbyes before heading to the airport in the afternoon.

Our flight home was delayed until quite late at night, and when we did get home, I fell, exhausted and happy, into bed.

“The Summary”

This was the best DragonCon I’ve had in years. And here’s why (in no particular order)

1. Arriving on Wednesday gave us two days of old-school just hanging out before programming started, which was ideal. It was like the way I used to do con, before I got the opportunity to sit on panels.

2. Cassie and Casey were there! I have missed them so much, and it was so fantastic to party with them once again.

3. Our group was big enough and diverse enough (and adult enough!!) that we could split up into multiple pairings and go and do the things we wanted to do without anyone getting butthurt. Which was great.

4. The traffic flow was fantastic. I can’t remember ever feeling totally crowded as I have in the past.

5. The programming was phenomenal. Special thanks go to the Alternate History, Fantasy Literature, Sci Fi Literature, Apocalypse Rising, and Military Sci-Fi Media tracks for all of their hard work. Thank you so much for letting me be part of your program. I hope you were happy with what you got. 😊

As always, we’ll be back next year, unless The Day Job™ has dramatic plans for our family. But until then, remember, you gotta keep DragonCon in your heart. 😉

Kc and David A — Me (cosplaying Bad Janet from The Good Place) with David Afsharirad, editor of The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF anthology.

DragonCon 2018 Tentative Schedule!

August 3, 2018 by Kacey Ezell Leave a Comment

Hey lovelies!

As promised, here’s my tentative schedule for DragonCon 2018! I say “tentative” because all schedules at DragonCon are tentative until after the event has already happened! 🙂 For best results, I highly recommend the DragonCon app, which updates daily with the schedule changes.

But, for your situational awareness, here is what I’ve got so far:

——————-
Title: Chronos: A Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel Fiction and Media
Description: More than a 101 for Alternate History or Steampunk, this primer is a very brief survey of the topics covered in our track. Alternate History and Historical Fiction, Steampunk, Time Travel media, and much more. This all-ages panel is for those who wonder, “What if?” and, “Where do I start?”
Time: Fri 11:30 am Location: Athens – Sheraton (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Kacey Ezell, S.M. Stirling)

——————-
Title: Military SciFi Writers and Creators – Media Edition
Description: A roundtable with military science fiction writers and artists–whether in tie-ins or independent worlds–to discuss the genre, trends, real-world accuracy, and working within the complex worlds of Military Sci-Fi.
Time: Fri 04:00 pm Location: Chastain DE – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Georges Jeanty, Kacey Ezell, Amy J. Murphy)

——————-
Title: Fantasy Gather
Description: Celebrate the start of the Con & meet the voices of Fantasy literature. Authors will be here to meet you & sign books. Who knows what surprises & treasures you will find?
Time: Fri 08:00 pm Location: Hanover C-E – Hyatt (Length: 4 Hours)
(Tentative Panelists: )

——————-
Title: Amazons and Assassins
Description: Using elements of history and changing them in Fantasy novels, from the classic castle to genies and demons.
Time: Sat 11:30 am Location: Embassy EF – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Eric Flint, S.M. Stirling, Hawkings Austin, Kacey Ezell, Jason Cordova)

——————-
Title: Alternative Apocalyptic Weapons and Armor
Description: In an apocalypse you will need to make or forage for weapons and protection. Our experts will lead the discussion on what to look for, replacements for defensive items we have today, and how to create your own tools.
Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: Chastain F-G – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Kacey Ezell, Michael Z. Williamson, Mike Massa)

——————-
Title: Prepping Lessons from Combat Veterans and First Responders
Description: “No plan survives contact with the enemy” is a long-standing military quote. This panel is your chance to find out what works and what doesn’t from people who have served and survived during military and domestic conflicts. A practical and tactical discussion not to be missed.
Time: Sat 10:00 pm Location: Chastain F-G – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Kacey Ezell)

——————-
Title: Temporal Temptations: Erotica of Alternate Eras
Description: Authors and fans share some of their favorite seductive prose from history or their own imaginations. From samples of history’s raciest writings to original works, this one is sure to be quite the bodice ripper. Come with your smelling salts and your fans to ward away the vapors.
Time: Sat 11:30 pm Location: Augusta – Sheraton (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Kacey Ezell, Eric Renderking Fisk)

——————-
Title: The Decadence and Liberation of Weimar Germany: An Explicit History Revue
Description: Much more than Berlin Babylon, the history of the Weimar Republic is one of sexual liberation, decadence, and depravity in the face of post-war economic collapse. Learn about the perverse, grotesque, alluring, and appalling times that are sure to shock and amaze from our fans of erotic history.
Time: Sun 01:00 am Location: Athens – Sheraton (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Austin Sirkin, S.M. Stirling, Kacey Ezell, Rox of Spazhouse)

——————-
Title: Third Annual Dragon Awards Presentation
Description: The winners of the Third Annual Dragon Awards will be announced.
Time: Sun 01:00 pm Location: Centennial I – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Larry Niven, Bill Fawcett, Tim Powers, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Eric Flint, Richard “Lord British” Garriott, Mike Capps, Katherine Kurtz, Steven Barnes, Peter Kelamis, Lou Ferrigno)

——————-
Title: Magic, Psychics, and Superpowers–oh My!
Description: There is magic, then there are superpowers and mutants. What is genetic–and is it still fantasy, or is it really science?
Time: Sun 07:00 pm Location: Embassy EF – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Myke Cole, Kacey Ezell, Cody Martin, Shawnee Small, Robert Jackson Bennett)

——————-
Title: The Four Horsemen: A Roundtable Discussion
Description: The Four Horsemen is a popular independent series with books & anthology taking place in a dynamic shared universe. The authors discuss the books, story, & how it all came to be.
Time: Sun 08:30 pm Location: Embassy AB – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Robert E. Hampson, Kevin Ikenberry, Chris Kennedy, Mark H Wandrey, Kacey Ezell, Jason Cordova)

——————-
Title: For Survival: Open Jam
Description: If you didn’t find the exact survival panel you wanted or didn’t get all your questions answered, a mix of our experts from the weekend return to answer your questions one last time. Open Jam is the 100% audience generated Q&A session on everything survival that you always dreamed of.
Time: Mon 11:30 am Location: Chastain F-H – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Michael Z. Williamson, Hans Eckman, Kacey Ezell)

Minds of Men is a Dragon Award Finalist!

July 28, 2018 by Kacey Ezell Leave a Comment

My friends, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. Thanks to your votes and nominations, Minds of Men was selected as a finalist for Best Alternate History at the 2018 Dragon Awards!

I’m stunned and so, so, so thankful to have an amazing legion of fans. Thank you.

For those uninitiated, the Dragon Award is a completely fan-selected award that runs on a period of open nominations for a few months. Then they close nominations and the works with the most nods are named as finalists. And thanks to you all, Minds of Men is one of them.

So the next step is voting! If you haven’t done so already, you can sign up to vote here. Even if you choose not to vote for Minds of Men, please do vote for your favorites. Fan awards only work when the fans participate!

Once again, thank you so much for this honor. I cannot tell you how much it means to me.

Much love,

Dragon Con 2017 – After Action Report

September 6, 2017 by Kacey Ezell 1 Comment

DragonCon 2017

So I went to my first DragonCon in 2001. I skipped ’02 and ’03. Went to ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08. Skipped ’09 and ’10. Went to ’11, ’12, ’13, and ’14. Skipped ’15, went to ’16 and now ’17. That’s 12 years of cons, which kinda blows my mind.

The Amazon Warriors – one of the phenomenally funny group cosplays I saw this year.

As an event, it’s grown exponentially in the 15ish years since I started attending. I went to that first con in 2001 with my best friend from pilot training, Tammy Archuleta. I’d wager that our experience as first-timers was pretty common: that is to say, we had no idea what we were walking into. Unbeknownst to both of us, we were about to come home.

And that’s a feeling that has never changed. Despite all its faults, despite all the hordes of people. Despite the occasional asshole or groups of assholes. Despite my original “con family” slowly having to decrease their attendance due to real life, totally valid reasons, when I walk in through the front doors of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta and see the logo projected onto a floor teeming with Stormtroopers, Hogwarts students, Na’avi, and scions of House Lannister… I’m home.

Wednesday, 30 August 17

The rumors are true. Wednesday is, indeed, the new Thursday. We hopped a flight from Baltimore at some ungodly hour of the morning and arrived in Atlanta some time around 10am. The good news was that the MARTA was totally uncrowded, even with our luggage. We had zero problems getting to Peachtree Center Station, and emerged into daylight to see something that looked eerily like Tuesdays of years past. The Atlanta streets teemed with workday traffic, mixed heavily with people already rocking the cosplays. The party had already begun.

Once again, we stayed at the Westin Peachtree Plaza. Due in part to Hurricane Harvey, we had some cancellation questions with our reservation. After we checked in, I asked to speak with a manager to ask these questions. Shoutout to the manager, Casey Ladner, who not only answered my questions, but saw me reimbursed on the spot. He also FULLY refunded my friend Marisa’s reservation(including the non-refundable deposit!), since she couldn’t get out of Houston in time to come to DragonCon. Thanks for being a standup guy, sir. And thanks to the Westin for enabling him to make that call.

Even though we were a solid 5 hours earlier than standard check in time, our room was ready. Once again, the Westin went above and beyond and let us check in. So up to the room we went, and proceeded to kick off our “grown up vacation” in the best of styles.

By taking a nap. It was glorious. Those of you with kids and/or variable work schedules will understand.

After our nap, I got notification of some of our friends filtering in. We met up with Mike Massa and his lovely wife, who were staying in the room next door. He, along with Chris Smith, joined us for lunch/dinner (meals at DragonCon are often eaten at off times, it seems) at the incomparable Meehan’s. While there, our friend Seth (best man at my wedding six years ago!) joined us, and the party began to grow.

We wandered over to the Hyatt bar and met up with a few other friends, including my mentor and senior author, John Ringo. For those of you waiting with bated breath, yes, John, Chris, and I did discuss our upcoming work Gunpowder and Embers. I think you’re going to be happy with the result. More to come on that soon.

We had started talking on the Hyatt smoking deck, but an enthusiastic partier with a drum showed up and started to drown out our conversation, so we took the party upstairs to Chris’s room. There we hung out, talked books and plots and various other things until about 2, when we decided we should probably start pacing ourselves and go to bed. There were, after all, 5 days of con left to go. 😊

Thursday 31 August 2017

We slept in and I woke up on Thursday morning in the midst of a raincloud. Our room on the 63^rd floor meant that Thursday’s wet weather socked in our view, which was kind of cool. I hate looking at the inside of a cloud from the cockpit of my aircraft, but from a spot safe in my hotel room, it was pretty neat.

Usually, I go to DragonCon with the best of intentions. I bring running shoes and workout clothes that remain untouched for the duration, despite the Westin’s really nice workout facilities. But this year, I tried a different tactic. I only brought my swimsuit, and Thursday morning I did several easy laps in the Westin’s pool while the rain drummed down on the plexiglass ceiling above me. It was very relaxing and very zen, and I’m glad I met my goal of working out at least ONE day of con. 😊

After swimming, I went back up to the room to find EZ and Seth. They wanted to make a Publix run for some snacks, so after I showered and dressed, I elected to take that time and go give blood. Mike and Lorna Massa joined me for the first portion of that: the standing in line. I will say that the blood drive was one of the aspects of DragonCon that I thought didn’t go as well as last year. They moved from the basement of the Hilton to the conference center in the basement of the Hyatt. Their space seemed a lot more crowded than last year, and the lines for screening and actual blood draw seemed to take much longer. Sadly, I was only able to produce about a half of a bag of blood for them, despite my conspicuous consumption of water. I did get a cool t-shirt out of the deal though. But the whole thing took a full 4 hours, during which time EZ went to Publix, came back, and went to get his own badge. I met up with him afterwards and we got some food, then went to get my badge at VIP badge pickup in the Marriott. While there, we ran into my publisher, Chris Kennedy and his lovely wife Sheelah. I was able to introduce them to EZ, which I’d been wanting to do for a while.

After that, we met back up with Seth, and walked around for a bit, taking in all the costumes and revelry that was already in full swing. On Thursday. It was awesome and super fun. We ended up meeting up with quite a few friends to do dinner at Fogo de Chao in Buckhead, which was amazing as expected. Afterwards, we headed up to what would become BFC on the 16^th floor of the Hyatt for more hanging out and catching up before EZ and I headed to bed around 2ish.

Friday 1 Sept 2017

Friday morning, I met up with the lovely and talented Bridget Correia for breakfast/lunch. We met at LibertyCon 2016, at which point I informed her that I really thought we were destined to be BFFs. Despite this awkward and potentially creepy statement, we really have become quite close, and I was excited to see her again. She brought her husband, the International Lord of Hate, with us, and we had a lovely meal discussing kids and cons and the writing business, etc. Near the end of our meal, the lovely and talented Brandy Spraker and her equally lovely friend whose name I’ve forgotten (I’m so sorry!) joined us.

Friday was the first day of programming for me, and my first panel was one called “Here comes the Gener-AL” put on by the Fantasy Lit Track. Our original moderator didn’t show, so Myke Cole (whom I hadn’t met before) stepped in and did a great job leading a discussion about leadership traits in both real life and fantasy fiction. Shoutout to John Ringo, Speaker, Chris Smith, Jeremy Levitt and quite a few other friends who showed up to support me in my first panel at DC 17. And my husband, of course. Who always supports me. Because he’s a badass.

Many thanks to Charlotte, the track director of the Fantasy Lit Track, for including me on the panel, it was a lot of fun.

After that, I moderated a panel called “World at War: Alternate History in the Early 20^th Century” for the Alt History Track. As always, Dr. Q and his staff did a phenomenal job with their track as well, and it was a privilege to lead a really fun discussion about why the years 1914-1945 seem so ripe for alternate history and secret history tales. Plus, I got to plug my upcoming novel Minds of Men which is, (you guessed it!) an alternate/secret history set in WWII.

After that panel, I’m pretty sure I ate something at some point. EZ ended up going back to the room early, not feeling great, so I started walking around with Bridget and Larry Correia, and we were joined later by Seth. This was Bridget’s first DragonCon, so it was a lot of fun to take her around and show her around the Marriott and the Hyatt to see the incredible cosplays and shenanigans. We joined a little dance party, as well as an impromptu singalong of Bohemian Rhapsody outside the Marriott smoking area.

Yes, you read that right. Me, the Lovely Mrs. Correia, the International Lord of Hate, my husband’s best friend Seth and about 100 of the closest friends we’d not yet met belting out Bohemian Rhapsody under the valet marquee of the Marriott Marquis hotel at about midnight on a Friday night. That, my lovely readers, is DragonCon for you. 😊

Afterwards, we headed up to BFC to hang out for a bit. ILOH had early programming in the morning (10 am is SO early at DragonCon!) so he headed back to their hotel. Bridget, Seth, and I remained in BFC hanging out and chatting for a good long while. Once again, it was probably two when we headed back. That’s one reason why I picked Bridget to be my BFF. That girl can hang. 😊

Saturday 2 Sept 2017

Saturday was my busy day at the con. Thanks to lessons learned last year, I skipped the parade in favor of spending time with my man, and I’m glad that I did. After a leisurely morning, we got up and found some food at the food court. This year, my clear food court favorite was the Indian food place next to the entrance by the CVS. I cannot remember the name of the establishment, but they had 2 samosas for $4, and almost never a line. It was phenomenal.

We got our food and headed to the Hyatt Regency V room for my first event of the day: The Baen Books Traveling Slide Show and Prize Patrol. If you’ve never been to one of these presentations, I highly recommend you catch one at a con near you. Among other things, you’ve got a chance to see really cool new cover art, and possibly get a free book.

In addition, Baen publishes an anthology called The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF , wherein the editorial staff selects several short stories that have come out the year prior and compiles them into a single terrific volume. Readers can then vote for their favorite on the Baen website (www.baen.com) and the story with the most votes will net its author a $500 prize. Congratulations to Sharon Lee and Steve Miller on their win for “Wise Child”! Special thanks to David Afsharirad for selecting my story for the anthology. It was an honor to be included among such luminaries!

After the Slideshow, I hoofed it over to the Americas Mart and The Missing Volume booth for two back-to-back signings. First up was Black Tide Rising, then Forged In Blood, which is the new Freehold Universe anthology edited by Michael Z. Williamson. The anthology officially released yesterday (5 September 17) but Glennis had copies available for us to sign and for lucky congoers to purchase early. Both signings were a blast, thanks to the hijinks of my coauthors, and I hated to leave the table.

But I did, because I had to jet from the Americas Mart back across the entirety of the Con to the Sheraton for a 7 pm panel on NeoPulp and Dieselpunk. This panel was a blast, involved a lot of audience interaction, and I really enjoyed it.

After that, we had a quick break for some food and hanging out up in BFC prior to the “No Kidding… There I Was” panel put on by the SF Lit Track in the Hyatt. This was my first SF Lit Track panel, and while the microphones didn’t work, the Track staff did a great job as always. The panel consisted of me, John Ringo, Todd McCaffrey, and Mike Massa. I told a story about surprising marks on a friend’s back during SERE training, and how to relieve oneself in -30F weather. John told stories about nasty supply sergeants puking on a jump. Todd told stories of being a Cav scout during the Cold War. However, Mike Massa completely stole the whole show with the true story of a legendary BUD/s class.

I won’t repeat it here. If you were there, you know. 😊

After the panel, I met up with my husband and Seth and we hung out for a while checking out the cosplays and just generally enjoying ourselves. Our friend Jerry Phillips joined up with us after he ended up rendering first aid to a cosplayer dressed as Jessica Rabbit who got hit with a chair that some asshat threw from the 10^th floor balcony of the Marriott.

Look, one of my favorite things about DragonCon is the family nature of it. I’m not joking when I say that you’re partying with 77,000 of your closest friends. But, as in any group of that size, you’re going to have a few asshats. The key is to let them know that when they pull shit like that, they’re no longer welcome in the DragonCon family. Thanks to Jerry and the first responders, as well as the Atlanta Police Department, these particular asshats know that very well. Meanwhile, I’m told that Jessica and her friend are doing well, and plan to return next year.

After all that, the mood soured relatively quickly, and EZ and I went to bed. He was ready to party still, but I’ll admit, I was tired. Saturday was my busiest day, and the con wasn’t over yet.

Sunday 3 Sept 2017

Sunday morning started pretty early. Baen Books has a tradition of getting all the Baen authors at a con together for a meal, and this year we had brunch at Pittypat’s Porch. I had an opportunity to sit with David Butler, David Afsharirad, and Christopher Ruocchio. We really had a great time, with a lot of great conversation, some pretty kickass food, and a lot of laughs. I really enjoyed getting to know these three gentlemen, and hope to be able to hang out with each of them more in the future.

Afterwards, I finally got over to the Dealer’s Room in the Americas Mart to browse a little (very little!) bit. There was so much more I didn’t get to see, but I did get to hang out with Bridget a bit longer before we had to head over to the Hyatt for the announcement of the 2017 Dragon Award winners.

Congratulations to Larry Correia and John Ringo for their Best Fantasy win with Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge, as well as to all the other winners.

The International Lord of Hate accepting the Best Fantasy Dragon Award on behalf of himself and John Ringo for Grunge

Congratulations, too, to my friends John F. Holmes (a finalist in two! categories), Chuck Gannon, and Mark Wandrey. Both Mark and Chuck were finalists for the second year in a row, which is a hell of an accomplishment. Especially when the field includes the likes of Eric Flint and Harry Turtledove. I’m really proud of you guys.

I left the Dragon awards to make it over to my last Alt History panel for the weekend: A rip-roaring gameshow called “History or Alternate History”. This was a TON of fun, and not just because Dr Q. let me get away with telling a slightly risqué story about a naked gunner. Special thanks to Bill Fawcett and S. M. Stirling. It was an honor to be on a panel with both of you gentlemen. Thanks again, too, to Dr. Q and the whole Alt History track. You guys are the best.

After that piece of fun and revelry, I headed back to the Hyatt for “Playing in Someone Else’s Universe” with Chuck Gannon, Todd McCaffrey, and Griffin Barber. This one was super cool for me, since both Chuck and Griffin are great friends of mine, and Todd is the heir to the Pern universe that inspired… well… most of my life choices if I’m honest. We talked about some of the complexities inherent in collaborative writing, whether with a peer (like Griff and me!) or with a senior author.

My last panel of the night followed not too long after that one, and it was titled “Basic Military SF”. I was tempted to show up with Uggs and a Pumpkin Spice Latte, but I wasn’t sure anyone would get the joke. 😊 In this one, Mike Massa and I joined a distinguished group of mil SF authors and talked about some of the hallmarks of the genre. I probably talked too much. It’s kind of my thing.

And then, it was time to party. We started by heading upstairs to BFC to resupply drinks and whatnot, and ended up partying up there for a while. Then the crew, by which I mean my buddies Jack Clemons, Doc Wholrab, Chris Smith, Aaron Haskins, Speaker, Jeremy Levitt, Jenny Ringo, Kim the Doc and a whole host of others went down to the Cruxshadows concert. EZ, Seth, and I decided to join them, and then hit up the traditional Mariott rave afterwards. Both were extremely fun, there was much loud music and dancing, and once again, Jack launched me (and about 50 other people!) onto the stage for the last song.

One day that stage is going to break. I swear it.

Anyway, at about 0430, I realized that I was starving. Where does one go in the south for food at 0430? Why, Waffle House, of course! Rest assured that the pecan waffles and hash browns covered and chunked have retained their deliciousness since my pilot training days way back when. 😊

Monday 4 Sept 2017

Labor Day. Last Day of the Con. We slept in again and got up in time to start packing. I had a panel at 1300, but since it was located in the Westin, it wasn’t too much of a logistical problem to get there on time. This was my only panel for the American SF Media track, and it was me and author/USMC pilot Janine Spendlove talking about women in the military and how they’re portrayed in media. It went well, and afterwards, EZ and I checked out of the Westin and put our bags into storage before heading over to the food court for one last DragonCon meal. We met up with Griffin and his friend Mary once again (they’d come to the panel) and Griff had a really good insight. He suggested that the panel that I’d just been on would have benefited from the voice of an enlisted woman, and I agree. So if anyone from American SF Lit track is reading this, perhaps next year, hm? After food, we went up to the BFC suite, which was in the process of being shut down and packed out. I raided the caffeine and we chatted… and then I fell asleep on the couch anyway.

Luckily, EZ was there to ensure that no one exacted penalty on me for falling asleep in BFC (sorry Chris!) and we enjoyed hanging out until it was time to head to the airport. Thanks again to Jeremy Levitt for giving us a ride!

Final Thoughts:

This is really only the tip of the iceberg of things I did. At some point, EZ and Seth and I hung out in the Hyatt bar with my publisher, Chris Kennedy, his lovely wife Sheelah, Mark Wandrey and his lovely wife Joy. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what day that was. I also hung out with Griffin and Mary quite a bit, but it seemed to be for an hour here or an hour there. I even got to see my dear friend Amity and her family, and to meet baby Ember.

Dragon Con was a shifting kaleidoscope of encounters and fun.

It was also much more laid back for me than in past years. A large reason for this is because I made a deliberate decision that I was going to edit my commitments. Aside from my pro responsibilities, I refused to commit to any one event, instead declaring my intention to hang out with EZ and just do what he wanted to do. Of course, he didn’t care, much of the time, but not doing the parade, not throwing Corsets&Kilts… all of these things contributed to a much more satisfying “grown up vacation” than last year.

That, along with showing up on Wed, before the official festivities started, made the difference, I believe. This was easily the best con I’ve had in a number of years. No stress, no fuss. Just going with the flow and hitting my panels. Seeing old friends, making new ones, living it up with the love of my life and reveling in the feeling of finding my home planet that only DragonCon can provide.

Until next year, my friends!

My Final DragonCon 2017 Schedule!

August 29, 2017 by Kacey Ezell 1 Comment

Hey Cool Kids! 🙂 For those of you attending the 4-day, 5-hotel, 24-hour geekly Mardi Gras-esque experience known as DragonCon, here’s my schedule. Come say hi!

Friday, 1 Sep 17:

4pm – Here Comes the Gener-AL! (Hyatt Embassy EF)

7pm – World at War: Alternate History in the Early 20th Century (Sheraton Augusta)

Saturday 2 Sep 17:

2:30pm – Baen Books Slide Show and Traveling Prize Patrol (Hyatt Regency V)

5pm – Black Tide Rising Signing at The Missing Volume booth (America’s Mart Bldg 2)

6pm – Forged In Blood Signing at The Missing Volume booth (America’s Mart Bldg 2)

7pm – More than Gears: The Neo-Pulp & Dieselpunk Author Roundtable (Sheraton Augusta)

11:30pm – “No Kidding, There I Was…” and Other War Stories (Hyatt Embassy AB)

Sunday 3 Sep 17

5:30pm – Playing in Someone Else’s Universe (Hyatt Embassy AB)

8:30pm – Basic Military Science Fiction (Hyatt Embassy AB)

Monday 4 Sep 17:

1pm – Women in the Military: Real World Issues & Sci-Fi Applications

All of this info, including details on the panels and maps to the locations is available on the DragonCon app. Have a great time, everyone, and please be safe! If you’re going, leave a comment and tell us what facet of the con you’re most excited about. If you’re not going, leave a comment and tell us what you most want to see pictures of! 🙂

As a friend of mine says: “Wings UP!”

Cover Art!

August 28, 2017 by Kacey Ezell 2 Comments

Guess what? I have a cover! 🙂

(And if you’re a member of my mailing list, you got to see this yesterday, as I release all of my goodies there first!)

Wanna see?

(Of course you do!)

Isn’t it cool? This image was created by the incredibly talented Brenda Davis Mihalko. Here’s a fun fact: “Pretty Cass” is a real person. She’s my best friend (minus my husband), and her name is Cassie. She even has that outfit, thanks to a DragonCon pinup costume group that we did one year!

Speaking of which… only two more days for me. Ever been to DragonCon? If so, leave a note in the comments and tell us how you’d describe it in a tweet, using 160 characters or less. 😉

DragonCon 2017 – Tentative Schedule

August 13, 2017 by Kacey Ezell Leave a Comment

Let’s talk for a few minutes about the single biggest weekend of the year: the first weekend in September. Otherwise known in the US as Labor Day weekend.

But for me and roughly 80,000 of my closest friends, it has a totally different name: DragonCon.

DragonCon is my Super Bowl, my Mardi Gras, my New Year’s Eve all rolled into one. From the first day I wandered into the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in 2001, Dragon Con has been my home planet. If you’re geeky at all, and you’ve been there… then you know.

For the second year in a row, I’m honored to be participating in programing as an Attending Professional. Here’s my tentative* schedule. Come out and see me if you can!

——————-
Title: Here comes the gener-AL!
Description: What makes a great general in Fantasy?
Time: Fri 04:00 pm Location: Embassy EF – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Myke Cole, Michael Livingston, Kacey Ezell, Jonathan P Brazee, Elizabeth Moon)

——————-
Title: World at war: Alternate history in the early 20th century
Description: The first decades of the 20th century have proven to be fertile ground for alternate historians. From German victories to Soviet domination, from the mundane to the fantastic, this panel looks at the various alternate takes on this crucial period of world history.
Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: Augusta – Sheraton (Length: 1 Hour)
Moderator / MC for panel
(Tentative Panelists: Van Allen Plexico, Kacey Ezell, Michael Livingston, Taylor Anderson)

——————-
Title: More than Gears: The Neo-Pulp and Dieselpunk Author Roundtable
Description: Dieselpunk and neo-pulp, steampunk’s historical next-door neighbors, present unique challenges for the storyteller who wants to use those settings. Listen to our panel of authors discuss the challenges, and the fun, of writing about a diesel-burning generation
Time: Sat 07:00 pm Location: Augusta – Sheraton (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: James Palmer, Bobby Nash, Kacey Ezell, D.Alan Lewis, Van Allen Plexico)

——————-
Title: No Kidding, There I Was…War Stories
Description: The only people who like to tell stories more than writers are veterans. Our panelists are both, from all branches of the service. These are the stories that informed their work.
Time: Sat 11:30 pm Location: Embassy AB – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: John D. Ringo, Elizabeth Moon, Todd McCaffrey, Mike Massa, Kacey Ezell, Christopher L Smith)

——————-
Title: The History or Alternate History Game Show
Description: This is a game show in which our panel of authors and chosen contestants from the crowd are read stories and their own wits must decide whether the event is fact or imagination for fun and prizes. It’s a game of truth or speculative fiction that is sure to be educational, if not hilarious.
Time: Sun 02:30 pm Location: Athens – Sheraton (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: S.M. Stirling, Cherie Priest, Kacey Ezell, Bill Fawcett)

——————-
Title: Playing in Someone Else’s Universe
Description: The rise of indie publishing and crowdfunding has led to an increase in shared world anthologies and other projects, many in well-established fictional universes. Panelists discuss the challenges they’ve faced adapting to worlds not of their own making.
Time: Sun 05:30 pm Location: Embassy AB – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Jean Marie Ward, Dr. Charles E. Gannon, Kacey Ezell, Todd McCaffrey, Griffin Barber)

——————-
Title: Basic Military Science Fiction
Description: Most military sf tends to have a lot of the same underpinnings. Ranks, equipment, tactics. What can make a particular work stand out? Are there things that are required to make it military sf? Our panelists discuss.
Time: Sun 08:30 pm Location: Embassy AB – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Jack Campbell, Kacey Ezell, Marc Alan Edelheit, Doug Dandridge, Mike Massa, Evan Currie, J A Sutherland)

——————-
Title: Women in the Military: Real-World Issues and SciFi Applications
Description: In a male-dominated field like the military, with lives on the line, women have excelled–and we’re not just talking Wonder Woman. We will hear some of the real-world issues and concerns of women serving in the military and discuss how these manifest in military science fiction.
Time: Mon 01:00 pm Location: Chastain DE – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
(Tentative Panelists: Kacey Ezell, Janine K. Spendlove)

(* – EVERYTHING at DragonCon is tentative until it’s already happened. It is known.)