In the last few weeks I’ve used this blog
to chatter about what was going on in my writing life and my publishing life. But
now, within a month of my company’s event of the year, I need to spend some
time reminding you of all the reasons you should attend the Creatures, Crimes& Creativity (C3) Con.
This year the C3 Con runs from noon on
Friday, October 10 to Sunday October 12. At the Hunt Valley Inn, just outside
Baltimore, we will gather readers and writers of mystery, suspense, thriller, horror,
sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal fiction.
The $275 registration fee includes 36
panels and master classes, two keynote addresses, interviews with two
bestselling authors, and five meals: Friday’s dinner, 3 meals Saturday and
Sunday breakfast. The meals are included to encourage all the authors and readers
to dine side-by-side. It creates a
chance for fans to ask those questions they’ve always wanted to ask.
And BTW, members of major fiction writer
organizations (MWA, ITW, SFFAA, SinC) get a substantial discount off the
registration cost.
The C3 Con offers a lot to published
authors. It is a great opportunity to spend
time with their fans, and to expose new readers to their writing by presenting
on panels. Their books will be available
in our on-site bookstore set up by Novel Books. There will be two big book
signings, Friday and Saturday before dinner.
Each author’s name is posted on the C3 website with a link to their
website or their book. Their photo and bio will be posted in the C3 program
book and they are all invited to contribute to the C3 blog.
Pitch sessions are available with two
literary agents. One, Dawn Dowdle runs the Blue Ridge Literary Agency, a
Virginia firm focused on helping authors, especially new authors. The other, Alec Shane, is with Writers
House, one of the biggest New York agencies.
Among the great presentations, bestselling
mystery author Brad Parks will teach a Master Class called “Where Papa Going
With That Ax?” He says writing page-turning fiction that seizes a reader’s
imagination and then holds it for 350 pages is hard, but the concepts behind it
are actually quite simple. As a matter of fact, one novel he will discuss accomplishes
everything you want fiction to do in just four paragraphs. Attendees will also
study voice, character, pacing and unveil the patented Brad Parks Formula For
Suspense.
International bestselling romantic
suspense/sci-fi/fantasy author Rebecca York will also teach a Master Class. She
says, "A novel must look, sound, smell and taste real to the reader.
But it’s not reality. It’s a world you build. From plot and
character to setting and dialogue, you make the decisions that define your
fictional universe." And she will show you how.
