Never Enough doesn’t really fit this year’s live events, because I don’t think I could have managed anything more. But in the spirit of tradition, I’ll call this list Bride of Never Enough.
2016 was a great year for doing live events! Because I was pursuing 100 Rejection Letters this year, I chased every opportunity that came my way. I met a great bunch of people as a result.
2016’s Readings:
Borderlands Sponsors’ Open Mic
Friday, January 22, 2016 at 7 pm
Borderlands Cafe, San Francisco, California
I read an action scene from No More Heroes.
FogCon
Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:30-11:45 am
I read from No More Heroes, the third of the Templars novels.
Borderlands Sponsors’ Open Mic
Friday, May 20 at 7 pm
Borderlands Cafe, San Francisco, California
I read something sexy from Lost Angels.
WisCon – Broad Universe Reading
Saturday, May 28, 2016 at 1-2:15 pm
Participants: Martha Allard, Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, Sandra Marie Grayson, Jude McLaughlin, and Loren Rhoads.
I read from No More Heroes.
WorldCon – My first solo reading at a WorldCon!
Saturday, August 20, 2016 at 7:30 – 8 pm
Kansas City Convention Center
I read a fight scene from the Raena Zacari trilogy. There was carnage.
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading at WorldCon
Sunday, August 21, 2016 at 10:00 – 11:30 am
Kansas City Convention Center
I emceed a great lineup: J. Tullos Hennig, Laurel Anne Hill, Roberta Rogow, Kathryn Sullivan, Paula S. Jordan, Katie Li, A C Elias, Tamara Jones, and Wendy Van Camp.
I read a snippet of Lost Angels.
Literary Speakeasy – the Martini Bar of Horrors
Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 7 pm
Martuni’s, San Francisco, California
Emceed by James Siegel, with SG Browne, Dana Fredsti, Sunil Patel, and Alia Volz.
I told a ghost story about the house I live in.
2016’s Podcasts:
I had a goal to pitch 10 podcasts this year. I pitched four and got onto all of them, although one hasn’t aired yet. These did:
The Women Show
July 21, 2016 from 6:30 – 7 pm EST
I chatted with Elizabeth Black about Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Cemetery Travels, cemetery blogging, and Death’s Garden Revisited, the project for which I’m collecting essays about people’s relationships with cemeteries. You can check out the conversation here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bennetpomerantz2/2016/07/21/the-women-show-with-your-host-elizabeth-black-her-last-show
Other Worlds of Romance
August 16, 2016
Linda Mooney invited me to read from “The Angel’s Lair” and talk about succubi. You can check out the podcast here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/other_worlds_of_romance/2016/08/16/loren-rhoads-is-my-guest-author-on-august-15th
Horror Addicts
September 17, 2016
Emz and David said really nice things about my Death’s Garden project and let me read a taste of Lost Angels: http://www.thebelfry.rip/blog/2016/9/17/loren-rhoads-horror-addicts
Miscellaneous Live Events:
April 17, 2016: The Science Fiction Book Club at Borderlands Books invited me to discuss The Dangerous Type. Answering their questions was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
June 4, 2016: The local chapter of the Horror Writers Association held a booth at the Bay Area Book Festival. It was a great chance to get to know my fellow members better and sell some books.
September 11, 2016: “Why Writers Write” I joined S.G. Browne and Dana Fredsti at Borderlands Cafe to discuss our motivations and the tricks we’ve learned to get the work done.
Every Friday in November: Once again I hosted Nanowrimo Write-ins at the Borderlands Cafe. It’s inspirational to join so many writers banging out their books. I look forward to doing it again next year.
November 23, 2016: Writing in the window at Paul’s Hat Works on Geary Boulevard fulfilled one of my bucket list items: I always wanted to write in public!
2016 Convention Panels:
2016 was my best year ever for being on panels at science fiction conventions.
I was only on one panel at FogCon:
From Caterpillar to Butterfly
Friday, March 11 at 4:30–5:45 pm
With Jamie L. Henderson, Ashley Christina, Theresa Mecklenborg, Colleen T. O’Rourke, and me.
We talked about strange biologies on earth and how those could inspired aliens. Everyone else was a scientist, so I got to hold down the literary end of the conversation. And I got to talk about how octopi inspired Vezali in the Templar books.
Genre Blending
Friday, May 27 at 9-10:15 pm
Moderator: Rebecca Holden
Panelists: Alex Jennings, Justine Larbalestier, Loren Rhoads, Kristine Smith, Brooke Wonders
Whether it’s a steampunk fairytale or an end of the world love story between science and magic or a Hong Kong-style revenge space opera, stories are spilling over the edges of genre.
Living into Dying
Sunday, May 29, 1-2:15 pm
Moderator: R. Elena Tabachnick
Participants: Kate Carey, Loren Rhoads, and Nadia Hutton
In this panel we will discuss how to live with death: the challenges of dying, the gifts we receive from it, and the stories that get us through.
I made it onto one panel at WorldCon:
Where’s Rey? Female Characters and Merchandise
Friday, August 19 at 4 – 5 pm
Kansas City Convention Center
With Leo d’Entremont, Jenifer Boles, and Loren Rhoads
Unfortunately, it is all too common for female characters to be left out of promotional material. We discuss the reasons for, the implications of, and possible solutions to this.
Convolution was crazy! I was scheduled for a record seven panels — and had a blast on all of them.
When does Fanfic become Pro Work?
Friday, September 30 at 3 – 4:30 pm
With Loren Rhoads (moderator), Shael Hawman, and Valerie Estelle Frankel
Classic Scary Stories: Shelley, Poe, and others
Friday, September 30 at 5 – 6:30 pm
With Chuck Serface (moderator), Tyler Hayes, Loren Rhoads, and Sarah Stegall
Looking back on some of the classics of literary monster-makers and scary storytellers.
The Monsters of Star Wars
Friday, September 30 at 8 – 9:30 pm
With Stacy Meyn (moderator), Loren Rhoads, Drew Morris, JC Arkham, and Jean Batt
Some of them live in pits. Some of them have vast underwater cities. Some of them will keep you warm through a cold Hoth night.
Devilishly Daring: Demonic Monsters
Saturday, October 1 at noon – 1:30 pm
With Laurel Anne Hill (moderator), Chuck Serface, Loren Rhoads, Emerian Rich, and J. L. (Jim) Doty
We’ll discuss the devils, demons, succubi, and lords of the underworld that feature in our genre fiction.
Authors: Going to That Dark Place
Saturday, October 1 at 3 – 4:30 pm
With Fred Wiehe (moderator), Loren Rhoads, Melissa Snark, Deborah J. Ross, Margaret McGaffey Fisk, and Anne Bishop
If you want the monstrous element to be truly horrifying, you sometimes have to dig to a dark place to write it believably.
Meet HorrorAddicts.net!
Sunday, October 2 at 10 – 11:30 am
With Emerian Rich (moderator), Loren Rhoads, Laurel Anne Hill, and Sumiko Saulson
Chat with the authors who comprise HorrorAddicts.net and find out their monster favorites!
The Monster is the Hero
Sunday, October 2 at 2 – 3:30 pm
With Ric Bretschneider (moderator), Jay Hartlove, Chad Peterman, and Loren Rhoads
Panel discussion of our favorite bits in which the monstrous element ends up being the hero and Man is the enemy.
